benante Archives - MediaMikes

Anthrax’s Charlie Benante Talks About The Filming Of The Bands Upcoming DVD, “Kings Aming Scotland”.

ANTHRAX’S CHARLIE BENANTE TALKS ABOUT
THE FILMING OF THE UPCOMING DVD, “KINGS AMONG SCOTLAND”

Photo Credit: Jimmy Hubbard

Multi-Grammy nominated thrash icons Anthrax will see the band’s long-awaited live-in-concert DVD, “Kings Among Scotland,” released on April 27 (Megaforce). But before that, the band’s Charlie Benante has just posted a video clip where he talks about the filming of the live set, the decision to film in Scotland, and the challenge of playing some of the songs live for the first time ever. Check out the clip here: https://youtu.be/nHW5_f6jBWE
“Kings Among Scotland” will be available in CD (audio only), DVD and digital formats (both video), and can be pre-ordered at www.anthrax.com. When ordered digitally, the purchaser will receive “Breathing Lightning (live)” instantly.

The two-hour “Kings of Scotland” was filmed February 15, 2017 at the band’s sold-out concert at Barrowland Ballroom, the historic venue in Glasgow. The disc incorporates the band’s entire live show, and includes gems like “Madhouse,” “I Am the Law,” “Breathing Lightning” and “Indians.” The disc also features interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and other B-roll shot on the band’s tour bus, backstage, in hotels and elsewhere, plus a “gear rundown” from each of the band members.

“Kings Among Scotland” was produced, directed, filmed and edited for Film24Productions by Paul M. Green (Opeth, The Damned, The Levellers), with the sound mixed by Anthrax studio producer Jay Ruston. “Kings Among Scotland” can be pre-ordered now by going to www.anthrax.com.

Anthrax is set to hit the road this summer with fellow Big Four cohort SLAYER who kick off their final world tour on May 10 in San Diego, CA On the Slayer Leg One “off days,” Anthrax will join up with Testament for a handful of shows. All dates are below.

LEG ONE
MAY
10 Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA SOLD OUT
11 Five Point Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA SOLD OUT
12 Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV – Anthrax + Testament
13 Papa Murphy’s Park at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA SOLD OUT
16 Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC SOLD OUT
17 South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC
18 Western Finance Place, Cranbrook, BC – Anthrax + Testament
19 Big Four, Calgary, AB SOLD OUT
20 Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, AB SOLD OUT
22 Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, MB
23 Sanctuary Events Center, Fargo, ND – Anthrax + Testament
24 The Armory, Minneapolis, MN SOLD OUT
25 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
26 Clyde theatre, Ft. Wayne, IN – Anthrax + Testament
27 Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, Detroit, MI SOLD OUT
29 Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ON SOLD OUT
30 Place Bell, Montreal, PQ SOLD OUT

JUNE
1 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT SOLD OUT
2 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
4 Santander Arena, Reading, PA SOLD OUT
6 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
8 International, Knoxville, TN- Anthrax + Testament
7 Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH
9 KeyBank Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
10 Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
12 Veteran’s United Home Loans Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA
13 The Stage on the Bay, Savannah, GA – Anthrax + Testament
14 PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
15 Orlando Amphitheater, Orlando, FL
17 Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, Houston, TX SOLD OUT
18 House of Blues, New Orleans, LA – Anthrax + Testament
19 The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX SOLD OUT
20 Austin360 Amphitheater, Austin, TX SOLD OUT

LEG TWO
JULY
26 Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Gilford, NH
27 Impact Music Festival, Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor, ME
29 Northwell Health at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
31 The Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA

AUGUST
1 Times Union Center, Albany, NY
3 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, NY
4 Lakeview Amphitheater, Syracuse, NY
6 Budweiser Gardens, London, ON
7 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
9 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, St. Louis, MO
10 Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
12 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
13 Walmart AMP, Rogers, AR
15 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX
16 The Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City, OK
18 Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
19 USANA Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, UT
21 Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, Boise, ID
23 Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, Portland, OR
26 SAP Center, San Jose, CA

Read Complete Article

Anthrax’s Charlie Benante talks about new EP "Anthems"

Charlie Benante is the drummer for the legendary thrash metal band Anthrax. The band is set to release a new EP titled “Anthems” in March. The EP will consist of six cover songs and one special remix of the Anthrax song “Crawl” and the album version also, which was originally released on the bands 2011 full-length release “Worship Music”. Media Mikes caught up with Charlie prior to the bands appearance on this year’s Metal Alliance tour to discuss the new EP.

Adam Lawton: Where did the idea to do a covers EP come from?
Charlie Benante: We have been doing cover songs here and there going back as far as our second record. We have always been open to do those things. Some of the covers we have done in the past sort of became hits for us. Originally there was talk of re-releasing our last album “Worship Music” with this covers disc as a bonus. We didn’t want to make our fans have to buy the album again so we decided to release it as its own EP. We were able to keep it inexpensive and to the core of what we are. That’s just 5 guys in the studio just having fun.

