Charlie Benante: For All Kings is not final Anthrax album

Charlie Benante of Anthrax
More music: Benante (Image credit: Getty)

Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante has said that the band will record again, following reports that he’d said For All Kings could be their final album.

Eonmusic published an interview in June, quoting him as saying: “I don’t even know if there will be another record, is all I can tell you. This may be our last record – I’d rather go out on a high.”

But he says the widely-reported comments have been misconstrued.

Benante tells Metal Wani: “I should clarify that. That was taken completely out of context. He asked me – this record, he felt, was probably the greatest record we’ve ever done. Where do you go from here?

“That led into the conversation, ‘I don’t know. Maybe this could be the last one, and I would be happy with that.’ That’s what I said.”

He adds: “I think we have a lot more music in us.”

Benante says he continues to find inspiration from almost all the music he encounters. “I’ll go to shows and I’ll come back with this feeling of, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to create something,’ and that’s exactly what I’ll do.

“Whether it be going to see Iron Maiden or I go see the Dave Matthews Band, it pushes me to make future music.”

Anthrax celebrated their 35th anniversary last month. The drummer reflects: “As much as people in the media give you a sense that heavy metal and hard rock is dead, we’ve always said, ‘No, you’re wrong. It’s not dead. It’s just underground. You don’t hear about it the way you once did.’

“Heavy metal is a family, a way of life. You don’t get a fair-weather fan here. They’re into it. We appreciate it and they appreciate us. It’s a give-take thing. We love it.”

For All Kings, Anthrax’s 11th album, was released in February. The thrash icons tour North America with Slayer and Death Angel starting on September 9 – full dates below.

Anthrax tour dates 2016

Aug 21: Auburn Pain In The Grass, WA
Sep 09: Cleveland Jacob’s Pavilion, OH
Sep 10: Detroit Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, MI
Sep 11: Traverse City Streeters Ground Zero, MI
Sep 12: Toronto Sound Academy, ON
Sep 13: Montreal Metropolis, QC
Sep 15: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
Sep 16: Brooklyn St Vitus, NY
Sep 17: New London Revolution Rock Festival, CT
Sep 18: Chester Rock Allegiance Festival, PA
Sep 20: Indianapolis Egyptian Room, IN
Sep 22: St Louis The Pageant, MO
Sep 23: Shreveport Riverside Warehouse, LA
Sep 24: Houston Open Air, TX
Sep 25: San Bernardino Ozzfest Meets Knotfest, CA
Sep 27: Orlando Hard Rock Live, FL
Sep 28: Miami Fillmore, FL
Sep 29: Destin Club LA, FL
Sep 30: Tunica Horseshoe Casino, MS
Oct 01: Lousville Louder Than Life Festival, KY
Oct 03: Norfolk Norva, VA
Oct 04: Asheville Orange Peel, NC
Oct 05: Atlanta Tabernacle, GA
Oct 06: Baton Rouge Varsity Theater, LA
Oct 07: Dallas Gas Monkey Live, TX
Oct 08: Austin ACL At The Moody Theatre, TX
Oct 10: Denver Fillmore, CO
Oct 11: Salt Lake City The Complex, UT
Oct 13: Missoula The Wilma Theatre, MT
Oct 14: Idaho Falls Hitt Event Center, ID
Oct 15: Garden City Revolution Concert House, ID
Oct 16: Spokane Knitting Factory, WA
Oct 17: Lethbridge Enmax Center, AB
Oct 19: Penticton South Okanagan Events Centre, BC
Oct 20: Abbotsford Centre, BC
Oct 21: Portland Daze Of The Dead, OR
Oct 22: Sacramento Aftershock Festival, CA
Oct 23: Reno Events Center, NV
Oct 25: Flagstaff Orpheum Theater, AZ
Oct 26: EL Paso County Coliseum, TX
Oct 27: El Paso County Coliseum, TX

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.