Anthrax at Club Nokia - October 22, 2011

As published in Rukus magazine:

http://www.rukusmag.com/2011/1111/concert_review_anthrax.html

There are concerts, and there are experiences.  A concert can best be described as a formal affair, where performers stand on an elevated stage, and an audience sits or stands in a designated area to watch and listen to a performance.  An experience, on the other hand, has little to do with the formal, and everything to do with the visceral.  Such was the case on October 22nd, when legendary thrash-metal band Anthrax invaded Los Angeles with a ferocious concert at downtown’s 2300-capcity Club Nokia.

It’s been 30 years since Anthrax first got together.  Despite many line-up changes, the quintet has always stayed strong and alive.  The great news is that the definitive Anthrax line-up is now back in place:  Scott Ian on guitar, Frank Bello on bass, Charlie Benante on drums, Rob Caggiano on lead guitar, and Joey Belladonna on lead vocals.  Better still, Anthrax upped the ante this year by unleashing a brand new album called WORSHIP MUSIC, considered by many as their best album ever.

The lights went down at 10:20pm.  The drone of “Worship” slowly crept in…warning the crowd about what was about to happen.  Like lightning, Anthrax exploded on stage with a double-shot of WORSHIP MUSIC tracks: the barbaric “Earth on Hell” and the forceful throbbing sound of “Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t.”  The music pounded you in the face with its hard and fast rhythm, beating you into submission.  It was wickedly awesome, and Anthrax was just warming up.

To mosh, or not to mosh, that is the question.  For stuffed shirts like me, not so much, yet for many loose-limbed fans, moshing and bodysurfing at an Anthrax show is a must.  On classic songs like “Caught in a Mosh”, the pit area in front of the stage was in full-mosh swing.  Men and women alike walked around in circles…pushing and shoving each other in a rough, tribal bonding session.  It was an incredible sight to behold.

Before performing their 1985 classic “Madhouse,” Joey Belladonna yelled out “I’m lovin’ this place man, this is our first time here.  We’re back 30 years man!  Anthrax is alive motherf*ckers!”   Belladonna gave off a warm, friendly, appreciative vibe throughout the concert, and his vocals were fantastic.  Scott Ian rocked loud and hard, giving everything he had to the music.  Rob Caggiano’s stoic presence was contrasted with his wicked and wild guitar solos.  Frank Bello hung low and high as he prowled the stage with his deep bass playing.  Charlie Benante was the unsung hero of the night, as he pounded out crazy fast rhythms on his double-bass drums.

The moshers went wild when Anthrax broke out the 1987 AMONG THE LIVING classic “Indians.” The pit area soon turned into a violent storm…a tornado of bodies crashing into each other.  When the moshing got way out of control, Scott Ian stopped the band.  One thought that perhaps he was going to ask the crowd to calm down, yet that would have been foolish (this was an Anthrax concert after all).  Instead, Scott Ian applauded the moshers for how much they rocked!  Unfortunately though, this would not be the last time Anthrax had to stop the show.

The encore began pleasantly enough with “Eflnikufesin (N.F.L.),” yet when the band launched into “Metal Thrashing Mad” (from Anthrax’s first album FISTFUL OF METAL), Joey Belladonna was knocked over by a giant, 250-pound security guard.  You see, a fan somehow made his way onto the stage, and Belladonna gleefully walked over to greet him.  Yet the security guard mistook Belladonna for a stage-crasher, and tackled him hard and fast to the ground.  The band stopped the song.  Frank Bello was in a rage, and had to be held back as he screamed and yelled at the security men.  Scott Ian was furious, and walked up to the microphone to publically blast the security people for not recognizing the fact that Joey Belladonna was in the band.  

Belladonna eventually got up on his own, though he was in pain.  A pro through and through, Belladonna suggested picking up “Metal Thrashing Mad” where they left off.  Yet it was clear he needed a break, so they abandoned the song, and Belladonna went behind the drums to play percussion with Charlie Benante on a one-minute instrumental version of “Refuse/Resist”…a 1993 song from Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultra.  

To close out the night, Anthrax sealed their domination over the crowd with another AMONG THE LIVING classic: ”I Am The Law”…a fitting song for the night.  There was no doubt that Anthrax was judge, jury and executioner for the evening.  The band slayed their new converts with pure metal mayhem, and reminded the old fans that they haven’t lost any of their edge.  As proven at Club Nokia, Anthrax are back in their prime…and as heavy as they’ve ever been.