During a recent appearance on the Talk Louder podcast, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello talked about Anthrax’s Charlie Benante sitting in as drummer for the upcoming 2023 Pantera shows. In talking about these shows, Frank speaks to the long relationship both bands have had, and even shares that “They got the right guy,” regarding Charlie being the sit-in drummer for the Pantera shows.
At one point during this conversation, the interviewers ask Frank Bello about his thoughts regarding these Pantera shows; specifically, the interviewer asks if Frank felt any “trepidation” upon hearing that Charlie got the gig. This is what Frank had to say:
“Look, we’ve done a lot of touring with Pantera in our day. We were family. You have to understand, Anthrax and Pantera, we were very much a family. Dime played on a few of our records. We were very, very close to these guys, so Charlie also had a really close relationship with Dime and Vinnie. And we all did, we all did.
“They got the right guy. If there’s one guy to play drums, who’ll play them the right way, the way it should be — and I think Vinnie would say this too, rest his soul. We were very, very close with these guys. This will be like another family member joining them and paying tribute to these guys.
“For me, as a Pantera fan, yes, I’m stoked on it. I think Zakk‘s awesome. We talk about it every day. We’re close with Zakk. We’ve known him for years. So this is a great time.
“I think it’s a celebration of Pantera. I’ll be the first one in line for a ticket. I’ll be loving this. I think it’s a great tribute. Also, for the people who haven’t seen Pantera, these guys will do the right job of representing Pantera, I think. If it was to be done, this is the right way, in my opinion. I’d wanna see this just because, man, it’s gonna be done right and respectful and it’s gonna be awesome. And just a little selfishly, I’ve been jamming with Charlie Benante for all my life; he’s a relative of mine.
“It’s great that a bigger group of people are gonna see how great he truly is as a drummer. I think people are gonna see that and [see what] we’ve known for a long time. It’s gonna be a great thing. It’s a tribute. I’m looking forward to it. I’m a Pantera fan.”
Do you feel that Charlie Benante was the best choice to be the sit-in drummer for these Pantera shows?
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