Seattle Seahawks Drumline Plays Pantera and Anthrax Songs with Charlie Benante

2023-01-13

Promo photo of Charlie Benante of Anthrax.

Charlie Benante of Anthrax – Story by Charles Ken, photo by Jimmy Hubbard

The Seattle Seahawks vs. L.A. Rams game over the weekend got a dose of thrash metal

Charlie Benante is a man of many projects. He, of course, is the longtime drummer of legendary thrash metal band Anthrax. He also has his own solo project and is the touring drummer with the new incarnation of Pantera.

Now, Benante can add “drumming with the Seattle Seahawks” to his list of things that he has accomplished. Benante was at the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday (Jan. 8) and performed Pantera and Anthrax songs with the Seahawks Blue Thunder, a drumline that performs at Lumen Field during Seattle’s home games.

The folks in the drumline, apparently, have heavier tastes and wanted to play Pantera’s “Walk” and Anthrax’s “Indians” at the game. Benante was all in, and he performed with them sitting behind a full kit. It’s pretty rare to see a traditional drumline play thrash metal, but it worked and Benante and the crew gave impressive performances. Watch the sets via the YouTube below. Perhaps the heavy music was just what the Seahawks needed, as the team beat the Rams in overtime.

Benante shared the news on Instagram, stating, “Had a great experience playing with the @seahawks @bluethunderdrumline – thank you to everyone for making this happen. @keithrousu you are a drummer’s drummer and you get it. You put together a great drum line , I enjoyed hanging and talking with everyone and even learned a trick or 2. They wanted to play Indians and Walk and I was more than happy to play those with them. The #seattle Rain sucked but we got through it and the Seahawks won.”

In other news, Benante and Pantera will hit the road on a reunion tour that runs through 2023 and 2024, including a dollop of festival appearances. They will also open for Metallica’s upcoming North American tour.

Author
Recent Posts

Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.