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The Big 4’s Indio, CA Show Doesn’t Sound So Big Afterall

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The Big 4 took place in Indio, CA for this weekend. I spent some time scanning the web for feed back and over all it sounds for the most part that most were pretty underwhelmed. No huge surprises or even big changes in the setlists. I heard that while Anthrax again was kick ass, their set list was pretty much identical to the last leg. Megadeth’s set list looked pretty awesome in my opinion but coming off the heels of the “Rust In Peace” tour, I think they really spoiled everyone on that tour. I think it’s great they mixed it up a bit. Slayer’s set featured Gary Holt of Exodus once again but the surprise of the night was the return of Jeff Hanneman for the band’s encore of “South of Heaven” and “Angel of Death” which I heard was pretty bad ass. Everyone seems to be raving about how awesome Tom Araya sounds and honestly I can see that because I thought that he was without a doubt the MVP of the Slayer tour. As for Metallica, the majority of the reviews I read said that the band totally phoned this one in and that they were their usual sloppy selves. It’s really fucking sad to me that Metallica can’t even see for themselves what a fucking joke they are. They are not even a shadow of their former selves. They are old, tired and completely incapable of delivering the caliber of show that they once did.

For the most part, from the looks of this unless I can get a cheap ticket or unless the bands really try a little harder to mix it up a bit, you can count me out of this one. Paying a huge price for the novelty of seeing these four bands in one night just doesn’t appeal to me. I would much rather pay 1/2 the price to see these bands on their own minus Metallica. Maybe after his surgery Hanneman can now play lead guitar again. I know I give them a hard time but I have to say that Slayer really blew me away on this recent tour. Anthax proved capable of bringing back Joey and really kicking some major ass and Megadeth’s line up proved to me to the best most solid sounding line up since the classic “Rust In Peace” lineup. I just don’t see myself paying an inflated price for tickets to see these amazing bands play BEFORE Metallica and their over inflated egos. I just wanna know if these guys ever sat down and watched their own performances. If they did and they feel that they are doing the best they can than it is truly over for them. I have given up on any hope of them ever doing anything worth a shit so with that being said, I say a big fat NO to this festival.

Anthrax
Caught in a Mosh, Got the Time, Madhouse, Among the Living, Antisocial, Indians, Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t, Metal Thrashing Mad, A.I.R., I Am The Law

Megadeth
Trust, In My Darkest Hour, Hangar 18, Wake Up Dead, Poison Was the Cure, She-Wolf, Sweating Bullets, Head Crusher, A Tout Le Monde, Symphony of Destruction, Peace Sells, Holy Wars… The Punishment Due / Mechanix

Slayer
World Painted Blood, Hate World Wide, War Ensemble, Postmortem, Raining Blood, Black Magic, Dead Skin Mask, Americon, Silent Scream, Anti-Christ, Seasons in the Abyss, Payback, Snuff, South of Heaven (w/ Jeff Hanneman), Angel of Death (w/ Jeff Hanneman)

Metallica
Creeping Death, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fuel, Ride the Lightning, Fade to Black, Cyanide, All Nightmare Long, Sad But True, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion, One, Master of Puppets, Blackened, Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman
Encore
Am I Evil? (w/ the Big 4), Hit the Lights, Seek & Destroy

About The Author

Don

I have been running this blog since 2009. AKA as the Great Southern Brainfart, Southeast of Heaven is my baby now and forever. I’ve had my ups and downs with bands over the years but they are all great experiences and memories. My Swedish friend Charlie said once, “Don is known for being one of the meanest bastards in American rock journalism.” It’s nice to be loved.

I also once took a shit in Anthrax’s dressing room toilet and didn’t flush.

See author's posts

24 Responses

  1. Man, I know I’m kinda slow on the draw, but this is just too good not to be a part of.

    I pretty much 100% agree with the Fart on this one. 20-or-so years have gone by since Metallica were a good band. I do really think they died with Cliff. I know it’s stupid and childish, but anymore, I just can’t bring myself to listen to ANY Metallica, old or new. Their awful shit is just there, festering in the back of my mind like a rancid sandwich (lolz cool band name). They’re a band I don’t think I’d ever want to see live, let alone HIGHER ON A BILL THAN THREE MORE TALENTED GODDAMN BANDS. I can respect what they’ve done for music, the ground they’ve broken and such, but I refuse to support such a shit band.

    I read some more recent interviews of the band every now and again, and Lars will be like, “Dude, Cliff TOTALLY would’ve dug LuLu! He was WAY into Velvet Underground back in the day, you know.” and my head hits my hands and I die a little inside. I know I never got to know the man, and they obviously had a better relationship with him than I did, but I just refuse to believe that CLIFF. GODDAMN. BURTON. would do anything but vomit into his own asshole upon hearing some of the shit off that album.

