THE BIG 4 poll

slayer

Slayer via science:

Best album: Slayer - Reign In Blood
Best song: Slayer - "Angel Of Death"
Best logo: Anthrax
Best guitarist: Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
Best bassist: Cliff Burton & Robert Trujillo (tie) (Metallica)
Best drummer: Dave Lombardo (Slayer)
Best singer: Joey Belladonna (Anthrax)
Best logo: Anthrax
Best album cover: Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Best music video: Metallica - "One" & Slayer's "Seasons In The Abyss" (tie)

The fact that you include Trujillo in your bassist tally indicates you are including contemporary incarnations of these groups as well as their current output, which pretty much cinches it for Slayer. I'd be more curious what the results would be if you limited it to their then-contemporary Big 4 heyday.

i wish i knew which the troll vote is? is it metallica? i think i'm going to vote for metallica

i voted for metallica

can't name a single song by any of the other three

can't name a single song by any of the other three

SB

markers, what the fuck, dude

also, Josh, hmmm, i guess i threw Trujillo in there but i left the other parts to mean classic era. I kind of think Anthrax's Stomp 442 is the best album cover, but not exactly representative of thrash at all

Honestly, I saw all these bands play Yankee last night and just wanted to talk about how when Metallica plays, Robert Trujillo is like so evidently the most talented person on that stage

Also, there literally is no troll vote in this, J0rdan

tbf to markers i couldn't name a band by the other three either, but i also couldn't name a song by metallica

what the fuck planet do you live on where you can't name a song by metallica

I'm happy to see Whiney rightly rank Mustaine as the best guitarist here though Hanneman's a fucking monster (everybody's heard his demo tape where he basically writes "Reign in Blood"?) & probably the more "important" guitarist - people understate Slayer's impact on black metal I think, Slayer was thinking harder & better about atmosphere than any of their contemporaries except Celtic Frost. Megadeth live in their prime were better than any of these except maybe Anthrax who've been getting called underrated for so long now that it's a tired take but fuck it, it's still true. (I read a great piece on Anthrax this week by a certain dude, nice work dude.) I'm not a Cliff purist about Metallica, it's not like they sucked after Cliff but if you watch old footage that dude brought a lot to the stage - once Cliff was gone Metallica wasn't who they were before whereas Megadeth was then in take-no-prisoners mode.

But I don't know man Slayer is fucking hard to fuck with but musically Megadeth is kinda...better? until they start sucking that is

good poll

i was kidding, kind of -- i can name "master of puppets"

Robert Trujillo is like so evidently the most talented person on that stage

^this isn't true but the other guys who're on his level are so unlikeable that they seem less talented next to him

J0rdan, how can you even call yourself a goon when u haven't heard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBA-xi8WuCU

what the fuck planet do you live on where you can't name a song by metallica

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, September 15, 2011 11:00 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

what the fuck planet do you live on where listening to metal is a formative experience for all people under 25

markers, what the fuck, dude

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, September 15, 2011 10:56 PM

yo i'm not trolling, i sincerely can't name a single song by any of the other three. i don't know why, but i've never even been that interested in investigating any of the other three bands' catalogues either

I think rock radio and cultural behemoth Metallica transcends "listening to metal."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lSeZR4aDNo

yeah but not at all surprising from j0rdan "i know 3 madonna songs" sargent

Like maybe j0rdan could have played that version of Metallica Rock Band that sold like two million copies. Or heard, somewhere, maybe, possibly, somehow the most famous guitar riff in the last 39 years?!?!

Xpost, yeah so side with me on this ffs

I wore my Public Enemy shirt to the Big 4 show in solidarity of the Anthrax collabo, the Slayer samples on Nation Of Millions, and the fact that the PE logo's placement on Black Planet was inspired by Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead.

No Metallica connection tho

dude i started a friendly and well intentioned thread like 8 months ago entirely dedicated to exposing j0rdan to music made before 1997, so for me personally there's no point in bullying him about that kind of thing

Or heard, somewhere, maybe, possibly, somehow the most famous guitar riff in the last 39 years?!?!

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, September 15, 2011 11:05 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

i know this riff

a friendly and well intentioned thread like 8 months ago

that thread is like essentially the shittiest turntable.fm for people to force their shitty taste on poor J0rdan

guys c'mon this is actual good shit worth talking about

the most famous guitar riff in the last 39 years?!?!

Now I'm wondering what riff you're talking about. (And hoping it's not "Enter Sandman".)

that thread is like essentially the shittiest turntable.fm for people to force their shitty taste on poor J0rdan

Have been some good albums in that thread imo.

like as to whether J0rdan has or has not heard anything or how bad some other thread nobody cared about because it had no Slayer I gotta say... well fuck it I was looking for nobodygivesashit.jpg (maybe it was who gives a shit & that's my problem) but this pic came up in the GIS and it rules so whatever

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljeik17GED1qbfzrho1_500.jpg

Best album: rust in peace
Best song: fade to black
Best logo: metallica
Best guitarist: mustaine
Best bassist: cliff
Best drummer: lombardo
Best singer: araya
Best album cover: lightning
Best music video: holy wars

hey i'm not wild about where that thread went but it's not like screaming YOU MUST KNOW METALLICA at j0rdan is any more useful than screaming YOU MUST KNOW COLTRANE

dudes I'm just saying a big 4 poll is a cool thing so can we not have recycled rolling beef spillover on it thanks guys

i agree but tbh j0rdan came in here to meta troll so blame him

I'm assigning blame where it always belongs...on Metallica's deeply un-brolike treatment of Dave Mustaine

Im kinda bummed I couldnt go to this show

xp If you don't know at least 2 bands here, why would you bother voting

I voted for Obama because I've never heard of the other guy.

