In a new interview with Fistful of Metal magazine, Charlie Benante talked about his ‘secret’ involvement with Slipknot and Pantera.
“I’ve never told this to anyone before, but Vinnie told me numerous times that he’d taken pieces of my drumming and applied it to Pantera,” the drummer revealed when asked how he adjusted his style to match the drum parts Vinnie Paul originally played in Pantera.
He added, “Vinnie was, like, ‘You know that part on [Anthrax’s] ‘Spreading The Disease’? I took that idea for this track.’ When he told me that, I was, like, ‘Dude, are you serious?’, and his response was, ‘Absolutely.’ So, now when I listen back, I can actually hear what he was talking about.”
“And if Vinnie was still here, I’d be showing him some [of his] drum parts I’ve used on a few Anthrax tracks,” Benante shared. “Some drummers have really big egos and they don’t usually discuss things like that. The truth of the matter is, whatever you were listening to during the course of your life from a teenager to an adult, that style and flare in the music is inevitably going to be an influence.”
The musician also mentioned Joey Jordison of Slipknot, “I’ve had Joey Jordison [late Slipknot drummer] tell me the exact same thing that Vinnie told me, saying that he got some licks and ideas from my drumming for Slipknot, and I’m totally honored when I hear that. I do the same thing and tell other drummers, ‘Hey, I got this idea from your playing on this track.'”
In July 2022, it was announced that Benante joined the reunited Pantera as the drummer, replacing his close friend Vinnie Paul. “Every show that we play [longtime Pantera engineer, bass tech, and friend] Sterling [Winfield], who used to work for Pantera — still does, in a sense. The first show, he came to Mexico City, and he brought me one of Darrell’s wristbands and a pair of Vinnie’s gloves that they used,” Charlie said last year.
The drummer continued, “And every show that I’ve played so far, I wear the wristband, and Vinnie’s glove is in my pocket because I feel like they’re with me. And I do that for every show, and I’ll continue to do that for every other show we play. It just has significance.”
Benante’s next concert with Pantera will be on January 21 in Helsinki, Finland. The band will be touring Europe until the end of February.
