Back on the road following two prior tour date cancellations in Texas due to medical concerns, Anthrax, along with Black Label Society and Hatebreed, triumphantly rolled their 40th anniversary tour up to The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday night.
Located a block away from Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, The Tabernacle building is over 100 years old, and at one point was a Baptist Church with an active congregation of over 4,000 members. Having attended a number of shows here over the years (including the Zakk Wylde-supported Generation Axe tour in 2018), I have always been impressed with this facility’s acoustics and intimate feel, even with a posted venue capacity of 2,600 people.
Kicking off the night at roughly 6:45pm was Connecticut-based metalcore band Hatebreed. Led by founding vocalist Jamey Jasta, Hatebreed delivered a lively, 15-song set spanning their nearly 30-year catalog, including the Grammy-nominated song “Live for This” from their 2003 release, The Rise of Brutality. While the metalcore scene is not my typical choice, I definitely recognized and appreciated the rising crowd energy (and moshpit-induced room humidity) as Hatebreed’s setlist progressed, highlighted by the fan-responsiveness chorus cues found in their songwriting. Hatebreed capped off their night amping up the fans with ruckus tune “I Will Be Heard,” which I remembered later had been featured in the 2002 Vin Diesel film, XXX.
Hatebreed
Chris Beattie – Bass
Matt Byrne – Drums
Jamey Jasta – Vocals
Wayne Lozinak – Guitar
Frank Novinec – Guitar
Setlist
1.) Proven
2.) Destroy Everything
3.) A Stroke of Red
4.) Bonded by Blood (Exodus cover)
5.) Driven by Suffering
6.) As Diehard as They Come
7.) To the Threshold
8.) This is Now
9.) Seven Enemies
10.) Empty Promises
11.) Smash Your Enemies
12.) Live for This
13.) Last Breath
14.) Looking Down the Barrel of Today
15.) I Will Be Heard
A white stage curtain was dropped following Hatebreed, surprisingly covering up the equipment turnover that would feature Anthrax’s set. I had assumed they were the headliner, per se, but regardless, the building was now buzzing with anticipation of what was to come.
Shortly before 8pm, a celebrity-based tribute video (click here) which spoke to Anthrax’s 40-year influence on thrash metal music aired on the curtain to the thundering adulation of the packed house. Then, with guitarist Scott Ian’s silhouette egging on the fans, the curtain dropped and the New York natives launched into “Among the Living,” the title track from their third studio album.
I am going to cut to the chase and not bury the lede – Anthrax was ridiculously awesome. I had not seen them play live in over 30 years, dating back to the Clash of the Titans tour in 1991, and what a Thursday night to finally play catch up.
Backed by Scott Ian and Jon Donais on guitar, Charlie Benante on drums and Frank Bello on bass, vocalist Joey Belladonna sang through a blistering collection of fan favorites including “Caught in a Mosh,” “Madhouse,” “Antisocial,” and “I Am the Law”. Belladonna’s timeless voice has persisted, and Ian even got into the vocal action by singing through the band’s first chorus cover performance of Public Enemy‘s “Bring the Noise.” With Belladonna smiling and engaging with the fans throughout the set, ageless Bello and Ian stomped around the stage all night, seemingly feeding off the attentive energy and crowd surfing fun. The band ended their 11-song set with the punchy tune “Indians,” leaving behind a crowd that easily would have moshed itself into exhaustion for another hour of Anthrax.
Anthrax
Joey Belladonna – Lead vocals
Frank Bello – Bass, backing vocals
Charlie Benante – Drums
Jon Donais – Guitar
Scott Ian – Guitar, backing vocals
Setlist
1.) Among the Living
2.) Caught in a Mosh
3.) Madhouse
4.) Metal Thrashing Mad
5.) Keep It in the Family
6.) Antisocial (Trust cover)
7.) I Am the Law
8.) In the End
9.) Only
10.) Bring the Noise (Public Enemy cover)
11.) Indians
Following Anthrax’s set, a Black Label Society-logoed dark curtain was draped over the stage. Now I will readily admit that I know very little of the BLS musical catalog, but ultimately I stayed here to watch Zakk Wylde manhandle a guitar. At approximately 9:45pm, the lights dimmed to the Wax Audio background song “Whole Lotta Sabbath,” signifying that the Doom Crew was about the hit the stage.
When the curtain dropped to reveal the kilted Wylde perched upon his signature step with the skull-stacked mic stand, the crowd went crazy. The band, which consists of John DeServio on bass, Jeff Fabb on drums, and Dario Lorina on guitar, launched their night with “Funeral Bell” from their fourth studio album, The Blessed Hellride.
It was mesmerizing watching Wylde and Lorina shred throughout the 12-song set, but perhaps more importantly I noticed how crisp and complimentary DeServio’s bass tone came across. Not only was he fun to watch, but the fullness of his sound just worked so perfectly with the dueling guitars. Kudos to the venue and the sound engineers for how tight BLS sounded.
In a more poignant moment of the night, Wylde got behind a keyboard and performed “In This River,” a power ballad he dedicated to Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, replete with giant images of them both draped over the amp stacks on stage. BLS closed out the evening with the haunting tune “Stillborn,” walking off stage with their resting instruments, and my ears, ringing into the night.
Black Label Society
John (JD) DeServio – Bass
Jeff Fabb – Drums
Dario Lorina – Rhythm guitar
Zakk Wylde – Vocals, guitar, piano
Setlist
1.) Funeral Bell
2.) Destroy & Conquer
3.) Overlord
4.) Heart of Darkness
5.) A Love Unreal
6.) You Made Me Want to Live
7.) In This River
8.) Trampled Down Below
9.) Set You Free
10.) Fire It Up
11.) Suicide Messiah
12.) Stillborn
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Elliott is a music photographer covering shows in Atlanta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The highlight of his photography career was back in the early ’90s, when he sold Neil Diamond the rights to his negatives from a show and then purchased a set of tires for his 1979 280ZX during college with the money.
