CHARLIE BENANTE To Sit Out Nearly A Dozen ANTHRAX Shows In Europe After Injuring His Right Hand; Temporary Replacement Announced

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante will sit out nearly a dozen of the band's shows in Europe in the next couple of weeks after injuring his right hand. Filling in for Charlie is acclaimed U.K.-based session drummer Darby Todd, who previously sat behind the kit for ANTHRAX's May 23 concert at the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (OAKA) in Athens, Greece as the support act for IRON MAIDEN.

On Saturday (June 20),Charlie took to his social media to write: "An Ouch post.

"I wanted to let everyone know that I unfortunately injured my right hand and, following my doctor's orders, I'll be sitting out a handful of shows from June 20 through July 4 to give it the proper time to heal.

"I'm incredibly grateful that Darby Todd will be stepping in behind the kit for these dates and helping keep the shows rolling while I recover.

I'm already focused on getting healthy and look forward to being back on the road soon. Thank you all for the support and understanding."

Professionally filmed video of ANTHRAX's June 20 concert at Hellfest in Clisson, France — featuring Darby on the drums — can be seen below.

Charlie was apparently unable to make the Athens gig due to his touring commitments with PANTERA, which played a show in Frankfurt, Germany on May 24 as the support act for METALLICA.

In addition to touring the world with Devin Townsend, Darby has played with THE DARKNESS, Martin Barre, Alan Price, Gary Moore, Kee Marcello (EUROPE),Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW),Carl Verheyen, Robert Plant, Robben Ford, Paul Gilbert and many others. Darby is as comfortable playing jazz in a small jazz club as he is playing rock in an arena.

When not touring, Darby can found in his London-based studio remote recording for artists and bands around the world as well as doing a limited amount of teaching. He holds both U.K. and USA passports, which makes working in America simple.

ANTHRAX will release its long-awaited twelfth full-length studio album, "Cursum Perficio", on September 18 via Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It marks the band's first record in ten years since 2016's "For All Kings", which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.

Benante joined ANTHRAX in 1983, prior to the recording of the band's debut album, "Fistful Of Metal", and has been the band's drummer ever since. He is known for having a very fast double-kick technique and his work with the 1980s hardcore/metal project STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH (S.O.D.) is credited with having set the template for extreme metal and hardcore blast beats. He is also an accomplished guitarist, having written the majority of the music for ANTHRAX. Along with his musician duties, Benante is a graphic artist and has created many of ANTHRAX's album covers and T-shirt designs.