Review: Anthrax @ Hindley Street Music Hall 25/03/26
Anthrax demonstrated why they are one of the “Big Four” with an electrifying set of classic thrash metal bangers that left the walls of Hindley Street Music Hall shaking.
Words Will Oakeshott // Images Justin White
Anthrax w/Alien Weaponry @ Hindley Street Music Hall 25/03/26
“You gotta believe, you gotta believe.” – ‘You Gotta Believe’, For All Kings, Joey Belladonna, 2016.
An Anthrax live production is undoubtedly an extraordinary and distinctive experience. Among the chaos of the pulsing percussion, mind-bending guitar solos, fierce musical velocity, piercingly intoxicating vocals and bodies being thrown forcefully in every direction, including upwards, there is an incredible element of positivity immersed within the mayhem. This high-spiritedness is an integral part of why the quintet continues to soar as thrash metal royalty after well over four decades together.
“You gotta believe, you gotta believe.”
Those three simple words, repeated irrefutably, provide such boundless encouragement and inspiration. On this night at the packed-out Hindley Street Music Hall, belief and positivity radiated through every person within the venue. Both acts monumentally offered a pathway of escapism from the difficulties disrupting the world at the moment. They achieved this through their profound artistry and integrity. “You gotta believe” that music can well and truly be a saviour.
“I get up. And nothing gets me down. You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around.”
Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ was a flawless introductory track to utilise for New Zealand’s thrash groove trailblazers Alien Weaponry – more importantly, it impeccably captured this event’s motif dazzlingly. At the song’s conclusion, drummer Henry de Jong marched onto the platform, stared at the captivated audience and roared with elation. He then took his place behind the drum kit and began the enthralling traditional Māori Haka ceremonial dance and chant. Bassist Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds charged the staging area into the spotlight and enhanced the ceremony with unbridled vivacity. Finally, guitarist/vocalist Lewis de Jong glided to his position, and the attacking thunderous crusade of metal commenced.
‘Rū ana te whenua’ was the calamitous tidal wave of distinguished dissonant metal that initiated the fantastic frenzy – this erupted very quickly. A circle-pit developed almost instantaneously, provoked only by the majestically manic music, with no formal request from Alien Weaponry.
‘Te Riri o Tāwhirimātea’ was a cinematic masterpiece, with a breathtaking acapella war cry: “Puku o te rae e, Te kaha o te hau” (broadly translated as: “Livid with rage, the power of the wind”). Adelaide was left adoringly astounded.
‘Mau Moko’ incorporated a delightful disarray of melody and maliciousness, and it was nearly impossible to believe that this extravagant emittance was excellently executed by just three magical musicians. The composition’s brilliant “bounce” energy, entwined with the trio’s unrelenting liveliness, instigated a comprehensive earth-moving “jump action” from the rapidly growing mosh-pit.
“How the fuck are we feeling, Adelaide? Brisbane was pretty mental; can you beat them?” Lewis de Jong inquired.
‘1000 Weapons’ was a deathrash psychosis featuring heavenly harmonies and barbaric breakdowns. ‘Raupatu’ was a remarkable rhythmic enchantment of ferocity and a political awakening: “You take and take / But you cannot take from who we are / You cannot take our mana / You cannot take our māoritanga / You cannot take our people / You cannot take our whakapapa / You cannot take, you cannot take Raupatu!”
This entrancing poetry was beyond mesmerising – “you gotta believe” it. In all honesty, witnessing the awe-inspiring exhibition incorporating this ideology and tradition together from Alien Weaponry was simply phenomenal.
“Fuck yeah, Adelaide! Do you like Lamb Of God?” Lewis asked excitedly. An enormous cheer confirmed South Australia’s infatuation. “They are my favourite band of all time. It was an honour to work with Randy Blythe on this song.”
‘Taniwha’ was the savage single that incited hysteria. Pulverising drums, clap-alongs, crowd surfers, machine gun rapid beatdowns, bewildering grooves – this was the anthem. Understandably, Mr Blythe was not in attendance to execute his powerful vocal contributions, so a backing track was utilised to fill this void. It was slightly peculiar, but exhilaratingly, it added a dimension of brutality that was above inspiriting.
“We are so fucking privileged to be touring with legends like Anthrax – thank you so much, Adelaide! Are you fucking ready?” the debonair dreadlocked guitarist eagerly queried.
‘Kai Tangata’ was to be the compelling closer. Drummer Henry de Jong initiated the ritual by bellowing the fiery words: “He taua, He taua!” (“A war party, a war party!”) and the trio launched into a blazing demonstration of groove tribal thrash. The infamous wall of death was practically unavoidable as Alien Weaponry dislocated their necks, chanted in almighty dynamism and frantically flourished in unhinged lunacy with their bodies and instruments – the latter had ultimately become their weapons of musical destruction.
Sincerely, this showcase was fleeting and a bit too abrupt – Alien Weaponry, you are required back for a headliner sooner rather than later, “you gotta believe” that.
