Gig review: Anthrax at Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Live review: Anthrax at Enmore Theatre, Sydney on Saturday, March 28 2026

By TERRY LIBEROPOULOS

ANTHRAX completed their four-concert tour of Australia with an energetic performance before a sell-out crowd at Enmore Theatre in Sydney.

It was the band’s fourth gig in five days having performed in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.

Having played “I’m the Man” as part of their encore in the previous three performances, Anthrax decided to forgo that song in order to finish their concert and make a quick retreat to catch an airplane en route to Japan.

Fans were treated to Alien Weaponry as the support act. The New Zealand band had recently toured Europe with Avatar and played before Anthrax in all four concerts.

With the stage covered with a sheet, Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast” was played before an animated video was executed that featured a headbanger using the Delorean car in order to go back in time and destroy the evil in the world including Adolf Hitler as a baby in a hospital.

When the curtain dropped, Scott ‘Not’ Ian pumped out his rhythm guitar at the same level as he did when he co-founded Anthrax in 1981 with Dan Lilker. Sporting his famous bald head and the now-white goatee, he hit the right notes as Anthrax began the night by playing “A.I.R.” from their 1985 album Spreading The Disease. The initials stand for ‘adolescence in red’ for those wondering.

While Ian’s hair might be long gone, singer Joey Belladonna doesn’t have that problem, the only debate being what colour dye he uses.

Belladonna interacted well with the audience with the Joe Jackson cover “Got the Time” before belting out the band’s most famous song, “Madhouse”. He continued to produce the devils horn hand signal throughout the night.

Belladonna replaced Neil Turbin in 1984 before he was sacked by the band for creative differences and replaced by John Bush. He ended up cutting grass on a horse barn before returning to the group on a temporary basis in 2005, making the move permanent in 2010.

Ian thanked their loyal fans, many of them returning to watch Anthrax for the first time since 2019 when the group last toured Australia. Scott then did what he did best by getting started on “Metal Thrashing Mad”, from their debut album Fistful Of Metal.

The energy of Frank Bello was evident from the start – not bad for someone aged 60. Originally a roadie and guitar technician for Anthrax, he replaced Lilker soon after the band’s first album.

Anthrax played ‘”In the End”, released in 2011 when Anthrax’s produced their 10th studio album.

It was followed by the announcement that Anthrax will be releasing a new album later this year and offered their fans a taste of what is to come. Unfortunately, it only went for 10 seconds when Belladonna told the audience that they can hear the rest in a few months.

They then busted out “Be All, End All”, much to the excitement of the mosh pit crowd that never stopped jumping around all night.

“Medusa” from the Spreading The Disease album followed before the band finished with “Indians” from the album Among The Living. The latter piece has remained one of the band’s signature songs and appeared in the Guitar Hero game Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock on PlayStation, Xbox and Wii.

The band made a half-hearted exit that saw lead guitarist Jonathan Donais and drummer Charles Benante, the latter ever present on all of Anthrax’s albums, never really leaving the stage when the others returned for a two-song encore.

Scott Ian introduced “I Am The Law” – a tribute to UK comic’s 2000 AD’s most famous character, Judge Dredd before the band finished the night with “Antisocial” that was first released in 1980 by French hard rock band Trust from their album Repression.