With all due respect to the five musicians onstage, the real stars of Anthrax’s new DVD are the 5,500 Chilean metalheads who crammed into Santiago’s Teatro Caupolican for the group’s May 10, 2013 visit.
At times the volume of their support threatens to overwhelm the band, both literally and emotionally. Touring last year’s Anthems EP, the quintet’s 18-song set features no fewer than five cover versions – a playful take on Slayer’s Raining Blood among them – and nothing from the John Bush era, making this snapshot of their career less than definitive, but their energy and enthusiasm can’t be faulted.
While it’s hard to shake the idea that Joey Belladonna’s tenure in the band is a marriage of convenience, he’s got a rapport with the South American crowd, and his powerful performance ensures that cuts from Worship Music sit comfortably alongside thrash standards such as Caught In A Mosh, Deathrider and Madhouse. Looking in from several thousand miles away, one can’t help but feel a little jealous./o:p
