Metallica
Slayer
Megadeth
Anthrax
These four acts birthed the thrash music genre in the 80s, forever being linked together as being “The Big 4”. All more or less hailing from the southern California area, The Big 4 took inspiration from such classic acts as Black Sabbath and KISS before them, and crafted some of the most unbelievably memorable metal music in the history of the music industry. Flash forward to today, and the impact that these four bands have had on the genre still resonates, maybe now more than ever.
That’s why when news that all four groups were getting together for a European festival tour sent shockwaves throughout the metal community. Then, just a day or two ago, it was hinted that there would be a major announcement coming about re-uniting here in the States. Immediately upon hearing this, I nearly shit my pants in excitement. The thought that maybe they’d be going out on a full-blown American tour would be too good to pass up to say it lightly, and then the news came…
They’re playing one show in Indio, California at Empire Polo Field.
What the fuck?
Let’s get a few things straight first of all. There may be more shows on the horizon that spread throughout the rest of the country. Also, even if there is only one show, I can understand performing it in California, based on the fact that all four bands call the state their home and that’s where they first achieved some fame and really got noticed. That being said, I can understand these guys playing there, maybe kind of going back to their roots, to where it all began. Then again, if The Big 4 doesn’t kick off a full-blown American tour, I’ll instead be shitting my pants in disappointment.
Say what you will about Metallica, it’s all been said plenty of times before. They sold out. They sued Napster. They’re only in it for the money any more. All of that is fairly true, but the reality of the situation is this: Metallica made metal music mainstream, which is nothing short of an amazing feat. I’ve seen them twice in my life, and no matter what I or anyone else may think of them, I dare anyone to tell me that they don’t get chills driven down their spines when they belt out “Fade to Black”. These guys still have the talent and the will to deliver powerful, head-banging music that still puts any recent metal band to hit the big time to shame.
Slayer is a band that people either love or hate, simple as that. Superstar producer Rick Rubin helped the band perfect their brutality and talent for album treatments, perfectly reconstructing the energy and power of their live performances for audio listeners. Though Slayer has seemingly suffered moments of self-parody with their last few albums, the impact that they have had cannot be denied.
Megadeth, fronted and founded by ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine as a giant middle finger to his former bandmates, is thrash metal at its near finest to this day. Disregard their late 90s releases, and nearly everything this band has put out has been hard, heavy, and features some of the most pure and brilliant songwriting to see the light of day. That, and the fact that Mustaine was told some years ago that he’d never play guitar again and has since defied that diagnosis to fucking infinity, just illustrates how undying Megadeth is.
Anthrax has never had as much mainstream success as the other three bands that make up The Big 4, but their contributions are incredible regardless. These guys have stuck by their roots, even in the midst of different singers in different eras, but no matter what, Anthrax delivers powerful thrash music, and are one of the few bands I’ve seen live that actually manage to have fun on stage doing what they do. That, and the fact that guitarist/co-founder Scott Ian is a fucking madman helps make Anthrax as entertaining today as they have been throughout their whole existence.
As you can tell, I have a lot of love for The Big 4, even though I'm not nearly the metal head that I was in my youth. Despite that,my love for them is so much that if these guys do decide to do a full-blown American tour and snub the Philadelphia area, I’m willing to catch them in another city and/or state. This really is a once-in-a-lifetime deal to see these guys together and live. Ticket prices will no doubt be ridiculous, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay just to say that I was there. I’ve seen all four of them by themselves throughout the years, and Jesus Christ I even find myself debating internally about making a trip to California in April to be there first hand, so maybe you can understand my excitement about all this.
And oh yeah, if they do end up dicking over the rest of the States, well…you can bet on finding an eventual angry blog down the road written by yours truly.
As soon as I’m done shitting myself that is.
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