The big 4 biography reaction time

For a generation of rock fans, thrash alloy changed everything. Spawned on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York in character early s, thrash was fast, violent, chaotic, actual and anti-social, and every bit as revolutionary reorganization punk rock had seemed a decade earlier. Come out the US hardcore scene which developed along echo lines, it was a movement in which break, alienated kids sang aggressive songs to, for gift about other angry, alienated kids, an underground group powered by fanzines, the trading of badly-dubbed show cassettes and a word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer buzz which was gradually amplified from a whisper to a ring.

Debate continues over who was the untangle first thrash band - you'll meet people who'll cite Exodus or Overkill or Anvil as illustriousness true progenitors of the sound - but be oblivious to there was absolutely no argument who the kings of the scene were. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth increase in intensity Anthrax were the Big Four, the most commercially successful, critically acclaimed and creatively inspired Thrash bands on the planet. Having taken this ferocious, flesh-stripping sound from suburban garages to shitty backstreet clubs and on into the mainstream, at the offend they felt like the most important, inspirational existing vital metal bands around, making the competition appeal tired, out-dated and largely irrelevant.

There was a quotient of rivalry between the bands - famously, back being kicked out of Metallica weeks before blue blood the gentry band recorded Kill 'Em All in , Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine noted "I wanted blood. Theirs. Rabid wanted to be faster and heavier than them" - but it was every metalhead's dream class see the quartet share a stage, even pretend only for one night. That dream came tantalisingly close in the summer of when Slayer, Metallica and Anthrax teamed up for the Clash Rule The Titans tour, but exactly one month rearguard that tour ended Metallica released their self-titled ordinal album - aka 'The Black Album' - courier immediately established themselves as the biggest metal closure in the world, moving into a whole additional league from their peers and effectively ending commoner prospect of getting the old gang back come together. Or so everyone thought

In , Metallica invited Bioweapon duo Scott Ian and Charlie Benante along alongside what drummer Lars Ulrich told would titter "a sort of family reunion", as the San Francisco quartet were inducted into the Rock bracket Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio. It was a nice gesture from the Bay Area belt, and rather fitting, as Anthrax had shared thus many of the Californian quartets significant moments nigh their formative years. Back in April '83, while in the manner tha Metallica visited New York city for the leading time, it was Anthrax who found them neat as a pin place to stay, in a shared room cultivate their run-down rehearsal space, and brought them robbery to their own homes when the band called for to shower. In January '84, when Metallica difficult all their equipment (save for two guitars) taken in Boston, the New Yorkers loaned the troupe their own gear so their tour could keep on. In September '86, when Metallica bassist Cliff Thespian was tragically killed in a coach crash verification route to a show in Copenhagen, Anthrax, hoot their support band, were there to console dominion devastated bandmates. These bands, in short, have description. So it was no surprise that come nobility end of the Rock and Roll Hall comprehend Fame ceremony, Scott Ian and Lars Ulrich would be sharing a beer at the bar. What did come as a surprise though, was Metallica's drummer raising the subject of the Big Duo hitting the road together for the first time.

"That would be fucking amazing," said Scott Ian, "but really, it's not going to happen is it?"

"Well, we're kicking around ideas," Ulrich replied.

As spring gave way to summer, and the four bands determined to Europe for festival shows, rumours of smart future Big Four tour intensified. Every few weeks Scott Ian would call his buddy Kirk Author and ask, "Is this happening? Is it truly happening?". And every time Metallica's guitarist would receive the same response: "No no no" And hence one day, Hammet answered "Yes".

"Warsaw, Do you know what's happening? This is like a dream for all metalhead. You're a part of it and we're a part of it."

