CHARLIE BENANTE: Why ANTHRAX Should Be Nominated For ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Charlie Benante says that ANTHRAX should be nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because of the role his band played in creating the rap rock genre.

The drummer addressed ANTHRAX's absence from the Rock Hall during a recent appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation". He told host Eddie Trunk: "It's funny, because every time I see, every year they have the nominees, and it's, like, I look on the list and I'm, like, 'Okay. Okay. Okay. What? What?'

"The reason why I think we should be nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is because of the stamp that we made on rock and heavy metal music," he explained. "If it wasn't for us, man, there'd be a lot of bands that wouldn't be around today. And I don't mean to sound, 'Oh, this guy's got a huge ego,' but we introduced a lot of people to rap music and to that whole style that became 'nu metal.' And we never really talk about it too much, but since you brought it up, it's, like, yeah. I think that's more important to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because of what genre it created, and that genre created such another genre."

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

ANTHRAX released its first single, "Soldiers Of Metal", in 1983, which means that the band has been eligible for induction since 2008.

In a 2015 interview with EMP Live TV, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian said that his band wasn't the first to mix rap with heavy metal. "There were other bands dicking around with that before us too," he said. "FAITH NO MORE was doing it around the same time as us. There were other people involved. I can't say that what we did… certainly not 'I'm The Man', but maybe more so with 'Bring The Noise'… I think that did influence a lot of people, but we certainly don't take credit for what came after. I really don't think a lot of those bands [like KORN and LIMP BIZKIT] were sitting around, listening to 'Bring The Noise' and then they became bands… I had one of the dudes from LINKIN PARK, a long time ago, one of them told me he was at the ANTHRAX/PUBLIC ENEMY show in Los Angeles on the tour, and he loved it, and it was a very important night for him. So that was nice to hear."

Asked in a 2013 interview with The National Student if he thinks the backlash in the collaboration ANTHRAX did with PUBLIC ENEMY helped to form any of the nu-metal music today, Ian said: "You know, people ask us, do we think we created certain genres of music that the press named after we did what we did with PUBLIC ENEMY. I never thought we invented it. It certainly opened a door, even just a window for people to jump out of. I truly believe that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE were the band that drove a train through that door; they took the influences in their individuals and came together to make a band out of it. Whereas with us and PUBLIC ENEMY, it's not like ANTHRAX became a rap group and it's not like PUBLIC ENEMY became a metal group, we just collaborated together and did something great. We didn't then become one unit and continue to make music like that. Whereas, RAGE AGAINST were that unit and this is the music that they were creating from their souls which blew up massively on a worldwide level. So I think if anything, whether or not they'd want the credit for it, it's definitely RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE for me that created rap metal, nu metal, whatever you want to call it. Everything that came after them showed that a direct line had to go back to RAGE. The only thing I can personally take credit for is, there have been guys in bands that have come up to me and personally told me the influence that we bring to them specifically some of the dudes from LINKIN PARK told me years and years ago that the first concert they ever saw was ANTHRAX and PUBLIC ENEMY in Los Angeles. And they left that show saying that's the kind of band we want me to make. I know the guys in RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and I know Tom [Morello, guitar] and he was a fan of ours and PUBLIC ENEMY's and what we did. I'm not saying 'Bring The Noise' was a direct responsibility for RAGE, but I know that it's something they are certainly fans of."

ANTHRAX's version of "Bring the Noise" was featured on "Attack of the Killer B's", a compilation album of B-sides, covers and rarities, which was released in June 1991.