Consequence’s Drum Week continues with an exclusive “Crate Digging” list of 10 songs that Anthrax/Pantera legend Charlie Benante thinks every drummer should hear. Check out our list of the 100 Best Drummers of All Time and enter our Drum Week Giveaway, then stay tuned for additional lists, artist-driven content, and more as we celebrate the visceral instruments that give us all the beat.
As a longtime member of thrash legends Anthrax, Charlie Benante has established himself as one of the greatest metal drummers on the planet. In recent years, he’s also playing in the revamped lineup of groove-metal masters Pantera, manning the kit with incredible skill and reverence, as he honors that band’s late drummer, Vinnie Paul.
As part of Consequence‘s “Drum Week,” Benante — who made our just-published list of the 100 Best Drummers of All Time — was gracious enough to offer an exclusive “Crate Digging” list of 10 Songs Every Drummer Should Hear. What he presented was a fascinating playlist, ranging from the extreme metal of Dimmu Borgir to the jam-band stylings of Dave Matthews Band.
With Anthrax being one of the “Big 4” thrash bands alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth, we wanted to know Benante’s “Big 4” drummers as we sat down with him to go over his list of songs.
“Some of them are on this list of songs,” Benante told us. “Of course, you got Neil Peart, you got John Bonham. I have to give it up to Ringo Starr because if it wasn’t for Ringo, I don’t know if we’d all be doing this right now. He and the Beatles made kids go out and get instruments and play in their garage and form bands.”
He continued, “So Ringo has to be up there, and then the last one I’d have to say would be Alex Van Halen. Always loved Alex, and I’m surprised I didn’t put an Alex song in my top 10. If I went to 11, I would probably have an Alex song.”
Benante has UK/European tours coming up with both Anthrax and Pantera this fall and winter, first with Anthrax in November and December, and then with Pantera in January and February. (Pick up Anthrax tickets here, and Pantera tickets here.)
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Anthrax will also be playing Louisville’s Louder Than Life festival later this month, while both bands will rock Sacramento’s Aftershock fest in October.
Get inside the musical mind of Charlie Benante by checking out his picks for 10 Songs Every Drummer Should Hear below.