The original (big four) to tour?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

...

That was another thing that bothered me about Metallica back during the Load/Re-load era. Instead of touring with some up-and-coming METAL bands and giving them a helping hand, they toured with bands like Linkin Park & Deftones, which struck me as either a desperate attempt to seem hip with younger crowds or too afraid to tour with a real metal band that would make 'em look bad.

Metallica still do tour with Linkin Park et al., in fact they just finished a European jaunt culminating in the Knebworth House gigs in Stevenage.

NEWS LINK HERE

Looks like it's not so far fetched... this tour may happen after all!

ROBERT TRUJILLO Confirms METALLICA Is 'Working On' 'Big Four' Tour - Sep. 15, 2009

Chris Varias of Metromix conducted an interview earlier this week with METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo. The question-and-answer session follows below. Metromix: There's a rumor going around now about the four classic thrash bands (METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX) touring together. How would you feel about being part of that? Trujillo: I think it's great. We've had a few different conversations on the subject. I'm friends with (SLAYER's) Kerry King and had dinner with him a few months back, and it came up there. I think (MEGADETH's) Dave Mustaine is amazing. I've never had a problem with him personally. I think it'd be great if METALLICA shared the stage with his band. METALLICA's still great friends with (ANTHRAX's) Scott Ian. There's a lot of history there. I think it'd be great for metal. I don't think all four bands have played together at the same time. Metromix: So there's truth to the rumor? Trujillo: There is, but nothing's concrete. It's not a sealed deal. We're working on it. Metromix: How would egos come into play in terms of the order of bands on the bill? Trujillo: Oh, there'd be a lot of egos. I think we'd be OK. It'd be an issue with the other three bands. Metromix: How so? Would Dave Mustaine have an issue opening for METALLICA? Trujillo: I don't think that would be an issue. I think it would be more an issue between MEGADETH and SLAYER. Metromix: What's the story there? Trujillo: I don't know if it would depend on the city, but I'm sure between those two bands, they would want to be up on the bill. I don't know. Who knows? My prediction is that maybe there would be something there. The only way we would do it is if we're headlining, and we would probably be the ones to put it together. I'm not saying that in a disrespectful way. All of these bands are amazing and super-cool. Metromix: You played with Ozzy. Maybe you could get Sharon Osbourne to put the tour together. Trujillo: Oh man, yeah. Let's see. She's a phone call away. Maybe I can get Ozzy to manage the situation. He'd sort them all out. Metromix: When is METALLICA recording its next album? Trujillo: I don't know — maybe next week, maybe tomorrow. Who knows? I'll talk to the guys today and see if they're up for it. Actually there's gonna be about another year of touring, so that's a hard one to say. There are a lot of ideas floating around. We always have recording gear on tour with us so we're always recording our ideas, but obviously the songs have not been written. Metromix: Do you expect the new record to be a continuation of the "Death Magnetic" sound? Trujillo: Going back to "Death Magnetic", it was great because (producer) Rick Rubin helped kind of bring Lars and (singer-guitarist) James (Hetfield) back into that sort of thrashy element. I think it will have a thrash factor. Keep it heavy. Keep it grooving. Keep it thrashy.

TheNazgul wrote:

Bush is great with Anthrax so I hope they can get that worked out. I'll believe the big four will play together when they're done and off the stage.

Well said.


Edit: My apology, this is the quote I was responding to:

Troublezone wrote: And
there is much more deserving bands to be added to the tour than Anthrax
like Testament, Overkill or Flotsam. Even Anihihlator...

I hit the wrong button!

Troublezone wrote:

And there is much more deserving bands to be added to the tour than Anthrax like Testament, Overkill or Flotsam. Even Anihihlator...

Now this would be a cool tour: Testament, Overkill, Annihilator, and Flotsam & Jetsam, bands I prefer over the other 4. Good call Troublezone.

GrandNational wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

And there is much more deserving bands to be added to the tour than Anthrax like Testament, Overkill or Flotsam. Even Anihihlator...

Now this would be a cool tour: Testament, Overkill, Annihilator, and Flotsam & Jetsam, bands I prefer over the other 4. Good call Troublezone.

That would be beyond great!

Just replace Flotsam & Jetsam with Exodus. That'd be THE show to be at.

Lari wrote:

Just replace Flotsam & Jetsam with Exodus. That'd be THE show to be at.

Agreed. I would take Testament, Overkill, Exodus, and Annihilator over the other 4 any day if they did this. At least these guys still play thrash.

GrandNational wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

And there is much more deserving bands to be added to the tour than Anthrax like Testament, Overkill or Flotsam. Even Anihihlator...

