Charlie Benante – the drumming powerhouse behind Anthrax and Pantera – has a pretty varied taste when it comes to what he's listening to and influenced by. And of course among everything Benante listens to is a hefty dose of heavier music.
In an interview with Consequence, Benante touched on his love of Dimmu Borgir's 2001 album Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and the drumming of Nick Barker. Benante said he remembers hearing the track "Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny" and being completely blown away by Barker's drumming, and later explains why Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia likely appealed to the masses.
"In the early 2000s, when this record came out, it was one of those moments where my head spun. Back in the '80s, there was a band that Scott Ian and I did with two other guys, and it was called Stormtroopers of Death. And we had a song called 'Milk.' And it was like the first time that a blast beat had really appeared on a record. And I remember at that time people were asking me, 'What are you doing there? What are you doing there?' And I would try and demonstrate and show them. So that whole thing kind of took off.
"Later on, the black metal bands started to pick up on the blast beat. I was doing like a one foot blast basically back then, but then they were doing it more independently with two feet. So, Nick Barker, in particular had just mastered it so well. And when I heard Dimmu Borger's [sic] Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia album, and I heard that song 'Blessings Upon the Throne of Tyranny,' it was one of those moments where I had to go up to the speakers and just ask myself, 'What is going on here?'
"To me, that's a black metal record that I think the masses kind of can take in because it was produced very well. The playing was fucking killer and the songs were great. But, out of everything, Nick Barker shines on that record. His drumming, his tasty fills, just blew me away."
