The Big 4? More Like The Big Two with Two Other Bands!

Oh my where do I even begin talking about this. I know that addressing this issue is like flogging a dead horse but it is my blog so up yours! Anyways, I just recently picked up a copy of “The Big 4: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria” on DVD and settled in to watch this.  For those that don’t know, “The Big 4” are considered the reigning kings of the American thrash metal movement that started in the early 80’s.  Lead by Metallica and followed by Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, “The Big 4” performed on one stage for the first time which is pretty much history in the making.  The only problem is that you would think that if you were going to making history that you would at least practice and at least try and live up to your status.

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Anthrax
Set List: Caught In A Mosh, Got the Time, Madhouse, Be All, End All, Antisocial, Indians/Heaven And Hell, Medusa, Only, Metal Thrashing Mad, I Am The Law

Up first was Anthrax who are considered the babies of the bunch.  Over the years Anthrax has had a rocky history with line up changes, inner turmoil and back and forth singer changes but for this run, it’s all the original members sans Dan Spitz which is fine.  Rob Cagliano totally rips so Dan wasn’t missed and having Joey Belladonna back on vocals proved to be a righteous and smart move.  The band opened their set with “Caught In A Mosh” and I was floored.  These guys were just killing it.  They were tight and they still perform with all the energy and hunger of the band that they were back when they first started.  Their set was top notch and full of classics like “Antisocial”, “Indians” and “Medusa.”  I found it odd that they chose to do the John Bush era tune “Only”. While Belladonna sounded great on it, why not just do another Joey song? I thought it was weird and that song also kind of sucks. What I did love was their tribute to Ronnie James Dio’s passing by playing “Heaven & Hell.” Luckily they did this before every other fucking metal band covered it which made it totally ridiculous. The chemistry on stage seemed a bit odd with Belladonna but regardless, they sounded top notch and proved an act to be reckoned with.  Scott Ian and Frank Bello still run the stage like their in their 20’s while Charlie Bennante proved to be the MVP of the bill by being what I felt was the best drummer of the night. That guy is a fucking machine. Closing out the set with “I Am The Law” was fucking brutal and this Bulgarian audience totally ate it up.  There’s no denying this crowd knew they were seeing something pretty fucking amazing.

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Megadeth
Set List
: Holy Wars… The Punishment Due, Hangar 18, Wake Up Dead, Head Crusher, In My Darkest Hour, Skin O’ My Teeth, A Tout Le Monde, Hook In Mouth, Trust, Sweating Bullets, Symphony Of Destruction, Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise

What can be said about Megadeth other than the fact that they have been killing it on the road this year. Ol’ Megadave has managed to put together what I feel is the greatest Megadeth line up since the Friedman/Menza days and again, they’ve been brutally awesome. Opening with “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” is just flat out unstoppable. Just this song alone had my face sliding right off my head but yet there was way more to this meltastic performance. The set featured many classic fan faves like “Hanger 18”, “A Tout Le Monde” and “In My Darkest Hour” and sprinkling in some more recent songs like “Trust” and “Headcrusher” showcased Megadeth’s ability to still produce quality songs that stand tall beside the classics that we all love. I really enjoyed this set because as much as I loved that they were doing “Rust In Peace” in it’s entirety on this tour, it was cool to hear some other classics that didn’t get played much if at all on this last tour. Megadeth’s performance was nothing short of stellar. Sean Drover is just a monstrous drummer and Chris Broderick is the perfect guitarist for Megadeth. He really enjoys this gig and it shows. Mustaine’s voice, while never his strongest point, is the weak link but much like Bob Dylan, it’s not so much how he’s singing it but what he’s actually singing. Megadeth in my opinion exceeded their #3 slot of the Big 4 and as I would see as the DVD played on, they would be more suited to be #1!

