Anthrax is a big band.

Although going on the sheer scale of the New York thrash metal veterans’ belated (and sold-out) debut Brighton show, perhaps that should be massive.

One of that scene’s Big Four - alongside heavyweights Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth - and fresh from touring with Slayer, the not-exactly-small Concorde 2 counted as an intimate show, though felt more like a headline summer festival performance.

Some fans had concerns about the lack of original drummer Charlie Benante, absent with a hand injury, though replacement Jon Dette’s marauding beat, literally shaking the entire room, swiftly banished those fears.

The unusual option of starting with three of their biggest hitters - Caught In A Mosh, Madhouse and Got The Time, prompting chants of the band’s name - led the casual fan to wonder where the set could possibly go from there.

Traditionally cult heroes such as Anthrax’s newer material isn’t as successful as the classics, though recent album Worship Music (and the nicely sinister In The End) crunched along with sole founding member Scott Ian’s grinding guitars lovingly received, whilst new single Evil Twin almost bettered some of their older work.

Rapturous applause greeted the return to the old school and Indians’ warmly familiar chorus capped this charismatic performance perfectly.

Four stars