READ MORE: Review: Sepultura @ The Gov 23/03/26
Referring back to the beginning of this article, “An Anthrax live production is undoubtedly an extraordinary and distinctive experience.” Remarkably, this description was perfectly portrayed before the quintet had even entered the staging area.
A projector screen curtain was rolled down from the Hindley Street Music Hall’s ceiling and quickly emblazoned with the renowned “Pentathrax” symbol (an inverted Pentagram). After what seemed to be an excruciating amount of time and a consequential burgeoning capacity crowd disgruntlement (even with Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number Of The Beast’ blaring out of the sound system), an animated feature finally illuminated the screen.
A violent video game styled short film that incorporated the esteemed Back To The Future series, transfixed and silenced the audience. The movie presented many outstanding peculiarities, including a baby version of Adolf Hitler who was viciously eliminated (gratefully), a zombie character that was beyond rampant in his exploits and many blinding explosions. The presentation was a magnetic display of hysteria and straightforwardly superb.
Terrifically, a cloud of smoke overtook the screen for a moment, then a rear spotlight brightened the hidden stage area, showcasing the shadows of the beloved musicians. Suddenly, the curtain dropped to reveal drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello and guitarists Scott Ian, plus Jon Donais, headbanging and performing in ecstatic delight. Vocalist Joey Belladonna then strutted onto the grand venue’s platform, and Anthrax burst into ‘A.I.R.’.
Immediately, Bello was above disorderly, but in a supreme fashion. Ian initiated his own circle pit, stomping around the stage with the intensity of a ravenous great white shark, and Mr Belladonna once again demonstrated his charismatic torchbearer frontman status – this was thrashtastically overpowering.
‘Got The Time’ became a crossover’s dream-come-true. Truthfully, Joe Jackson may not have ever foreseen his hit single transforming into a soundscape this heavy and abrasive, but there is no denying its energy is prodigious.
“Adelaide! You are going to get your ass fucking kicked!” Joey fiercely yelled at Anthrax’s thousands of devotees. Let the bludgeoning commence…
‘Madhouse’ approached the domain of “fearful” with the spectators’ rabid reaction. The crowd surfers were rampant, the sing-along deafening – when J. Belladonna shrieked “trapped in this nightmare” with his high-pitched conviction, it transformed into a disturbingly brilliant truth… Adelaide simply did not want to wake up from this magnificent nightmare. ‘Caught In A Mosh’ followed and was comprehensively too perfect to describe in this article.
“RAdelaide, how the fuck are you? I am going to ask a stupid question: Do you like thrash metal?” Mr Ian sarcastically asked. “Well, put that phone down and pay attention to the show!”
‘Metal Thrashing Mad’ – a climax of Anthrax insanity.
‘Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t’ was a bombardment of immeasurable thrash recklessness, which incredibly exhibited a heart-rendering musical exquisiteness that could only be achieved by a metallic brotherhood of this distinction. Scott’s amazing aggression and youthful aura were beyond contagious in every facet of his performance.
The ballad turned brutalliant ‘Breathing Lightning’ was a tantalising track Metallica wished they had crafted to this superb song-writing degree. Thrash does not usually host a “pop hook”, but this writer implores the readers to properly observe this entrancing composition and not sing-along.
“Can you hear the angels sing?” Take a bow, Joey Belladonna. South Australia has just experienced this.
“You gotta believe, you gotta believe.”
‘Hymn 1’ led into ‘In The End’ with thrilling theatrics. This was arguably the heaviest moment of Anthrax’s exhibition - the plethora of appreciative “horns” punched into the venue’s sky and borderline concerning mosh-pit antics of multi-generational fans showcased that Adelaide had truly reached its State Of Euphoria.
“We are going to play a piece of a new song, it’s been 10 years!” Scott Ian exclaimed.
“Nuh, they don’t want to hear it,” Joey responded.
A literal 10-second burst of the new single was demonstrated; it was a tremendous tease.
‘Be All, End All’ accomplished the fulfilment of its title. The crowd sang along to the guitar riffage with “Woah-Woah” melodies emphatically, before circle-pitting into a whirlwind that may have altered the Earth’s gravitational pull. ‘Medusa’ was not of this world, cementing the significance of Anthrax in the heavy music universe.
“That was fucking great! Thank you, Adelaide, the old freaks and the new freaks! You guys are fucking WILD! I love that shit; you are sick, man,” Mr Belladonna admitted emotionally.
The demand for an encore was beyond thunderous from the thousands of devotees within the venue. To avoid a possible riot, the New Yorkers quickly reappeared to thrashingly entrance the eager concertgoers.
“One more song? Only one more?” Scott Ian joked wholeheartedly. “This is a breath of fresh air, being over 7000 miles away from that fuck-fest where we live,” he chuckled.
‘I Am The Man’, ‘I Am The Law’ and Trust’s ‘Antisocial’ – that was the epic conclusion. Chants of soccer stadium insanity, sing-along psychosis, circle-pits – even the security guards sang and danced along.
“Was tonight fucking awesome or what?” Joey Belladonna preached.
“You gotta believe, you gotta believe.”
New album soon – Scott Ian assured us.
Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.
