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Charlie Benante<\/strong> \u2013 the drumming powerhouse behind Anthrax<\/a><\/strong> and Pantera<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 has a pretty varied taste when it comes to what he’s listening to and influenced by. And of course among everything Benante<\/strong> listens to is a hefty dose of heavier music.<\/p>\n In an interview with Consequence<\/a><\/em>, Benante<\/strong> touched on his love of Dimmu Borgir<\/a><\/strong>‘s 2001 album Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia<\/em> and the drumming of Nick Barker<\/strong>. Benante<\/strong> said he remembers hearing the track “Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny” and being completely blown away by Barker<\/strong>‘s drumming, and later explains why Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia<\/em> likely appealed to the masses.<\/p>\n “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<\/strong> and I did with two other guys, and it was called Stormtroopers of Death<\/a><\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n “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<\/strong>, in particular had just mastered it so well. And when I heard Dimmu Borger<\/a><\/strong>‘s [sic] Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia<\/em> 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?’<\/p>\n “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<\/strong> shines on that record. His drumming, his tasty fills, just blew me away.”<\/p>\n \n