With their 12th studio album, Cursum Perficio, arriving next week, thrash metal titans Anthrax are showing no signs of slowing down.
Their Jackson V-touting guitarist, Scott Ian, has often served as the band’s figurehead since their inception in 1981. But some of their best ideas come from behind him, and the man responsible is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Drummer Charlie Benante, who is currently part of the Zakk Wylde-fueled Pantera reunion, has been driving a lot of the band’s material behind the scenes. For decades, he’s written a huge portion of their material on guitar. For many, that side of their operations has been a complete mystery.
“It’s so weird that 40-something years later I’m starting to get recognized for it,” Benante says in the new issue of Guitar World. “I don’t want to say it was a dirty little secret. Insiders knew, but on the outside, I wasn’t really allowed to talk about it in the interviews.”
“Scott had nothing to do with that,” he adds, “but some of the other guys felt discredited that the drummer was writing all the songs. The problem with that is I don’t think it ever dawned on them the effect that it had on me – that I could never speak about it or talk about it.”
It became an understandable sticking point for the sticksman. So he sought solace from an LA new wave band.
“It was frustrating because Scott and I always did the bulk of the writing and the bulk of the work,” he continues. “I watch the Go-Go’s documentary [2020’s The Go-Go’s] at least once a year because I relate to it so much. At one point, the band wants the two primary songwriters to give up the credit and divide it evenly within the band, and when they’re talking about it, I go, ‘That’s exactly how I feel.’”
Over the years, he’s learned to put his frustrations aside – or at least vent them towards his TV screen once a year, before dusting himself off and going again. Whether he gets his flowers or not doesn’t dilute his commitment to the cause.
“My attitude is still all about Anthrax,” he reassures us. “If I have to take a backseat for it, I’m doing it for the betterment of the band itself. I’m just happy that after all this time, the creativity still comes.
In a studio report with Guitar World in 2014, Ian explained how “great riff writer” Benante’s role has been fundamental to the band’s success, while also explaining his key role in turning demos into bangers.
The riff-writing drummer’s full interview features in the new issue of Guitar World, which can be ordered from Magazines Direct.
