A trio of classic thrash bands brought a cacophany to Ft. Wayne last Saturday night. Over the course of nearly four hours, the bands Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel, played nearly four hours' worth of their mosh pit anthems at Piere's Entertainment Center.
After San Francisco's Filipino-American band Death Angel warmed up the crowd with a set that was unfortunately brief, Testament took the stage for nearly an hour’s worth of varied songs from their catalog. Highlights of their set included bassist Greg Christian played an extended intro to “Souls of Black” (few songs sound better in concert, by the way) Also featured two songs from two of their underrated albums, “Electric Crown” from “Souls of Black” and “D.N.R.” from “The Gathering.”
As Anthrax was about to take the stage, however, fans were greeted with an unexpected site. The first person to amble out onto the stage was actually Gene Hoglan, current drummer for Testament, who had just finished his set with that band. What most fans were not aware of was that he was filling in for Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, who unexpectedly left the tour to spend time with his terminally ill mother.
As it turns out, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian had just returned to the fold that evening, after missing the two previous shows in Indianapolis and Kansas City due to being hospitalized in Los Angeles for a severe virus infection. He wisecracked to the crowd that doctors had advised him to avoid “Loud music, strobe lights, and smoke,” which of course were exactly what Piere’s was filled with. At the shows missed by Ian, Death Angel guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar filled in for the ill guitarist.
Anthrax’s Ft. Wayne set was heavy on the front and back ends, playing plenty of material from their newest record, “Worship Music,” which was released last fall, and two songs (“Medusa” and “Metal Thrashing Mad”) from two of their early albums, “Fistful of Metal” and “Spreading the Disease.”
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