Welcome back to PART II of my Metal Alliance Review. At this point in the night things really started cooking… literally. This little shithole club was starting to get a bit more packed and it was hotter than the devil’s ass in there. Holy Grail really proved to be a tough act to follow while Shadows Fall did little to make me a fan. Following Shadows Fall we had Virginia punk/thrashers Municipal Waste, Bay Area thrash legends Exodus and the kings of NYC thrash, the mighty Anthrax. With out further adieu, let us carry on shall we?
Municipal Waste
Municipal Waste is a band that never ceases to amaze me. I have seen these guys three times and every time it’s like seeing them for the first time. This time around, Municipal Waste took the stage and from the reaction of the crowd one would’ve thought that these guys were the headliners. Opening with the somewhat traditional opening songs “Unleash The Bastards” immediately whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The band was amazingly tight as they stormed through set featuring songs like “The Thrashin’ of the Christ”, “You’re Cut Off”, and “Beer Pressure.” While the songs were fucking amazing, much like NOFX, the stage banter between lead singer Tony Foresta and guitarist Ryan Waste is just as much of a focal point of the show which I fucking love. This is what makes Municipal Waste one of my favorite bands and it’s this that creates that connection with their fans. Instead of being arrogant, pompous, or overly demanding, Municipal Waste chooses to remain on the same level as their fans and this is what makes everyone just love this band. Before launching into “Terror Shark”, guitarist Ryan Waste announced, “This is a song about a shark. This shark will titty fuck your soul” which had me laughing my ass off. The band closed their powerhouse, facemelting set with “The Art of Partying” and “Born to Party” which had me feeling that this was truly going to be a hard act to follow.
In my opinion, Municipal Waste doesn’t have much more time as an opening act in their future. These guys took the stage as the 3rd band on the bill and with all the confidence and musical/technical ability of a main stage headliner proceded to melt faces, rip heads off, and completely annihilate everyone in the room. In a time where so many bands are out there trying so hard to be serious and even looking silly doing so, it’s really awesome for me to see a band like Municipal Waste who embraces the lighter side of life while creating an escape from all the bullshit of the real world outside. The audience totally connected with these guys and I could just see that the band succeeded in their one mission: to fuck everyone up. Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up indeed.
Municipal Waste Setlist:
Unleash the Bastards, The Thrashin’ of the Christ, Sadistic Magician, You’re Cut Off, Authority Complex
Beer Pressure, Thrashing’s My Business… And Business Is Good, Terror Shark, Headbanger Face Rip, Mind Eraser, The Art of Partying, Born to Party
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Exodus
Following Municipal Waste seemed like a nearly impossible think to do for just about any band but I knew that if any band could do it with ease, it would be thrash veterans Exodus. I have seen Exodus 4 times over the years and every time I saw them they put on a powerful, energetic and inspired performance. To my disappointment, on this night, they didn’t live up to the expectations that I had set for them. Something was just amiss and from the first notes of “The Ballad of Charles and Leonard”, I could see that something wasn’t right. Exodus seemed like they were not connected at all and they almost seemed to want to be anywhere but there. After the band played “War is my Shepherd”, lead vocalist Rob Dukes came across as a kind of grumpy old man telling the audience, “What’s the matter with you? You look tired! Do you wanna hear Limp Biscuit or something” after which Gary Holt played a Limp Biscuit riff. This kind of “staged” banter just came across as really corny and something that I wouldn’t expect from Exodus at all. Besides, calling your audience/fans “tired” and “bored looking” doesn’t do much to get them on your side of the fence. Things did seem to pick up a bit once the band launched into “Fabulous Disaster” and the crowd picked up on their energy and just took it to the roof. “Bonded by Blood” featured a guest appearance from none other than James Paul Luna from Holy Grail who delivered his portion of the song with more gusto and energy than Rob Dukes himself. “Strike of the Beast” featured the now famous “Wall of Death” portion and while this was really cool to see, I couldn’t help but feel that it was just too much, too little, too late.
The bottom line was that just didn’t seem to be Exodus’ night. They all just seemed a little off. Guitarist Lee Altus seemed very put off and grump about the side monitors and pushed them around in anger. Bassist Jack Gibson looked liked he wanted to be anywhere else but there, Gary Holt just seemed kinda of oblivious to what was going, and Rob Dukes just came across a grumpy old man who was getting mad because the kids wouldn’t listen to him. Drummer Tom Hunting just hung back and did his thing and, as always, was spectacular. The band even aborted their set early choosing to close with “Strike of the Beast” and leaving out “Good Riddance” all together. It’s really a shame that they had such an off night because there were a lot of fans there seeing them for the first time. This didn’t make me like Exodus any less but it just reminded me that even the best of them can have an off night.
