Andrea
Proving yourself in the drumming industry is never a walk in the park. It requires a lot of determination, practice, and a love for music. Charlie Benante had the determination and love for music from the start, and that made him prosper. Charlie Lee Benante, also called drummer for the metal band Anthrax, is an American musician specializing in thrash metal music.
He was born on 27 November 1962 in The Bronx, New York City, United States of America. His birth name is Charlie Lance Benante, and he is famously known as the Crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of death. He is a musician, songwriter, and artist dealing with three music genres: speed metal, heavy metal, and thrash metal. He plays several instruments such as keyboard, guitar, percussion, Theremin, turntables, drums, and harmonica.
Benante’s mother is a sister to Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, thus making Benante uncle to Frank. This gave him a significant breakthrough into the music industry. It made him have a godfather in this competitive industry. In 1996, his younger nephew (Frank’s younger brother) was murdered in the Bronx, and the murder was never solved. This murder made Benante grief, and he has always worked towards advocating for justice in his music. Benante is a great fan of the 1975 film known as Jaws.
He owns an excellent collection of merchandise for this film. His love for these films made him feature in the documentary ‘The Shark is Still Working.’ Due to his early association with Anthrax, he joined the band to enhance and improve his music. However, he had many issues in 2012, which made him miss several concerts organized by Anthrax. He lost his mother in 2012, this also made Frank Bello stay away from the band for some time, and he missed the tour to Argentina.
Benante also stayed away for some time during the summer’s Rockstar Mayhem fest after getting a hand injury. He engaged in a domestic dispute with his wife in front of their daughter during that summer, which made him stay away from the band because they were both arrested. However, despite all these ups and downs, he has never lost interest in music.
He missed the UK, European and Australian tours because of his reasons. Since joining Anthrax in 1983, Benante remained the band’s drummer, and his debut album was Fistful of Metal. He has remained exceptional because of his fast double kick technique, and he has been recognized as one of the double bass pioneers. He popularized the blast beat technique with thrash metal, which has made him outstanding in the industry.
Apart from playing drums, Benante is a great guitarist, and he played a significant role of lead guitar to Speak English or die Album. He is also a graphic artist, and he has made several graphics for Anthrax albums and T-shirt designs.
His multiple roles in the band have made him remain active in the band despite some serious personal issues that he has been facing. In 2019, it was confirmed that Benante is dating Carla Harvey, who is Butcher Babies frontwoman. The drum brands that Benante endorses are Tama drums and hardware, Paiste cymbals, Evans drumheads, Roland electronics, and Vic Firth sticks.
