AJ Maddah has done a lot for metal and punk fans of late with the incredible festival that is Soundwave but that is seems that’s not all he’s done.
On top of putting together the amazing lineup he has also organised for most of the bands to play smaller, intimate sideshows. This was the case for not only one of the biggest metal bands out of the past 30 years – also one quarter of the ‘Big Four’ – and on Thursday night the good folk of Brisbane were graced with the presence of Anthrax.
Coming in to West End last week and it was immediately apparent that there was clearly a gig on tonight with the black t-shirt patrol out in force.
As a horde of heavy metal gig goers snake around the corner of the Hi-Fi bar the excitement builds for what is sure to be a big, loud, and sweaty pre-cursor to Soundwave on Saturday.
Supporting the metal legends tonight are the five-piece Brisbane band Malakyte and apparently they have no shortage of fans here with a host of supporters chanting their name before they even hit the stage.
The thumping of the drums brings the band on stage and as the guitarists immediately start riffing against each other, a mosh pit has already kicked off. The sound that the band is putting out is absolutely brutal, featuring some intricate guitar riffs with the lead seemingly being swapped between the two guitarists on stage, along with pounding drums, and thick bass lines.
After a good way into the local group’s set it is announced that the man at the front of the band who has been singing for them is actually on his first night, how about that! The band deliver a rocking set with special mention to the lead guitarist who has been sporting a very 80s look all night and exerting lots of energy on stage.
With The Hi-Fi now packed to the rafters, the bar staff doing a splendid job, and the support slot out of the way, the atmosphere is buzzing and for good reason.
Finally Anthrax hit the stage with a massive opening, getting straight into one of their biggest songs straight up, “Caught In A Mosh”. The crowd go crazy and the sound is absolutely huge!
As frontman Joey Belladonna addresses the crowd to come and see them on Saturday, he then instructs them to “rip this shit up,” which is exactly what happens when the band launch into “Anti-social”.
“Indians” is the next big song to get the crowd pumping and as Belladonna scours the mosh for a smoke the punters just keep going with the ‘war dance’.
Apparently however, not enough people are participating, so guitarist Scott Ian takes a moment to pause mid-song and advise the crowd that this “isn’t some fucking warm up,” and “if you’re not in the pit then I want you to bang your head, raise your fists and bounce.” Resuming the song and now the entire room is moving and the band look happy again.
All night the sound has been great, but Anthrax manage to bring that little something extra with absolutely fierce driving guitars and smashing drums.
The next song is one that, safe to say, they’ve never played in Australia; the first song off the first album, “Deathrider”, a song Ian says really speaks for who they are as a band.
As the crowd react to this Belladonna decides to take a few lucky punters’ cameras and snap a few photos for them before unleashing his massive voice. “Madhouse” brings about another big hit for the band before they close out their main set and expectedly return for the encore.
“Medusa” and “I Am The Law” are just a couple of the songs to get a spot in their return but it’s a cover that really gets the crowd singing louder than they have all night. From the moment Ian shows the crowd the tattoos of AC/DC’s Young brothers on his arms the place goes off.
Just to top off the entire night the band performs a blistering cover of “TNT” and it’s certainly an explosive end to the night.
