Saw this on Shreddit and I had totally forgotten about this episode. This was around the time when Anthrax was still making records, selling records, and the first of Joey's many stints with the band. Come back in time with me. Won't You?
Funny how things shape up over a period of time. I wrote an article back in 2009 on the rumor of the Big Four touring together. You can check that out here. So based on that it looks like i would indeed pay to see this if it came to the states. The bottom line is this, as much shit as we give these guys now, tell me after seeing this video and you're above the age of 30 that this would not be an awesome sight in person.
Let's make this happen.
So Scott Ian when not playing the Big Four Four shows and trying to keep Anthrax alive and relevant while at the same time ignore them for The Damned Things is also moonlighting as a comic book writer. Any long time metal fan should know that Scotty is a big comic book fan. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that he finally got to live a dream and start writing for DC comics starting with a Lobo series last year. Well now he is going to be writing a mini series involving the Demon (pictured above).
I haven't read comics in years since Joe Quesada started fucking with the Marvel Universe so I'm not sure how this news is received by the die hard comics readers but if it is negative. Here is Scotty's response to your scorn.
In fact here is what Scott had to say about it.
Holy crap I am excited to be writing The Demon for DC in 2011! I’ve been a fan of Etrigan since I was kid buying comics off of the racks. Jack Kirby created him for Hell’s sake and now I get to spew Hellfire like it’s never been spewed before. And I get to blow up Las Vegas.You go Scotty. Live the dream. Live the dream. Just leave Marvel alone.
It’s going to be a real vulgar display of power (pun intended).
Thanks DC for sending me to Hell and back!
-Scott Ian
The Big Four are finally playing the Sonisphere shows back in Europe so what better time then to continue with this project then to talk about Anthrax. Let me first say that I'm not an Anthrax fan. Never have been and probably never will be. Sure, I like some of their stuff but there has always been a disconnect for the most part.I think mainly because they incorporated other elements I was not a fan of like rap and punk. I will even go as far to say that if they had not put out the I Am the Man and Attack of the Killer B's they would not be as popular as they were.Those two EP's gave them a broader audience they normally would not have had and honestly carried their career. In fact.....I Am the Man was their only platinum. Why do I not like them much?
I didn't like Joey Belladonna's vocals. He didn't have a thrash edge and in fact I never thought he could really sing very well.And then John Bush came in after frankly I was bored with the straight edge hard rock they were doing. Personally I think they should have toughed it out with Neil Turbin who I actually did think would have been a solid frontman for them over time but they've made such monumentally bad decisions over the years it doesn't really make any difference. I suppose if I had developed a taste for punk like the Misfits or D.R.I. I would have liked these guys more but oh well. Here is the video for Madhouse that really incorporates what I didn't like about Anthrax or Joey's vocals. You might have to watch it in a separate window since Youtube likes to now put up videos to wide for my layout.
Go to Blabbermouth and check out Rob Trujillo spilling the beans about a tour being in the works involving the Big 4 of thrash. The initial reaction we can safely say would be " Fuck yeah!". But now that I'm older,would this be as kick ass as say.....20 years ago? Only if all of the bands play stuff up to 1990. Allow me to analyze in the order they should appear.
Anthrax: Most of the key members are still there however Anthrax can not seem to settle on a long term singer and in fact are dipping back in the well to finish their tour by asking John Bush to finish it out. The only way this would work in my mind is by asking Belladonna to come back.
Megadeth: Only Dave remains from the 80's bands and even then it was a revolving door with guitarists and drummers. Ask Dave Ellefson to come back at least and you'd have something there. James Lomenzo might cry but he could go reunite with White Lion in the meantime. Also strategically this is good because it'll put another band on after them to avoid any hard feelings about directly preempting Metallica. Though after 25 years get over it.
Slayer: Probably the most stable lineup of the four throughout the years. All the pieces are already in place and they can just let loose. Get the by now tired crowd pumped back up.
Metallica: Of course these guys are going to headline. I would say bring back Newsted for this but it's really not that important by now. Trujillo can jam the old stuff just as well. What's going to suck is listening to Hetfield mangle the classic killer tunes with his current vocals.
I'm seeing alot of people cry that they want Testament and Overkill and Exodus and Nuclear Assault on the bill too. That in of itself would be a killer tour with just them, but they were not a part of the big 4. They did not break real ground until towards the end of the 80's and by then the Big 4 almost all had released their masterpiece or damn close.
Would I pay to see this tour? If it was set up like I mentioned yes. But if it's patched together with current lineups and set lists from more recent material, probably not. I'd guess the tickets would be between 50 and 200 bucks and for that I'm pretty damn picky about what I want to see.
