Caggiano’s Anthrax departure ‘looks sketchy’

Sketchy move: Benante and Caggiano

Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante describes Rob Caggiano’s departure from the band, followed by his decision to join Volbeat, as seeming “a bit sketchy.”

The guitarist surprised his bandmates and fans alike by announcing he’d quit last month, saying he wanted to concentrate on production in the near future, and later adding his time with the thrash giants hadn’t been creative.

His first desk job was with Volbeat – but earlier this week he confirmed that, as a result of the studio work, he’d joined the band full-time.

Benante tells Metal Insider of Caggiano’s decision to quit: “It was a bit of a surprise to me. I was bummed. he said he wanted to pursue more producing options and that was his reason for leaving. He had other reasons, so I guess it was something he’d been thinking about for a while.

“You’re probably going to tell me, ‘You do know he joined another band, right?’ That makes it a bit confusing.

“I know a lot of our fans were sad to see him go, but were like, ‘If you want to go produce, we understand that.’ But when you read that he went to go join another band, that makes it seem a bit sketchy.”

Meanwhile, Benante is delighted to report that Rush congratulated Anthrax on their cover of the Canadian’s track Anthem. It appears on upcoming EP Anthems, due out on March 18, also featuring the band’s take on music by Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Boston, Cheap Trick and Journey.

The drummer says: “We actually got some feedback from Rush. It was awesome because it was 100percent positive. Someone sent it to them and it was Alex Lifeson that wrote back and said how much they enjoyed it. It was pretty awesome.”

And Benante remains thrilled that his band have been nominated for a Grammy once again. He explains: “To some it may come as a ‘Yeah, I really don’t care.’ I really do care because it’s being recognised for your art. I’m really excited about it and I hope it goes our way.”