CHARLIE BENANTE Says New ANTHRAX Album Features 'A More Grown-Up Kind Of Sound': 'We're More Mature Now, And I Think The Writing Shows It'

Drummer Charlie Benante has revealed the precise reason for ANTHRAX's latest album being delayed until September — and it's not creative.

ANTHRAX is currently on tour in Australia and in a round of interviews to promote the tour, Benante indicated the thrash titans' first album since 2016's "For All Kings" had been delayed. He told one outlet "we just had to do a couple of other things to it". But speaking to Hot Metal, Benante said the delay was directly related to ANTHRAX signing with a new management company.

"It's been pushed back because we recently changed the team, management and stuff like that," he said. "We wanted the new people coming in, the new team coming in, [to] really know what's going on, just kinda of have more of a strategic plan."

Pollstar reported earlier this month that ANTHRAX had signed with Independent Artist Group for worldwide representation.

Discussing the new ANTHRAX album's first single, which will arrive in May, Benante told Hot Metal: "It's a great song, that's all I can say. We wanted the first song to come out to basically represent ANTHRAX in 2025/2006. So it's basically a thrasher number, you know?

"There's elements of the [album] that are very abrasive," Charlie explained. "There's elements of the record that … wow, we haven't gone in this area. And a lot of it, it's a more grown-up kind of sound. I don't mean that in a way where it sounds like a LITTLE RIVER BAND or anything but it's just we're more mature now, and I think the writing shows it. It's so good. And I'm not gonna say 'it sounds like this', 'it sounds like that'. It’s just a collection of songs where each one stands up right next to the other one.

"There will be three songs that come out before the record comes out," he added. "So you will get samples of what this record is before it comes out."

ANTHRAX's new album will be relesaed in North America via Megaforce and in Europe through Nuclear Blast. The mixing sessions, as well as some of the recording sessions, for the LP took place at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California. ANTHRAX once again worked with producer Jay Ruston, who previously helmed 2016's "For All Kings" and 2011's "Worship Music" albums.

In an interview with Australia's Hear 2 Zen podcast, Benante said: "The first single and video comes out in May. The first song that we're gonna release is definitely a love letter to our fans. It's kind of, 'Man, you stuck with us for so long. This is the type of music that we play. This is the type of music that I think you love to hear from us.' So we're coming out of the gate with a fucking banger of a song. And that's how we're gonna roll out this album. This album is not what I would call for the faint of heart. There's a lot of aggressive parts to it. There's just 10, 11 songs that are just so good, and each one, after that one finishes, you get to the next one, it's, like, 'Wow, this is just as good as the last one.' And then the next one comes on, it's, like, 'Holy shit, this one…' So it's jam packed with fucking songs. You know what I mean?"

Regarding the title of the upcoming ANTHRAX LP, Charlie said: "I will tell you that the title is a very strange title [laughs], I'll tell you that. And it came to me one night. And it just kind of… Oh, man, where we are at this point in our careers, in our life, the title pretty much — it dictates where we are. And it's something that when I was thinking about this record and then this title came up, it just hit me so hard, like, 'Wow. This is so appropriate.' So we kind of went with it."

As for the cover artwork for the new ANTHRAX album, Benante said: "I'll tell you a story about the cover too. I was looking for this type of artist to do this cover that I had in my head, and I wanted something that resembled a — remember the Harry Houdini posters from back in, like, the '30s and then the Coney Island type of art? I wanted something that looked like that. And then one night I'm watching this — there's this magician, his name is David Blaine. And he's one of my favorites. He just makes my fucking head spin sometimes. Anyway, it's, like, this docuseries that I'm watching, and I'm watching the first episode, and at the end of the episode they basically summarized the whole episode with a piece of art, and when this piece of art came up on the screen, I just looked at it and I was, like, 'That's it. That's the style of art that I'm looking for.' So I went to the credits and found the artist's name, and then we contacted him and he knew ANTHRAX, and he said, 'I'd love to do it.' And he did it. Him and I talked about the cover and the concept and the style and the look and everything, and, man, he just did a fantastic job on this."

Asked how the writing process for ANTHRAX's new album was different from the way he and his bandmates approached the making of their previous releases, Benante said: "I will tell you that there's songs on this record that I don't know if I could have written these songs 15, 20 years ago. I really kind of dove down and found a new way of doing things. And some of the songs on this record, musically speaking, 'cause I handle most of the music in the band, Scott [Ian, ANTHRAX guitarist] does most of the lyrics, and Frank [Bello, ANTHRAX bassist] helps with the melodies and stuff like that. And, actually, [Frank] has one of the songs on this record — it's mostly from him, his riffs, and that's a good one too. But I would say that after the pandemic hit, like, I don't know, man. I think with a lot of us things changed, and I think we all went kind of deep, deep somewhere else. And I think that's what happened for me. I just kind of came out of the whole pandemic with a new light on things and a new life and a new way of doing things."

