Scott Ian on “The Big Four” of thrash metal

Legendary Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has reminisced about the tours of The Big Four of thrash metal and how it all came about. In an interview with Ultimate Guitar

The big four of thrash Metal – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. These four helped bring thrash metal into the mainstream. Scott Ian talks about the tour and playing with Metallica

“Metallica really – look, obviously, Metallica just does things the right way. They do things the way they want to, and they do things the right way.

“And when they made the decision to put the ‘Big Four’ together, they just really did everything perfectly, from top to bottom. The way the shows were put together, the way that all the bands were treated equally…

“And when we were out at the ‘Big Four,’ it never really felt like it was just Metallica and then the other three bands. It was very inclusive, and they made everybody feel equal.

“And we were all a part of this same thing, and we all came from the same place, and it really did feel truly like the brotherhood that we came out in the early ’80s. And I can’t ever thank them enough for the experience.

“I could speak on behalf of everyone in Anthrax – and I think even in Slayer and Megadeth it’s the same thing – we all had an amazing time, and I think so did Metallica.

“We had an amazing time playing those shows together and spending that time together like we did on tour doing those shows.

“It felt really good to be there with all your friends, and to be able to just take a minute to look at what we did, our legacy, and moving forward, and all of that, with the people who we’ve been with since the beginning.

“You know, that doesn’t happen often in any kind of music, where you have four bands who have been there at the start of the genre, and thirty-something years later they’re going out and playing shows together. You know, the whole thing was really incredible”

When Ian was asked about if any bands were unrightfully missed from the “Big four” Ian added:

“Well, I don’t really understand that. Nobody was ‘unrightfully’ put out of anything. Metallica didn’t sit around and make a decision and say: ‘These are the four bands that we’re picking.’

“It’s not really how it worked. The ‘Big Four’ was a title created by the press, calling these four bands as the Big Four bands of thrash.

“When you say ‘unrightfully put out’ I have to say that I have a problem with that because it makes it sound like Metallica purposefully excluded somebody, and the title ‘Big Four’ has nothing to do with Metallica, or any of us – that was the title given to us by the press.” 

Check out The Big Four Play “Am I Evil?” from the DVD The Big 4: Live in Sofia, Bulgaria