I can't think of any better band than Thrash Metal titans Anthrax to have been given the honor of playing the last ever Metal show at the world famous House Of Blues Sunset on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood CA. To say that the evenings event was bitter sweet is an understatement. HOB Sunset was the premier concert venue of the L.A. music scene and I've attended countless shows over the years at that venue. It is soon to be no more and I have absolutely no respect for the morons who decided to pull the plug. What a waste.

 

As life hands out both satisfaction and disappointments the best any of us can do is to make the most of a given situation. With that being said, Anthrax delivered one hell of a send off for the soon to be demolished club. Playing to a jam packed house, the band was a blistering inferno emanating from the stage as they pulled out two hours worth of fan favorites and live rarities.

 

The great thing about this night was it belonged solely to the band and their fans. No opener just a fantastic evening with Anthrax. Opening with the classics "A.I.R." and "Lone Justice", the energy was immediately felt throughout the crowd. This was only the beginning though and shit got extremely real with the launch of "Madhouse", which it certainly was and followed by the ever popular "Caught In A Mosh." I was glad to be out of the photo pit by this time as a horde of flying bodies were already coming over the barricade. I think I only got kicked in the head once this go round which is truly amazing. It's been 30 years since the release of Among the Living and that song never fails to get things moving! I was pleasantly surprised to hear "S.O.D." and completely ecstatic when they broke into "In The End" which happens to be my favorite song of their latest album Worship Music. I was hoping to hear a new song from the bands forthcoming album but the closest we got was "Soror Irrumator" from the Catch the Throne Mixtape II album. "Fight'Em Til You Can't", "Medusa" and "Got the Time" followed and kept the momentum going with stride. The rarely played "Skeletons In The Closet" changed things up a bit by giving the audience a refreshing wakeup call before they wrote this off as just the typical Anthrax set list. Another rarity was the inclusion of the instrumental "Across the River" from the bands very first release Fist Full of Metal. No Anthrax set list would be complete without renditions of "Be All End All" and one of my all time favorites "Indians". I had also thought that there was no way they could not play "Among the Living" but for some reason it was cut from the show although it was on their set list. Anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of this band knows that they have an interesting sense of humor and of course the fan favorite "NFL" is  a perfect example of that humor. The band's cover of Black Sabbath's "Neon Nights" again sent the crowd into a frenzy and led the way for the guys to close out their amped up set with slamming contributions of "I'm the Man" (more humor)  and "Bring the Noize" which when they began to play the drum intro I knew this was going to be a historic moment as Chuck D of Public Enemy made a surprise guest appearance to rap with the guys.  The final song of the night was the legendary Trust cover of "Antisocial."  

 

What a historic night indeed! I think I can safely say that everyone in attendance had the time of their lives! Some maybe a little too much as they're fun and mayhem saw the get an early exit from the building by security. Overall the venue staff, crowd, and most importantly Anthrax themselves delivered a remarkable and truly memorable night. Thanks Guys!

 

-Priest