It would be a safe assumption that a band celebrating their 40th anniversary together wouldn’t be that intense. You would think it would be possible to lose some of their ferocity over the years. However, that is definitely not the case for Anthrax. On a cold Sunday night, Anthrax brought 40-plus years of thrash madness to Radius in the East Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. An unforgettable night of chaos and celebration of a genuinely epic career.
With Anthrax bringing along thrash metal legends Exodus and the groovy yet heavy Black Label Society, Radius was truly the place to be that night.
At first glance, I couldn’t help but feel like I was probably the youngest person there. The audience was clad in battle vests and different band t-shirts. Right at 6:30 pm, the lights went out and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” began blaring through the speakers. The ultimate way to get your crowd hyped up. It was time for Exodus. As the thrashers started their first song, an endless circle pit began. Exodus constantly praised Chicago and took every opportunity to remind us of their long history with the city. In between the headbanging madness, frontman Steve “Zetro” Souza was nothing but sweet to the crowd. His vocals were impressive, and the rest of the band was just as heavy and immaculate. Needless to say, Exodus put on an outstanding metal show.
Black Label Society kept it groovy, even if it felt a bit too long. Full disclosure, I did not know a single song of theirs going into the show. I only knew about Zakk Wylde from his work with Ozzy Osbourne. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the second their curtain dropped and the music began, I was so into it. Their music has a distinct vibe and Wylde has such an intimidating presence on stage, you cannot look away. It was particularly evident Black Label Society is inspired by Black Sabbath and Pantera. They even dedicated one of their songs to the memory of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. Maybe it is my lack of knowledge about BLS (or maybe their music really is this way), but the show felt slow at times. However, they more than made up for it with stage production.
The downtime was merely the calm before the storm. A breather before the absolute mayhem of Anthrax taking the stage.
As a side note, I’m not a fan of artists jerking themselves off. To me, humility is a virtue. For about five minutes before Anthrax took the stage, a video was projected onto a curtain featuring testimonials from artists like Mike Patton, Gene Simmons, Corey Taylor, and Chuck D amongst others. Of course, I am very aware of how awesome Anthrax is but I don’t need the band reminding me for five minutes straight. The artists spoke about how brash unique, and simply how amazing of a band they are. To be honest, it got really annoying.
As the video came to an end, the crowd got louder. As did the intro to “Among the Living.” Suddenly the crowd got rowdy and began pushing to the front. The curtain dropped and in all of their madness and glory was Anthrax. One of the best to ever do it. Within a few minutes of performing, they proved all of those comments on the video right. If that pre-concert video was the band jerking themselves off, then their load was 80 minutes of the best damn thrash metal show of your life!
Seriously, there was no need for those old fucks to go as hard as they did, and by that I mean Anthrax AND the crowd.
Those old metalheads in the pit were out for blood. Everyone on stage looked as if they were in their prime. Sure, they may not play as fast as they used to, but they do it with plenty of spirit. Joey Belladonna was having the time of his life interacting with fans in the front. Frank Bello looked like such a badass throughout the show, giving his absolute all into his performance. Also, Scott Ian is such a legend. It’s just obvious they all were born to do this.
Anthrax played a heavy 12-song setlist, spanning their whole career (though unfortunately missing songs from their 2016 album For All Kings). Radius turned into a madhouse as the show continued, bringing out classics such as “Caught In A Mosh” and “Madhouse,”. Even some deeper cuts like “Keep It In the Family” and “Only.” Crowd surfers were constant, giving the concert a rowdier, almost dangerous feel. Anthrax songs are already kickass, but it’s incredibly impressive how the band can actually do all of those insane drum beats and shred those guitar solos live.
The biggest surprise was performing the first verse to “Bring the Noise,” their cover of the Public Enemy song. That is one I never thought I would hear live!
If you were in or around the circle pit that night, there was no escaping the rowdiness. Everyone was headbanging or getting shoved. There is an intensity and uniqueness to their music that separates them from most thrash metal bands. Much like the video at the beginning of their show said, it’s their uniqueness that kept them around to be celebrated 40 years later. They have lyrics that are simply too fun not to chant, their riffs absolutely crush, and they seem like some of the coolest people on the planet. For any heavy metal lovers, Anthrax is still a must-see band. It’s truly bizarre that they can still be so heavy and enthusiastic after 40 years of being together. Let’s hope they keep it together for many more years to come.
All photography by Oscar De Leon