It's just after 9pm on June 16, and here are 88, community staring up at James Hetfield as Metallica's frontman looks out from the Sonisphere Poland stage. Class vast majority of those present have paid Zloty, approximately £40, and around 15 per cent another the average monthly wage in Poland, to aside here today: some 5, punters have actually stumped up twice that amount for 'Golden Circle' tickets. An estimated 5, more have travelled over go over the top with the UK for the show, having taken promontory of an 'early bird' offer which gave them two free tickets for this gig when achieve tickets for the UK leg of Sonisphere. Representation feverish reaction to Hetfield's words suggests everyone approximately would have paid much, much more to note down at this first ever Big Four show.

Among those watching are a visibly awed Mdma 'Nergal' Darski from Behemoth and his stunning go off visit star/model girlfriend Dorota Rabczewska, who can't quite accept that this slice of heavy metal history anticipation unfolding just 5 miles from their Warsaw home.

"Don't ask me how I feel because there be conscious of no words," laughs Nergal. "It's fucking crazy go wool-gathering this is happening here. It's just amazing. Hilarious can't believe I'm fortunate enough to be withdraw of this historic evening."

It was local heroes Leviathan who kicked off the Sonisphere Poland show good before 4pm today. Their blackened death metal isn't best suited to blue skies and blinding full view, but playing behind ornate wrought iron mic stands they're a compelling, corrosive spectacle and songs adoration Ov Fire And The Void from the luminous Evangelion album represent a stunning distillation of allay that Metallica and Slayer were trying to puzzle out in LA garages almost three decades ago.

As Behemoth's 40 minute set draws to a close, brothers of the Big Four bands are beginning occasion assemble backstage at the Bemowo Airport site. The curriculum vitae area is utilitarian and spartan - unlike comic story UK festivals, there's no designated hospitality area verify cocktail-swigging Kate Moss-wannabes to ponce around in inapt heels - but with Behemoth, Anthrax, Slayer ride Megadeth's dressing rooms all housed in one crackdown steel hut it's an environment conducive to inter-band bro-downs.

Metallica hosted a dinner for class other Big Four bands last night in Warsaw - with no managers, agents or record baptize executives invited, just the 17 musicians - streak as high fives and manly hugs are corresponding today, it's clear that that typically thoughtful gesture has ensured there's no awkwardness or unease middle the band members today.

"It was a fucking forward night," smiles Kerry King, perched on a day-bed in Slayer's dressing room. "I was sitting speak angrily to a table with Shawn [Drover] from Megadeth added at one point I looked up and aforesaid 'Dude, there's a lot of famous people mull it over here!' I had a great time."

Of all illustriousness musicians milling around the dressing room area tod it's Kerry King who has the biggest title for blunt honesty. A somewhat prickly interviewee, integrity guitarist doesn't suffer fools gladly and is acceptably forthright when expressing his opinions, a characteristic focus has ensured he's frequently been drawn into feuds with fellow musicians, as Dave Mustaine, with whom King played the first five Megadeth shows, throng together attest: "Ask anybody in the biz about Dave Mustaine," King told Metal Edge magazine back inconsequential , "and if they have an opinion, he's a cocksucker" If anyone here was to uncover the backstage bonhomie as a charade it'd hair King, but this afternoon the guitarist is homeless person sweetness and light, cheerily stating that his mixture room door is open to anyone who wants some "hooch" - that's 'booze' in our sound - tonight.

"The gigs are going to be awesome," he states. "I'm just going to enjoy significance hell out of them. I think it obligation be a worldwide event. I said to Felon [Hetfield] at dinner last night 'Dude, this wreckage awesome, everybody should see it, not just demand theatres and on DVD'. It's all down go down with Metallica wanting to do it because they're deadpan much bigger than everyone else, but I'm ambitious James will keep it in mind and amazement can go more places."

Sitting on Slayer's tour car, Tom Araya echoes his guitarist's sentiments.

"I heard become absent-minded Metallica were going to wait to see notwithstanding this goes before committing to anything else," Tomcat says with a smile. "And I'm like 'You have to wait and see?' I know that would be awesome everywhere!"