sorry, aero

it's ok I'm being an obnoxious blohard as usual so I don't really have much of a perch to yell from

could everybody go listen to that hanneman home demo now plz & then seek out the whole tape which is floating around & is unspeakably deep, that dude is just a concentrated supernova of riff creativity

If it was just two albums (Lightning and Puppets) I'd totally pick Metallica but as an overall band it's probably Slayer. I always appreciated Anthrax and Megadeth in some way but neither of them really did as much for me as I felt they should have.

can't name a single song by any of the other three

― markers, Thursday, September 15, 2011 10:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

http://i.imgur.com/YbTGO.gif

XD

i think i will vote for...anthrax?

please note that i am choosing to ignore anything after state of euphoria, but that in kind i am also ignoring everything after master of puppets/so far so good/seasons in the abyss so everybody is getting some preferential treatment here

Persistence of Time is like their best album wtf

maybe i haven't heard the right stuff from the others, but this is slayer by a mile for me

if slayer doesn't win this detonate ilm

slayer will rightfully win, but i threw a bone to metallica. dont feel good about casting my lot with m*rk*rs but thats my cross to bear. tbh megadeth is in the 'i respect them more than i enjoy them' category for me. anthrax feels like the odd man out but i guess i havent heard enough of their shit to really say

i like anthrax the most when they sound like slayer

Ha I actually meant persistence of time

Dont think it is their best but it's def the last good one

Sound Of White Noise is pretty incredible, but is essentially a different band.

Attack Of The Killer B's is p much the best Anthrax album, but you're not allowed to really admit it

\m/egadeth. but no helloween, no cred

Sound Of White Noise is pretty incredible, but is essentially a different band.

completely true. nice deep groovy record that is not at all a piece with, uh, the big four.

think i told whiney last night that i was really impressed by the guitar work of kirk hammett but i think i was just riding on the general euphoria of hearing those solos live

Hammett is a pretty awesome guitarist. I'd say the only clear "best musician among the bunch" is Lombardo, but these guitarists are all pretty cool composers/arrangers. Benante is the drummer Lars would always cite as why it he needed to slow down rather than try and keep up.

Anthrax and Megadeth have the best sense of humor (not hard, given that Metallica and Slayer are generally humorless).

I'm no Cliff purist, either, but his melodicism sets him apart from the usual invisible metal bassists. But I draw the line when the baton is passed from Jason to Trujillo, who is like Daryl Johnson in the Stones, talent-wise, slumming it.

(Speaking of which, heard an awesome story that when Johnson tried out for the Stones, they asked him to play "Start Me Up" or something, and when he said he wasn't familiar with it they cracked up so hard his joining the band was pretty much set.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHb4gs1hwck

Slayer, not close.

if slayer doesn't win this detonate ilm

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, vrijdag 16 september 2011 6:41 (8 hours ago) Bookmark

I'm voting for Anthrax. Talent/songwriting aside, they were the only one I REALLY dug back in the day and they're the only one I've gone back to in the past 20 years to play their old shit.

I could have gone to the show, but:

1) Saw Anthrax in 1991 with Public Enemy and they're never gonna top that, just like they're never gonna make another album even half as good as Persistence of Time again;
2) Seen Slayer three times (twice with Lombardo, once with Bostaph) and the first time I saw them with Lombardo they played "Die By the Sword" so, you know, I'm already in the can-die-happy-now zone w/r/t Slayer;
3) Seen Metallica twice on the Death Magnetic touring cycle and they're superb entertainers live, but I don't need to see them again;
4) Seen Megadeth three times (at Roseland in 2005, at Hammerstein on the 2008 Gigantour with High On Fire and Job for a Cowboy (who fucking killed it live so shut the fuck up) and this summer);
5) Yankee Stadium? Kiss my ass.

Anyway, I voted Slayer and here are my thoughts:

1) Not a single bad song on Reign in Blood or South of Heaven, and "Dead Skin Mask" is the only mistake on Seasons in the Abyss; the Bostaph-era albums are thoroughly underrated, especially Diabolus in Musica; Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood are both about 1000x stronger than anyone had a right to expect

Re Anthrax, they had one good album (the aforementioned Persistence and a few good songs scattered here and there otherwise; they've always been the weakest of the "Big Four." Scott Ian is a super nice guy, but musically his band is subpar 95 percent of the time.

Re Metallica, I listen to ...And Justice for All and Death Magnetic way more than anything else by them. I loved Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets when I was in junior high and high school, but honestly don't need to hear them ever again at this point.

Re Megadeth, I have to recuse myself. I'll just say that Endgame was just as much a "holy shit, they've still got it" moment as World Painted Blood (or Death Magnetic), and will let y'all know that their forthcoming album is the closest they've ever come to repeating Countdown to Extinction's mix of heaviosity, shredtasticism and radio hooks.

Basing this vote solely on output through 1991, I voted for Megadeth over what for most of my life would have been Metallica. Been on more of a kick with them lately. Will I regret this vote in a post-Lulu world?

Anthrax would have been in the running if they had only released State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time.

I have never been able to give a single damn about Slayer.

am I weird for really liking Among The Living or am I just too much of a Stephen King nerd

Among the Living is as far as I know their most widely-praised album, but I never heard it when I was a kid and when I went to listen to it as an adult, it didn't grab me for whatever reason.

I'm voting for Anthrax. Talent/songwriting aside, they were the only one I REALLY dug back in the day and they're the only one I've gone back to in the past 20 years to play their old shit.
--sick yr finger up his butt (DJP)

Otm. Of all these bands, Anthrax def has the highest number of albums id put on RIGHT NOW.

I've never heard Spreading the Disease either, now that I think of it.

What's your top 5 Big 4 songs everyone?

