Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer - could the Big Four be ready to tour?
Mon, 14 Sep 2009
Along with the huge success of Death Magnetic, Metallica’s ninth album, and Megadeth’s Endgame due out for general release tomorrow, hype and speculation of a “Big Four tour” which would include Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer, has kept the rumour-mill churning.
It is no secret that Metallica and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) have a tainted history, which has besmirched their relationship for the best part of 30 years! However, Mustaine recently told Blabbermouth.net that he would not want to re-open any healed wounds, and could not rule out the possibility of a Big Four tour.
With the consciousness of metal reawakening to the thrash ideal, Dave Mustaine has confirmed that the timing would definitely be right for such a monumental live experience.
Megadeth have been gigging with Slayer recently, but Kerry King was less than reticent over his relationship with Mustaine, when he told the press openly about their “feud.” Fundamentally King indicated Mustaine was “pompous and a big hypocrite,” but was quick to defend the Megadeth frontman’s guitar-playing, and confirmed there would be no hostility between the counterparts on their Australia / New Zealand tour.
It was rumoured that Lars Ulrich (Metallica) was originally behind the idea of a Big Four Tour, and was making early attempts to organise it, however these rumours are still yet to be either substantiated or denied.
When Megadeth performed in 1991 with Slayer and Anthrax on the “Clash of the Titans” tour, the line-up of the bands was swapped over depending on who was headlining that night. However, with the huge success of Metallica over the years, and even more so now that Death Magnetic has taken the world by storm, the management problems behind putting on such a show could present somewhat of a nuisance. I’m sure that fans of the Big Four would agree, it would make one hell of a headache!
Mustaine himself admits that Metallica’s stature would present a problem when working out a line-up, but knows that the idea of touring together with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax on the same bill as Megadeth, is an opportunity not to be missed.
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LickLibrary will update you as soon as more information comes to light.
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