THE HARD STUFF ALBUMS
Anthrax
XL NUCLEAR BLAST
Pioneer thrashers deliver pandemic-defying 40th-anniversary livestream.
The prospect of the band turning 40 in the middle of the pandemic must have caused more than a little consternation at Anthrax Towers. After all, the only way to do a momentous anniversary justice is to embark on a world tour. However, with gigs off the menu Scott Ian and co. had to think up other ways of marking their four decades of delivering the metal thrashing goods.
The celebrations began in May last year, culminating in a global livestream on July 16/17 during which the band pummelled their way through two hours-plus of fanpleasing songs from the soundstage at The Den in Los Angeles, the recording of which very much lives up to its concise title. Everything about XL is huge. Here we have three discs: two CDs comprising the entire livestream plus three encore bonus songs, and a Blu-ray of the performance including the bonus songs, along with previously unseen rehearsal footage and Scott Ian providing an NYC walking tour of locations that are significant to the history of Anthrax. That’s around 40 minutes of extra stuff to watch. Not bad.
The livestream might have taken place in front of just a handful of crew, but the unadulterated eruptive immensity of the performance is undiminished – the band play like they’re lives depend on it, singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello, bass slung low, in the zone up front, and the veins popping out on Scott Ian’s forehead as the classic riffs just keep on coming. Speaking of which, with the focus solely on Belladonna-fronted material (mostly from Among The Living and Spreading The Disease, natch) there are too many standout cuts to mention, and newer songs such as Evil Twin and Blood Eagle Wings hold their own against classics such as Caught In a Mosh and AIR. Bring The Noise, featuring special guest Chuck D, is especially exhilarating, as are the excellent encore bonus songs Breathing Lightning, Efilnikufesin (NFL) and Discharge cover Protest And Survive.