1. Slayer - "Angel Of Death"
2. Anthrax and Public Enemy - "Bring The Noise"
3. Metallica - "One"
4. Slayer - "Raining Blood"
5. Megadeth - "Sweating Bullets"

1. Metallica - Orion
2. Megadeth - Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due
3. Anthrax - Keep It In The Family
4. Metallica - Blackened
5. Megadeth - Hanger 18

I like Slayer and Megadeth a lot, but I don't think any of their records match up to either Ride or Master. OTOH, there's Metallica's multiple crimes to take into account, not least making Dave Mustaine cry. These might be made up for with Lulu, but I'm not sure.

I have to admit not knowing Anthrax, but I think I need to give Persistence of Time a listen.

Therefore I'm going to go Megadeth, on the basis that Slayer are likely to win and it would be good to give them a run for their money.

1. Metallica: For Whom the Bell Tolls
2. Slayer: Raining Blood
3. Megadeth: Symphony of Destruction
4. Metallica: Orion
5. Slayer: Angel of Death

"sweating bullets" is the joint

Over the years Anthrax has landed exactly where they should be. Metallica has overextended itself. Slayer is almost its own genre. Which leaves Megadeth the only true underdog of the bunch. Which is yet another reason Mustaine cries all the time.

1. Metallica - "Master of Puppets"
2. Slayer - "Postmortem"
3. Slayer - "Black Magic"
4. Metallica - "Fade to Black"
5. Megadeth - "The Conjuring"

This is a tough list to make, I can't squeeze Anthrax's "Metal Thrashin' Mad" or "Madhouse" on there...

As far as the quality of each band's last few albums go, Megadeth has been the best of the lot in my opinion.

1. "Master of Puppets"
2. "Raining Blood"
3. "Symphony of Destruction
4. "Bring the Noise"
5. "Madhouse"

came here to vote megadeth but HOLY SHIT that hanneman demo.

anyway, it takes a lot to be as embarrassing as metallica but megadeth sure did their best post-cryptic writings for a while there. (vaguely remember kinda maybe liking cryptic writings tho.) but man, I personally don't think any of these guys ever released anything in the same league as rust in peace. that part where the band drops into half time about a minute into "holy wars"... god, so freakin' good. so many moments like that on rust in peace. a band at the top of its game pumping out thrash of the highest caliber.

voting megadeth.

Re Megadeth, I have to recuse myself.

why do you have to recuse yourself on Megadeth??

In recent years I'm so gad Mustaine's reputation has gradually been put back in order. (Post-Some Kind of Monster, really, which itself wasn't that long after the 'I'll never play guitar again' pity party, though I think that's all just a coincidence). For years I'd always catch Megadeth as the opening act on shitty bills, like for the Crue or on Ozzfest, and they always killed it, but lately Mustaine's self-esteem seems restored.

"sweating bullets" is the joint

― me stalk shithead one day (some dude), Friday, September 16, 2011 10:50 AM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

they could honestly be Scarface lyrics

hahahaha otm

always wanted to like anthrax more than I actually did but not man is just the greatest mascot:

http://www.metal-metropolis.com/Anthrax/anthrax_euphoria_cartoon.jpg

fave cover of the bunch too:

http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/the-12-least-intimidating-metal-album-covers/metal.jpg

http://blogs.sohh.com/dirty/img/scarface-2008-07-03-300x300.jpg

Hello me, meet the real me and my misfits way of life
A dark black past is my most valued possession
Hindsight is always 20-20, but looking back it's still a bit fuzzy
Speak of mutually assured destruction....

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/154019/Bushwick+Bill.jpg
Nice story, tell it to reader's digest

at the time would've voted: metallica
suspect the real answer is: slayer
voted: megadeth

actually at the time my stephen king and public enemy loving ass might've voted anthrax

I'm not as impressed by Slayer as I was a few days ago before I heard the album "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" by Discharge...goddamn Slayer owes them $$$$$ ... especially Araya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMnW4UKPRr4

also whiney it get really tiresome when you play Thrash Metal High School Football Coach for kids that were born in like 1988

oh wherever could a kid born in 1988 ever hear "Enter Sandman"

...anyway i'm gonna vote metallica even though they don't deserve it

because of a certain moment in time, when i still lived on the farm, i would have been about 13 or so...and i had ordered some cassettes from the BMG Music Club and i had read about metallica in Circus Magazine and i ordered master of puppets because it was the "Metal Pick of the Month" and it came finally after 4-6 weeks

popped that thing into my boombox in my bedroom and put in the tape. i was surprised at hearing this really sad, kind of eerie spanish guitar instead of metal...then the drums kicked in and i swore i'd never heard any music that sounded so big as all that...felt like a transmission from another world

then DUN DUUUN DUN DUN DUN....and the fast shit kicked in and i was just shocked

Not nearly as many places as they could hear "Let the Bodies Hit The Floor" probably.

xp

oh wherever could a kid born in 1988 ever hear "Enter Sandman"

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, September 16, 2011 10:48 AM (40 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'm not saying they couldn't have heard enter sandman, i'm saying it's tiresome

I have more Metallica albums but ... Slayer

I was born in 1979 and SOMEHOW I heard "Cum on Feel the Noize"

i was surprised at hearing this really sad, kind of eerie spanish guitar instead of metal...

I bought ...And Justice For All and Master of Puppets on the same day. My initial thought upon hearing each of those albums was "what happened? did the wrong tape end up in the case at the factory?" With Puppets, I was halfway out of my bedroom to ask my mom to take me back to the mall when the heavy guitars finally kicked in.

metallica = beatles
anthrax = the who
megadeth = the kinks
slayer = the stones

i just made that up

metallica - ride/puppets/(and especially) justice were such huge formative albums (tapes!) for me, nothing by the other three comes close. i'm still happy to listen to AJFA anytime, anywhere.

megadeth - love rust in peace and countdown, even listened a lot to cryptic writings at the time, but i feel like my connection to them has always been more 'cool riff bro' than emtional.

slayer - never explored too much beyond reign in blood and seasons in the abyss, both of which still hold up. is lombardo back with them still?

anthrax - eh. i had persistence of time and sound of white noise, but aside from a track or two never really got into them.

