Date: July 5, 2025
Location: Villa Park, Birmingham
Stage: Back To The Beginning Main Stage
Band: ANTHRAX (USA)
Time: Somewhere between “Caught in a Mosh” and a nuclear detonation
⚡“WE’RE ANTHRAX… AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO!” – THRASH LEGENDS LEVEL BIRMINGHAM 🔥
If you didn’t come prepared to headbang until your spine filed for divorce, Anthrax made sure you left in a neck brace anyway. These NYC thrash titans stormed onto the Villa Park stage like a bat out of Brooklyn – and it was absolute chaos from the first note to the last. 🤯
Birmingham may be Sabbath’s turf, but on Saturday evening, it belonged to Scott Ian’s stomp and Joey Belladonna’s banshee wail.
🧨 SETLIST STRAIGHT FROM THE THRASH GODS’ PLAYBOOK
- Among the Living
- Caught in a Mosh (cue instant pit carnage 🌀)
- Madhouse
- I Am the Law
- Metal Thrashing Mad
- Antisocial (the French connection, shouted louder than a rugby scrum)
- In the End (with Dio and Dimebag on the screen – lump in the throat moment 😢)
- Bring the Noise (Public Enemy-style mosh-rap destruction)
- Indians (yes, with that war dance – limbs everywhere)
- Got the Time
- Only
- Final riff blowout: Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t 🧟♂️
🪓 SCOTT IAN’S RIFFS SHOULD BE LICENSED AS WEAPONS
Scott Ian stomped around like a Riff Warlord™️. That guitar tone? Thicker than a Greggs steak bake and just as dangerous. He doesn’t just play thrash – he dictates it. 🤘
His iconic “chug-chug” rhythm on “Caught in a Mosh” sent the crowd into a frenzy that security barely survived. Someone’s Crocs flew ten feet. Someone else launched a prosthetic leg in celebration. Tidy scenes.
🎤 BELLADONNA IS STILL A VOCAL BEAST – FACT 🦅
Joey Belladonna might be in his 60s, but you wouldn’t know it. He hit every high note like a man still touring with a vengeance. His vocals on “Indians” and “In the End” gave the entire front row whiplash and a minor religious awakening.
At one point he launched a mic stand in the air, caught it mid-verse, and grinned like he just summoned Thor’s hammer. Show-off? Maybe. Legend? Definitely. 😏
👊 THE PIT WAS A BLOODY WARZONE (IN THE BEST WAY)
There were at least four separate circle pits during “Got the Time” – four! One lad did the worm across the tarmac mid-pit while holding a pint. A denim-clad granny crowd-surfed to “Antisocial” like she was reclaiming her youth. 🙌
And don’t get us started on “Indians” – when Scott Ian yelled “WAR DANCE!”, it was like someone dropped an entire can of Monster in the audience and hit fast-forward.
🕯️ EMOTIONAL MOMENT: “IN THE END” = TRIBUTE PERFECTION
As “In the End” started, a giant screen lit up with images of Dimebag Darrell and Ronnie James Dio, and even the most hardened metalheads got misty-eyed.
Joey pointed skyward and said, “This one’s for the legends. Let’s make some noise they can hear from heaven.”
It was loud enough they probably heard it in Valhalla too. 🔊💔
🤟 WHY ANTHRAX STILL MATTER IN 2025
Thrash never dies – and Anthrax proved that with a set so tight, it could’ve been bottled and sold as pre-workout. They were funny, furious, and full of fight. You can tell these lads still love it. Every riff. Every scream. Every stomp.
Even their crew were headbanging at the side of the stage. When your roadies are moshing, you know you’re doing it right.
🧷 CROWD LOOK: DENIM, PATCHES, AND CHAOS
This was the most battle-jacketed crowd of the day. Worn Anthrax tees from ’87, Slayer patches stitched into every trouser leg, and enough studs to trigger a metal detector from two streets away. 🧲
A guy with a homemade “MOSH OR DIE” flag did laps of the arena like it was the Olympics. Fair play.
🧨 FINAL VERDICT: THRASH STILL RULES THE EARTH
Anthrax didn’t just show up – they took hostages. It was gritty, it was glorious, and it was a reminder that the Big Four aren’t just nostalgia. They’re legacy in motion.
Score: 10/10 Flying Vs through the face 🎸💥
Mood: Thrashed, smashed, and absolutely blessed.
Diolch for the mosh therapy, Anthrax – we’re still seeing double and it’s worth every bruise.
📸 GOT PICS, BLACK EYES, OR RIPPED DENIM?
Send them to @theriffreportblog or tag us online – bonus points if your neck still clicks and your shoes got lost in the pit.
