Big Four Tour Thread

[Starbreaker]

Did anyone here go to any of the Sonisphere shows or see the show from June 22nd in a theater? What are your thoughts?

Personally I thought all of the bands sounded great, although Dave Mustaine's vocals were a bit iffy. Also when all 4 of the bands came out to play Am I Evil? by Diamond Head, I went nuts (but for some reason Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, and Tom Araya didn't come out to play onstage, though Tom came out for the hugfest at the end).

The only thing I didn't like was that the version I saw in a theater (I went on the 24th) didn't show the full setlists of the four bands. In fact apparently in the version I saw they cut out 2 or 3 songs from Metallica's setlist. I was expecting to hear full setlists from each of the Big Four but that wasn't the case (Anthrax only got to play 8 songs)

[SelfDevouringSnake]

Funny, a couple days ago I considered making a thread for thrash metal but I gave up on it.

I would have loved to have seen the Big Four, but I didn't. Really cool that four bands with so much history could come together like that, especially considering Dave Mustaine (lead vocalist and lead/rhythm guitarist of Megadeth), who has had a huge feud with Metallica in the past, arguments with Slayer, and I read that when Mustaine was with Metallica he got angry at one of the members of Anthrax, which means that at some point, he's been at odds with all three other bands. Which band gave your favorite performance?

I've been getting into a lot of thrash metal recently, and the so-called "Big Four" (of thrash metal) are a great place to start. Thrash seems like the most logical of all the subgenres of metal: it's kind of like traditional heavy metal, except it makes it even angrier.

Even before I got into the other three bands, I would occasionally listen to Metallica (easily the most popular of the Big Four), although like many, I'm of the opinion that they lost a lot of their hard thrash image after ... And Justice for All (I can listen to Metallica, aka the Black Album, which is actually quite good, if not as hard/heavy as their previous four albums; I was disappointed by Load and Reload, but did not hate them; and I just try to avoid St. Anger, which I don't think is awful, but it is not Metallica for me). Death Magnetic was a solid enough return to their thrash roots. Their latest bassist, Robert Trujillo is really good.

Before I began listening to the other three bands of the Big Four, I was beginning to listen to Pantera because I kept hearing about how great their guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was, so I was very curious. Pantera, which is considered a "post-thrash" band (it's also cited as one of the progenitors of groove metal, but I refer to Pantera as thrash because it has the same level of intensity and I'm not a fan of creating a new subgenre for every trend or style which falls in and out of fashion), is incredible. Apparently, they used to be a typical hair metal band, but they showed a more extreme side when they hired vocalist Phil Anselmo, and their second release with him (considered the first canonical Pantera album), Cowboys from Hell became a hit. Unfortunately, Anselmo broke up the band because of drug addiction and side projects (and probably other things, I wouldn't really know), and the Abbott brothers ("Dimebag" Darrell, guitarist and Vinnie Paul, drummer) started a new band called Damageplan. Then a psychotic fan killed Dimebag on stage. R.I.P. Dimebag. He was one of the greats, and Anselmo has shown remorse for breaking up the band. Vinnie Paul still doesn't want to associate with him though, which is understandable. An interesting fact about Pantera: they also feuded with Dave Mustaine.

That brings me to Megadeth. The man at the center of Megadeth has always been Dave Mustaine, who was the first lead guitarist of Metallica before he was kicked out because of his self-destructive personality. Megadeth was basically formed in revenge: Metallica was getting big and Mustaine was angry. Megadeth is just as good as Metallica, and its releases have been more consistent in general (at least from a thrash perspective). Mustaine has always insisted on having a second guitarist on lead (well, more like co-lead seeing as Mustaine contributes a good deal of lead work), and Megadeth has had a lot of great guitarists: Marty Friedman, Jeff Young, Chris Poland, and most recently Chris Broderick, who has a lot to prove and looks like he can prove it. Mustaine is quite a character, in any case.

Slayer and Anthrax have both remained consistent thrash bands. Slayer is heavier; Anthrax is punkier (not a word, I know). But I listen to more Metallica and Megadeth (and Pantera).

Just for the hell of it, here's my favorite song from each band:

1. Metallica - "Master of Puppets".

The epitome of thrash. Metallica's made a lot of great songs, but this is easily my favorite.

2. Megadeth - "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due".

I have a tendency to listen to a song more if people say it's good, because I attempt to see more in it than I did the first time (basically what I did with "Stairway to Heaven" - I'd listen to it when I felt like it, then one day I thought "Wow, this is the best song ever."). It usually takes me more than one listen to really get a song, and this was the case with "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due". It is considered the best Megadeth song by a lot of people, so I listened to it more than most people would bother, and now I really like it. Other songs I considered include "Tornado of Souls" and "Hangar 18" (coincidentally all three are on Rust in Peace).

3. Slayer - "Raining Blood".

Same thing here as with "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due", I listened to this because everybody says it's one of their best. Creepy song.