Wiki P says Enter Sandman has been popular as entrance music in some sports.

1. "Am I Evil"
2. "Anti-Social"
3. "In-a-Gadda-Vida"
4. "Anarchy in the USA"

that is correct.

why do you have to recuse yourself on Megadeth??

Just a joke 'cause I work for their label. My serious take on Megadeth: love albums 2-4 (yes, I even kinda/mostly like their "Anarchy in the UK" cover), like Countdown to Extinction a lot (how come you never see the video for "Foreclosure of a Dream" anymore?), and really like The System Has Failed, Endgame and the next one. They're a tremendous force live, but they're not showmen - they're all about skillful execution and you're just supposed to sit there and be awestruck.

i don't like slayer as much as everyone else does

i've also harbored suspicions that people enjoy saying how much they love slayer more than they actually love slayer

^this is me

but they still kick ass

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h279/juicyfrt/222121_206370116063311_100000709728384_598013_5740520_n.jpg

I think Slayer are great, but more of a band to admire than love maybe?

Wiki P says Enter Sandman has been popular as entrance music in some sports.

― rustic italian flatbread, Friday, September 16, 2011 11:55 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I had to have this explained to me at Yankee Stadium. After Metallica did "Enter Sandman" some guys in the press room started chanting "FUCK YOU BOSTON (clap clap clapclapclap), FUCK YOU BOSTON (clap clap clapclapclap)." And I was like "What, did Aerosmith just walk in the room or something?"

slayer are definitely a 'small doses' band

Listening to Slayer for me is sorta like looking at a guy with big fucking muscles. Like "wow, you have muscles - fuckin' a!" but not aspiring to get quite that pumped up myself.

still voting Slayer. otm about them being almost their own genre. Megadeth comes in second.

and they're gonna walk this, I think.

saw megadeth open for heaven & hell (rip ronnie) a few years ago and i was duly impressed by their set - no bullshit, hardly any banter, just a whiplash set of new and old stuff played perfectly, it was like a thrash ramones set

Slayer is such a force of nature I rarely feel compelled to listen to them. It's like "listening" to thunder during a storm. I will say that I love festivals with Slayer on the bill, because they bring so much more to the stage. It's like, all day, between all the other bands, people are just sort of milling about changing "slay-er! slay-er!"

For those three albums Metallica was the perfect prog-thrash package. Megadeth was a lot more clever in figuring out a way to pair its metal instincts with pop smarts. Anthrax, I always though that band was a bit of a mess. That is, the only Anthrax tunes that pop to mind are the rap-metal goof and the Joe Jackson cover. Which is awesome.

Chanting, not changing.

listening to Seasons in the Abyss for the first time in at least a decade goddamn this is a great record

there are a lot of little atmospheric touches that are just perfect like that solitary sustained feedback note at the end of Dead Skin Mask. man.

yeah Slayer understood atmosphere better than people remember - their impact on the extreme side of things is just gigantic, their ear for vibe

ya when i was like 15 i used to listen to "raining blood" over and over and the rain was my favorite part

oh hoos

I think the fact that Slayer is the only band in the Big 4 listed in the Spin Alternative Record Guide says a little something about their appeal on ILX.

it's funny to look at this list - the reasons Metallica became the breakout/crossover act are readily apparent (Slayer = too extreme/Satanic/evil, Megadeth = too political, Anthrax = not decent enough songwriters/too goofy) I mean I think Metallica's better than Anthrax but that isn't saying a whole lot. Would rank them:

Slayer
Megadeth
Metallica
Anthrax

I was at the Big 4 and thought to myself that it really does make sense that the two biggest bands from this are the most extreme and the most unrepentantly wussy

might also be the fact that during their peak metallica was completely incapable of writing something that wasn't a hook.

I wouldn't go that far if we're talking about their commercial peak. which is littered with hookless crap.

Will you step back from your computer for a second and ask yourself "is that what Jordan was really talking about?"

haha rustic killin it

http://sustenance-studio.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a56dddbf970b012875ba1161970c-300wi

so one of the reasons metallica is so big is that prior to actually being so big they wrote a lot of decent material. huh.

would've thought the popularity of the black album had more to do with people actually liking the black album and the music on it, rather than the music on Master of Puppets. call me crazy.

uh pretty sure that's what OTHER people were saying that you seemed to be disagreeing with. unless you're working on some kind of level of sarcasm i can't even identify.

like which of the 5 huge singles from the black album could possibly be described as "hookless"

Metallica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Metallica (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Matelica.

Yeah, when you said "commercial peak" the first time, I figured you were talking about the ninja star years.

...and that Jordan had been talking about say Ride through the Black album.

^^^

btw, don't forget to check out my Metallica tribute band, Ride Through The Black.

like which of the 5 huge singles from the black album could possibly be described as "hookless"

all the ones I can't remember (which is all of them except for Enter Sandman)

Metallica is the only one of the 4 I've ever owned an album by (Master of Puppets) - but I don't really know the other three well enough to vote.

Ride The Lightening took 3 years to go gold whereas the black album was multi-platinum within months, so that's a really uselessly vague definition of "commercial peak"

"Unforgiven," "Sad But True," "Nothing Else Matters," and "Wherever I May Roam" are not hookless just because you can't remember them fyi

hooks by definition are memorable! all I remember about those songs are that I thought they were awful when I heard them.

