WHAT do you do when you’re in two of the biggest bands in heavy metal and they are playing too close together on the calendar and too far apart on the map?
We got our answer – at least as far as drummer Charlie Benante is concerned – on May 23 in Athens.
Thrash stars Anthrax were opening for Iron Maiden at the Athletic Centre but there was a fill-in on drums, Brit Darby Todd.
That’s because Pantera were playing the next day, opening for Metallica, at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt.
Benante hasn’t done any interviews yet to explain why his newest band took precedence over what most see as his main gig.
And you might assume Pantera is a better paying band given the huge interest generated by the revival of the brand with original members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown plus Zakk Wylde and Benante.
But the truth is that the Pantera dates were booked first and Benante was contractually obliged to fill them. Perhaps the contract even required him to be in town a certain number of hours before the show.
You can hear his passion towards Pantera in our interview below, during which he says his involvement was “meant to happen”.
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Features and stories:
Johnny Diesel and the Injectors
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Audio interviews:
Keith Nelson | Buckcherry | 2016