Exodus Setlist:
The Ballad of Leonard and Charles, A Lesson in Violence, War Is My Shepherd, Fabulous Disaster, Blacklist, Bonded by Blood, The Toxic Waltz, Strike of the Beast
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Anthrax
After seeing how “tired” and “bored” the crowd was, I was a little concerned about how the crowd would be for Anthrax. Adding fuel to my concerns was a pre-show announcement from Charlie Bennante, Frankie Bello, and Joey Belladonna that founding member/guitarist Scott Ian would not be playing the show that night. According to the guys, Scott had been in the hospital with food poisoning and was not able to make the show. Charlie concluded with, “We know it sucks but Anthrax is here for you.” It’s no secret that Anthrax has been plagued with personal/medical issues this past couple of years but their “show must go on” mentality never ceases to amaze me. As the intro music of “Worship” filled the now capacity crowd, the vibe was electric. You could tell that while everyone was bummed that Scott Ian wasn’t there, they were there to root our boys on. “Among the Living” kicked things off with a bang and by the time they killed our faces (and bodies) with “Caught in a Mosh”, I literally felt like I almost forgot about Scott Ian.
Joey Belladonna proved to me to without a doubt be one of metals greatest front men. I always like Joey but after this show, I LOVED Joey. Unlike Rob Dukes, Joey chose not to insult those that weren’t moving but to show his undying gratitude to EVEYRONE who was in attendance. His positive nature and magnetic presence pulled the audience out of any kind of rut they may have been in and from then on he had everyone in the room eating out of his hand. Getting to hear “Among the Living” in its entirety (sans “Imitation of Life”) was a real treat. I was also very surprised at the inclusion of the AC/DC cover “TNT” which totally had me rolling by eyes but before I knew it I was changing “OI! OI! OI!” with the blown away audience. They really knocked that one out of the park and kicked my ass. Everything about the band was really blowing my mind and I could tell that they totally stepped it up a notch. I mean, these guys knew they had to step it up and they did so and left not one single person that I could see feeling let down. The highlight of the night for me came mid-set when they performed “In The End” with a mighty salute to Ronnie James Dio that literally had EVERYONE in the room holding their horns in the air and singing along. Anthrax’s marathon set drew to a close with “Got the Time” which also had me surprisingly pumped. The only thing that kind of left me scratching my head was the inclusion of “I’m The Man” in the encore. They played it every half assedly and only played ½ of it. All I could think was that if you aren’t even enjoying it and you’re phoning it in, don’t play it at all. Well, I was shut up right away when they slammed right into the Trust cover “Antisocial.” They play this song so fucking good and it has rightfully become a staple of their live repertoire.
Anthrax really impressed the hell out of me more than they ever had. Their class, their perseverance, and their dedication to their fans really shined through. Bassist Frank Bello is becoming more and more like Steve Harris of Iron Maiden with each passing year while Charlie Bennante proved once again to be a terribly underrated masterful drummer. Jonathan Donais not only had the impossible task of being the “new guy” in Anthrax pulling double duty both with them and with his other band Shadows Fall but with Ian benched for this show, it was all on him. All eyes were on Donais who did an amazing job holding it down. While he lacked the energy of Ian, he was obviously having a great time and made a really great connection with the fans. At the end of it all, Anthrax not only proved themselves worth of being one of the “Big 4” but in my opinion deserve to be much higher up on that roster than they really are. This is the kind of show that makes me proud be a fan of a band and I couldn’t be more proud to be an Anthrax fan.
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Conclusion:
All in all I would call this version of the Metal Alliance Tour a huge success. The bands all seemed to have a great time (except for Exodus), they all seemed to be in amazing spirits (except for Exodus), and they all delievered inspired, and powerful sets (almost Exodus) even if I didn’t dig the music (Shadows Fall). The tour showcased a level of diversity and top shelf bands for a mid shelf ticket price. Each band brought something different to the table: Something old, something new, something drunk, something noisy, and something cranky. I had an absolutely blast seeing all of these bands and seeing the gathering of the tribes that pledged their allegiance to the Metal Alliance Class of 2013.
If I had to condense this review into a word association, here’s how it would go:
Holy Grail: Epic torch carriers
Shadows Fall: Cookie Monster noise
Municipal Waste: Kings of party
Exodus: Grumpy old men
Anthrax: Legends eternal
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