CHARLIE BENANTE Says Upcoming ANTHRAX Single Is 'A F***ing Banger Of A Song': It's 'Definitely A Love Letter To Our Fans'

In an interview with Australia's Hear 2 Zen podcast, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante spoke about the band's long-awaited new studio album, which is due later this year 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.

Benante said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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 if ANTHRAX will give Australian fans a preview of any of the new music when the band embarks on a four-date tour of the country later this month, Charlie said: "Wow. I think we're gonna play a little snippet of something. But I would like to expand on it a little more, maybe not play such a short little piece [as we did on the recent tour of Canada with MEGADETH and EXODUS]. Maybe play a little bit more, you know what I mean? Don't give so much of an appetizer. Let's give an appetizer and then a cocktail with it."

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 that the band's new album won't come out until September 2026. "We pushed it back a little bit," he explained. "We just had to do a couple of other things to it. And then we had to, of course, get a release date set. So it got moved to September. And that's it. It's coming out in September, but the first song and video will be out in May."

After the interviewer noted that ANTHRAX has been teasing one of the songs during its recent live shows, Charlie said: "We play a little piece of one of the songs. We played it on this Canadian run [with MEGADETH and EXODUS] that we just came back from. But I could see us kind of expanding it a bit for our friends in Australia [on the upcoming Australian tour in late March], maybe playing a little more, because, for me, it's become so hard to just contain this, because I'm so excited about it. I'm so happy about it. This record is really, really good."

Regarding ANTHRAX's touring plans in support of the upcoming LP, Benante said:  "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]."

Asked about the new song snippet ANTHRAX played during the band's recent Canadian tour with MEGADETH and EXODUS and whether fans attending ANTHRAX's four Australian shows in late March can expect to hear something new, Ian said: "Well, I am [able to tell you more about that song snippet], but I'm not going to, because, like all these things, there's a plan, there's a timeline. We've got lots of exciting shit up our sleeve. It's so hard not to talk about shit. It's so hard to not wanna just spill the beans and just fucking play the record for everybody already."

Scott continued: "I think people don't understand that. I see comments online of people [saying], 'Where's the fucking record?' How do you think we feel? We're the guys in the band. Granted, I've heard the record, of course, but who cares if I've heard it? That doesn't matter. I want everyone else to hear it. I'm so fucking excited. Eight people have heard this fucking album. So I can't wait for people to hear it. I can't wait. And I know what we have. It's like having just the most powerful weapon in the world at your disposal, but you're missing this one little thing and you can't use it. [Laughs]"

Ian added: "I can't wait for people to hear it. And I'm excited. And we will probably play a piece of something when we're down [in Australia], I'm sure. And it'll sound way better live than the little snippet you hear on YouTube through somebody's phone. And, yeah, soon enough the first song will be out."

Asked if ANTHRAX recorded any covers this time around, considering that the band had always laid down covers during previous album recording sessions, Ian said:  "We didn't record any covers, which is funny 'cause I don't think I realized that. I think at some point during the process we talked about it and I don't know why we ended up not, but until you just mentioned it, I hadn't thought about that. I remember Charlie recorded drums to [a song by] VAN HALEN. 'Romeo Delight'. I can't even remember now. [It was] so many years. I remember Charlie cut drums, 'cause we were fucking around with the VAN HALEN song, but we never finished it. The closest we came, I guess, was when we did [BLACK SABBATH's] 'Into The Void' at [Ozzy Osbourne's final concert] 'Back To The Beginning' [in July 2025]. But, of course, that's not on the record, and it's not ours to put out. I think that's gonna come out on the DVD or whatever they're doing with 'Back To The Beginning'. So people will get to hear that. But no, we don't have a cover. There are a bunch of other songs. There's one or two others that are finished that we held, and there's one or two that are close that still needed some work. So over the next couple years, it might be cool. We could have some other new shit come out over the next few years while we're on tour too."

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."

Asked about ANTHRAX's creative process, particularly as it relates to the upcoming album, Frank said: "We had to get over the COVID thing, like everybody else. We couldn't be one of those bands that were doing it over video, 'cause the latency, number one… Say we were jamming on something, it would come out a half a second later. It's, like, 'Oh,' and you lose the vibe. So we would just send files to each other and stuff like that. And then we got together when it was safe to get together, when they told us it was safe. So the three of us — Charlie, Scott and I — got together, as we've done all our lives, and started exchanging ideas. And from the files we've had, [we went through it and said], 'What's good? Is that good? Does that work here? Back and forth. And then you go home again and see what works. Then we start putting melodies to it, and then we put lyrics… It's really like making a cake. It really is that. So it starts with the foundation of the three of us getting the music together. Music [comes first] and then melodies, usually. Scott and I usually go back and forth with that a lot. Charlie comes up with a lot of great music ideas, but we all came out with a lot of music ideas in this. And then the melodies. Scott and I would work on that a lot. And it's an open thing. Everybody can come in with ideas. That's the idea. And then the lyrics would come on top. And to get it through us, to make sure, as fans, and we've been doing this for a while — we cut out a lot of stuff: 'No'. 'Yes'. 'No'. 'Yes'. 'Cause you want the best, like everything else. Like mom and my grandmother said, it's gotta be the best. Work ethic. Editing is really tough, and it's hard. Sometimes you lose parts that you love, but if it's not good for the song. It's all about the song, man. At the end of the day, that's all we're about. It's about the song. And still to this day. Period."

After Coniglio noted that you can't be "married too hard to your ideas", Frank concurred. "I'm still brokenhearted," he said. "And it's true. I think every songwriter will tell you that. Especially when you're in a band, when you're just not writing the stuff by yourself. When you're collaborating, you have to be open and get ready for that. If that's not working, you can't force feed it in, 'cause it's gonna screw up the song and not make it as potent as it can be. You gotta say, 'All right, I gotta get rid of that ego thing and [be, like], 'Okay. You're right.' And learn to say 'you're right' and 'I agree'. And then when you really feel strongly about something, you gotta remember that other side of it and you gotta really fight your way through. And sometimes that works too. So it's a balance."

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".

Photo credit: Ignacio Galvez (courtesy of HER PR)