Anthrax’s Charlie Benante Wishes Band Were Higher on Big 4 Bill

Thrash metal innovators Anthrax are set to wrap up 2011 with plenty of bragging rights. First, the band released their passion-filled, musically precise new album, ‘Worship Music,’ this year. Then, there was the a little gig called the Big 4 with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, on top of their own headlining jaunt. Not a bad run for a band that’s 30 years old, and counting.

For drummer Charlie Benante, playing the Big 4 gig at Yankee Stadium carried a special flavor. Considering it was the band’s hometown show, the band hoped to be higher on the bill. Still, they’re not complaining.

“… There's nothing we could have done about it,” he told the Houston Press. “We just wanted to be there. It was a big homecoming, especially for myself, growing up in the Bronx with Yankee Stadium in my backyard.

“There was an excitement around the whole day for us. And we knew it would go quick, so we just tried to grab onto everything and have the most memories that we could. And my family and friends were all there.”

On another subject, Benante gushed over Starbucks (he even bares a tattoo with the Starbucks logo) and named his favorite brew. “In the summertime, it's an Iced Venti Americano with vanilla, and they make it with a breve, which is they add half and half to it,” he said. “Lately, I've been kind of getting into this salted caramel mocha that is … awesome!”