I don't remember any of those songs but that's because I didn't particularly want to listen to Metallica and actively avoided them

let's say '84 - '88 + maybe half the black album

(xp) If any of them have a motif even vaguely in the league of the guitar riff of "Enter Sandman", calling them "hookless" is really, really silly

Ride The Lightening

milan kundera/metallica mashup

let's say '84 - '88 + maybe half the black album

― hardcore oatmeal (Jordan), Friday, September 16, 2011 2:30 PM (47 seconds ago) Bookmark

let's say "creative peak" because you obviously don't know what "commercial peak" means

i guess shakey was the one that said commercial peak but assuming that's still what we're talking about

If you look at commercial peak through past performance though, which would be better to judge popularity over time, you have 3x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 15x platinum for Kill 'em All through the black album. But I'll bet that a lot of those purchases were made after the black album came out.

Then you have 5x, 3x, 2x, 2x platinum for Load through Death Magnetic. I think a factor in Load's performance here had a lot to do with it's riding on the coattails of the black album. Plus ninja stars and hockey jerseys.

when i said "peak" i was thinking "peak of their talents", not sales

ok

Plus ninja stars and hockey jerseys.

load was metallica's teenage mutant ninja turtles 3

Is everybody cool now on what Jordan and Shakey were talking about, because we can probably spin this simple misunderstanding out into 200 posts by close-of-business if there's any doubt.

If you look at commercial peak through past performance though, which would be better to judge popularity over time, you have 3x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 15x platinum for Kill 'em All through the black album. But I'll bet that a lot of those purchases were made after the black album came out.

by far the majority of those sales are post-Black Album -- before '91 And Justice was double platinum and most of the other albums were one time platinum. probably 95% of the units they've shifted have been since then.

Gotta take the boring position of voting Metallica. For my buying dollar, none of the other bands wrote anything as exciting as Whiplash or Battery.

The numbers are weird because I would assume based on radio-play and just what people say, that Master of Puppets is more popular than Justice.

probably true in the long run but "One" being their MTV breakthrough at the time probably trumped overall fan feeling or retrospective critical rankings

Was One that big of a breakthrough though?

...yes?

I remember seeing it once, and then I later had to go buy the 2 of One videotape to see it again.

I didn't even have cable at the time when that came out and I almost literally could not visit a friend who did, turn on MTV and not see that video within 15 minutes.

seems sad to me that of the 15 million who bought the black album approx 10 million of them dont have the far superior ride the lightning

OK, fair enough. I was mostly outside riding bikes at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUraxKNxCm4&feature=related

hahaha

I think the fact that Slayer is the only band in the Big 4 listed in the Spin Alternative Record Guide says a little something about their appeal on ILX.

any metal community would vote slayer, megadeth, metallica, anthrax in that order & would then spend most of the thread arguing about whether there ought to be a fifth option for metallica with cliff, and then side-track into how Testament really ought to be here instead of Anthrax

lol aero much love

I will put on an Anthrax album before Metallica and Megadeth any day of the week.

which one

I will put on an Anthrax album before Metallica and Megadeth any day of the week.

well, then you're kind of silly imo, because Anthrax doesn't have any albums as good as Metallica's & Megadeth's best albums. they're a great band. but you're kinda repping for EPMD over PE here. fuck anybody who isn't down with EPMD but over PE? come on now.

By the way, the t-shirts at the big four were all ugly as fuck.

Someone should have really commissioned one of those faux-experimental jetset

METALLICA&
SLAYER&
MEGADETH&
ANTHRAX.

all helevitica shirts because some of us aren't 15 anymore.

aero, i'm just saying that's personal preference man. i'm sure some people like EPMD over PE

Does Pushead still roam the earth?

actually I would challop EPMD over PE all day for lols and would argue in earnest that if you want chill grooves PE never found any as deep as EPMD's

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/4031770862_acffa97ea9_b.jpg

xp

they could have at least had the band names in each other's logo styles or something

when i said "peak" i was thinking "peak of their talents", not sales

― hardcore oatmeal (Jordan), Friday, September 16, 2011 6:34 PM (58 minutes ago) Bookmark

can't fucking believe it took you guys 30 posts to understand this was jordan's point in the first place

it didn't, really

more obtuse than a blind fucking samurai in this bitch sometimes i swear to god

Metallica's peak, that's where I'm a viking.

lol

why are these bands the big 4?

Interesting that there was a Clash of the Titans tour in 1991 with this line-up, except swapping Alice in Chains for Metallica.

responding to this:
I was at the Big 4 and thought to myself that it really does make sense that the two biggest bands from this are the most extreme and the most unrepentantly wussy
with this:
might also be the fact that during their peak metallica was completely incapable of writing something that wasn't a hook.

implies that their commercial and creative peaks are related, which is not the case with Metallica imho

but whatever HOOS, let's move on...

xp

why are these bands the big 4?

― Lamp, Friday, September 16, 2011 7:47 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

it was the name of a tour they did (are doing?) together

http://www.metallicatickets.org/metallica-tour-schedule

um, no.

shakey, i wasn't responding to whiney, i was responding to YOU! specifically this, where you were saying that metallica's success was by default:

it's funny to look at this list - the reasons Metallica became the breakout/crossover act are readily apparent (Slayer = too extreme/Satanic/evil, Megadeth = too political, Anthrax = not decent enough songwriters/too goofy) I mean I think Metallica's better than Anthrax but that isn't saying a whole lot.

are you gonna be pedantic to me everywhere now or just in this thread xp

they were called the Big Four way before that tour tho!

i will stan for Among the Living forever and ever and ever

basically albumwise for me this is:

Among The Living
Reign In Blood
Master of Puppets
Peace Sells

all of which are shit hot awesome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_(audit_firms)

and Chaos AD

and The Legacy

they were called the Big Four way before that tour tho!

