Hunnypot Does...
Powered by CircleSquareLA

CONCERT REVIEW - ANTHRAX, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY & HATEBREED @ THE PALLADIUM, HOLLYWOOD, CA (07/29.22)

Written by 

It was complete Palladimodium when the triple-bill of Hatebreed, Black Label Society, and Anthrax stormed The Hollywood Palladium on July 29. Forgive the pun, but the sold out Friday night show was everything any metal lover could have wanted. And more.

The festivities started right around 7pm when Hatebreed took the stage. They are not your typical opener. The Connecticut-based band has been pounding out their brand of metal for over 25 years. Jamey Jasta on vocals led the way augmented by the twin attack of Frank Novinec and Wayne Lozinak on guitars and backing vocals. The powerful rhythm section of Chris Beattie on bass and Matt Byrne on drums had hearts thumping inside each audience members’ chest. If you missed them here, they’ll be back in southern California as headliners at the House of Blues in Anaheim this November.

Next up: Black Label Society. While there have been more than a few Society members, this current line up has been together for long enough to be tight, powerful, and loud in the most metal way possible.

BLS is of course led by the one and only Zakk Wylde. The bearded wonder handles lead vocals and lead guitar in Black Label Society and his mic stand also serves as a pulpit. And by stepping up on a riser for each solo, Father Zakk brings the religion of metal to the masses. He’s a sight to behold with bare arms, full kilt (he was wearing shorts underneath), and combat boots. Standing on a platform makes the already imposing guitarist even more impressive as he swings his “Wylde” blond hair to and fro. The Thunder God Thor has his hammer and Zakk Wylde has his axe. And he wields it like no other. Or since Wylde switches out guitars for almost every song, should it be “wields them?”

Although Wylde is without a doubt the “mane” focus of BLS, the contributions of Dario Lorina on guitar, John Deservio on bass, and Jeff Fabb on drums can’t be understated. This is a strong, riff-based band that brings the heaviness. But Zakk is a man of many talents and as we all know, he’s a multi-instrumentalist, so it was great to see him behind the piano for “In This River”, his tribute to Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul from Pantera. But this being BLS, the piano that had just provided such moving music became another platform for Zakk to stand upon during an epic behind the head duel with Dario during “Fire It Up.” BLS ended the evening with “Stillborn” although their great set was anything but.

Somehow, it doesn’t feel like forty years since Anthrax exploded on the scene. Maybe because the thrash metal stalwarts don’t seem at all jaded. Their energy, passion, and humor were all on display. Their set didn’t start until the crowd was fully understood who was about to hit the stage courtesy of a video that featured celebrities paying tribute to the band with a montage of quick cuts at the end with each one saying “Anthrax!”

Then the video screen hit the floor and Anthrax was let loose on the Palladium. The moshing began and if you didn’t know what type of music was being played, lead singer Joey Belladonna was more than happy to tell you that you were in for a night of Thrash Metal. This band has fully embraced the genre title and revels in it.

Frank Bello was an uncaged smiling, head banging, jumping bass player who was everywhere on the stage looking like he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. On drums of course is Charlie Benante, one of the best metal drummers anywhere. Which is why he, along with Zakk Wylde, will be part of what’s being called a Pantera tribute coming soon. On lead guitar is Jon Donais, an excellent player who is slightly less animated than Ian or Bello, which is not a knock at all. Those two aren’t at 11, they’re more like 12.

Although Belladonna is the lead singer, the case could be made that Scott Ian is the face of Anthrax. While his trademark tuff of chin hair is now a whitish-gray, that is truly the only sign of age. From the shorts and F-you socks to the middle finger skull ring on his pick hand, Ian may be an elder statesman of Thrash, but he refuses to grow up. And that’s a good thing.

This being a 40-year anniversary celebration, all of the big numbers were played. That being said, the band still had the ability to add something unexpected to the evening. On the penultimate song, Chuck D came out for vocals on “Bring The Noise.” The crowd went crazy and did exactly what the song called for. When the show finally ended, it was obvious that The Hollywood Palladium audience had been pummeled for almost five hours by some of the best that metal has to offer.

 

Daniel Gray

Photojournalist - Los Angeles

Website: dg21.smugmug.com/DG-Photos/DG-Music/ Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Twitter