Anthrax, Black Label Society And Hatebreed Create Perfect Storm Of Metal

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Photos by Vito Ingerto

When the opener says “You will need to call your chiropractor tomorrow or we didn’t do our job”, you know you are in for a night of mayhem. Anthrax, Black Label Society dropped a perfect storm of metal on the Fillmore Saturday evening, complete with mosh pits, crowd surfing and tons of head banging. All are part of the Anthrax 40th Anniversary Tour. 

Hatebreed started the night off right at 7. With a “Bang Your Head” intro, frontman Jamey Jasta came out like a ball of energy, and the master frontman wasted no time brining the packed Fillmore into a frenzy. The band opened with “Proven”, but it was the second tune “Destroy Everything” that really got the room riled up. They were in town at the Armory last September, but with the exception  of a couple of tunes, they played a different and what seemed like a much longer set. Highlights of the set, beside “Destroy Everything” were “I Will Be Heard” and “Staring Down The Barrel Of Today” Jasta reminded the crowd that half of Pantera would be on the stage tonight.

At 8:15 the annual meeting of the Twin Cities chapter of the Black Label Society began. They too started with into music, “Whole Lotta Sabbath”, a mash up of “War Pigs” and “Whole Lotta Love” Lights flash as the band starts into “ Funeral Bell“ and the bands silhouettes projected on the Black Label Society curtain covering the stage. The screen dropped, revealing the kilted Zakk Wylde, one boot on his platform, pounding out rifts like a blacksmith forging a sword. The band crushed skulls and destroyed eardrums, shaking the very rafters of the grateful room. The stage was surrounded in Doom Crew Inc. banners. One of the highlights of the set was  when Zack set the axe down and got behind the piano for “ In This River.” The Doom Crew banners were replaced by photos of Dimebag Darrel and Vinnie Paul. Other highlights of the set were “Heart Of Darkness” and “Fire It Up” 

Anthrax started their set with a video montage of clips encompassing 40 years of rock and roll. When the video was done, the curtain dropped to the ground and revealed the band at the ready to melt faces. And they went right to it with “Among The Living”. The rowdy crowd had already got the pit going without the prompt of the second tune “Caught In The Mosh”. A tanned, slim Joey Belladonna had an ear to ear grin as he prowled the stage like a panther. It’s easy to forget the massive catalog of scull crushing tunes or the influence Anthrax has on metal, but the boys were on point Saturday night, and each tune sounded as fresh as when it was released. 

With such a stacked lineup, you would think the crowd would have been sapped, but the energy Belladonna and Scott Ian brought rejuvenated anyone who may have felt spent. Anthrax picked tunes for the set that spanned there career, but leaned into Among The Living for 4 of the 12 song set. Highlights were a tribute to Ronnie James Dio “In The End” and a couple of killer covers “Anti Social” and ” Bring The Noise”. “Indians” brought the show to a close, and as the house light s went up, it was evident the gratified crowd kept the Fillmore packed right to the end.

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