ANTHRAX/BLACK LABEL SOCIETY NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2022
On the evening of July 26th, 2022, the thrash metal band Anthrax would start their 40th-anniversary tour. Alongside them on this magnificent tour, Black Label Society and Hatebreed would join in the fun.
What made this night even more remarkable is that this was the tour’s opening night. The show would take place at The Van Buren in downtown Phoenix Arizona. This show was also completely sold out and the fans were ready to celebrate Anthrax’s 40th-anniversary show.
To open the show with a bang it was time for Hatebreed to take the stage. Every time I have seen this band play they always bring it, and this night was no exception. Lead singer, Jamey Jasta, always tries to get the crowd hyped up and their circle pit never disappoints. It was awesome to see the band play songs from their early albums like “Driven By Suffering” and “Perseverance”. The band ended with their big hit “I Will Be Heard”, with everyone in the audience singing along.
Black Label Society was next to come up on stage, and as soon as the guitarist/vocalist Zakk Wylde started playing the riff for the song “Funeral Bell” the crowd started headbanging along. I personally have seen Black Label Society so many times since the early 2000s Ozzfest days and when the band would open up for Ozzy solo touring days. Every time I have seen Black Label Society they put on one of the best shows ever. Not to mention that a lot of people are there to see Zakk Wylde play some amazing guitar solos. The band also played songs like “Overlord”, “A Love Unreal”, “Fire It Up” and “In This River” that paid tribute to Dimebag Darrell, late guitarist for the band Pantera. The band ended their set with “Stillborn”, which had the entire crowd roaring until the end.
It was finally time for Anthrax to hit the stage, and as soon as the band started playing “Among The Living” for their opening song the crowd went crazy. I have seen Anthrax perform once before over a decade ago, and it was great seeing them again. They played all the songs that everyone in the crowd wanted to hear, as well as a surprise that no one expected. Some of those songs were “Caught In A Mosh”, “Madhouse”, “I Am The Law” and “Only”. The people throughout their entire performance were moshing and crowd surfing which was really cool to see. The band, of course, ended their set with “Indians”, which was one of the very first Anthrax songs I ever heard.
I really enjoyed the entire show and cannot wait for them to come back and play again soon.
ANTHRAX
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
HATEBREED
