This song is about the comic book character Judge Dredd: "They call him Judge, his last name is Dredd." In the comic books, he was a man who sought after people who broke the law, "So break the law and you'll wind up dead."
Along with "Imitation of Life" (which also appeared on Among the Living), this is the last song for which departed bassist Danny Lilker, who despite leaving the band several years earlier, was attributed songwriting credits on several Anthrax songs released after his departure.
Anthrax were deep into the world of underground comics when they recorded this song. Bassist Frank Bello recalled to Powerline, March 1989 that when he helped guitarist Scot Ian move into his new apartment, he had "boxes and boxes of comic books. Danny has a bunch and Charlie does too, but Scott has the most." "I started collecting them when I was five," added Ian. "At first it was all Marvel and DC stuff because there wasn't anything else. But for the last year I have been spending most of my money on back issues and limited first editions of Stephen King stuff."
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