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Anthrax, God Forbid, Sworn Enemy, Manntis in St. Louis

By Newsferatu, Writer
Sunday, January 15, 2006 @ 5:09 AM

At Pop's

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Review by Shawn Thompson

We arrived at the show and saw Manntis play. I had only heard and seen their material previously on MTV's Battle For Ozzfest show. I thought they did a good job. I liked them well enough I went and bought their CD after their performance. Also, after seeing A Dozen Furies at Ozzfest 2005, it is clear to me that Manntis is alot better and should have won the slot on Ozzfest 2005.

Next up was Sworn Enemy. I had seen them before at Ozzfest 2003. They mainly played material from their upcoming CD, which is due in record stores in a few weeks. From what I have heard of the newer material, it is better than what they have done previously. It had a Slayer type of feel to it. They even did a few guitar solos, which to my suprise, turned out rather good. They played Sworn Enemy, One Way Trip and Labeled from their debut album and it went over well. The crowd seemed into the band, even the new never heard before material.

God Forbid came out next and blew the roof off of the place. They played a very intense set that featured great musicianship and awesome crowd reaction. Doc Coyle is one of the best lead guitarists on the scene today. The band as a whole was excellent and sounded even better live than they do on the album. I had seen them previously on Ozzfest 2004 twice, but tonight's performance was their best yet. The band even surprised everyone not once, but twice. First, they dedicated their song To the Fallen Hero to the late Pantera/Damageplan guitar legend Dimebag Darrell. Next up, then threw down a energetic cover of the Pantera classic Mouth For War. The place erupted into one huge pit and everyone instantly recognized what song they were playing a few notes into the song. Overall, this was an awesome performance and anyone who would follow their set will have to be on top of their game.

Here is their setlist:

End of the World
Force Fed
Chains of Humanity
Anti Hero
Gone Forever
The Lonely Dead
To the Fallen Hero (Dedicated to Dimebag Darrell)
Mouth For War (Pantera cover)
Broken Promise

Next up it was time for the Among The Living era line up of Anthrax. I had waited a long time to see this line up and I drove 4 hours to get to the show. It was well worth my time and money. The band hit the stage with the Among The Living intro playing in the background. It was great to see Dan Spitz and Joey Belladonna back with the band. I had seen Anthrax with John Bush on vocals and he did an excellent job on both the albums and on stage, but to me there is nothing like seeing the Among The Living era Anthrax. As usual, Charlie Benante was a phenom behind the drum kit. He is a legend. His drumming on songs like Aftershock and Skeletons In The Closet was out of this world. Scott Ian was his usual self, moshing around while keeping the riffs monstrous and precise. Frank Bello was a madman on the bass running around on stage and playing the fuck out of his 4 string. Dan Spitz nailed every guitar solo and made it looks easy. He has such a unorthodox tone and playing style that he is irreplacable to the band in my opinion. Same goes for Joey Belladonna, who seemed to enjoy the show as much as the crowd did. The Anthrax set was alot better than I ever thought it would be. No other Anthrax line up can match the Among The Living line up. I will definately go see them again. Hipefully it will be on a major tour with Ozzfest, Metallica, or Sounds of the Underground. The band deserves to be heard by as many metal heads as possible.

Here is the setlist:

Among the Living
Metal Thrashing Mad
Got the Time
Caught in a Mosh
A.I.R.
Madhouse
A Skeleton in the Closet
Antisocial
Indians
N.F.L.
Aftershock
Be All, End All
I'm the Man
I Am the Law

Shawn Thompson is affiliated with the following websites:

www.DAMAGEPLAN.net, www.DOWN-nola.com, www.OFFICIALPANTERA.com, www.PHILANSELMO.com, & www.VINNIEandDIME.com.

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