It’s not every band that can have a dazzling array of guests including Lady Ga Ga, Keanu Reeves, Chuck D, John Carpenter, Slash and Norman Reedus give glowing testimonies on a giant screen to celebrate a dazzling career spanning just over four decades but then Anthrax are no ordinary band.
Anthrax took the ferocity and intensity of Thrash Metal and added a huge injection of personality and fun to create something unique and thrilling, whilst also innovating by colliding the worlds of Metal and Hip Hop together with their ground breaking collaboration with Public Enemy.
Tonight, was a celebration of their career that started way back in New York in 1981 and has seen them reach the top table of Thrash grabbing an armful of gold records along the way and the City Hall was packed to join the celebrations.
An opening salvo of “Among The Living,” “Caught In A Mosh” and “Madhouse” sparked a mini riot as crowd surfers crashed over the audience as the fast and furious riffs of Scott Ian and Jon Donais and Charlie Benante’s thunderous drums created a maelstrom of Thrash Metal magic.
If ever a song title perfectly described the music within then there can be fewer better examples than “Metal Thrashing Mad” which saw Anthrax dip back to their very first album as bassist Frank Bello raced from one side of the stage to the other and up the huge staircase flanking Benante’s titanic drumkit.
Frontman Joey Belladona’s ever smiling face and playful on-stage banter belied the ferocity of the music and made every single person in the audience feel a part of the show, especially the little girl in the balcony who was delighted to receive a plectrum thrown up to her by the amiable singer.
“Antisocial” and “I Am The Law” hammered down hard as the Newcastle crowd added some ferocious gang vocals creating a spinetingling atmosphere of pure Rock energy.
A segment of their pioneering “Bring The Noise” segued neatly into “Indians”, featuring the legendary mid-section breakdown where the audience momentarily parts before Ian riffs furiously and Belladona bellows “War Dance” to spark the biggest, most cataclysmic circle pit the City Hall has ever seen. Anyone who doubts the power of Metal, really should have been here to witness this awe-inspiring spectacle.
Review and Photos By Mick Burgess
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