    …Anywho, saw Anthrax a while back with Testament and Death Angel, and they brought down the house. They still got it after all these years, as do Testament and (I assume) Death Angel (new to the band; not a huge fan but meh).

    Big Megadeth fan. Got some signed CDs and such. Never actually met the band, though. Funny how that goes. Dave’s still got it, and I don’t think there’s really ever been a “bad” Megadeth lineup. Some better than others, sure. Totally on my list of bands to see before death.

    Never been a huge Slayer fan. Been meaning to try and get into them, but you know how that goes… From what I’ve heard, a lot of it’s really repetitive, a smattering of Satanic cheese lyrics here, some inaudibly fast grunting wailing vocals there… I’ll give em’ a shot though. One of these days, I tell you. One of these days…

    Also, kudos to the Fart for showing some restraint and maturity in all these replies. Some sites, it’s like screeching monkeys slinging shit at each other. Hats off.

    Also, Overkill are underrated.

    And that is my stance on the matter.

    Reply

    1. AJ,

      Thanks for the feedback bro. It’s nice to see a young music love who’s actually LISTENING with a critical ear rather that just joining the sheep in saying what an awesome band Metallica is these days. As for Slayer, I agree with you. I’ve always been a casual fan of the band but I could never vibe on them enough to dive full on into anything they’ve ever done. My personal favorite is Decade of Aggression Live which pretty much features all their best shit so that’s a good one to own. As for Megadeth, go see them when you can. This is the best line up Megadave has had since Rust In Peace and they’ve been killing it live.

      Thanks for your awesome replies and keep ’em comin’ brah!

      Reply

  2. i was at the big four and for the fucking record it was the best show i dont know how a person can hate Metallica they are obviusly a very good band!! youre just hating…. but on the brightside SLAYER blew me the fuck away 😀

    Reply

    1. HAHA. First off, thanks for coming by the site Maria. Second, I’m not a hater on Metallica. I’ve been a Metallica fan since I first heard “Ride The Lightning” over 25 years ago and saw them numerous times with the last being their “Live Shit” tour. I have seen Metallica change into a band that is a total cartoon and shadow of their former selves. It’s sad that the younger generation never go to see just what a fucking amazing band they once were because now, they are worshiping a joke.

      Reply

  3. Did you, by any chance, attend The Big 4 show in Indio thegreatsouthernbrainfart? Because what I gathered from the above statement (“I spent some time scanning the web for feed back and over all it sounds for the most part that…”) proves otherwise. Now, we are all entitled to our own opinions, but I don’t quite believe that what you’re saying about this amazing concert holds any validity if you were not infact there. Now, to retort on what you said about Metallica at the show, I could not disagree with you more. For the record I would love to see you grab an instrument and jump onstage infront of 50,000+ fans and play a flawless setlist. Metallica stole the whole night. The music was incredibly solid and every single self-respecting metal fan there enjoyed the preformance. The highlight of the show was without a doubt when Metallica played the song “Orion” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0zWOPHOeQo&). With all of that aside, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer put on quite a wonderful show as well. Now, my opinion is not in any way biased. I love all 4 of these great bands, and I believe that they are what make thrash metal the genre that it is. But c’mon man, if you are seriously going to bash Metallica for getting “Old and Sloppy” then you must be the brain-dead tone-deaf fool. Please, if you will, get off the internet. The world will thank you!

    Reply

    1. You call me “brain dead-tone deaf” while you praise Metallica for being flawless? Oh the irony. It never ceases to amaze me how people can say shit like this yet. I’m sure you would say the same thing about the Bulgaria performance as well just like all the other Metallidorks did. These guys are so far out of their prime and have been since 1990. If you want to continue to support these guys and pad their pockets for putting on sloppy performances, that’s all fine and good. Just don’t get your little Metalithong all twisted up when people call them out. In all reality, the only people who actually believe that Metallica is anywhere near the band they used to be are people who weren’t born or old enough to see/listen to them in their prime or braindead, inbred rednecks that go to these show, drink Budweiser and yell “WOOOOOOOOOOO ‘TALLICA!”. I’m not sure which category you fall in but it’s without a doubt one of those I’m sure.

      Thanks for checking in!

