ANTHRAX
House
of Blues, Las Vegas, NV; 05/21/05
Reviewed by
Richard Fenkel
As I walked up to the "metal gates" of the Las Vegas HOB, I
would have sworn it was the 80s all over again. Some fans were wearing old school Anthrax T-shirts with the words "I am the Law."
As I descended down the steps into the heart of the venue, I realized there was also a new, hardcore, younger generation of fans waiting to ride the Anthrax thrash express.
Regardless of one's age, this is the type of show that is a must see for all headbanging fans.
As fans congregated on the floor of the Las Vegas HOB, a screen lowered to show the history of this talented, recently reunited band. Once the video ended, fans screamed as the guys of Anthrax walked onto the stage. A metal energy consumed the crowd.
This aura was felt from Joey Belladonna's first note to the band's final encore.
Lead throat Joey Belladonna belted out classic tracks and interacted with the Vegas HOB crowd. His vocals kicked ass on every high note. This frontman did not miss a lyric or note.
Devoted Anthrax alumni sang along with Belladonna as he yelled out the lyrics to "Among the Living" and "Caught In A Mosh." These classic tunes made Anthrax a sacred thrash metal institution. Plus, they gave their loyal fans a dose of old school thrash metal that is missed in today's rock'n'roll. This show was the way music was intended: live and loud.
During the song "Indians," Belladonna put on a Chicago Blackhawks jersey. Fans screamed along and moshed hard. Adding the drum beat to this wicked track was drummer Charlie Benante, who is one of the best drummers on the scene today. In addition, fans played air drums along to "Antisocial" with this veteran drummer.
Guitar icon Scott Ian drove the crowd into a full speed mosh pit. Bassist Frank Bello and guitarist Dan Spitz rounded out this incredible group. These two guys rock hard and have great style.
All the guys exhibited great chemistry on stage. This group scored big with the Vegas heavy metal scene. The "I'm The Man" encore drove the show home with fans screaming for more! Anthrax rocked hard and charismatically displayed their stunning talent.
Check out Anthrax on tour and revisit classic albums such as "Fistful of Metal" and "Among the Living." You won't be sorry you did.
Copyright © 2005 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 06 Oct 2019 11:48:57 -0400.