― I saw Mike Love walk by a computer once (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, September 16, 2011 7:54 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

sure but ime it lead to a mass popularization of said term

it is possible that my world of young people is not composed of metalheads

The staying power of 1980s metal has been amply demonstrated of late, with a number of bands garnering well-attended tours and briskly selling albums. One of the speed metal Big Four (along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth), Anthrax has a good shot at being a band that survives to rock into middle age.

from the Hollywood Reporter, 1998. Earliest citation in Nexis.

and Immaculate Deception

ok not really

i can't compare the four. each is amazing in their own way. one thing i'll say is that Rust In Peace is maybe better than any Metallica record.

and also that this Safe Home such a great fun track and was ace when I caught Anthrax last year. such a well constructed track. it's also one of the best 'love songs that pretend to be about a person but are actually about metal and we'll all realise that but not say it when we sing along at the show' tracks EVAH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8SM_Hr1Ldk

as to why these guys are actually called the Big Four - well, afaict it's just because they were the first + biggest bands of the genre. the designation's been around for quite awhile, I would guess before '98 even but I dunno.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_of_Thrash

yeah this is impossible

slayer, really, probably, but it's like choosing between one of your really ugly, surly children

^^

if nothing else, slayer have probably been the band i've listened to most consistently over the last 20 years or so. it took a long time to return to the others, probably because i overplayed the classics when i was 11 to 14 or so.

somewhere the dudes in Testament and Exodus are just staring at this thread, stewing with hate

Hhttp://i.imgur.com/7WOj5.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/7WOj5.gifS

you know what's really OFF THE CHAIN???

dan spitz from anthrax now does repair and restoration of high end vintage swiss watches!

http://www.spitzwatch.com/

\m/

lol xp

sometimes u can even hear the air being let out of a hardman

A multiple Grammy nominated Platinum recording artist and Swiss Certified Master Watchmaker of Complications Specialist takes you through another dimension.

!!!

is this like that thing aero did the other day where you just insert one total fabrication into a press release

it's ALL REAL TALK SWISS TIME PIECE LUXURY FIXIN DOGG

OK here's an important question.

get ready

please give this this proper attention

new dimensions of watchmaking vs. new planetary systems?

you ready?

ahem

Of all the members of the Big 4, who is the most WS?

my wife always seems very charmed by scott ian anytime he's doing an interview or talking head bit on tv

picturing them all Porky Pig style now thx Whiney

80s or now.

mustaine looks pretty great for 50. i don't think that asshole has lost a hair off his head.

Scott Ian = Meatloaf's son-in-law, btw

when i saw megadeth the bassist was james lomenzo of white lion, that band was p cute except for vito bratta

80s or now.

― Pleasant Plains, Friday, September 16, 2011 5:29 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

whenever

waiting to see who stumps for Kerry King on this one

is hammett a heartthrob? i mean he's so sweet and sensitive!

also whiney it get really tiresome when you play Thrash Metal High School Football Coach for kids that were born in like 1988

― the 500 gats of bartholomew thuggins (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, September 16, 2011 11:45 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

actually, it owns and he should do it all the time.

I had to have this explained to me at Yankee Stadium. After Metallica did "Enter Sandman" some guys in the press room started chanting "FUCK YOU BOSTON (clap clap clapclapclap), FUCK YOU BOSTON (clap clap clapclapclap)." And I was like "What, did Aerosmith just walk in the room or something?"

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, September 16, 2011 12:04 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

smh

Mustaine does look alarmingly well-preserved, it's uncanny

otoh he probably sneers/grimaces a lot during teh sexing

o god

GIS for Slayer brings up a bunch of Sarah Michelle Geller pix, so I'm leaning that way.

i asked an IRL girl and she said Frank Bello

I don't think I've ever met a girl IRL who knew who Frank Bello was. Kudos.

what was the gender makeup like at the show? and were most of the women there like wives/girlfriends who didn't seem that into it?

+"kirk hammett" +gay


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answer is Tom Araya, obv. Somebody upthread called Slayer "humorless" ? Araya is funny as fuck

my wife's into metal but I don't think even she knows who Frank Bello is... (I've passed this question on to her btw)

I chose Metallica without even thinking about it yesterday, but reading this thread just now and seeing crap like "Slayer is a band to admire not love" and especially "people enjoy saying how much they love slayer more than they actually love slayer" -- which is just total bullshit -- I kinda wish I could go back and vote Slayer. Nobody fucking "pretended" to love Slayer, they were on a whole nother plane during 'Reign' -> 'Seasons'. 'South of Heaven' and 'Seasons of the Abyss' were total OMG can't wait go to the mall and buy it on the first day records. HUGE anticipation

you know there are a lot bands with male members where i can admit there's some ws material in there but this crew is one heap of hair and pale and oof.

that said, they all clean up much nicer now than in the heyday.

Ha, that was me that called them humorless. They're all pretty funny outside the context of the music. I just meant that Slayer's music is humorless.

I interviewed Jeff from Slayer (I think?) not long after 9/11, about how so-called extreme metal bands were reacting to it, whether they were toning anything down, etc. This is when someone called on Anthrax to change their name and Scott Ian made news, briefly, by claiming Anthrax was changing its name to Basketful of Puppies. Anyway, I asked if the band felt weird with Slayer posters all over NYC that said "God Hates Us All," dripping in blood - the album came out on 9/11 - and he was all, "no, because god does hate us all." I thought that was funny.

it's funny cuz its true

that said, they all clean up much nicer now than in the heyday.

yeah, back in the day they would have been all b.o. and stds. a little male pattern baldness is preferable.

