Anthrax: Chile On Hell

New York thrash kings slam Santiago

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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

Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.