Glasgow is being treated to one of the ‘Big 4’ This much anticipated night of Thrash with Anthrax seems to have been long in the planning and now it’s finally here!
Anthrax are one of those metal bands who have stood the test of time. They have been one consistent band to keep flying the flag for metal! The last time I saw the guys play in Glasgow was when they supported Motorhead at Glasgow’s Armadillo, which was an odd venue choice, given it’s all seats and not much room to go ‘Metal Thrashing Mad’! The O2 Academy in Eglington Street played host to the Queens, New York boys and their buddies, a more fitting venue!
Back in the day, the early 90s, my friends and I were the outcasts at school because of our love of metal and Anthrax was one of the bands we all loved and bonded over. After we left school, we parted ways and made our own way in the world. However, the one constant was the love of metal we all had. Many of us had lost touch but recently, due to the wonders of social media, we reconnected again and decided to make this Anthrax show a bit of a reunion for us. What was interesting about this was that one of our friends, Derek had never, ever been to a music concert before. Even though he’s a metal fan, he had never been to a gig. So, Anthrax in Glasgow would be his first ever gig experience, at the ripe old age of 46! I was keen to hear about his experience.
Given the love of Anthrax and the hordes of metal fans heading over the river, I was pretty sure this would be a sell-out show. On arrival at the venue, my first stop is always the ‘merch’ area where I like to check out all the cool t-shirts and bits and pieces. I have to say that I was shocked to see the price of an Anthrax t-shirt at £35 and a hoodie at £70 which was disappointing and there were lots of fans with the same expression on their faces as myself. The support band’s shirts were cheaper, but that £35 mark, is just too high for a t-shirt, sorry guys!
The opening act was Sworn Enemy This was my first time seeing these guys live. If you imagine a blender and someone dropped in: Discharge, Agnostic Front and Slayer then you’d have a Sworn Enemy smoothie. I was well impressed by their set which was heavy, loud, fast with dialled in precision. I think these guys must have gone back to their hotels that night with a great sense of accomplishment and a large batch of new fans!
Next up were Municipal Waste who played under more subdued lighting. The blackened-out silhouettes thrashed in front of swatches of yellow and red lights. I was just about able to make out a little in the way of detail in the thrashing scene before me. They played hard, heavy and fast and got the job done nicely.
The moment had arrived, and a large white cloth screen acted as a projector canvas as a film kicked in. A 50ft Keanu Reeves appeared on screen to cheers from the crowd. The ten-minute video was a conga-conveyer line of talking heads, all singing the praises of Anthrax and paying tribute to this pioneering Thrash/crossover band. The film gained gravitas from having iconic people such as: Slash, Gene Simmons, Henry Rollins, Norman Reedus, AKA, Daryl Dixon from The Waking Dead, etc. all sharing positive sound bites. This was nice, but also had a vibe of an epitaph, which is should not have done as Anthrax are not gone, dead and buried…We know how great they are, we don’t need to hear celebrities tell us. Get the band on!
As the film ended, a ticking clock sound got louder and louder, the sheet dropped, and Anthrax took centre stage with ‘Among The Living’ taken from the 1987 Album of the same name. Lights up, band up front, crowd surging forward…Now we’ve got ourselves a gig! The pit at the front of the stage was rammed with photographers and security staff who were catching gig-goers coming over the barrier like Donkey Kong catching barrels! People were caught up in the music and I even caught sight of a Spanish passport fall from a woman as she came over the barrier, hastily picking this up and running after to hand back…Someone did the same with her phone. She did not seem to be concerned that such a valuable item that could have been lost. The music, in the right here and right now had taken over the obvious headache of losing such an item. I can only assume that the woman had come to Glasgow to this show from Spain, how cool is that? The next two songs ‘Caught in a Mosh’, and ‘Madhouse’ seemed to go past in seconds, not minutes. Standing shoulder to shoulder with other photographers, while being battered on the head by flaying feet, as the bodies continued to cross the barrier made for a difficult, yet fun experience to shoot. As the light shone on the ground, I could see a sea of coins and personal items that had fallen from the pockets of the punters! Please people, secure your valuables. Zip up in the pit!
This was undoubtedly the best performance that I have seen from Anthrax and I’ve seen them scores of times. One thing I dislike is ‘shoe-watchers’, musicians who just look the ground. You can’t accuse Anthrax of that! Their stage antics, camaraderie and their ability to engage with their audience is testament to that and their 40 plus years in the biz! These guys make being rock n’ roll legends look easy! Time has been kind to Anthrax and although their repertoire of songs is vast, it’s great to see such a vibrant mixture of songs incorporated into the set. These guys definitely did ‘Bring the Nosie’! From the pit it was very hard to see yet alone get much in the way of photos of Charlie at his awesome Tama drum kit. Thankfully Joey came right down and engaged with people and fist bumped and took the time to mingle with fans. The sheer joy on his face was infectious, even when he flipped me the middle finger! What a front man…Kids, this is how it’s done! Scott Ian was brandishing his Jackson Flying V like a brave soldier going into ‘lead guitar’ battle. His chops and licks were textbook, accurate and hell raisingly- good! I doth my cap to Frank Bello, to play the bass so hard n’ heavy with only his fingers was something, as a bass player was not lost on me! Donais’ lead guitar work looked like child’s play. You and I both know it is not, but a true master makes everything look so easy! Bravo guys, Bravo!! …But don’t take my word for it. Go and see Anthrax, Municipal Waste and Sworn Enemy. And what about Derek, my 46-year-old mate who got his V-card stamped tonight at Anthrax? It is people like him and you that matter, the fans. The people who have paid money to go see a show. Derek was almost speechless but mustered up a few choice words: “Epic buzz and a banging night…Brilliant!”
Words and pictures: Stevie Oi!