The Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, who will also tour with Pantera in 2023, gave his opinion in an interview with Talk Louder (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) on the legendary AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd. The American musician explained Rudd’s role in the Hard Rock band and the importance of his playing for AC/DC’s music.
Anthrax’s Charlie Benante gives his opinion on AC/DC’s Phil Rudd
“AC/DC is probably in my top five of my all-time favorite bands. Phil Rudd has always been one of my favorite drummers. Some people may go, ‘Huh? What? Why?’ Phil Rudd is an awesome drummer. Is someone that I looked up to since I heard AC/DC.”
“The way Phil Rudd approaches the songs and his meter, most drummers wanna fill in a song. Phil doesn’t fill (laughs) that much. When he does fill, it’s this nice, tasty (simple fill). You just feel it. So he doesn’t overdo it because Phil understands the role in the band. They all understood the role in the band. The focus was Angus . ‘So Angus is gonna do what he does, and we’re gonna stay back here, and we’re just gonna keep it (simple).’
“I’ve been in situations where I’ll see some famous drummers trying to play an AC/DC song. I’m just, like, ‘Nah, it’s not it. It’s not it. I would dare anybody to play a song like ‘Let There Be Rock’ and you keep it up all through the song. Don’t fill; just kind of keep it going. (AC/DC are) awesome. They’re machines,” Charlie Benante said.
During the same interview he recalled that he had the opportunity to meet Rudd one night and take a photo with him.
Phil Rudd
Phil Rudd first joined AC/DC in 1975 and left in 1983, returning from 1994 to 2015 and from 2018 until then. With the group he was part of classic albums like “T.N.T” (1975), “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” (1976), “Let There Be Rock” (1977), “Powerage” (1978), “Highway to Hell” (1979), “Back in Black” (1980), “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” (1981) and “Flick of the Switch” (1983).
Also the most recent ones: “Ballbreaker” (1995), “Stiff Upper Lip” (2000), “Black Ice” (2008), “Rock or Bust” (2014) and “Power Up” (2020).