Benante also talked about ANTHRAX's continued working relationship with Ruston, who has also produced albums from STEEL PANTHER, URIAH HEEP, AVATAR and AMON AMARTH, among many others. Charlie said: "I would say [Jay] understands us more so than anyone else, and especially helping Joey [Belladonna, ANTHRAX singer] achieve his goals as a vocalist. He just has such a really good working relationship with Joey as well. And I think that's a very important thing, because sometimes the way we do things is not always the way other bands do it. Back in the day, we would all meet in a rehearsal place and I would bring my riff tapes with me and show everybody the riffs. Now I don't do it like that anymore. I'll just do a demo at my house and send it to everybody. And then I'll send a video of the way the riff is played and then Scott will either call me or send me a thumbs up: 'Let's work on that one.' And then we would get maybe four or five of those ideas and then we'd meet up and then we'd kind of start playing it. And that's the way it's been."

Earlier this month, Benante told Australia's Everblack podcast about ANTHRAX's touring plans in support of the upcoming LP,:  "The ANTHRAX record is a very important release to us. So we're gonna, of course, make the time to fulfill doing as many shows as we possibly could in support of this record.

"It's such a different time nowadays," he continued. "If this was 20 years ago, we'd be talking differently about how we're going to march this record out. But these days it's, like, I often said, what does a new record mean to people these days? I just feel like music has become so disposable that if I was gonna make a record, another record, and put my heart into it, I want people to anticipate, I want them to get ready to hear it. Because this record is not three or four songs deep of good songs and then the rest is shit. Every song on this record stands on its own. I mean, when one song finishes and the next one comes up, it's just, like, 'Holy shit. This one's fucking just as good as the last.'"

Also earlier in March, Ian told Andrew Slaidins of The Rockpit's "50 Shades Of Slaids" about the 10-year gap between "For All Kings" and ANTHRAX's new LP: "We weren't planning on [taking] 10 years [to release a new album]. In actual time, 'cause if you take out the time we were on tour for 'For All Kings', 'cause that record came out in '16, and we didn't finish the touring cycle till November of '19 on that album. We had already started writing at that point for a new record. And we thought we were just gonna take off for Christmas and New Year's at '19 going into '20 and then get back together in '20 and make a record. And then, of course, the world had other plans for everybody. So it wasn't until some point later in '21 that that started picking up again. Really, if you look at actual time we spent writing and recording the record, it's probably about three years, which, I think, that's pretty average these days, certainly for a band [like ours]."

Earlier this year, Bello told Long & McQuade's Dan Coniglio about ANTHRAX's upcoming album: "I'm very proud. It's so heavy. Some parts are really hard to play — really hard to play, which I'm happy to say, 'cause I like the challenge of it all. Joey's vocals — I don't understand how the guy could sing like that, but he still is killing it. And I'm very psyched.

"If you like the last two records we've come out with and the past stuff, I think everybody's gonna be happy, 'cause as fans, we're very stoked," he added. "And it's been a while, guys, so thank you for waiting. It's been 10 years [since the release of the last album]. So we made sure it's worthwhile."

This past December ANTHRAX filmed a music video for the first single from the band's upcoming LP.

Earlier in December, Benante told the "100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal" podcast about the status of the band's long-awaited follow-up to "For All Kings":  "Not because it's our record, but God, this record is so good. And I know it took a long time to make, but I think people will really be surprised and they will really grasp this and just be, like, 'Oh my God. This is worth the wait.' At least that's what I think."

Regarding ANTHRAX's working relationship with Ruston, Benante said: "I'll tell you, man, Jay's done the last few ANTHRAX records, and he's become… We talked about [legendary THE BEATLES producer] George Martin before, and Jay has become that [for us]. And him and I have been working very close on this record."

Charlie continued: "I know other bands will understand when I say this — it's, like, you could have three or four songs and it's, like, 'Okay, they're good.' Then you have seven, then you have 10, then the record starts to take shape.

"A couple of months ago, I started to listen to all of [the songs from the new ANTHRAX album] in the order that I think we're gonna put the record in, and it's, like, 'Wow, this is really good,'" Benante added. "It's the best thing when you could put them all together and it just flows. So I'm really excited about it… We pushed the envelope on this record too, so I'm happy about that."

In July 2025, Benante told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast that he had "just finished the album cover" for the upcoming ANTHRAX album "and that is fucking trippy as hell," he said. "I designed it with this artist, who is killer. You know David Blaine, the magician. He did a six-part series recently [National Geographic's 'Do Not Attempt'], and Mark [Stutzman], the artist, he did a lot of the conceptual art for it.

"It's so weird how things happen to me," Charlie continued. "It's, like, I was looking for an artist and I'm watching this David Blaine documentary, and there's this art, which is exactly what I wanted. And I contacted him, and he loved the idea and he was a fan. So it's so crazy how things just turn out that way. So I'm really happy about that."

Earlier in July, Bello told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about ANTHRAX's new album: "I can't say the title [of the album yet], but what I can say is people who have liked the last two records, and there's been a lot of you, and thank you for that, I think we took another step from that. And this isn't just a salesmanship thing. I am, as a fan, really proud of the band stepping up like this — musicianship, songwriting. Joey's vocals — I'm not even joking when I say this about Belladonna, it's one of the best singing he's done on an ANTHRAX record. I'm not even joking with that. So, we made sure the melodies, everything is right with this record. We're ready to go. It's been a long time, but I think we have the goods. I'm really proud of it, and I can't wait to play this stuff. It's gonna be a little challenging, definitely, but I'm looking forward to getting out there again."

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by 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 11 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".

"For All Kings" was called by some critics ANTHRAX's strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the release of comeback LP "Worship Music".