Anthrax 40th Anniversary tour

I was thirteen when I first picked up “Among The Living”, and it was unlike anything that I’d heard before. It was way heavier than the Def Leppard and Iron Maiden tapes that I was listening to, but highly technical, musical and, originally for the genre, amazing fun. Approaching thirty years later for me, and forty years since the band first formed, Anthrax were back out on tour, and the fans were out in force to see them. As an sign of their influence, how many thrash metal bands can boast a recorded video introduction from a huge range of metal icons, plus Lady Gaga and Keanu Reeves?

Having worn out the C-90 tapes, returned week after week to the only rock record shop in Sheffield in a bid to buy an imported copy of the “I’m the Man” EP and learnt how to deface my school exercise books with the band logo, I finally got to see them for the first time on December 14, 1990, supporting Iron Maiden at the Birmingham NEC; my dream ticket.

Thrash and metal bands at the time generally seemed to be generally stuck in a rut of singing songs about death and destruction, all with very serious looks on their faces, as they posed for promo photos in ruined castles. Anthrax were the exception, with a rubber child’s toy as a mascot, celebrating skate culture, referencing comic book characters in their songs and embracing rap music, all while performing on stage in colourful surfer shorts. That bravery to buck the trend massively appealed to me.

Heading down to Brixton Academy for the show, it was such a pleasure to see more and more fans boarding the tube train as it approached the venue. While many were the grey-haired metal fans you may expect, there were a huge amount of much younger fans. On opening the show, lead singer Joey Belladonna asked the crowd if anyone was seeing the band for the first time. The sea of hands that went up seemed to surprise the band as much as it did me. To be playing this kind of music in your late fifties to a level that draws in new younger audiences is quite the achievement.

The last time that I’d seen Anthrax play was also at Brixton Academy, when they supported Slayer in 2017. At the time, drummer Charlie Benante was out of action due to an injury, with Jon Dette taking the throne, so it was amazing to get to see one of my biggest influences behind the kit.

Throughout their career, Anthrax have covered a wide range of artists’ work, with three of their most successful singles being covers of Public Enemy (Bring the Noise), Trust (Antisocial) and Joe Jackson (Got The Time). Beyond the artists, the subjects covered in their own material is seriously wide, with topics including racism, homelessness, the Holocaust, television evangelism, the plight of native Americans, and religious extremism, right through to the life of comedian John Belushi. Obviously, they do wander along the traditional topics of death and Satan occasionaly too but hey, they are a metal band after all.

Watching the crowds crushed in at the front, screaming for more and reaching out for plectrums and high-fives, it’s easy to forget how impossible this all was just a few years ago, during Covid-19 pandemic. With shows cancelled and tours postponed, you could feel the outpouring of pleasure at being able to cram into these venues again.

Thanks to the ever-amazing Andy Buchanan for arranging access and to Anthrax for allowing me to hang around in their office for the evening. Don’t ever stop.