Now this would be a cool tour: Testament, Overkill, Annihilator, and
Flotsam & Jetsam, bands I prefer over the other 4. Good call
Troublezone.

GrandNational wrote:

Lari wrote:

Just replace Flotsam & Jetsam with Exodus. That'd be THE show to be at.

Agreed. I would take Testament, Overkill,
Exodus, and Annihilator over the other 4 any day if they did this. At
least these guys still play thrash.

then let them do their own tour. no one has them handcuffed. i'd still love to see the big 4 all together. i could give a f*ck if they still play thrash or not.

mc666 wrote:

GrandNational wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

And there is much more deserving bands to be added to the tour than Anthrax like Testament, Overkill or Flotsam. Even Anihihlator...

Now this would be a cool tour: Testament, Overkill, Annihilator, and
Flotsam & Jetsam, bands I prefer over the other 4. Good call
Troublezone.

GrandNational wrote:

Lari wrote:

Just replace Flotsam & Jetsam with Exodus. That'd be THE show to be at.

Agreed. I would take Testament, Overkill,
Exodus, and Annihilator over the other 4 any day if they did this. At
least these guys still play thrash.

then let them do their own tour. no one has them handcuffed. i'd still love to see the big 4 all together. i could give a f*ck if they still play thrash or not.

The main difference is that the Big 4 have the money to pull it off if they really wanted to, plus a bigger audience. The other 4 just can't pull off something too big like a Metallica/Megadeth/Slayer/Anthrax tour. It's just a pipe-dream MC666, but it would be a cool tour if it happened.

I would go see this as long as the ticket prices aren't extremely outrageous.

I'd love to see these 4 on a tour:

Kreator
Testament
Exodus
Overkill

From Lars, no surprises in the statement:


Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich disputed reports last month that the band was assembling a tour that would feature the "Big Four" of the 1980s underground thrash metal scene — itself, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. Metallica frontman James Hetfield gave The Pulse of Radio a little more insight into how the story started. "I think it was certainly spurred on by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and getting all these great, nostalgic feelings, you know. And, you know, the more we thought about — 'Hey, you know what? We should celebrate the Bay Area thrash scene. Why don't we make a reunion of that or something?' And it basically morphed into, you know, the Big Four doing a gig together, and how cool that would be. Pretty much it went as far as that."
Hetfield added that while the idea was looked into, it never really got that far. "We kind of talked a little bit about it, went back and forth," he said. "No one really looked into it. But then the rumor got out and it's one of those things like, 'Well, is it true?' It's one of those awkward positions that you're in — you have a good idea, and you haven't followed through with it quite yet. But I think it would be a great celebration of the past and where we are now in our lives. I think it would be great."
Ulrich said in a recent radio interview about the "Big Four" idea, "I think it would be a super-fun thing to do. It's something that I would definitely support. It's something that I would love to encourage. It's something I love to be very proactive in putting together. But right now . . . it's not something that's like hush-hush being worked on behind the scenes or anything like that."
Much of the fan speculation about such a tour revolves around the participation of Megadeth, which is led by former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine has expressed ambivalence about opening for the band that kicked him out 27 years ago and has gone as far as to say that he would not be interested in playing "in the round" (with the stage in the center of the arena and the crowd surrounding), which is currently how Metallica's stage is setup.
Metallica began its latest North American tour last month. They are off this week but will resume next Monday, October 12th, in Winnipeg, Canada

I sure hope this tour happens in 2010! I'll definitely be there if and when they play ATL!

I'm starting to think this just might become a reality if someone actually takes the time to put this all together. From what I'm hearing, all 4 bands seem to be up for the idea. Megadeth seems to be the only one that has "expressed ambivalence", but that isn't exactly a "NO" either. Right now, it just seems like casual talk ("Wouldn't it be cool if we actually did it?"), but it sounds like the wheels might be turning.

If Metallica's management (or whoever) can slap together all the logistics it takes to assemble a tour of this magnitude and everyone can keep their egos in check, I could see this happening. That is of course, a mighty big "IF".

I don't see it. Megadeth opening for Metallica or vice versa. Someone's undies will get bunched.

Maybe they could take turns opening for each other. I, for one, couldn't care less about who opens the show when I see it, as long as I get to see them all.


I mean, after all, if they do this thing and it's a true hark back to the old days, well...hey, it should be true all around, in that case. Back then, nobody was way more popular than anyone else, yet. In the spirit of celebrating the old school spirit, why fight about who opens for who? Act like everyone is equal.

...but then again, those egos are tough to pin down.

If this tour ever happens ( and it may) I don't see Metallica being a support act for anyone, the only time they have opened for anyone in the past twenty years I believe it was for the Rolling Stones, that is only because Stone's management personally asked them to.

