During a recent conversation with Metal Hammer, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante sang praises of Queen, describing some of their riffs as proto-thrash metal.
[metalwani_content_ad]
Charlie said:
“[1977’s ‘News of the World’] is probably one of my favorite album covers. Growing up and coming from an artist background, this cover would always speak to me.
“I always wanted to know why this robot has killed Queen. [Laughs] And is he sorry for doing it? Because the look on his face is somewhat, ‘Oh no. What did I do?’
“But then you turn it over, and you see him cracking a hole in an arena, and you see the people running, and you say, ‘Was he just misunderstood… or was he on a mission to wipe out civilization?’.
“But the shit that was in that record was some of the greatest music that they ever made. ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ predates thrash metal, and I always said Queen had these riffs that were very ‘thrash metal.’
“And then they can do an amazing song like ‘Spread Your Wings,’ and of course, those two anthems are back-to-back on that record. I mean, who does that?”