CHARLIE BENANTE Explains His Absence From Last Two Shows Of ANTHRAX's North American Tour With IRON MAIDEN

In a new interview with Robert Cavuoto of MetalRules, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante explained his absence from the final two shows of the band's North American tour as the support act for IRON MAIDEN: September 29 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and October 2 at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico. Benante said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "So what had happened — I missed, actually, two shows… So I kind of got sick after that Louder Than Life festival [in Louisville, Kentucky], and I heard from a lot of people that they got sick too from it. But it never came out; it wasn't like a full-blown illness, like, okay, you get a cold, you know? So we started to do the L.A. shows, the two MAIDEN stadiums [at BMO Stadium on September 25 and September 27], and then we played The Roxy [in West Hollywood on September 26], and I started to feel crappy again. And then we flew from Los Angeles on the Monday to San Antonio. I woke up the next day with the craziest version of vertigo. I've never had it before, but this thing felt like I was on the worst rocking ship in the ocean, and I was just a fucking mess. I couldn't function. I couldn't even lift my head up, let alone pick up a pair of sticks. So I missed the show in San Antonio."

Benante continued: "The doctor came to see me, and our next show was going to be in Mexico City, and the doctor said, 'I advise you not to get on a plane, and do not go to Mexico City, because with the higher elevation, it's just gonna make it worse.' So, I was done. I mean, it was the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. Like, you can't even imagine — the room spinning and not being able to stop it. So I had to miss the two shows, which I was so bummed about, because, God, I love playing Mexico City too. And the San Antonio fans, there's such a huge metal scene there. And it just bummed me out. But I'm feeling much better now. It was, like, the worst thing I've ever experienced."

Derek Roddy, who has previously played with HATE ETERNAL, NILE, MALEVOLENT CREATION and TODAY IS THE DAY, sat behind the drum kit for ANTHRAX when the pioneering thrash metal band played in Mexico City.

Benante was replaced at the San Antonio show with only a few hours' notice by Mike Heller, formerly of FEAR FACTORY and currently of RAVEN. Drummer Dirk Verbeuren of MEGADETH, which was also on the bill at the Alamodome, gave Heller a call that afternoon, and within hours Mike was playing in front of tens of thousands of metal fans.

Roddy previously filled in for Benante during ANTHRAX's May 2023 concert at the Milwaukee Metal Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Roddy also stepped in for Benante in January 2023 when Charlie was forced to miss a few shows on ANTHRAX's North American tour with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and EXODUS in order to undergo an undisclosed operation.

ANTHRAX played its first concert with Roddy on January 20, 2023 at the PNE Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Beginning around 2012, Benante missed certain shows on ANTHRAX's tours due to his long-running battle with carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive stress condition that happens when a person does repeated movements with the hand and wrist. More recently, he missed ANTHRAX dates due to his touring commitments with the reformed PANTERA, with whom he has been performing live since late 2022.

A few years ago, Charlie told San Antonio Metal Music Examiner about his inability to make all the dates on ANTHRAX's tours: "Unfortunately, we're like athletes, and like athletes, they suffer from certain things. I suffer from carpal tunnel problems. But I try and do as much as I could when I can. So we still wanna keep the band… We don't wanna disappoint people. So that's why we do it that way."

Back in 2021, Benante spoke to the "Drum For The Song" podcast about how he was finally able to overcome his battle with carpal tunnel syndrome. He said: "I was suffering so much from it because I would go out and start playing the show, and then, by the fifth song, my hand would just go numb; I couldn't feel the stick. I tried so many different things, from acupuncture to physical therapy. I even had a can of the spray air that when you turn it upside down, it gets really cold — I would do that to try to get the feeling back. I tried so many things, but I knew at the end of the day I was gonna have to have the surgery. And Paiste cymbals referred me to a doctor that one of their other drummers went to and was such a great doctor. [He] talked me through the whole thing, and my recovery was quick, and, to this day, it's awesome."

Benante urged fellow drummers suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome to find a surgeon with experience and expertise in the condition before undergoing the operation. "Make sure you find a good doctor, because I've seen drummers that have had [huge] scars," he said. "And [on my arm] you can't even see anything, where he went in. So you have to be careful."

ANTHRAX is touring in support of its twelfth full-length studio album, "Cursum Perficio", which arrived on September 18 via Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. The phrase "Cursum Perficio" is Latin for "My journey has come to an end," "My journey is over," or "I complete my journey."

"Cursum Perficio" marks ANTHRAX's first record in ten years since 2016's "For All Kings", which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 12 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

Photo credit: Travis Shinn