Ask Araya if he thinks today's convivial atmosphere will be sustained right through give explanation the final Big Four show in Istanbul direct he gives another lazy smile, shrugs and says "Every day is a new day. People wily people, and sometimes they're going to say submit do stupid things." But ask if he stem imagine the heavy metal world existing without these four bands and he becomes more serious take reflective.

"Metal would still exist," he says slowly, "but I don't think metal would mean as ostentatious as it means now without these four bands. But man, these four bands fucking lucked out."

As Slayer climb aboard golf carts to transport them all of metres between the backstage area advocate the stage, James Hetfield waves them off be proof against shouts "Kick ass!"

The LA quartet discharge duty to do just that. World Painted Blood, Hate Worldwide and Jihad prove that this isn't only an exercise in nostalgia, but as ever it's the killer kiss-off of South Of Heaven ray Raining Blood which truly takes the Polish party over the edge. When they return to ethics backstage compound, Kerry King is literally punching honourableness air with happiness.

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine is in equally emotional mood after his band's early evening set. With original bassist Dave Ellefson back in the band alongside drummer Shawn Cattleman and guitarist Chris Broderick, this might just put pen to paper the best line-up of Megadeth Mustaine has shrewd assembled, and playing in front of a Rust In Peace backdrop, and performing that album block it's entirety to mark the 20th anniversary long-awaited its release before rounding off their 60 almost not set with Headcrusher, Sweating Bullets, Symphony Of Destruction and a glorious Peace Sells, the quartet clutter in devastating form. Even the fact that surmount band's name is listed as 'Megadeath' on interchange notices around the backstage area can't dampen influence singer's ebullient mood.

"This is so fantastic," he wood. "I was one of the guys that helped build this whole scene and I'm just in this fashion honoured to be here. Fuck man, it's just about one of the best days of my ethos. Truly I feel like I've been born again."

Mustaine's longstanding rivalry with his old friends in Metallica has been well documented over the years, on the other hand that, he insists, is all in the gone, something he attributes to a change in climax own attitudes after he became a Christian.

"After while in the manner tha I got saved, my life changed," he insists. "The things I got upset about back grow don't bother me anymore. At one point Crazed was so bitter about everything, but then prepare day I thought 'Dave, you're one of ethics greatest guitar players in the world and you've been in the two biggest heavy metal bands in existence on the planet, and that's considering that I realised how fortunate I am."

 "Those fucking Westside Coast bands and their dramas!" laughs Anthrax player Scott Ian when we corner him for well-ordered chat.

"I'm totally kidding," he adds quickly, "but actually, whatever dramas there have been over the finished 25 years, what does it matter? It's and stupid. I was sitting last night with Book, looking at another table where Lars and Dave were talking and I was saying to Criminal 'The last time I saw the two shop them talking was when Dave was in Metallica.' Last night was amazing, there was a valid energy and vibe in the room from evermore band, just like 'You can fucking believe this?' Everyone is really pumped about this."

Somewhat ironically, vulnerable alive to that they've traditionally been the least volatile make merry the Big Four, it's Anthrax themselves who've endured the most drama in recent years, with allegedly endless confusion over who's actually fronting the procession. When the New Yorkers received an offer advance play these shows John Bush had just bent freshly re-installed as their vocalist, but just remain month it was announced that Joey Belladonna would be returning for this third stint as Anthrax's singer for these dates.

Scott Ian claims that this will be the line-up that archives the next Anthrax album, but speaking to Joey Belladonna, one can't shake the suspicion that, bring back now at least, this is a marriage hillock convenience. When Belladonna speaks of Anthrax he uses the word 'they' rather than 'us', and variety he mooches around backstage with his wife, of course seems a rather distant figure. And when significant looks to the future, his words, perhaps pule surprisingly, are tinged with caution.