AL: Was it hard choosing which six songs to put on the release?
CB: There were a few songs that we didn’t quite get to as we were really concentrating on the six which are featured on the EP. These 5 were the ones that really hit us all so we spent the majority of our time working on those. We all had ideas of songs that we wanted to do. Rush has always been one of those bands that we all love. To tackle one of their songs was not an easy task. I was totally up for the challenge and it worked out good.

AL: Can you tell us about the re-mastering of the song “Crawl”?
CB: When we were working on “Worship Music” with Jay Ruston he and I had a talk about doing something similar a few remixes that were done to the song “Black Lodge” off the album “Sound of White Noise”. There were some really cool orchestral things that were done on those mixes so Jay took some time and found someone to do it. The song I think came out really good.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands upcoming tour?
CB: The Metal Alliance tour is mixture of bands that have been around for awhile and some that are a little newer. For us it gives us a chance to go out and play some songs that we haven’t played in forever. We will be doing songs mostly off the “Among the Living” album so that’s going to be the special thing about this tour.

AL: Can you tell us how things are going with Jon Donais of Shadows Fall filling in on guitar and how he was brought in to the lineup?
CB: Rob Caggiano I guess had talked with Jon about filling in for him. We had gotten wind of that and were like “ok”. (Laughs) I have known Jon for a long time and he is a great guitar player. Scott has been jamming with him out in Los Angeles and from what I hear everything is going great. It will probably take Jon a few shows for him to feel comfortable with everything.

AL: Has there been any talks of starting work on a new album after this tour wraps and how do you generally go about working together with member scattered across the U.S.?
CB: Yes. I am sure we will tackle that at some point. We have two or three songs left over from the last recording sessions that we want to work on again. We hope to work on stuff during the summer before hitting the festival circuit which starts in August. Usually when we start working on a new record we will meet up in Chicago. If not there I go out to either Los Angeles or New York. The last album was written in Chicago which was pretty helpful.

Read Complete Article

Interview with Anthrax’s Charlie Benante

Charlie Benante is the drummer for the legendary thrash metal band Anthrax. The band just released their newest studio album titled “Worship Music” which is the first Anthrax album to feature singer Joey Belladonna since the bands 1990 release “Persistence of Time”. Media Mikes caught up with Charlie after the bands performance at the Big 4 concert held at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Adam Lawton: What was your first response when it was announced you and the band would be playing at Yankee stadium as part of the Big 4?
Charlie Benante: (Laughs) I was like “Oh my god! We are playing Yankee Stadium!” We have a couple really huge Yankee fans in the band so it was just awesome. The anticipation leading up to the show was crazy. It felt like we waited a year to do the show and then all of a sudden it was here. Then it was like “Oh Shit! It just happened”.

AL: Will the set you guys played tonight be the same one you will be playing on your upcoming tour?
CB: The set we played tonight was just something we sort of threw together. We sort of screwed up as we had a little bit more time to play today but didn’t. I think we had about 5 extra minutes.

AL: Do you have a favorite track off the new album “Worship Music”?
CB: It’s hard to pick one of them. Each track brings back different moments and moods so it’s hard to pick just one. However if I had to pick a song based on today I would probably pick “Judas Priest”. Yesterday I was feeling the song “In the End”. Day by day it just depends on what my mood is and what that song represents to me.

AL: Do you have a favorite song that you guys don’t play live but would like to?
CB: Oh Yeah! There is a song off the album “Spreading the Disease” called “Long Justice” that fans just love. It’s seems like every time we try and play that song live it just doesn’t work. It’s a tricky song. There always are songs on a record that people want to hear live but then when you do try it, it just doesn’t seem to work.

AL: I happen to be from the Ithaca, NY area where you guys worked a lot early in your career with producer Alex Perialas. Can you tell us what that was like?
CB: Our experiences there were all great! We built a lot of great relationships there. I haven’t seen Alex in a long time and I wish I have. He is an awesome guy and I learned a lot from him Alex is one of those true real people! Alex is a great guy.

AL: Other than the tour is there anything else planned for you guys?
CB: This week has been a crazy world wind with the album release and the show tonight. We have been just enjoying everything. The tour starts and runs Oct/Nov. and we are just looking for feedback from fans and how they are enjoying this. I am really just enjoying this ride.

For more info on Charlie and Anthrax head over to www.anthrax.com also be sure to check out our review of the band’s latest release “Worship Music” as well as our coverage of the Anthrax from “The Big 4”.

Read Complete Article

Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: anthraxs, benante, charlie, interview

Page 1 of 1