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Slayer
Set List
: World Painted Blood, Jihad, War Ensemble, Hate Worldwide, Seasons In The Abyss, Angel of Death, Beauty Through Order, Disciple, Mandatory Suicide, Chemical Warfare, South of Heaven, Raining Blood

When I was in high school I fucking loved Slayer. I saw them twice back in the day and I totally thought these guys were the shit but I’m starting to wonder something now. How many people actually LIKE Slayer more than liking the “idea” of Slayer? Over the years it seems that it’s become trendy to like Slayer and they’ve almost become somewhat of a joke. It also doesn’t help that they aren’t even really playing their instruments to the best of their ability. Well, maybe they are and they always sounded like this. Slayer took the stage opening with “World Painted Blood” and in all honesty they sounded great… until the solos. When did Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King forget how to play their guitars? It was like watching a “Slayer Shreds” video on YouTube. At first I thought they were just fucking around but no, they were really playing like this. Dave Lombardo is a great drummer but seemed to be struggling at times and I don’t even know if Tom Araya’s bass is plugged in but his voice was fucking amazing. The way these guys take a stage it’s obvious that they truly believe that they are far more talented than they really are. Array seems to be the only humble one in the bunch. Aside from a really great “War Ensamble” and “Seasons In The Abyss”, this set pretty much fell flat. It didn’t flat out suck but it nowhere near lived up to the hype that these guys are getting these days.

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Metallica
Set List
: Creeping Death, Fuel, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Harvest Of Sorrow, Fade To Black, That Was Just Your Life, Cyanide, Sad But True, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), All Nightmare Long, One, Master Of Puppets, Blackend, Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman, Am I Evil?, Hit The Lights, Seek & Destroy

Metallica, good ol’ Metallica. Oh how the mighty have fallen. It’s hard to believe that these guys were once a young, hungry band that wanted nothing but to melt face and kick ass and now they spend more time at art galleries and Armani stores than they do actually kicking ass. The best way to describe Metallica is this way. Think of a young man who was once an amazing runner, the fastest of his breed. Over the years he got older, lost focus and fell out of the game. Now he’s old an on a walker and still wants to convince the world that he can be that fast runner again. Only now, every 10 steps he falls while yelling “Look at me! I’m running!” Watching Metallica open their set with “Creeping Death” pretty much set the pace for the rest of their set. They are a tired bunch of old guys who are trying so hard to be a relevant metal band when. The only reason they are at #1 in “The Big 4” must be popularity because as a band, they suck. Their performance was pretty painful to watch. Hetfiled’s voice is weak in comparison to what it was, Lars plays drums worse than he ever did (if that’s even possible), Hammett is a total slouch on his wah wah pedal and I don’t even know what Trujillo’s deal is. He’s just happy to have a job. Jason Newstead knew what he was doing when he bailed off this sinking ship. Just because a band is huge doesn’t make them good or credible. t’s too bad Metallica is just now realizing this now because it’s a serious case of too much, too little, too late. The band just looked ridiculous as they ran around throwing up victory arms in the air as they plodded through classics and new songs. It makes me wonder if Cliff Burton was still alive would he have laughed his way out of this band or adopted the art shows, haircuts and radio friendly alterna-metal that Metallica eventually did. The one saving grace of their set was the all star jam of “Am I Evil?” which featured all the other bands minus some of the Slayer guys who are apparently too cool to jam. It’s really sad because Metallica totally had the opportunity to win back some old fans but instead tortuously played songs like “Master of Puppets”, “Fade To Black” and “Blackened” with no life, grit or attitude. Any chance I thought Metallica had of winning me over was totally blown. At least I’ll always have the classic albums to remember what Metallica was like when they truly were #1 of the Big 4.

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At the end of the day, history was made. Four of the biggest most influential American metal bands played together on one stage. Two proved to reign supreme, one proved to not be as supreme as they once were and one just managed to reign and nothing more. It’s a shame that Metallica and Slayer got so huge as bands like Exodus and Testament to this day are churning out some of the best music of their career yet stand in the shadows of these monstrous bands. This DVD set was still really enjoyable and even as lame as Metallica was, it was a good watch. I used it as background music as I wrote this article so it actually does serve a purpose somewhat. Anthrax and Megadeth proved to me that time has been good to them and they are two bands that still take their game very seriously. Those are two bands I will always have a place in my heart for and I will be watching them for many years to come. As for Slayer and Metallica, thanks for the memories guys.

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