Drummer Gets Last-Minute Call as Fill-In for Anthrax, Plays in Front of 50,000 People
Mike Heller was drumming for Anthrax at the Alamodome within a few hours of getting the call. Drummer Gets Last-Minute Call as Fill-In for Anthrax, Plays in Front of 50,000 People Spencer Kaufman
On Tuesday night in San Antonio, Texas, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante was unable to perform at their opening gig for Iron Maiden at the Alamodome. As a result, Anthrax had to quickly find a replacement drummer at the last minute. Drummer Mike Heller, formerly of Fear Factory and currently of Raven, received a call from Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren around 2:00 PM offering him the opportunity to fill in for Benante.
Despite having no prior experience playing Anthrax songs on drums, Heller was able to quickly learn two songs and took to the stage in front of an audience of 56,000 metal fans. In a Facebook post after the show, Heller expressed his amazement at the unexpected turn of events and thanked several Anthrax crew members for their support.
He also mentioned that he was unsure about the next steps for the band, as Benante had not yet re-joined Anthrax for their following show in Mexico City on October 2nd. Anthrax recently released their highly anticipated new album Cursum Perficio, their first studio record in ten years. Heller's performance with Anthrax is captured in a video below, along with a link to his Facebook post detailing his experience.
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