I guess my answer would be Dave Mustaine.

http://blogs.cocoondev.org/michaelm/archives/images/Tori%20Amos.jpg

Meanwhile:

http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2009/11/anvil-snubbed.jpg

"We coulda been contenders, eh."

actually, for the metalhead dudes I hung out it with in the late 80s, it was really more like the "Big 2" --> Metallica and Anthrax. Anthrax were just huge around 'Among the Living', we probably listened to that album as much as any Metallica album.

Megadeth never really even entered the discussion. They almost seemed like a novelty band, *especially* after that total garbage Sex Pistols cover. That was so laughable, I totally could not take them seriously, stopped listening to them altogether. So I missed albums like 'Rust in Peace', my loss I guess. I went to that Heaven and Hell tour too, and I didn't even bother showing up for the Megadeth set. It also hurt that they always were less a "band" and more Dave Mustaine + whoever could stand to be around him for a few months.

I am voting for Metallica because I am more "hard rock" than "metal"

I'm off to find the hero of the dayyyy

but I have to say I did go see Megadeth perform all of 'Rust in Peace' on that tour with Slayer and Testament last year, and they were pretty rad

my answer's the same as da croupier, pretty much

if someone doesn't like it, well dub me unforgiven

sadly I don't think I have a copy of the article I wrote for the teen page of my local newspaper in advance of a load show where I reviewed their through-load ouvre. Pretty sure I gave Justice a 9/10! It must have sounded the realest.

what was the gender makeup like at the show? and were most of the women there like wives/girlfriends who didn't seem that into it?

― some dude, Friday, September 16, 2011 5:53 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Metal's not really a zit-popping 12-sided dice boys club like it was in the 80s dogg

I mean there wasn't as many women as like an AC Newman show, but more than Hair Police or whatev

The metalheads I hung with in high school were really into Megadeth and Anthrax above all else. The latter I think appealed for its mix of thrash and good ol' fashioned stoopid. Don't remember much Slayer love, though iirc everyone liked at least a little Metallica, certainly after "Master" and definitely by "One."

Metal's not really a zit-popping 12-sided dice boys club like it was in the 80s dogg

― James Ferraro Boyz (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, September 16, 2011 6:10 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

i wasn't implying it was! that was why i asked the guy who was there, i was genuinely curious about the answer and not what great sarcastic zing you could come back with

xp Metal is still a boys club, man. An Ozzfest a few years ago was the only time in my life I've ever seen a dude wind up and hit a woman in the face. The women are there, but the dudes run the show. Which is why I give tons of credit to AC/DC a few years back. They were panning through the crowd with a camera, finding women willing to flash the camera. But then they started alternating it with dudes flashing their boobs, too. It was really kind of funny. A good communical time was had by all.

Communal, gah.

I think my new computer has a built in autocorrect I want to deactivate.

since i was listening to this stuff in the '90s, the cafeteria argument was more like metallica vs megadeth vs slayer vs pantera vs sepultura.

I still have a Metallica sampler mixtape made by the friend who later lent me all his Metallica tapes for that article:

Side A
Dyers Eve
Helpless
The Unforgiven
One
The Outlaw Torn
The God That Failed
My Friend Of Misery

Side B
Harvester Of Sorrow
Frayed Ends Of Sanity
Phantom Lord
Anesthesia - Pulling Teeth
Whiplash
Creeping Death (Live)
Bleeding Me
Call Of Ktulu

Liner notes: "Anesthesia is Cliff's most famous solo. It starts with just him then Lars comes in with drums and then Whiplash begins. Check out the solo on The Unforgiven. Awesome."

Yeah, totes, Sepultura and Pantera were in the mix, too.

Yeah, metal is still a boys club, but I'm saying I think it's more inclusive than it was 20 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9BzLsrchO0&feature=related

the "Unforgiven" solo is pretty boss imo

that is a weird metallica mix

Pantera's not even a thrash metal band, ffs. Get that shit out of here.

Oh, totes, they were just metal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7468VDIMURE&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzazqLpD29w

that is a weird metallica mix

^^^^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFXecyx-Qmk

Pantera's not even a thrash metal band, ffs. Get that shit out of here.

hey, don't shoot the messenger, i'm just reporting from a midwestern high school cafeteria.

2002 - feature on marrying Diana Krall
2004 - review: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20145535,00.html
2006 - feature on having twins

lol WRONG THREAD

okay lol

no this is definitely the right thread

Big 4: Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Joe Jackson, um, Nick Lowe?

oh man haven't listened to 'battery' in at least 15 years, what a juggernaut

ok more like 10 years but still

it blew my mind when I found out master of puppets was about... drugs!

CHOP YOUR BREAKFAST ON A MIRRRUH

anyway I voted for testament

In this poll its all about Slayer and Megadeth. The other two don't even register, especially Anthrax.

Also, the discussion above about slayer being more admirable than loved is horsehit.I could listen to slayer 24/7, there's new shit I pick up in their music every time I listen to it, and I'm a guy who loved them pre-RIB (I'm 41)

That said, Rust In Peace is the best thing any of these 4 ever put out. Second is South of Heaven.

I gotta hear the hanneman demos mentioned up top.

Yeah, metal is still a boys club, but I'm saying I think it's more inclusive than it was 20 years ago

if you slept on these amazing mixes, get them all right now

http://femalefrontedheavymetal.blogspot.com/

nb I agree w/you on this q but seriously these comps...if I were the kind of guy to put mixtapes on my year-end list, at least two of these would make the cut

Thanks in advance for the link to the Hanneman thing, aerosmith.

having a hard time finding it! I know it's out there, I think most of it is on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lSeZR4aDNo

that's the one I posted upthread, Josh.

Oh, sorry. Been a long thread!

