ANTHRAX Guitarist SCOTT IAN In Praise Of METALLICA - "When They Made The Decision To Put The Big Four Tour Together, They Really Did Everything Perfectly, From Top To Bottom"

October 25, 2020, 3 years ago

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ANTHRAX Guitarist SCOTT IAN In Praise Of METALLICA - "When They Made The Decision To Put The Big Four Tour Together, They Really Did Everything Perfectly, From Top To Bottom"

During a conversation with UG's David Slavković, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian talked about the Big Four, the early days of the thrash scene and Metallica, and more. Following is an excerpt from the chat.

UG: Going back to the Big Four tours that you did a few years back – it was of course one of the most exciting things that happened in metal at the time, with these four iconic bands playing together. What was it like to work with the guys from Metallica and the rest of the bands?

Scott Ian: "The Big Four was amazing, what an experience! It was as incredible as you think it would be, it was a great experience! 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...

Look, we've all been friends since 1982 or 1983, and everybody's gone on to have great careers in playing heavy metal music, and obviously Metallica has gone on to become one of the biggest - not just metal bands - but one of the biggest bands in the world. 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."

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