Thrash, Speed and Death Metal: The Big Four's Return

The home of thrash is, indisputedly, California. It was different from British punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and thrash took those sounds by their roots, what the NWOBHM bands probably started as. The crowds performed a new stunt called moshing, learnt from the more wild gigs. Thrash bands could relate to punk lyrics - grisly and gruesome. Parents didn't like it. Teenagers fed off it, gathering like rat infestations at the gigs, trying so hard to be individual not from the world, but from everybody else at the gig, blending together in a massive, screaming wave of bland clothes and banging heads. The air dripped with metal, music, and moshing. It was a little night out for a teenagers, a great night for a band, and to the rest of the world, a complete car crash of a music genre.

But four bands known as the Big Four changed that. Thrash metal, also known as speed or power metal, was different from death metal. It was just as heavy, but it was much more fun. It was fast and it was powerful. It had different lyrics, mostly about basically banging your head, rather than fantasy-driven lyrics about massive warriors with swords charging through barren wastelands. Thrash metal is blunt and straight to the point. The Big Four made it great, made it revolutionary and made it part of music forever.

The Big Four consisted of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. Undoubtedly, the most successful of these bands is Metallica, who still remain extremely popular to this day and have secured their place in rock history, a band you cannot miss. Megadeth are connected to Metallica, with frontman Dave Mustaine being the first lead guitarist but kicked out after a short period of time. They are rivals, and it's a never-ending war between the ultimate question: Metallica or Megadeth? Take a venture onto any Metallica or Megadeth video on YouTube and you'll be guaranteed an enormous argument between fans of the two. But whichever band is better, they are both vital ingredients in the recipe for thrash.

Slayer, the most extreme and probably loudest of the four, could possibly be the weakest. It's exhilarating and great to listen to, possibly the best method of anger management, but assuming that how loud your amp is determines your heaviness is their weakness. These guys have their amps all the way to 11. But as great as they are to see live and listen to, Slayer's imagination is sparsely populated. Sure, "Jesus Saves" is an excellent choice to blast obscenely loud and annoy your parents with. Despite their imagination's main ideas: death, death, and more death - they're a good choice if you're a metal fan and want something to play in the car. The look on your mother's face will, ultimately, be priceless.

The style of thrash is a lot like grunge - no style at all. Everyone knows that Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and other grunge bands went on stage wearing what they would wear normally. Jumpers, shirts, jeans. Thrash is the same. Anthrax and Megadeth just make sure they are in tune, and that they are decent. 1980s Metallica wouldn't even be noticed if they were standing in a rock crowd, thanks to James's supreme height and their acne-ridden faces. Pyrotechnics and anything glam will be absent at a thrash show. The bands get up, play, and that's it. If someone goes to a thrash show expecting the words "Oh baby" in every song, they're at the wrong place.

Anthrax are the most diverse of the four. They love playing rap songs before they go on stage, and live, they play heavy thrash music, but they appear on stage wearing Hawaiian beach shorts and Beastie Boys shirts. They're fun, talented, and so very lovable. Anthrax enjoy a laugh and they have a sense of humour, and love to shame the other three bands by mixing thrash and laughter by pushing each other over on stage, making it look like being in a metal band is a lot of fun. They like to take jokes by writing politically incorrect songs or generally just being silly. Although, Anthrax do love to ride across stage on skateboards. This tied skateboards to thrash metal music, the same way as rollerskates went to funk.

Megadeth are without a doubt the most controversial. It's the band that a number of Metallica fans love to hate, but they're a bit of a "listen-to-them-from-time-to-time" band. Their sound is similiar to Metallica - Dave's voice reminiscent of an extremely young James in certain songs - and their guitar work also shares similiarities. A guitar battle between Kirk Hammett and Dave Mustaine would indeed be interesting. If you don't know why these bands have (or is that had? They seem to be over it by now!) such a rivalry, it's a typical story. Dave Mustaine performed in Metallica as their lead guitarist, but after a few mishaps such as kicking Hetfield's dog and pouring beer into then-bassist Ron McGovney's bass which gave him a huge electric shock, Mustaine was no longer in the band. James, Kirk and Lars have often cited that Dave was "all about speed" in his guitar work. Despite the rivalries of yesterdays, Megadeth are an enjoyable listen.

For the more casual listener, "Enter Sandman" is the song that Metallica wrote. But for those who listen that bit more will know "Ride The Lightning" originally had green album covers, you can barely hear bass in "...And Justice For All" and that "St. Anger" is indeed an album that you can bear. In the words of Slayer's Tom Araya - "Limiting yourself to please your audience is bullshit." And Metallica followed this philosophy. When "Load" and "ReLoad" were released, fans discovered a much darker, slower element to the band rather than the past 100mph guitars of "Kill 'Em All". The majority of change is good, and most fans eventually warmed up to the two albums. After all, long hair is never permanent.

Metal fans? You're in for a treat. The Big Four are touring together after years and years of popular demand - but what will this hold for us? We're hoping that no one is going to pull an Axl Rose and walk off stage, or a physical fight on stage. But there is the possibility of huge rivalries between fans, and the concert could end up looking like something Dethklok from the TV show "Metalocalypse" would perform. Signing pain waivers will probably not come into practice just yet.

However, there's no doubt that this tour is something for metal fans here and there to be excited for. Bringing back the 1980s has always been a dream for music fans - and now, it's happening. Metallica don't have long hair, but we doubt that's going to affect their performances of "Ride The Lightning". And Dave Mustaine is getting on, but we're still going to cheer when we hear the opening for "Peace Sells". Bring on the thrash, Big Four.