Pittsburgh PA – Stage AE August 22, 2022

Kinetic energy grew as the crowd of approximately 2000 metal thrashing maniacs crammed in Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The anticipation snapped when the house lights went down and a pre-recorded video of rock and metal legends was projected onto a giant white scrim that covered the entire front of the stage. There were clips of Kerry King (Slayer), Roberto Trujillo (Metallica) Henry Rollins (Rollins Band, Black Flag), Philip Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual), Slash, Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) Gene Simmons (Kiss), Cory Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour),  Chuck D (Public Enemy, Prophets of Rage), Dave Mustain (Megadeth) , Brann Dailor (Mastodon) along with comedian Brian Posehn and actors Norman Reedus and Keanu Reeves to name a few. Each artist had a brief clip about how amazing and influential Anthrax has been in their 40 years of existence.

As the video faded bright spotlights from behind the band projected silhouettes of vocalist Joe Belladonna, bassist Frank Bello and rhythm guitarist Scot Ian’s onto the white scrim while Scott repeatedly strummed the thunderous opening cords of “Among the Living” from the album of the same name. As the curtain fell reveling the band and their stage set, the band tore through the track with ease exemplifying why they are at the forefront in the genre.

With out missing a beat Anthrax jumped in to another seminal and genre defining tracks; “Caught in a Mosh” causing the circle pit that had began during the first song to expand and grow a bit more intense. The set continued with a pair of old school thrash metal classics with “Madhouse” from the band’s 1985 release Spreading the Disease and “Metal Thrashing Mad” from 1984’s Fist Full of Metal.

Keeping the energy high and the pit moving the band slammed right into “Keep it in the Family” and the 1990’s MTV hit “Antisocial”, followed by the Judge Dredd comic inspired song “I Am the Law”.

Later in the set the band played the only John Bush era song “Only”, which despite its difference in style fit nicely in the mix. Next the venue latterly shook with the deafening rumble of the bass line for “Got the Time” from bassist Frank Bello.

As veterans of the stage the band knew the crowd needed a breather. The band cleared the stage and guitarist Scott Ian stepped up to the mic with a lone spot light shining on him from above. He thanked the fans supporting them over the decades and that they were her to get away from the “poli-tricks” and to listen to some “METAL!” He also relayed a story about how when they were on their very first tour that they stopped in Pittsburgh. Apparently they had been on the road for a few weeks and Frank (Bello) had not called his mom in several days. In this era before cell phones that she was so work that she had not heard for her “baby boy” that she drove all the way from New Jersey to Pittsburgh to make sure he was OK.

With that they broke into the hyper rhythm of the rap-metal hit “Bring the Noise”.  Thought they only played the one verse with Scott rapping and the chorus/hook then slide into “Indians”, once again returning to their classic album “Among the Living [1987]. This song pulled everything together, highlighting Joey’s signature vocals, the dual guitar crunch and rhythmic power of the band. Scott mid-song scream of “WAR DANCE” served to whip the natives into a frenzy.

As the song “Indians” wound down the deep pounding of the rhythmic drums began to overpower all the other instruments. Gradually drummer Charlie Benante began morphing his rhythm into another song. Soon it became apparent that he was playing the intro to Pantera’s “Domination”. Quickly the rest of the band joined in giving the crowd a sneak peak at what they can expect from the Pantera reunion tour that will feature Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante sitting in for the lat Vinnie Paul. Over all it was a great show, by a band who shows no signs of letting up in the near future. They were tight, never missed a beat and Joey’s vocals seem to get better with age. The 40^th Anniversary tour continues through the end of August with Hatebreed and Black Label Society.

About Author

Josh Drespling

Josh is the Publisher and creator of Empire Extreme and it’s sister publication Kingdom Extreme Magazine. He is an accomplished writer, photographer and graphic designer. He is always conjuring up new ideas and has a amazing passion for the music industry and all the things that surround it.

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