Charlie Benante's Drum Setup on Anthrax's We've Come for You All (2003) | MetalForge
Charlie Benante recorded We've Come for You All (2003) on a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with a Tama Starclassic Steel Snare snare.
Complete breakdown of Charlie Benante's drum setup on Anthrax's We've Come for You All (2003) — the last John Bush-era studio album, recorded in the shadow o...
Frequently Asked Questions
What drum kit did Charlie Benante use on We've Come for You All?
Charlie Benante used a Tama Starclassic Maple kit on We've Come for You All (2003) — dual 22" x 18" bass drums, three rack toms (10", 12", 13"), and two floor toms (14" and 16") with all-maple shells and Tama's Star-Cast suspension mounting. This marked an upgrade from the Tama Artstar Custom birch kit he'd played on Sound of White Noise, Stomp 442, and Volume 8, and it's the direct ancestor of the Starclassic Maple configuration he still plays today.
How does We've Come for You All compare to Sound of White Noise drum-wise?
The two albums sit on opposite ends of Charlie Benante's mid-90s groove-metal tuning arc, though both use Tama and Paiste. Sound of White Noise (1993) kept his existing Tama Artstar Custom kit and Paiste cymbals but tuned them lower and warmer for a room-heavy groove-metal sound. We've Come for You All (2003) closes that arc with an upgrade to Tama's Starclassic Maple kit and a brighter, more cutting tuning approach that pulls the album's drum sound back toward the thrash-era voice of Among the Living, even as the songwriting remains groove-conscious. For the album that started this arc, see the [Sound of White Noise drum setup article](/articles/sound-of-white-noise-drum-setup).
Did Roger Daltrey and Dimebag Darrell really appear on We've Come for You All?
Yes. The Who's Roger Daltrey sings on "Taking the Music Back," and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell contributes guitar to "Strap It On" and "Cadillac Rock Box" — his third consecutive Anthrax guest appearance after Stomp 442's "King Size"/"Riding Shotgun" and Volume 8's "Inside Out"/"Born Again Idiot." E-Town Concrete's Anthony Martini also guests on vocals for "Refuse to Be Denied."
What is the significance of 'What Doesn't Die'?
"What Doesn't Die" is We've Come for You All's signature track, using zombie-apocalypse imagery as a metaphor for Anthrax's own resilience after a turbulent decade — Volume 8's mixed reception, a three-year studio silence, and a record written and recorded in the direct aftermath of 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax-letter attacks that briefly threatened the band's own name. Released as a single in 2004, it remains one of the most cited tracks from the John Bush era and a clear anchor point for the album's themes of perseverance.
Was We've Come for You All the last Anthrax album with John Bush?
Yes. We've Come for You All (2003) was the final Anthrax studio album to feature John Bush on lead vocals before the band's eventual reunion with original singer Joey Belladonna, whose return is documented on the Worship Music drum setup. For Charlie Benante, it also closes the five-year gap between Volume 8 (1998) and Worship Music (2011) and marks the upgrade to the Tama Starclassic Maple kit that defined his sound for the following two decades. For the prior chapter, see the [Volume 8 drum setup article](/articles/volume-8-drum-setup); for the band's eventual return with Joey Belladonna, see [Worship Music drum setup](/articles/worship-music-drum-setup).