As the first notes of
Alive 2, the video celebration of the 1985-1991 lineup of
the band reunion, make their way to your ears, the stage is dark
and mysterious.
See, band reunions can be hits or misses. For example, KISS
misses continuously every time they allow drummer Peter Criss to
sing, whether it’s during “Beth” or a single chorus of “Rock and
Roll All Night.” They made this mistake twice — on their
Unplugged release and on their more recent
Alive III. I admit I was worried that Anthrax might be
capable of including such a gross misstep.
Fortunately, that is not the case on this DVD. Instead, the
reunion goes off without a hitch. If the band screwed up playing
the songs that came together after three days of rehearsals, I
didn’t hear it. So sure, the music on this DVD is spectacular. This
concert was recorded on June 3, 2005 at the Starland in Sayreville,
NJ.
What is more noteworthy than the band playing these songs is the
reasoning given by band members in their separate interviews and
when the band is together, talking about reuniting. The words of
guitarist Scott Ian hits home. He says that when Dimebag Darrell,
the Damage Plan guitarist, was murdered on stage, it started
discussions about “what if we can’t do this [reunite] someday.” It
put life into perspective. In individual interviews, guitarist Dan
Spitz talks about how he became a master watch-maker, putting
intricate watches together. He honed his craft and when he speaks
about it, I could see the pride in his work in his eyes. There was
a contagious feeling to listening to him speak, not as a guitarist
of Anthrax who was picking up his guitar to play the songs that he
hadn’t played with his bandmates for years, but as Dan Spitz, human
being. I won’t claim that I know what this guy is like, but I can
say that I have a deeper appreciation for him as a human being.
Vocalist Joey Belladonna is interviewed at Electric Ladyland
Studios and talks about how he left the band. This is edited with
guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante talking about his
departure. Ian talks about how it was the hardest decision as a
band that they had to make. Benante talks about how he didn’t hear
Belladonna singing the songs that he was writing. These interviews
provide a deep retrospective evaluation of the band that provides
how the decisions that were made came to be reality.
Alive 2 celebrates the energy and passion the members of
Anthrax were able to create on stage during their time together. It
goes off without a hitch, and the interviews drive home the
experience of this reunion.