      Reply

  4. I gotta agree, Slayer owned that show. That’s what I love about Slayer; they’re the same band now as they were in 1986

    Reply

  5. It was a killer show however I have to agree with the review. If you were to ask me Slayer should have headlined as they had the tightest set. The only glory that metallica brought upon the show for me was to see R.T. play Orion as it should have been played since Cliff. This was the first time for me to see Metallica with R.T. and they are by far a better band now than with Jason. Again just my opinion…. Too much of a price for the tics??? NO, $99.00 for 4 of the biggest metal bands of our time was cheap. That is $25.00 a band. we will never get back to the days of paying $8 at the door for a show so ya got to deal with it. This was the best show that Ive seen in a decade and to be able to say that I was there at the only show announced in the US just added to the overall great experiance.

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  6. I see both sides. I will start by saying that I am a die-hard Metallica fan, but I completly understand where the writer was going when he said they were sloppy. I attended the concert, and they did indeed miss many notes, but it was still a phenomenal performance. Them playing “Orion” was the highlight of the entire show for me.

    Yes, Metallica is older, more mellow, and burned out. The music they create now is nowhere near the caliber of what once was, nor are they as ferocious. But you can’t strip them of the fact that they were the greatest Metal band of all time. Though I agree that they drifted from that past, there has been no band worthy of claiming that title. Sabbath and Iron Maiden were definatly the cornerstone of metal, and their influence is felt in every metal bands music thereafter, but Metallica forged the genre.

    Every metalhead has their own favorites. But no metalhead should ever downplay anyone elses,….except for disturbed, slipknot, system of a down, and any other nu-metal. Those bands plain suck.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for checking in bro but in all honesty, Metallica is not the greatest Metal band of all time. That is complete opinion no matter what anyone says but they are in no way better or more groundbreaking the Iron Maiden. Metallica did indeed lead the pack by beating everyone to the punch by taking that NWOBHM sound and americanizing it. I will always hold them in the highest regard up until “The Black Album” where they totally lost focus and quit breaking ground. They went a different path that took them into a place that they would never return from. RIP Metallica.

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  7. Alright i went to this show in indio, drove down from Calgary, Ab, Canada because for one it was cheap considering the bands playing and because it was still snowing in canada. anyways the show as a whole was amazing to see other then the beer lines were ridiculous! Anthrax stole the day without a doubt, they and slayer were by far the fastest bands there. Megadeth didn’t do much for me, ive seen them 5 times in the past 4 years so i mean if it was my first time seeing them in awhile it would have been great. I dont remember them playing mechanix but i might have been wasted and just not remembered. slayer was awesome, the pits for slayer were sweet, seeing them play the antichrist was just unreal for me. now Metallica oh boy did they ruin the show for me, their set was pitiful… to many new songs that i yawned through. Even when they played old songs they butchered them creeping death was played at wheelchair speed and james trying to “sing” it was downright horrendous. The only cool thing that metallica did was orion, but thats only because its an instrumental and james couldnt butcher it with his vocals.

    but these comments on here are just too funny haha all these so called “metalheads” saying that your not sticking up for the best metal band of all time, chirst you guys are stupid. the one that saying metallica is keeping american metal heavy should listen to some new thrash bands maybe like. Warbringer, Fueled By Fire, Lich King and so on. or some exotics like all the NWOBHM bands or some good old death metal. but the comment that takes the cake is the guy who thinks sepultura is from the states, should probly look them up before you make a statement like that…

    Reply

    1. Damn its a nice change hearing someone express an honest and sound opinion instead of sounding like a brain dead, tone deaf fool.

      Reply

  8. I think ALL the BIG 4 bands are getting older…but they all kick ass STILL….I went in the expectation that Metallica would be saved as “the best for last”. I was right…they were in no way sloppy … METALLICA FUCKIN ROCKS…you would not be a critique if there were no music to critique…they all started this heavy metal stuff, so have some respect…you are probably not as old as you portray yourself as anyway…probably some dingle berry behind a computer that weighs like 500 pounds and supplies jelly donuts to the neighborhood cops.

    Reply

    1. Hey Jaymi. First off, I weight 189lbs, I’m almost 38 years old and much like Yngwie, I hate fucking donuts. I’m just terribly sorry that you are such a horrible judge of good music that you could actually look at Metallica and think that they are NOT sloppy. And you said, that they started “all this heavy metal stuff?” Last time I checked, the bands that REALLY started it were bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond who came along WAY before Metallica. And let’s not forget the NWOBHM bands that Metallica stole everything they know from like Saxon, Angelwich, Diamondhead and Venom just to name a few.

      So shut up, go to the back of the classroom and put your nose in the corner until I tell you to come out. Goddamn kids. Give them a copy of “Load” and they think they know EVERYTHING.

      Reply

  9. this show was amazing, in some terms i do disagree with the author but some things are true.
    i still believe that metallica put on a great show and always will. but they are getting old and tired which i agree. but they are Totally capable of putting on a great show.
    i did attend this concert and it was AMAZING and unforgettable.
    if it were possible of the fans choosing the the bands and their order i would have chose Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera, Metallica.

