There is always a little bit of controversy when talking about the biggest names in thrash metal. I know I have been taken to task on a few occasions by my references to the so-called "Big Four." I freely admit that as much as I love metal, I am not the most knowledgeable about its history.
So what? I know what I like and I recognize the bands who have influenced my love of the genre for so many years. In my eyes, and in the eyes of the public at large, there are no bigger thrash bands than Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. They have collectively influenced a generation and continue to deliver their music all over the world. With that said, it has always been the dream of millions of metalheads to see these four bands share the stage. That dream is now a reality.
Now, one could nit pick and complain about the line ups of a couple of these bands or that it would have been better to have had this legendary line up grace stages in the U.S., but who are we to complain? It has happened and it was magical. No matter how you slice it, this is metal history. Frankly, I never thought it would happen.
I would love to say that I have the Blu-ray in my possession, but unfortunately that is not the case (at least not yet). What I do have is a set of promo disks of a sub-par quality that are incorrectly flagged so the widescreen image is squashed into a 1.33:1 ratio and accompanied by a Dolby 2.0 audio track. In short, it is a less than ideal way to experience the show, but it does whet the appetite to want the real set.
The first band to take the stage was Anthrax, with almost the complete classic lineup. The band has gone through a couple of changes over the years but fortunately they hit the road for this magical tour with Joey Belladonna on the microphone. Yes, John Bush did some great work with Anthrax, but Anthrax will always be fronted by Joey Belladonna to me. The one guy not there was Danny Spitz, however, Rob Caggiano has been with the band for a long time and is really good fit.
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