Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In another place, perhaps in one which the overhead skies are permanently blue, the sun shines down with the kindness of a first date in summer and with the sizzling aroma of food being cooked for the hungry but dedicated masses, then having three support acts, or more, is arguably one in which the audiences can really get their teeth into. Aside from the logistics of such an action when held indoors and with limited time available, the feeling is one in which a support act to the main event gets some recognition but doesn’t have enough time in which to truly either leave their mark on the memory of the assembled.

Such is the power of multi-group evenings, one can feel sated before the spectacular finish but also consider that in the scheme of things, a larger, more encompassing set by one particular group would be more suited, more agreeable, more passionately explored It is this depth of dichotomy that Anthrax powered through their set at the Birmingham Arena, a blast of memory, an explosion of time that perhaps travelled a few miles up the road, but almost 30 years in distance when they supported Iron Maiden at the NEC.

It was in that time that the music has evolved, developed a deeper sense of thrash and dynamic and yet even songs such as I Am The Law, Antisocial and Indians carried a groove that could not be denied, the circle of mosh that had opened up during Obituary’s set, had been crowbarred, widened, the demons of the night being let loose and beginning to sweat and roar with delight as Caught In A Mosh announced to the faithful that this was a gig, no matter how select the set was to be, that was not to be messed with, nor missed.

With Got The Time, Be All, End All and Evil Twin adding themselves to the sense of electrifying detonation, both in terms of the majesty of the band and in their contribution to the evening’s proceedings. Being left wanting more is a state of mind, the euphoria of having witnessed the conception of the flash, being left stranded as the heart was pumping, a lift all the way from standing still in the desert and the pulse resting to the outer borders of the glamour and the stretching out lights of Broadway but being left outside the venue and realising that you have to wait another couple of nights to relieve the musical madness, this is the trouble with splitting a night in many different directions.

Regardless, to see and feel Anthrax storm on stage is to understand just how phenomenal they continue to be, almost 30 years may have passed since the band’s first overwhelming success on Birmingham soil, in that time nothing has changed except the blood becoming richer, the sound booming, time is something we all have if we use it wisely.  

Ian D. Hall