    Reply

  10. dude fuck you.
    the show was fucking amazing, and a piece of histroy, and i for one and glad to have been there
    there was not a single dissapointed fan at that show
    the pits were fucking amazing
    the setlists were fucking amazing
    metallica is STILL the greatest live band around; and also still the biggest metal band on the planet, still putting out good music and still the very reason american metal is as heavy as it is today (with some help from Pantera & Sepultura)

    Reply

    1. Dude, again with the “Fuck You?” It kills me how you people are so quick to jump up and defend Metallica. Man, if you could sit through that band and STILL say they are one of the best live bands around then obviously there is no convincing you other wise. Good for you that you love that band so much.

      Reply

  11. While I agree that the ones claiming you should be beaten down – are nothing but childish, I also disagree that they [Metallica] are sloppy. Define sloppy please? Sure, they may make mistakes. You know the best part of that? They can laugh at it. They do laugh at it and make jokes about it – time and again (and I know that for a fact as I have around 1300 show recordings and I remember hearing it many times). That’s a part of human nature, and being able to laugh at yourself is a sign of strength, not weakness.

    Frankly, I’ve seen them quite some times, and I’ve not been disappointed ever. Yes, there may be some songs I have heard enough, or something else that I could see or not see and be fine either way. But there’s always something special at each show – whether it’s a drumstick, a few picks (both of which has happened to me before) or a song that’s special in my heart. To me, there’s far more to the music than the music anyway. If a song speaks from the heart to the heart, that means way more to me.

    And I still think they’re amazing. I will say what I say to others about this (note also my father’s been a musician for over 50 years and this is kind of in line – some may not like his music but he doesn’t suck and is quite good): if a band is around for 30 years and still has as many fans as they do have, still sells records and other collectibles.. well, they do not suck; they are quite amazing. You may not like them, but that does not mean others don’t and that does not mean they aren’t amazing. Define ‘amazing’ anyway. Example: I would not give most if not all of the teen singers out there a chance. But some think they’re amazing. It’s all relative, is the point. People like different things but just because you don’t like something does not mean they suck any more than you liking something means they are awesome.

    Reply

  12. I have to agree with the writer on this one. When I was in high school I was a HUGE Metallica fan and I use to get beat up because of it. Let me just say that I got into Metallica only because I was already a huge Megadeth fan Now this was in the 80’s, the Justice for All and earlier part of Metllicas career. When they were a heavy thrash band, not just a radio rock band which like it or not, thats what they are now. Bob Rock was the beginning of the end of the mighty Metallica. I had seen them everytime they came thru town, starting with the Monsters of Rock tour which was post Cliff and pre Justice for All. I saw them every time they came to town up to and including the Black album tour. Then they music started to change, the bands sound changed. I didnt se etem live again till the Summer Sanatarium tour. And let me say they were the worst sounding band at that show. They sounded horrible. Megadeth is by far the best band on this bill. Them playing second is kind of ridiculous but it is what it is. Dave Mustaine and Megadeth are more talented musically and technically and Daves lyrics are much more thought out than James’ lyrics. In conclusion, Metallica is not the band I got into fights over when I was younger….they are nothing more than a straight up rock band.

    Reply

    1. Thanks y’all for the feedback on this Metallica write up. I just wanted to put it all out on the table and express my honest thoughts on this once amazing band. I’m glad you all have found a way to connect with it!

      Reply

  13. We’ll what an idiot! U call ur self a critical music fan? Wtf u should just b beatten and left in crittical condition for such retard comments! Metallica rules FUCK YOU!!!

    Reply

    1. Obviously being a Metallican’t fan of your proportions has made you an amazing speller. Your use of grammar is also impeccable. Thanks for stopping by and voicing your concerns.

      Reply

  14. You are obviously a jackass who hates Metallica, and doesn’t care much for the rest. If so, why review them. Go home and listen to your fucking Nirvana CD you twit!

    Reply

    1. I love all these people who hate me for hating on MetalliCAN’T. Just so I’m clear, I’m a huge Anthrax and Megadeth fan. Slayer has definitely impressed me through the years and I was probably a Metallica fan when your mother was still a Senior in high school. Either way, not liking Metallica and thinking that they are not even worthy of being a shadow of their former selves doesn’t make me a jackass. It makes me a critical music fan that refuses to be a fan of band that has been playing safe and phoning it in since 1988. As for Nirvana, I don’t own a Nirvana CD but thanks for offering. Maybe I’ll go listen to my Exodus CD instead. Ever hear of them?

      Reply

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