Anthrax had been awarded a very attractive time between 5 and 6:15 p.m. on the True Metal Stage on the final day of Wacken, and despite the wet weather that had plagued the day so far, the sun was now peaking out again and we were ready to get caught in a mosh.
Guitarist Scott Ian had held a spoken words show earlier in the day which we had regrettably missed out on, but we weren’t about to miss out on his band shredding away on the main stage!

“Wacken, I have three words for you – holy fucking shit!”
- Scott Ian (guitar)

Among The Living sparked life into the party, and when Anthrax followed up with Caught In A Mosh so did the very large crowd – that this was a hit was given from the get go!
Sure, the sound reeked more than the hairy, shirtless Germans around me, but the setlist was solid, the weather was good and Anthrax were having a blast up on the stage. Joseph ‘Joey Belladonna’ Bellardini (and I will be beaten with a stick for saying this) was never the best vocalist around, not even among the people who have passed through Anthrax’ ranks, but he’s a performer of Gods good grace! Constantly he was running from one end of the stage to the other, moving outside the barrier of monitors to get closer to the frontline or moving past the side speakers going almost as far as the next stage to get in better contact with the late arrivals on the sides – this is how you do it people!
Belladonna didn’t have to carry the weight of the show on his own shoulders either as the rest of the guys were if not equally then at least more than adequately energetic in their performances as well – Anthrax simply knows how to create a smashing party.

And a smashing party was what they got!
Caught In A Mosh saw a giant moshpit which incorporated most of the front half of the crowd, and even though one would have thought that all the headbanging, moshing and occasional crowd surfing would have left people winded, there was apparently enough of a second breath to go around and let the Wacken goers shout and sing along to the catchy choruses as well. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.) saw Belladonna start the song a cappella after which the crowd was to guess which song was in store, and when that had happened we also got to take much of the rest of the vocals for that one, but this was only one of many examples.

Anthrax has been at it for more than 30 years now, and the fact that the members who make up this volatile bunch of thrashers are getting older couldn’t be hidden away though. The first half of the set was without a doubt livelier and more gripping than the second half, at least when it comes to performing.
Now don’t get me wrong, the guys were still going at it and it was fun to watch, but it was definitely slowing down, song for song.
For extra interest the band had dispersed a few special treats here and there, the Dio and Dimebag dedicated In The End and the AC/DC cover T.N.T., which Belladonna commented that Anthrax would have loved to have been the creators of. With as long a career as long as theirs, I would have thought that they would have no problem filling the setlist, and yet they resorted to playing no less than three covers. On the other hand, T.N.T. might be the only one of them where the original version is more famous than the Anthrax version, so kudos to them for taking good material and making it awesome.

The day, together with the weather, had come down during Lamb Of God earlier on, but Anthrax picked us up and got us going again as if nothing had happened. Thanks to an exemplary concert with only few minuses, we got in the party mood again, and it lasted for the remaining hours of Wacken Open Air 2013.

Setlist:

Among The Living
Caught in A Mosh
Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)
Hymn 1
In The End
Deathrider
T.N.T. (AC/DC cover)
Indians
Got The Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
I Am The Law
Madhouse
Antisocial (Trust cover)