A small blur about Metallica opening for the Stones:

London, February 25 (ANI): Heavy metal band Metallica were saved from splitting up by the Rolling Stones, when they were in limbo after releasing their 2003 album St Anger.
Drummer Lars Ulrich, a founding member of the band, has admitted that their future seemed “pretty bleak” when frontman James Hetfield took months off to fight his addiction to alcohol.
He even revealed that he was preparing himself for something different.
However, he added, an invitation from the Rolling Stones to perform with them saved their band from meltdown.
“The big turn around was when the Rolling Stones called us in the summer of 2005 and asked if we would play with them in San Francisco. We hadn”t done anything since the St Anger tour ended seven or eight months earlier. We showed up at HQ four or five days before the gig. None of us had seen each other for quite a while, Ulrich said.
“There was no film crew, no producer, no psychiatrist, no minders, no babysitters, none of that s**t. It was just us four guys and we started playing music and rehearsing. And it was so effortless and low key without all the c**p.
“We didn”t have to sit down and talk about how we were feeling and all of that horses**t. That set the tone for the next three years and it’’s been great,” he added.

From James (I saw this on the Megadeth forums yesterday).


METALLICA} star JAMES HETFIELD has
added weight to a proposed world tour with Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth
by insisting the 'Big Four' show is a good idea.
Bandmates Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo have already dismissed
reports the supertour of thrash metal's godfathers is something that is
being planned, with the bass player stating "a lot of egos" would get
in the way of the project.
But Slayer star Kerry King has revealed negotiations have begun and
Hetfield thinks the dream tour is possible, despite logistical and
personality issues.
He tells ThePulseofRadio.com, "I think it was certainly spurred on by
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (induction ceremony) and getting all
these great, nostalgic feelings.
"(We thought) 'Hey, you know what? We should celebrate the Bay Area
(San Francisco/Oakland) thrash scene. Why don't we make a reunion of
that or something?' And it basically morphed into, you know, the Big
Four doing a gig together, and how cool that would be. (It) pretty much
went as far as that.
"We kind of talked a little bit about it, went back and forth. No one
really looked into it. But then the rumour got out and it's one of
those things like, 'Well, is it true?' It's one of those awkward
positions that you're in - you have a good idea, and you haven't
followed through with it quite yet. But I think it would be a great
celebration of the past and where we are now in our lives. I think it
would be great."
In a recent radio interview, drummer Ulrich insisted the Big Four idea
would be "a super-fun thing to do," adding, "It's not something that's
like hush-hush, being worked on behind the scenes or anything like
that."

No surprise really but here is the lastest and I am sure the final news item on the tour that could not be:

Shaffee and El Jefe of the WKLS Project 9-6-1 96.1 FM radio station
spoke with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett prior to the band's October
4th concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. When asked about the rumors that Metallica was assembling a tour that
would feature the "Big Four" of the 1980s underground thrash metal
scene — itself, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax — Kirk replied, "That tour
is not gonna happen. I've been hearing that, we've all been hearing
that for awhile. I get asked [about] it regularly. And as far as a tour
going on, it's not gonna happen. Conflicting schedules, conflicting
personalities, [a lot of] conflicting things. It's a good idea, though.
And personally, I can see the significance of playing a tour like that,
but... it's not gonna happen."

Do ya think Kirk would be intimidated by Mustaine if they went on tour?

manny wrote:

No surprise really but here is the lastest and I am sure the final news item on the tour that could not be:

Shaffee and El Jefe of the WKLS Project 9-6-1 96.1 FM radio station
spoke with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett prior to the band's October
4th concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. When asked about the rumors that Metallica was assembling a tour that
would feature the "Big Four" of the 1980s underground thrash metal
scene — itself, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax — Kirk replied, "That tour
is not gonna happen. I've been hearing that, we've all been hearing
that for awhile. I get asked [about] it regularly. And as far as a tour
going on, it's not gonna happen. Conflicting schedules, conflicting
personalities, [a lot of] conflicting things. It's a good idea, though.
And personally, I can see the significance of playing a tour like that,
but... it's not gonna happen."

I don't think Kirk is the final word on this. James didn't sound like he thinks it's too out of the question.

XYZ wrote:

Do ya think Kirk would be intimidated by Mustaine if they went on tour?

No. But Kirk's bank account is probably far superior.

Not exaclty the "Big 4" we're all hoping for, but this might be as close as we get for now. Blabbermouth is reporting this RUMOR...

Quote :

SLAYER, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT and HIGH ON FIRE are rumored to be teaming up for a U.S. tour starting in February 2010. It should be noted, however, that this information has not yet been corroborated by an official source.

Wouldn't be too shabby, two of my faves there.