Ben Carter (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, 1981) is best known as drummer in thrash metal outfit Evile. Ben started playing drums at a very young age and played with numerous local bands throughout his teens.



Ben Carter names Lars Ulrich, Ray Hartmann, Thomas Lang and Mike Mangini as favorite drummers.



Full biography:

Ben Carter was born on 22nd August 1981, and was raised in Huddersfield. At the age of 5, his Mum bought him his first instrument, a ¾ size classical guitar, which soon became permanently attached to his hands and thus started his interest in music. Both his parents were professional musicians in different guises; his Father, Steve was the bassist for many 60’s and 70’s bands and toured and mingled with greats such as Chuck Berry and Alice Cooper. His Mother, Lorraine was a professional Vocalist with many bands, until the birth of Ben’s older sister Stefanie in 1980. Stef showed no interest in playing a musical instrument until just recently, and now takes after her Father playing upright slap double bass in a local rock and roll band , which Steve also fronts. Overall, Ben comes from a family steeped in musicianship.



At the age of about 9, Ben decided the guitar wasn’t loud enough and decided to try to play drums. Utilising a bucket as a kick drum, an empty Technics Lego box as a makeshift snare drum, and some Zildjian 15” hi-hats kindly given to him by a close family friend, Ben soon realised his calling was actually the drums. After a bit more practice, Ben soon had a more realistic set to call his own; an old John Grey bass drum found at a local car boot sale and a Premier snare drum bought at a local music shop for £20.



At the age of 11, Ben started at High School, and was taken with the REAL drum kit in the music department, where he tried to practice and hone his skills wherever possible. However, Ben was the victim of bullying from older kids who already had a 6th form band and were constantly needing the drum kit for their own use, so he consequently gave up wanting to play the drums, and went back to studying the guitar. When the said monopolists had left the school, Ben realised there were no other drummers around and became the sole drummer at the high school, which spurred Ben on to really get to know the drum kit properly. It was the first time he could actually practice and not worry about complaints from neighbours or trouble from “bigger boys”.



One morning whilst getting ready for school, Ben saw the “One” music video by Metallica on MTV, and was quickly hooked and intrigued by Lars Ulrich’s drumming style. He had never heard anything like it before, and soon became obsessed with the band and heavy metal drumming. This in turn spurred Ben on further to develop his skills.



For Christmas when Ben was around 15, his Father bought him his first real drum kit - a second hand late 70’s Premier, complete with 26” bass drum in the style of the late Keith Moon. Ben loved the huge sound of the kit and soon became involved with 3 or 4 different bands doing gigs around Huddersfield, as well as drumming for his Fathers band. Ben soon became known as “that drummer guy” and quickly became a familiar face among other musicians in and around Huddersfield.



Having met Matthew Drake at high school, and Ben and Matt’s Father’s both being at school together, Ben and Matt soon became good friends and would jam out songs and swap music on lunch breaks or after school. Realising they both had similar musical backgrounds and tastes, a band formation was obvious.

Ben would go to Matt’s house most weekends where they would play the songs they both knew and then decide to play video games instead.



By this time Oliver was developing an interest in what his older brother and “that drummer guy” were doing and was soon bursting into the room with his own guitar making any number of strange noises to make Matt and Ben laugh at. At first they didn’t take it seriously at all, but little did they know Oliver was secretly becoming a guitar legend in his own right.



Oliver would often ask Ben to help him learn some drum patterns after school, and soon became interested in the drum kit, until his father Tony bought him a drum kit also, which resided in their garage. This in turn made Ol and Matt decide to jam together at home and soon the three became quite proficient at playing different metal and rock songs. While Matt and Ben were seriously trying to start a gigging band, Oliver was still not really interested. Ben was still playing gigs with as many bands as possible to develop different styles and techniques, as well as learning to play bass, and struggling on with guitars.



Ben bought another kit, a Pearl Export series in Piano White, and decked it up with black tom heads and custom cymbal stands - ANYTHING to look like his idol Lars’ kit at the time. Ben also acquired his first double bass drum pedal and was soon trying hard to imitate Lars’ style and technique. Which promptly got him fired from different bands for “being too metal”. Ben took this as a good sign and carried on hitting things as hard as possible.



Soon after, Ol’s guitar playing ability had really come on and Ol soon showed an interest in playing with his brother and “that drummer guy”. Matt and Ol joined Ben to make the very first incarnation of Metal Militia and the three started looking for a Bassist.



After trying out many different Bassists, the three were thinking they’d never find the right person for the job, and were about to give up the search until Matt received a phone call in response to an advert he’d placed in a local music shop. A rehearsal was quickly organised, and Mike Alexander was introduced to everyone.



The rehearsal went amazingly well, and the four soon realised the sounds they were making belied the short time they’d been together. This was the first true incarnation of what was to become Evile, and all four guys knew they were onto a good thing.



Gigs were organised far and wide, and Metal Militia became known as one of the best tribute acts in the area.



Behind the scenes, Ben was still at college studying a Music Diploma, and was still playing in as many bands as possible when time permitted. He was the go-to guy for all college performances and musicals, and was widely respected among his classmates.

Ben had a brief hiatus when , stupidly, he decided to play on a rope swing he last played on when he was about 10 years old. The 25ft fall that followed resulted in Ben breaking his nose, shattering his right collarbone and breaking his left wrist in 3 places. Even with his arm in a cast, Ben still carried on playing drums, even playing one-handed and singing at the same time on a couple of occasions.



Ben really discovered his true playing style while at college and his tutors taught him that less is sometimes more. Ben soon realised that hitting things as hard as possible wasn’t always the best option, and thus his skills developed further and further.

Ben passed the course with flying colours and then had to find a paying job, alongside the five bands he was now playing with besides Metal Militia, who by now were getting offered bigger and better gigs.



Ben was also playing drums and singing backing vocals in a band called Mary Jane who too were achieving some small success - the band signed a minor deal and recorded an album in the Czech Republic with Geordie Walker from punk legends Killing Joke, and played some festivals across Europe. The experience further pushed Ben to develop more and more skills, until finally, something had to give. Ben found it harder and harder to split his time between multiple interests, until finally, he decided to stop playing for anyone and everyone, and decided to concentrate on just one band - Evile.



Evile formed out of Metal Militia’s collective ambition to better themselves - Cover songs were ok but as a whole, everyone in the band wanted to try to play self-penned material, which had been worked on over the course of Metal Militia’s progression. The band came to a conclusion that, seeing as the original material could hold its own in a live situation, they should follow that through its natural course, not alongside cover material, so, they took the joint decision to fold Metal Militia, and start afresh as Evile.



Evile’s reputation grew and grew, and the rest as they say, is history.