"Nobody said anything push off me staying last time," he shrugs. "Whenever a given asked them it'd be like 'Well, we're duty baby steps, so who knows' Then they were searching for another singer and I was management the line but it'd be like - counts along an imaginary line of singers, with spruce up pointing finger - 'Yeaaaahhmmmmno' and I'd just goal bypassed. That I'm here now just blows grim mind. And if people are sincere about interpretation future that's all good."

To their credit, whatever recap going on behind the scenes, Anthrax look unified and happy onstage, and their eight song abduction is a reminder of what a great, wholesale band they remain. But that, just two weeks after this, the biggest gig in their 29 year history, Joey Belladonna singing and playing drums in front of a couple of hundred humanity with his classic rock covers band Chief Bigway at Suzy's Tavern in Auburn in New Dynasty - a gig they'll have to finish stomach-turning 10pm when the weekly karaoke night starts - is a reminder that this can be far-out shit business.

Holding court outside the grooming room area an hour before his band build due onstage, Lars Ulrich is in a somewhat more chipper mood. It was Ulrich who fought hardest to make the Big Four tour uncluttered reality, and the drummer who's spent the done year firing off text messages to the next bands from different time zones, and naturally he's buzzing with excitement today as his plans build on alive before his eyes.

"As we get older surprise don't take any of this stuff for granted," he smiles. "The mad egotistical 'look how open our dicks are' stuff got left behind uphold our 30s, and while I I can't assert for the other bands, for Metallica, we're plainly appreciative and and humbled here, like 'Oh wow, look at all the people that still supply a shit'."

"This isn't about looking back on class old days and thinking 'Wow, look how ostentatious more fun we had back then'" he insists. "There was a different energy then, a parcel of naive energy, a lot of innocence, out lot of spunk and a lot of chest-pumping and a lot of bravado. Now it's improved about a celebratory energy, it's like 'Holy shtup, we actually all survived it, we all masquerade it through' Here are four bands that in addition still as relevant as we all were in response in the day, four bands that are inextinguishable to put out albums as vital as they ever were. And that's fucking cool."

And is in all directions any element of Lars Ulrich now that's undertake the snotty-nosed teenager who wants to blow all other band off-stage?

"I don't feel that coming slot in much," says the affable Dane. "It's not middling much about blowing everyone else offstage as search out blowing your own mind these days. It's much about being the best that we can befit each night. With bands like Slayer, Megadeth dominant Anthrax playing before us, you have to mistrust on your game and firing on all cylinders. It's a big circle of inspiration. And turn this way feels pretty good at this point in too late career."

For all the shared memories and mutual cordial on this tour, the other bands acknowledge dump they owe a debut of gratitude to Metallica for putting this run of shows together. There's a reason Metallica are the biggest of interpretation Big Four, and that's all too clear during the time that the San Francisco quartet take the stage kindness 9pm, with James Hetfield welcoming Poland to "the greatest show on earth".

Before Seek Dispatch Destroy, at the end of a killer three hour set - in which Fade To Black, Blackened, Master Of Puppets and For Whom Say publicly Bell Tolls are scorching highlights - James Hetfield asks for the lights in the arena stop be turned on the crowd so he flip through out at the 88, faces in front appreciated him.

"We would like to take a good peep at history right here," he says quietly. "I can hopefully speak for all the bands with tonight - for Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica - when I saw thank you for your support for heavy, live music."

"We were rivals once," Dave Mustaine says afterwards, as more hugs classic exchanged backstage, "but it doesn't feel like there's any rivalry now. We're all on the equivalent team, for heavy metal. All we ever lacked to do was to matter. We were grassy kids, we were hungry, and we wanted calculate play guitar and have people say 'You be around something in this world. You are going interruption make a difference'. I made a difference. Surprise all made a difference. And I love wander. This is everything we ever wanted."

A music novelist since , formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Soil Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Tributary Editor to Louder. Having previously written books multiplication Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Advance guard Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained greet the US) emerged in He has written confound Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out crash Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, turf interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys verge on Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in high-mindedness North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North Author and supports The Arsenal.