Live: Manntis, Sworn Enemy, God Forbid, Anthrax
January 6, 2006, Ram's Head Live, Baltimore, MD
Twenty years ago, Spreading the Disease was perhaps my favorite speed metal album. It wasn't as dark as Reign in Blood or as self-consciously serious as Master of Puppets. It was positive and fun. So when I was offered a ticket to see Anthrax, I agreed without a second thought. Anthrax might be well past their prime, but I figured they still had to be a good time, especially with the classic line-up back intact.
Of course there were openers, three of them, so I'll touch on each of them before I get to the main event. Manntis was first up. It seems to me that I'd heard some good stuff about them, so my expectations may have been a bit high. An unremarkable rhythm section and typical metalcore growler were certainly nothing to write home about. The band's hopes rest on its two guitarists. Their creative playing was heavy enough for anyone in the crowd, but included a touch of psychedelia that sets them apart from many of their contemporaries. Manntis is still a pretty average metal band, but the guitarists have the potential to propel them to the next level if the rest of the band can grow enough to follow.
Sworn Enemy doesn't face the difficulties that Manntis might as their sound progresses, because Sworn Enemy's sound is not likely to go anywhere. It's the metally New York hardcore that was being played 20 years ago with little variation. The drummer was stiff. The bassist was flat. The guitarists were uninventive. The singer was uninspired. They actually got through the entire set without an ounce of melody, I think. That might be remarkable, but it sure isn't good. It says a lot about Sworn Enemy that they had to beg the audience to get into the music. And it probably says more about the audience that they listened. Shame on them. Sworn Enemy sucked.
Last up before Anthrax was God Forbid. Before they played a note, it was clear that they were a step up from the first two bands. Their equipment was serious, their crew was serious, they looked like a real band. And when they played, they showed that they were a real band. They were tight, they were heavy, they performed. At times they were brutally heavy and other times they were surprisingly melodic. Their singer was a particularly engaging frontman who lumbered about the stage as if laboring under the heaviness of his own music. Unlike Sworn Enemy, their calls to the fans stirred a pot that was already boiling. I don't want to appear overly enthusiastic about God Forbid though. They were tight, they were solid, they were serious, but they weren't really anything new. They were just very good at the same old thing.
At this point, I was pretty glad that I got in for free. Sworn Enemy was a complete waste and while Manntis and God Forbid were worth the time, I can't see myself paying to see them on their own. So, Anthrax didn't have much competition. Plus, I wasn't expecting great things from a band that's a good 15 years past their prime. I expected them to be fun and tight, the things that made them a great band in their innovative heyday.
Anthrax's set focused on their mid-to-late-eighties prime, running through everything I expected plus a few pleasant surprises like "Medusa" and "A Skeleton in the Closet." It was particularly cool to hear them play "Metal Thrashing Mad," the song that turned me on to Anthrax two decades (yikes!) ago. Before playing "I'm the Man," Scott Ian said, "Let's go back to 1987..." I thought that's what we'd been doing all along. I mean other than Scott's hair, not much seems to have changed. Except, I thought, Anthrax is no longer relevent. No sooner had that occured to me than a fan made it to the stage despite the barrier, danced around the stage with Joey Belladonna and then got into an altercation with security. The meatheads finally subdued the guy and dragged him off stage, but Scott Ian demanded they bring him back. Joey gathered up all the crap that fell out of the guy's pocket. "You'd think the president was up here," said Scott sharing the audience's irritation at the idiotic security. Well the guy got back on stage, pointed to his wife and told everyone it was their 10th anniversary and then the show went on. But it was different after all that, because for me suddenly Anthrax was relevent. They're a fan's band, not a bunch of big-headed has-beens living out past glory. Anthrax was as tight and fun as I'd hoped, but the pleasant surprise was that, in this day of sick celebrity-worship, Anthrax didn't rest on their fame. They played a great show for the fans, not at them.
Twenty years ago, Spreading the Disease was perhaps my favorite speed metal album. It wasn't as dark as Reign in Blood or as self-consciously serious as Master of Puppets. It was positive and fun. So when I was offered a ticket to see Anthrax, I agreed without a second thought. Anthrax might be well past their prime, but I figured they still had to be a good time, especially with the classic line-up back intact.
