Mike Heller now has an experience he won’t soon forget, spending Tuesday night (Sept. 29) drumming for Anthrax at San Antonio’s Alamodome after getting a call just a few hours before the show was to take place.
Heller, (ex-Fear Factory, Raven, Malignancy), was pressed into service after Charlie Benante was unable to join the band for their scheduled performance alongside Iron Maiden and Megadeth.
What Mike Heller Said About His Last Minute Fill-In Appearance for Anthrax
The drummer shared his account of the day’s events post-show recalling exactly how chaotic and thrilling an experience it was for him.
It was a scramble to get to the stadium and he didn’t even know any Anthrax songs prior to agreeing to take the gig just a few hours before stage time in Texas.
In a statement shared on Facebook, Heller recollected:
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… 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?!?!
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!
Heller impressively kept Anthrax on track through the five-song set, which included “Caught in a Mosh,” “Madhouse,” “Antisocial,” “Got the Time” and “Indians.”
Fan-shot footage courtesy of YouTube accounts MG124c41, whatremains1 and nucklebutt_FavBands can be seen below.
Anthrax, “Antisocial” in San Antonio
Anthrax, “Madhouse” in San Antonio
Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh” in San Antonio
More About Anthrax
No reason was given for Benante’s absence and no announcement has been made about him missing any further dates. At present, there’s just one more show on their current itinerary taking place Oct. 2 at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City.
READ MORE: 5 Things We Loved About Anthrax’s ‘Cursum Perficio’ Album
The band just released their latest album, Cursum Perficio. While things seem a bit quiet now on the tour front, additional dates are expected to be announced. Stay tuned to their website for touring details and ticketing information.
Below, see 10 other times that musicians were emergency fill-ins for a major band.
10 Times Musicians Were an Emergency Fill-In
Even rock stars need a sick day sometimes…
Gallery Credit: Jacklyn Krol
