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Rating: 27/04/06 Live at New Age (Roncade, TrevisTo)
A friend informed me one day that Anthrax were about to play in Roncade, not too far from my home. So I went to the Anthrax website and discovered that on April 27th they would be playing in... TREVISTO? Well, I later found out on other sites like Ticket One that it was in Roncade near Treviso. I couldn't believe it: the legendary Anthrax were playing just an hour and a half away from my home in a rather small venue for a band active for 30 years, and for only 20 Euros a ticket!!! I couldn't resist and went to get tickets for myself and the friends I convinced to join me. After a modest journey with a map in hand, we arrived in Roncade's industrial area (we had some problems when we noticed there was roadwork on the way to the venue). The strangest part of the trip was during a stop at an Autogrill when we met some people also heading to the New Age to see Anthrax who knew one of my friends.
But anyway, enough of the nonsense: once inside the venue, we couldn't believe Anthrax would be playing shortly on a stage just over ten square meters, in a place that held maybe 2,000 people... it was shockingly below expectations, considering it was a legendary metal band! It almost felt like being back in the '80s when Anthrax and metal were still unknown. Before the fantastic five came on stage, 'Beyond Fear', the opening band that played predictable power metal, performed. Despite the current lead singer of Iced Earth being on vocals, they didn't impress much: they were too predictable.
After the tedious wait, I rushed forward and secured a central position in the second row: I could practically touch the stage. While the lights were still on, I noticed the setlist for the evening on the wall (ha, ha, the typical Anthrax disorganization hasn't faded with time...), and next to the drums was a Krusty the Clown figurine, the iconic Jewish Bolshevik clown identical to the one I have in my car: truly SUPER-POW!
When the lights went out, "I Can't Turn You Loose" by the Blues Brothers (the historic Anthrax live intro) blared out, leading to a roar of the crowd welcoming the band as they took their positions on stage in the darkness. As the intro ended, as per the setlist (LOL), the intro of Among The Living began, causing the crowd's weight in the front rows to press on my shoulders. When the music started, the mosh pit followed, and from the wings came Joey Belladonna, showing the public with a ridiculous face that he was back and more 'venomous' than ever. After listening to Anthrax's latest album "Alive 2" (with Belladonna on vocals), I thought his voice would never be what it once was, but during that night's concert, I had to change my mind: the voice was not as heavy as on the album, and the high notes closely resembled the original tracks. Moreover, halfway through the concert, he showcased his vocal abilities with a terrifying scream, unimaginable for someone not-so-young like the old Joey.
Right from the first song, I lost sight of my friends, but luckily I was well anchored in my position and didn't stray far from the meter and a half from the legendary Joey. Besides the splendid performance of the singer that night, one could notice a strong camaraderie among the whole band, united and cohesive despite the 30 years of adventures more or less together. The group's unmistakable desire to have fun, laugh, and joke was evident, especially when, at one point, they began introducing each other like American speakers (i.e., speaking at an impressive speed), heavily emphasizing their debatable Italianity (3 out of 5 members have Italian names).
Fabulous was also the Spitz-Bello pairing, which at times felt circus-like due to the enormous height difference between the two (truly unforgettable when they hugged at the end of the concert: it looked like a scene from Gulliver's Travels). During the concert, they played songs from the first five albums, almost all included in Anthrology, from Among The Living to Antisocial, from Metal Trashing Mad to I'm The Man, from NFL to Got The Time, ending beautifully with I Am The Law.
The tracks were reproduced quite faithfully and, above all, with great passion: you could see from the faces of the fantastic five how much they put all of themselves into the songs. Little Spitz, despite his age and the Ninja Turtles guitar no longer being in his small hands, showed he hadn't lost that speed that characterized him, as did Frank Bello, the most wild of the group. Charlie Benante also proved to have remained the great bassist he always was, especially during the drum solo, done at the request of the band members (ever more SUPER-LOL!). Undoubtedly, Charlie remains one of the greatest metal drummers in activity. The least involved of the night was Scott Ian's bearded giant, who, perhaps due to the small space he had around him, wasn't stomping the ground violently like in the golden days. In short, as I mentioned before, that night felt like being back at a "Spreading The Disease" tour concert, not just because of the venue, not just because of the band's unchanged grit, but also because of the audience who, throughout the concert, pushed forward to reach the stage, only to be promptly pushed back by the powerful bouncers.
In short, a fabulous concert, both for the typical energy of Anthrax and for demonstrating they hadn't lost their charisma despite the years. I will never forget Belladonna's photogenic quality that night, posing every time a photo was taken of him, or when Joey took the camera from the hands of someone nearby to take a photo of them, or when at the end of the concert I managed to retrieve Scott Ian's pick in a furious mix, or when they forgot to play Madhouse (it was on the setlist!) and especially when Joey 'The Voice' introduced "Medusa" with these exact words (naturally translated into English):
«What do you live for? For metal?»« Yes »« No, don't say crap, you don't live for metal. I'll tell you what you live for... You live for pussy! (Bringing thumb and index finger of the right hand together, pointing them upwards and touching them to his forehead) »« Yeah! It's true!!! »« Well, there aren't many girls around tonight (glancing quickly here and there), so let's be honest:... women... they're all the same, they're all...» (Ovation)«...They are all vipers, they suck...eh, eh... they suck the blood out of us, they're all sluts. And this song is dedicated to them: MEDUSAAAAA!!!»
In short, if anyone planned to come but canceled at the last minute, they should know they screwed up big time. KNOCK!
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