Just gonna mention this real quick because Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character is supposedly modeled on Cliff Burton and there's a ton of Metallica on the soundtrack, so some may be lured into watching Hesher, but...don't. It's a piece. Of. Shit. Tried to get through it this afternoon, bailed right after JGL started doing bonghits with the little-kid character's grandmother.

was thinking about this last night, and I think one of the reasons that I find myself listening to megadeth more now is that dave mustaine seems the most like a regular guy, as a frontman, narrator, storyteller. you'd think that anthrax would totally clean up on the "regular" guy front, what with the skateboards and shorts and all, but I think joey belladonna's delivery is definitely a bit pompous and over the top. not to criticize joey b.

"let's all sit around the campfire and listen to uncle dave spin us a yarn about nuclear armaggeddon!" "breakfast with dave was nice, but he sure gets grumpy about politics..." "nice impression of a surly teenager, dave!"

Thanks aerosmith- I'll do some digging.

Mustaine is a pretty intersting guy. Shockingly, he was somewhat self-deprecating in his book. I always had the impression of him as totally pompous. I liked the book.

did he use a lot of ellipses in the book?

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/dave_mustaine_it_looks_like_were_sprinting_down_the_path_to_socialism.html

waited on dave mustaine at a coffeeshop once, he was really mellow.

and mustaine is a birther
http://maura.tumblr.com/post/4465410200/woke-up-to-a-tweet-where-dave-mustaine-was-cheering-on

and

It seems like after that, no one seemed to hold the office of the President in such high regard.
Mustaine: Not anymore. I don’t think so because of the things that have taken place and the mistrust. Plus when you look at “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying,” what the whole concept behind that whole album is pretty much about — us as a people and the youth of America as an individual … I don’t want to say “faction” that’s the wrong word, but an entity, on its own. The youth of America being justified, finally, coming of age, and being able to look at things and being able to say ‘You know what? I don’t want this Manchurian Candidate as our President.” Back then, it’s the same thing now. I look at the way Obama has been selling our country off and all the ways things are happening and the way that our economy is plummeting. Why won’t we tap Alaska? And why did we take so long to act on the Gulf? Why did we take so long to act in Libya? Why?! Where’s his birth certificate? You know what, that birth certificate he showed everybody … I remember buying one of those to go buy booze. Hello Obama. C’mon dude, they used to sell those in the back of Creem magazine for $3.

Read more: Dave Mustaine at 'Peace' in his career | Goldmine Magazine http://www.goldminemag.com/features/dave-mustaine-at-peace-in-his-career-25-years-later#ixzz1YEyASm5M

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TaC_00PLPUI/AAAAAAAAAoM/4UTh4cj0GTU/mustainetrump.jpg

yeah, yeah. cranky old uncle dave...

Well, if there was anyone I'd expect to buy into a host of conspiracy theories, it's Mustaine. I mean, come on.

Needs to be in this thread, if only because it's the only song by any of these bozos that I remotely care about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiHdr4rWG98&ob=av2e

Ranking their rap collabos

Anthrax & P.E. > Slayer & Ice-T >>>>>>>>> Anthrax & UTFO > Metallica & Ja Rule

qft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0JKWeYcwNY

Ice-T doing Exploited's "UK 82" as "LA 92" = <3

long conversation about the judgment night soundtrack on the train ride home or gtfo

over the years since its release it's been a source of constant surprise to me to learn what a profound effect it had on cats who were young-ish when it came out - it's such a touchstone in some ways

love Slayer & Reign in Blood arguably perfected the form, but in terms of innovation AND quality control, you just can't get past Lightning & Puppets imo

xpost

o/

Wife says Megadeth btw. altho she also said she didn't know what Slayer looked like.

Slayer.
Easily.

She should be able to guess what Slayer looks like.

This just has to be Metallica.

you mean for the WS question, right?

http://loudwire.com/files/2011/09/bigfourCover.jpg

Poor Kirk is a lonely guy just thinking 'bout things.

lol otm

Using food science, via Kuma's Corner:

Metallica - Buffalo Sauce, Bacon, Bleu Cheese Dressing
Slayer - Pile of fries topped with a 10 oz. Burger, Chili, Cherry Peppers, Andouille, Onions, Jack Cheese, and Anger
Megadeth - Chorizo and Red Potato Hash, Pico de Gallo, Cayenne Avocado Cream, Tortilla Strips

Anthrax doesn't have a burger there yet.

So, Slayer wins.

Kuma's should have a burger called The Heartburn.

Do metal guys ever get tired of making grrr metal faces? I guess not.

They are stuck that way.

why on Earth would you be a metal guy if you were the type of person who got tired of making grrr metal faces

Do indie guys ever get tired of making woe-is-me indie faces? I guess not.

Indie guys are all smiles now that the money's just rolling in.

the megadeth is my jam at kuma's

Sad indie dude look like that all the time, though. I doubt Hetfield walks around with a perma-grimace.

http://pineappleope.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/grimace.jpg

Grimace?

http://www.thegauntlet.com/photos/hetfield072508.jpg

I prefer
http://www.portlandmercury.com/images/blogimages/2008/09/16/r_1221585251_hetfield.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2GqW5F_C5M&feature=player_embedded%29http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2GqW5F_C5M&feature=player_embedded

ha yeah I saw that and thought about posting it

did I yet mention on this thread that I'm in a SLAYER!!! group on Facebook and I've been posting stuff from here on the wall there and vice versa?

correct results

though....THOUGH....Megadeth had a pretty good run in the late '00s, where they were probably at their second win. Endgame is better than some of their 80s output.

I still don't like the latest Anthrax album, though really enjoyed Worship Music.

I'm re-listening to Persistence of Time now for the first time in probably 15 years. They really weren't that good a band. Fun live, 30 years ago anyway, but as songs, these songs feel like a bunch of parts scotch-taped together and constantly falling apart.