Anthrax – Alive 2 (2005)   

Still among the living after all these years

You can pretty much pair up Anthrax’s Alive 2 CD and DVD releases. Their 2005 official reunion for their 20th anniversary has resulted in the release of this combo. Typically, you would consider the CD to be the basic edition and the DVD the deluxe edition or something along those lines, right? Well, in this case, they’ve differed the track listing on the DVD to the CD ever so slightly which may ruffle a few feathers but fans of the classic Among The Living line-up era will be all over both so it’s probably a moot point.

Alive 2 (not to be confused with the Kiss album of the same name) is an excellent sounding representation of Anthrax 2005 live. Given that the tour was touted as the classic Among The Living line-up reunion, it should be of no surprise that five tracks from that album are featured here – the opener Among The Living, crowd favourites Caught In A Mosh and the singalong Efilnickufesin (N.F.L.) as well as the moshtastic Indians and I Am The Law. Either side of that 1986 album, the thrashy Deathrider is lifted from their 1984 debut Fistful Of Metal and A.I.R. and Medusa from 1985’s Spreading The Disease. Be All End All and the cover track Antisocial represent 1988’s State Of Euphoria and Time and In My World are taken from 1990’s Persistence Of Time.

Performance wise, the band sound tight. Guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz are totally on their game as is the rhythm section of bassist Frankie Bello and drummer Charlie Benante. Vocalist Joey Belladonna sounds solid for the most part although there are a couple of moments where you can hear that his voice doesn’t quite have the power that it once had. But there’s no doubt that he nails it for the majority of the performance. The difference in the track listings for the CD and DVD is minor and it is the inclusion of Antisocial on the CD in place of Madhouse (from Spreading The Disease). It’s a little odd to just change a single track like that between both versions and it may piss a few people off. C’est la vie I guess.

Alive 2 is a must have for fans of the classic era of Anthrax. It’s a perfect representation of 1985 Anthrax in 2005. For those who might not want the extras on the DVD, then this one is the one to pick up if you want to relive Anthrax live in 05.

(Sanctuary Records/Riot! Distribution)

Added: January 10th 2006
Reviewer: Simon Milburn
Score:
Related Link: Official Website
Hits: 3410