UK-based session drummer Darby Todd has released drum-cam footage of his performance of "Among The Living" with ANTHRAX at Hellfest 2026, held June 20 in Clisson, France, where he filled in for longtime drummer Charlie Benante.
Benante sustained a right hand injury that sidelined him for approximately a dozen ANTHRAX shows across Europe in late June and early July, forcing the band to bring in a substitute on short notice. Todd's connection with ANTHRAX actually began earlier in the year: he first covered a May 23 concert at Athens' Olympic Athletic Center (OAKA), where ANTHRAX was supporting IRON MAIDEN, after Benante had a scheduling clash — he was in Frankfurt the following night playing with PANTERA in support of METALLICA. What was meant to be a single fill-in show ultimately stretched into a run of roughly ten performances with the thrash veterans.
"This is my drum cam performance," Todd wrote alongside the newly posted footage. "I was originally recruited to cover one show due to a Pantera clash but ended up filling in for a further 10 shows." He added: "Stepping behind the kit for one of thrash metal's most iconic bands was an unforgettable experience," while noting the video's rougher audio quality: "The sound isn't the best on this recording unfortunately but it's still a cool vid!"
Todd is a well-traveled session and touring drummer whose credits include stints with DEVIN TOWNSEND, THE DARKNESS, Gary Moore and Robert Plant, among others; he keeps studios in both London and the U.S. and holds passports for both countries, which made short-notice European fill-in work logistically easier.
Benante has since returned to the drum stool for ANTHRAX, which is preparing to release its twelfth studio album, "Cursum Perficio," on September 18, 2026 — the band's first full-length in a decade, following 2016's "For All Kings." Todd's stint behind the kit gave fans an unexpected preview of how ANTHRAX's classic material translates through a different drummer's attack, and the newly shared footage has been well received among the band's fan community as a document of an unusual chapter in the band's touring history.