In the 1980's during Thrash Metal's peek, several bands rose to the top to dominate the market with an aggressive assault on the masses that would forever wright a page in the encyclopedia of Rock 'n' Roll. Among one of the bigger names were N.Y.C based band Anthrax. The band was going strong for several years, outlasting the life expectancy of most, but in the early 90's things fell apart with the departure of a legendary frontman followed by several more members. The band did not have the following it once had and a lot of people felt that something lacked.
During the winter/spring of 2005 rumors started to fly about how the infamous Anthrax lineup might come to be once again. After it was written in stone, the buzz was back over the N.Y.C thrashers as if it was 1988 all over again. Given the name Among The Living, they were set to release a CD_DVD and a full on tour and one of the places they happened to stop by at was the Webster Theater in Hartford C.T, on January the 8th. Having arrived early to the venue I was able to see the already eager fans waiting several hours for the door to open. I was also able to see the last few min. of sound check and I could tell that this was going to be a very interesting evening.
As the lights went down, the sold out crowd roared as the band's introduction came over the P.A (the theme from the Benny Hill show) and blasted through the hall. When the lights came on, the band made its entrance launching right into the first song, Among The Living with a great response from the crowd. The band looked and sounded great with an electric stage presence. Anthrax seems to get more into the show the bigger response they get from the audience. The band and the crowd were going wild and the energy was going back and forth. When the band played their signature song Caught In A Mosh, the floor looked like a battle scene from the movie Braveheart. Fronted by Joey Belladonna, his vocals sounded amazing with his rhythmic style. A lot of people tried to copy cat his style but there really is no mach. You cannot duplicate an original! With Scott Ian and Dan Spitz on dueling guitars, they sounded very tight with amazing chemistry together, playing lightning fast solos and speed riffs. On the drums was Charlie Bennante who has achieved the status of one of the best drummers in his nearly 25 year carrear with Anthrax. After leaving the band, bassist Frank Bello went on to pursue outher projects such as Helmet but Anthrax is where he truly belongs. The band couldn't look any happier to be onstage and I don't think the crowd could be any happier having them there. Anthrax were very energetic and gave the crowd a run of their money
Overall this was an amazing show. I have seen Anthrax several times over the years but nothing like this. The magic is back and from what I heard they are going to stay with this formula for a while now. If they came back through town, I would go see them again in a heartbeat as any metalhead should . I was a listener before but now I am a fan. Cheers to Anthrax.
Setlist:
01 Among The Living
02. Metal Thrashing Mad
03. Got The Time
04. Caught In A Mosh
05. A.I.R
06. Mad House
07. Skeletons
08. Antisocial
09. Medusa
10. Indians
11. Panic
12. I'm The Man
13. Aftershock
14. I Am The Law
