# Charlie Benante Creates John Wick Pinball Soundtrack

**Source:** Stern Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-05-15  
**Duration:** 0m 54s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iofl5tPY_nU

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## Analysis

Charlie Benante, drummer of Anthrax, discusses his creation of the John Wick Pinball soundtrack in collaboration with Andy Lagus. He describes the creative process of watching the films to capture the atmosphere, performing drums, guitar, and keyboards, and achieving a balance between subtle and aggressive music that complements gameplay.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Charlie Benante created the John Wick Pinball soundtrack with partner Andy Lagus — _Direct statement from Charlie Benante in official Stern Pinball video_
- [HIGH] Benante has been into pinball for a long time — _Direct statement from Charlie Benante_
- [HIGH] Stern approached Benante about doing something with the John Wick game — _Direct statement from Charlie Benante_
- [HIGH] Benante performed drums, guitar, and some keyboards on the soundtrack — _Direct statement from Charlie Benante_
- [HIGH] The soundtrack balances subtle and aggressive elements to match gameplay intensity — _Direct statement from Charlie Benante describing the music's effect on players_

### Notable Quotes

> "I've been into pinball for a long time. Stern said, like, let me know if you wanted to do something else."
> — **Charlie Benante**
> _Establishes Benante's longstanding passion for pinball and willingness to collaborate with Stern_

> "At times it was challenging because it was like, how are we going to achieve this atmosphere, this sound?"
> — **Charlie Benante**
> _Reveals creative challenge in translating film atmosphere into pinball audio experience_

> "I watched the movies and then we just took it and ran."
> — **Charlie Benante**
> _Describes the research and development approach for the soundtrack_

> "When I was just playing it, the music was really nice and subtly placed and just makes you want to play, you know? It gets aggressive, so you get a bit aggressive when you're playing too."
> — **Charlie Benante**
> _Articulates the intended emotional and behavioral effect of the music on players_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Charlie Benante | person | Drummer of Anthrax, composer of John Wick Pinball soundtrack |
| Andy Lagus | person | Co-composer/partner with Charlie Benante on John Wick Pinball soundtrack |
| John Wick Pinball | game | Licensed Stern Pinball machine based on John Wick film franchise with custom soundtrack by Benante and Lagus |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of John Wick Pinball; commissioned Benante to create soundtrack |
| Anthrax | organization | Heavy metal band of which Charlie Benante is the drummer |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Soundtrack and audio design for pinball machines, Musician collaboration with Stern Pinball, John Wick Pinball production and creative process
- **Secondary:** Film-to-game adaptation and atmosphere translation, Music's role in enhancing gameplay experience

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Charlie Benante expresses enthusiasm about the project, satisfaction with the creative process, and confidence that the music effectively enhances gameplay. Tone is conversational and upbeat.

### Signals

- **[product_strategy]** Custom soundtrack by Charlie Benante represents high-production value audio component of John Wick Pinball design (confidence: high) — Charlie Benante composed drums, guitar, and keyboards specifically for the game to achieve atmosphere and complement gameplay

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## Transcript

This is Charlie Bate and I created with my partner Andy Lagus the soundtrack to the John Wick pinball game. I've been into pinball for a long time. Stern said, like, let me know if you wanted to do something else. John Wick was talked about and I said, "Yeah, I could do that. Let's work on that one." At times it was challenging because it was like, how are we going to achieve this atmosphere, this sound? So I watched the movies and then we just took it and ran. I played all the drums, guitar, some of the keyboards. When I was just playing it, the music was really nice and subtly placed and just makes you want to play, you know? It gets aggressive, so you get a bit aggressive when you're playing too, and I just thought it works really well with the game.

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ec53851a-f381-43c6-b72e-385f8ee7fec4*