4. Anthrax - "Caught in a Mosh".

I choose "Caught in a Mosh", because, like "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due", I've listened to it so much that I like it. Has a real punk feeling to it.

5. Pantera - "Cowboys from Hell".

Like "Master of Puppets", this is one of those songs that I got on the first listen (not that there's anything wrong with not getting something at first).

[Starbreaker]

Personally I thought that overall, all four of the bands performed very well, however Metallica (at least in Sofia, Bulgaria) proved why they are the most succesful metal band on the planet. The performances of the Big Four also showed that clearly Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth are on a higher level in terms of musicianship. I respect Anthrax and think they along with the rest of the Big Four need to be in the Hall of Fame, but I just think the other three are more creative and more technically proficient.

As for Megadeth lead guitarists, I definately think Chris Broderick is up to par with Mustaine. The first time I gave a listen to his solo on Headcrusher all my doubts were cast aside. He's quite good.

Also did you know that Dave Mustaine asked Dimebag to join Megadeth (it was before Cowboys from Hell was recorded and I think Mustaine had just fired Chris Poland), Dimebag said yes but on one condition: that his brother play drums. Mustaine had a drummer already who he liked (not sure who), so he said no to Dimebag. Marty Freidman is awesome, but just imagine how badass the Rust In Peace Record would have sounded with both of those guys.

Mustaine+Dimebag would have settled the question over who the best guitar team of all time is/was.

[Roxie]

Personally I thought all of the bands sounded great, although Dave Mustaine's vocals were a bit iffy.

Mustaine's vocals live are ALWAYS iffy live. Too bad... Megadeth was my fave band growing up, and seen them live so many times, but rarely heard him pull off a great live show vocally.

Megadeth has had a lot of great guitarists: Marty Friedman, Jeff Young, Chris Poland, and most recently Chris Broderick, who has a lot to prove and looks like he can prove it. Mustaine is quite a character, in any case.

Agreed.

Gotta put up the video of 'Am I Evil'. Would have been SO cool to see. Especially seeing Mustaine & Hetfield playing together again. 2:08 is pure awesomeness.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=P8-_-E3JORM

[SelfDevouringSnake]

Cool. I haven't listened to that much Anthrax, but I think I get what you're saying.

Mustaine has said that he feels like finding Chris Broderick is akin to when Ozzy found Randy Rhoads. Broderick is damn good, I don't think he's going to have any problem proving himself.

I'd heard something like that. It's a cool thought, but it's hard to imagine for me. I wonder how the chemistry between Mustaine and Dimebag would work out. Dimebag always struck me as a chill guy, but he didn't take shit, so he and Mustaine could potentially piss each other off pretty badly. Would have been very interesting though. It would be hard to top Marty Friedman's work on Rust in Peace, but Dimebag's definitely good enough to equal him.

[Starbreaker]

Cool. I haven't listened to that much Anthrax, but I think I get what you're saying.

Mustaine has said that he feels like finding Chris Broderick is akin to when Ozzy found Randy Rhoads. Broderick is damn good, I don't think he's going to have any problem proving himself.

I'd heard something like that. It's a cool thought, but it's hard to imagine for me. I wonder how the chemistry between Mustaine and Dimebag would work out. Dimebag always struck me as a chill guy, but he didn't take shit, so he and Mustaine could potentially piss each other off pretty badly. Would have been very interesting though. It would be hard to top Marty Friedman's work on Rust in Peace, but Dimebag's definitely good enough to equal him.

Yeah they probably would have worked together for just Rust in Peace because, like you said, Mustaine pisses people off. That's the reason that I'd rather play with Hammett than Mustaine. Hammett is easy-going (like Dimebag) and doesn't have an ego, whereas Mustaine does (though he's not as arrogant as he used to be).

I had hoped that after Am I Evil? Metallica would have let Mustaine stay on and play The Mechanics (the original version of The Four Horsemen

) or one of the other songs Mustaine co-wrote on Kill 'Em All (the others being Jump In The Fire, Phantom Lord, and Metal Militia).

[SelfDevouringSnake]

Mustaine's vocals live are ALWAYS iffy live. Too bad... Megadeth was my fave band growing up, and seen them live so many times, but rarely heard him pull off a great live show vocally.

Yeah, Mustaine even stated in an interview that he considered himself a vocalist rather than a true singer. In the studio, his vocals are interesting. Not exactly pleasant though.

Yeah they probably would have worked together for just Rust in Peace because, like you said, Mustaine pisses people off. That's the reason that I'd rather play with Hammett than Mustaine. Hammett is easy-going (like Dimebag) and doesn't have an ego, whereas Mustaine does (though he's not as arrogant as he used to be).

I read an interview with Marty Friedman where he said that Mustaine's edge actually complimented his own personality, because Friedman is a perfectionist in the studio. Friedman and Mustaine are still in contact apparently.