When Anthrax took the stage at the Alamodome on Monday night (September 29), fans were greeted by a surprisingly familiar face from the metal scene behind the drum kit—just not the one they were expecting.
With longtime drummer Charlie Benante unable to perform, San Antonio resident Mike Heller (Raven, ex-Fear Factory) got an emergency call just hours before showtime to step in for the thrash metal icons’ set alongside Iron Maiden and Megadeth. The reason behind Benante‘s absence has not yet been publicly disclosed.
The last-minute swap proved to be an absolute trial by fire for Heller, who admitted he didn’t even know Anthrax‘s drum parts when the day began.
His afternoon took a wild turn around 2:00 p.m. when Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren reached out to see if he was in town and capable of pulling off a high-stakes rescue mission.
Heller detailed the chaotic chain of events in a post on Facebook: “So I woke up today thinking that I was gonna spend a nice day with my cats and my drumpad… then out of absolutely nowhere at 2:00pm I get a call from my buddy Dirk Verbeuren [Megadeth drummer]… he asks me if I’m in town tonight, and if I might know any Anthrax songs, and if I can fill in for Charlie Benante at 6:30pm tonight on the Maiden / Megadeth / Anthrax tour…. Well… I didn’t know any Anthrax songs on the drums, but I quickly charted two out, raced down to the Alamodome… sat in traffic and got thrown to the wrong place to park.. finally got inside, sat down with the guys in Anthrax for less than an hour… charted the other songs as they told me how the versions they play live are different from the album… and then went on stage in front of 56,000 people or whatever, and did my best… Holy crap! How the HELL did I get here?!?!”
Following the show, Heller took to social media to express his gratitude to the band, crew, and peers who put their trust in him on short notice: “I have to thank Jon Donais, Frank Bello, Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Armando Aguirre, Paul Collis and all the ANTHRAX crew for having faith in me to be able to pull this off… and of course Dirk and Chris Jericho for vouching for me!!
“I still have no idea what happened! Next time, I hope I get more than a few hours to try to learn the songs… and hopefully I would actually be able to move the drums into a comfortable playing position for me… but this is a night I will never forget!”
This isn’t the first time Anthrax has had to adjust their lineup. Benante has periodically stepped back from select dates over the years due to an ongoing battle with carpal tunnel syndrome. More recently, his busy schedule filling the drum throne for the reunited Pantera since late 2022 has also led to occasional live absences.
Anthrax is currently on the road supporting their 12th studio album, Cursum Perficio, which was released on September 18 via Megaforce Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe.
Check out fan-filmed footage of Mike Heller performing live with Anthrax below.
