The prospect of the band turning 40 in the middle of the pandemic must have caused more than a little consternation at Anthrax Towers. After all, the only way to do a momentous anniversary justice is to embark on a world tour. However, with gigs off the menu Scott Ian and co. had to think up other ways of marking their four decades of delivering the metal thrashing goods.
The celebrations began in May last year, culminating in a global livestream on July 16/17 during which the band pummelled their way through two hours-plus of fanpleasing songs from the soundstage at The Den in Los Angeles, the recording of which very much lives up to its concise title. Everything about XL is huge. Here we have three discs: two CDs comprising the entire livestream plus three encore bonus songs, and a Blu-ray of the performance including the bonus songs, along with previously unseen rehearsal footage and Scott Ian providing an NYC walking tour of locations that are significant to the history of Anthrax. That’s around 40 minutes of extra stuff to watch. Not bad.
The livestream might have taken placeand natch) there are too many standout cuts to mention, and newer songs such as and and Discharge cover
