The thing with Anthrax is that, compared to the other three "Big Four Thrash Bands", there was nothing about their music that really stood out. Metallica had melody and passion, Megadeth had technicality and humor, Slayer had speed and aggression. But what did Anthrax have that neither of those bands had? A different state (New York instead of California) and two rap-metal songs. Granted, the band released some really great material during their thrash years (specifically Spreading The Disease, Among The Living, and especially Persistence Of Time). But it's not hard to see why they were the least successful (both critically and commercially) of the Big Four.
As for THIS album, I have about half of its songs burned on CD. I love Random Acts Of Senseless Violence and Fueled (btw, the "similar" Metallica song actually came out
two years later

). Riding Shotgun is pretty good but suffers from some really awkward lyrics ("Two steps forward! A-hundred steps back! We're going the wrong way! It's backwards! It's backwards!" - what a way to overemphasize a single point). Nothing is a great song, especially its chorus. I disagree with you about American Pompeii. That's actually a cool song, especially in the percussion section. Bare is a pretty decent ballad, but towards the end (when the song picks up), it starts to sound too much like an Alice In Chains ripoff. Black Lodge was definitely a better ballad IMO.