ANTHRAX – Chile On Hell
Celebrating 30 years of musical mayhem, as well as being the first metal band to be played on Mars, Grammy-nominated masters of mosh Anthrax will release a new live DVD on September 16, 2014, which shows that after three decades of relentless touring and recording, the band still has all the energy they possessed when first starting their career. Filmed on May 10, 2013, in Santiago, Chile at the Teatro Caupolican, Chile On Hell is a tour de force of classic Anthrax tunes that will satisfy fans that have followed the band since the Spreading The Disease (1985) days.
Chile On Hell features 4 out of 5 of the members of “classic” Anthrax – Joey Belladonna/vocals, Scott Ian/guitar, Charlie Benante/drums, Frank Bello/bass. Filling the final slot on guitar is Shadows Fall guitarist, Jon Donais, who has replaced Dan Spitz and most recently Rob Caggiano (Volbeat). Donais is a perfect fit, shredding through the solos nearly note-for-note while still injecting his own style into the mix.
One of the highlights of the performance is singer Joey Belladonna, who proves that he still has the incredible range, vital energy, and showmanship that keeps the crowd engaged. And “engaged” doesn’t do justice in describing the Chilean crowd in attendance at this show. The audience is in a constant state of motion, moshing and crowd surfing through every song. A massive circle pit forms and, because of its size, appears to be moving in slow-motion.
The show begins with five in a row off of Among The Living (1987), starting with the title track which is based on Stephen King’s novel The Stand. Next up is “Caught In A Mosh,” followed by the Judge Dredd-based “I Am The Law,” and then “EFILNIKUFESIN (NFL).” Rounding out the fiver is another Stephen King influenced song, “A Skeleton In The Closet.” Among The Living is one of my favorite Anthrax albums and the band simply stomps ass through these first five songs, as guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Frank Bello are possessed by the unstoppable energy that has defined Anthrax’s music for decades.
Having been a fan of Anthrax since the early days, I was pleased to find two songs off of Spreading The Disease added to the set. “Medusa” with its steady, pounding rhythm and the classic “Madhouse” deliver a taste old-school metal to this hungry South American audience with its ravenous appetite for all things metal. Anthrax ends the set with the relentless yet upbeat metal anthem “Antisocial” from State of Euphoria (1988).
Produced by Jay Ruston and filmed by City Drive Entertainment Group and DC3 Global, Chile On Hell will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The concert was recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound, and the production quality is excellent. Although the DVD menu is fairly basic, who needs a fancy menu when watching a metal concert? The video footage is great, made up of multiple camera angles, as well as some short clips that break up the live concert with behind the scenes footage. Crank this one up and get ‘caught in a mosh!’
