Deftones’ Stephen Carpenter Says Anthrax Is His Favorite Big Four Band

Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter spoke to Ernie Ball String Theory and talked about his most significant metal influences. The musician also revealed his favorite band from the Big Four.

The Big Four of the thrash metal scene is defined as Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer. Each of them has hit the stage with extraordinary and unique performances for years. Therefore, there’s no doubt that they have significantly influenced many next-generation metal musicians.

Carpenter had named these bands as his muses many times during his professional musical career. However, during a recent interview, he unveiled that Anthrax has always been his favorite among the Big Four bands, even though he has always admired Metallica’s style.

After giving credit to Metallica’s influence on him, despite choosing Anthrax over them, Deftones’ Stephen Carpenter added that he considers himself a rhythm-oriented guitarist and never had any desire to play solos. Thus, Stephen feels closer to Scott Ian. He stated that Ian’s way of playing inspired him a lot.

Carpenter said in his interview that:

“As a guitar player, I consider myself a rhythm guitar player. All the bands that I’ve ever liked, since the ’80s when I really started thinking about playing music, I’ve always been rhythm-oriented. Of the Big Four, Anthrax was my favorite.

I did love Metallica, of course too, but Anthrax was my favorite. I specifically love Scott Ian as a rhythm player. I had zero desire to play a solo. I just want to crunch it up!”

You can check out the interview below.