Of course there were openers, three of them, so I'll touch on each of them before I get to the main event. Manntis was first up. It seems to me that I'd heard some good stuff about them, so my expectations may have been a bit high. An unremarkable rhythm section and typical metalcore growler were certainly nothing to write home about. The band's hopes rest on its two guitarists. Their creative playing was heavy enough for anyone in the crowd, but included a touch of psychedelia that sets them apart from many of their contemporaries. Manntis is still a pretty average metal band, but the guitarists have the potential to propel them to the next level if the rest of the band can grow enough to follow.
Sworn Enemy doesn't face the difficulties that Manntis might as their sound progresses, because Sworn Enemy's sound is not likely to go anywhere. It's the metally New York hardcore that was being played 20 years ago with little variation. The drummer was stiff. The bassist was flat. The guitarists were uninventive. The singer was uninspired. They actually got through the entire set without an ounce of melody, I think. That might be remarkable, but it sure isn't good. It says a lot about Sworn Enemy that they had to beg the audience to get into the music. And it probably says more about the audience that they listened. Shame on them. Sworn Enemy sucked.
Last up before Anthrax was God Forbid. Before they played a note, it was clear that they were a step up from the first two bands. Their equipment was serious, their crew was serious, they looked like a real band. And when they played, they showed that they were a real band. They were tight, they were heavy, they performed. At times they were brutally heavy and other times they were surprisingly melodic. Their singer was a particularly engaging frontman who lumbered about the stage as if laboring under the heaviness of his own music. Unlike Sworn Enemy, their calls to the fans stirred a pot that was already boiling. I don't want to appear overly enthusiastic about God Forbid though. They were tight, they were solid, they were serious, but they weren't really anything new. They were just very good at the same old thing.
At this point, I was pretty glad that I got in for free. Sworn Enemy was a complete waste and while Manntis and God Forbid were worth the time, I can't see myself paying to see them on their own. So, Anthrax didn't have much competition. Plus, I wasn't expecting great things from a band that's a good 15 years past their prime. I expected them to be fun and tight, the things that made them a great band in their innovative heyday.
Anthrax's set focused on their mid-to-late-eighties prime, running through everything I expected plus a few pleasant surprises like "Medusa" and "A Skeleton in the Closet." It was particularly cool to hear them play "Metal Thrashing Mad," the song that turned me on to Anthrax two decades (yikes!) ago. Before playing "I'm the Man," Scott Ian said, "Let's go back to 1987..." I thought that's what we'd been doing all along. I mean other than Scott's hair, not much seems to have changed. Except, I thought, Anthrax is no longer relevent. No sooner had that occured to me than a fan made it to the stage despite the barrier, danced around the stage with Joey Belladonna and then got into an altercation with security. The meatheads finally subdued the guy and dragged him off stage, but Scott Ian demanded they bring him back. Joey gathered up all the crap that fell out of the guy's pocket. "You'd think the president was up here," said Scott sharing the audience's irritation at the idiotic security. Well the guy got back on stage, pointed to his wife and told everyone it was their 10th anniversary and then the show went on. But it was different after all that, because for me suddenly Anthrax was relevent. They're a fan's band, not a bunch of big-headed has-beens living out past glory. Anthrax was as tight and fun as I'd hoped, but the pleasant surprise was that, in this day of sick celebrity-worship, Anthrax didn't rest on their fame. They played a great show for the fans, not at them.
posted by bob_vinyl at 12:21 PM
1 Comments:
Is this a mirage or could this be an actual new Bob post?
Anthrax have never followed trends all that much. The thing that really sets them apart from other bands that have been around this long is that they have always been fans of the bands that inspired them. Many bands get some success unde their belts and they stop being fans and start being rock stars and that's when they become seperate from the fans. Metallica were once like Anthrax, but they got caught up in their hype (or at least certain members did). Slayer caught got up in maintaining an image. Dave Mustaine has spent most of the last 20 years flip-flopping between musical styles. Anthrax have had ups and downs, but they have never lost sight of where they came from and that's important.
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