New York City thrash-metal legends Anthrax celebrated their 40th anniversary Friday night with an all-cylinders-firing tour stop at San Antonio’s Boeing Center at Tech Port. Comrades Black Label Society and Exodus offered able support.
If there’s one thing a band should be able to do after 40 years, it’s bring consistency. And Anthrax delivered on that front, flooring the crowd with high-energy performances of its best-known tunes. The high-energy set drove home a reminder why the group remains one of metal’s top legacy acts.
Prior to its first song, Anthrax projected a career-spanning video onto the curtain shrouding the stage. In the clip, a parade of luminaries praising the band, from the expected (Corey Taylor, Kerry King) to the unexpected (Lady Gaga! Keanu Reeves!). The footage reinforced the theme that the members of Anthrax truly enjoy themselves when performing, as evidenced by the goofy sense of fun the group mixes with its metal. While initially fun, the celebrity testimonials quickly wore out their welcome.
Finally, Anthrax appeared behind the curtain. The silhouettes of guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante towered over the stage, appropriate since they’re heart of the band. As the strains of “Among the Living” rang through the crowd, the curtain dropped, and the thrashing began.
By the time vocalist Joey Belladonna strode onstage and began belting out the lyrics — inspired by Stephen King’s pandemic apocalypse The Stand — there was no doubt who owned the evening. Shit was on, and the energy never flagged.
Belladonna even displayed the same ‘do that he did in the ’80s. The man has kept it consistent.
Anthrax played in front of a backdrop incorporating cover art from each of its albums. Even so, the majority of the setlist drew from the band’s classic era, which ended after 1990’s Persistence of Time and the firing of Belladonna — his current stint with the band, which began in 2010, is his third. The band name was emblazoned at the backdrop’s zenith with “XL” at the bottom — that’s “40” in roman numerals for you school-learning types. However, many probably considered it a reference to how our black T-shirt sizes have changed since Anthrax’s heyday.
Anthrax followed the opener with the second track from Among the Living, “Caught in a Mosh.” A power move right there, opening with two bangers from its biggest album. Despite the passage of decades since the 1987 release, the songs remain oddly current. If you can’t identify with the lyric “talking to you is like clapping with one hand,” you’ve never been on social media.
Throughout the set, the band played to its strengths: powerful, thrashy riffs and singalong choruses led by Ian’s slightly off-tempo shout, a nod to hardcore punk influences. The vibe was especially present in a cover of Joe Jackson’s “Got the Time,” which dropped near the end of the set. Crowd pleaser “Antisocial” also was a cover, this one by the French band Trust.
But for many attendees, the covers of relatively obscure tunes may as well be Anthrax-penned. It’s not like closing a set with “Rock And Roll All Nite” and “Iron Man.”
Hell, Anthrax even threw in a verse from Public Enemy’s “Bring The Noise” near the end of the night with Ian doing the rap. The song reminded all that, despite its classic thrash records, Anthrax may be most remembered for its collaboration with the legendary hip-hop group. That pairing arguably planted the seeds for the nu-metal style that followed.
While Anthrax owned the evening, the openers were blazing in their own right.
Bay Area thrash veterans Exodus — an act that’s been around as long as the headliners — started off the night. Exodus’ set made a strong case that it could replace the now-retired Slayer if more Big Four tours ever take place. The band appeared to acknowledge that as well, tearing through a few bars of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” at one point — a moment that also provided a nod to guitarist Gary Holt’s role in that legendary band’s final years.
Exodus pulled out its own classics, from “Bonded by Blood” to “The Toxic Waltz,” starting the night in aggressive form. Vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza let loose with a shrieking style that’s an underrated influence in the extreme metal style that emerged in the ’90s, post-thrash.
Even though Black Label Society — led by former Ozzy sideman and current Pantera fill-in Zakk Wylde — occupied the middle slot, the length of its set made it more of a co-headliner. Wylde’s project feels more like a solo band, since he provides both vocals and a hefty amount of the guitar heroics. Even so, second guitarist Dario Lorina was no slouch.
Formed in 1998, Black Label Society is rooted in the early ’90s by way of the ’70s. Which is to say elements of former Anthrax tour mates Alice In Chains are apparent in its riffs and Wylde’s vocal style, while Black Sabbath also bears a clear influence.
Wylde had the distinction of singing the evening’s lone ballad, “In This River,” on which he played piano. During the song, the screen filled with pictures of the Wylde with “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and his brother, Vinnie Paul Abbott, the late musicians who comprised half of Pantera. While oddly reminiscent of Cinderella’s “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone),” the song still managed to give the evening its only sentimental moment.
Otherwise, Wylde and company kept the crowd rocking, throwing out bangers such as “Stillborn” and “Suicide Messiah.” Wylde has a way of singing across riffs perhaps best epitomized by the late Ronnie James Dio, whose ghost hung over the evening’s festivities, including a shoutout from the members of Anthrax.
If there was a downside to the concert, it was the heavy reliance on decades-old material. But perhaps that’s hard to avoid given the current state of metal. With Anthrax’s Benante playing in the reformed Pantera, the show served as a reminder that nothing is forever and that the genre’s glory days may be coming to an end. Metal’s leading lights are 60-plus, and no current bands on the circuit — despite their innovative and aggressive sounds — command a comparably sized audience or cultural influence.
So, get ’em while you can, folks. The legends won’t be here forever, and we’re lucky to have had them this long.
And to Anthrax: Please stick around a little bit longer, guys.
Anthrax 50, anyone?
