MARKING ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY, ANTHRAX WILL KICK OFF 2016 AS VERY SPECIAL GUEST ON LAMB OF GOD’S U.S. TOUR
In 2016, Anthrax will celebrate its 35th anniversary as a band, and will release its much-anticipated new album, the aggressive and super-thrashy For All Kings, on February 26 (Megaforce). But just before that, the band will join Lamb of God for a four-week U.S. trek that starts on Friday, January 15, 2016 in Pittsburgh and wraps up at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on February 12. Tour dates are below.
Anthrax recently released, Evil Twin the first new track from For All Kings. The song’s lyrics were inspired by the terrorist attacks that took place at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris in January, 2015, and the song is a full-on thrash-metal tune that blasts off with a raging guitar riff, accelerates expeditiously and is completely uncontrollable. The track’s accompanying video is a compelling barrage of places, victims, actions and some of the infamous zealots and others who have perpetrated violent extremism on innocents around the world, aptly exemplifying the song’s powerful message.
For the new release, Anthrax went into the studio with more songs than they ever had in their career and ended up recording twenty. This wealth of material was largely due to drummer Charlie Benante’s surgeries for carpal tunnel syndrome that caused him to miss quite a number of the band’s 2011-2014 Worship Music tour dates. Benante put the down-time to good use and came up with a slew of foundation riffs and ideas for new songs that he took into writing sessions with fellow main songwriters Frank Bello and Scott Ian.
The unique chemistry of this dynamic trio is, in part, what sets Anthrax’s music apart from other bands’ in the same genre. Scott Ian has a very particular way of incorporating his intense lyrical ideas into the band’s music, while Bello, who writes the bulk of Anthrax’s melodies, crafts specifically for Joey Belladonna’s breathtaking voice. Add to that the searing guitar leads by newest member Jonathan Donais, and it’s no wonder the band is so excited for fans to hear what will be their 11th studio album.
Anthrax’s tour dates with Lamb of God are as follows:
January:
15 Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
16 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
17 The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
19 Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
22 Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
23 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY
24 Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT
28 Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
29 Egyptian Room at Old National Center, Indianapolis, IN
30 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
31 Orbit Room, Grand Rapids, MI
February:
2 Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland, Kansas City, MO
4 Revention Music Center, Houston, TX
5 Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
6 Concrete Street Pavilion, Corpus Christi, TX
8 ACL Live at the Moody Theatre, Austin, TX
9 Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, OK
11 Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
12 Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
For more information about Anthrax, visit the band’s official website.
. But just ... )
I’m glad they have Jon in the band. I’m a big fan of his band Shadows Fall. Life has been a little rough for Anthrax over the years at times and I don’t like it that they’re opening for Lamb Of God but I understand. Lamb Of God is a bigger band right now than Anthrax. But, out of respect for Anthrax and their influence and legacy, I wish this could be a co-headlining tour. But I’m not gonna miss this tour, and there’s four dates in Texas!