Caught In a Mosh: BBC Live In Concert

Coming off the creative and commercial success of 1987’s Among the Living, Anthrax traveled to England and played two of the most important concerts of their career. The first half of this two-disc set captures them at the Hammersmith Odeon in February 1987, just a few weeks before the official release of Among the Living. These recordings have all the fervor and intensity of a tiny club show, even though the Odeon held 3,000. This is Anthrax at their most wild, reckless, and free. When they returned to England that August to play the huge Monsters of Rock festival at the Donington racetrack, Among the Living had already become a great success. You can hear them living up to the importance of that moment on the second disc. On this visit, they translated the intensity of the Hammersmith show to a crowd of more than 20,000 fans. Highlights include “Madhouse,” “I Am the Law,” and “Caught in a Mosh.” On a day when much of the crowd had gathered to watch Bon Jovi, Dio, and Metallica, Anthrax blew them all away with their impeccable aggression and particular brand of New York City attitude.