METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo is featured in a new interview with Alex Distefano at Inland Empire Weekly. It was conducted prior to the highly anticipated Big Four show in Indio, CA with MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX on April 23rd. An excerpt is available below:

Trujillo, who has been part of the Metallica family since 2003, says the timing of Coachella (which took place this past weekend) just fit the schedule of all four bands perfectly.

“The location kind of chose us,” he says. “We were approached by promoters with the venue which was free just the week after Coachella. It just worked perfectly for all the bands’ schedules. The time just seemed appropriate to finally do it in the States and see how the show goes. For us, it was about a demand; we tested the waters in Europe and it went well.”

Last summer, The Big 4 swept across Eastern Europe with shows in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania averaging about 80,000 fans per show. One special concert was even captured on film for a special edition DVD, The Big 4 Live From Sofia, Bulgaria. This performance was at the Vasil Levski Stadium, and the entire concert was simulcast live to over 450 movie theaters in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America. This legendary heavy metal juggernaut was filled with over four hours of classic, thrash metal, fist-pumping fans and giant swarms of circle pits.

“There is something about seeing these four bands on one stage that is just magical,” Trujillo says. “From the shows we all did last summer, I noticed everyone steps up and brings their A game; from the musicians, there is just something about all the bands together, where you just feel it . . . it’s the spirit of heavy metal. We want to show that we can provide the goods and bring that heavy metal energy.”

The Concert Of A Lifetime

Trujillo goes on to detail the heavy metal fellowship and bonding that took place at the Eastern European shows.

“We had this huge dinner before the show, and each night we’d just hang out like in the old school days; and for some it was a reunion,” Trujillo says. “But everyone was so cool, we were all like family, we got a feeling for the spirit of the show and music. It was definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

Both Megadeth and Slayer have previously played entire albums live on tour. Most recently, Megadeth played the classic album Rust In Peace for the 20th anniversary of its release, while Slayer played Seasons In The Abyss. Metallica also played one of their classic albums, Master Of Puppets, several years back—but for European audiences only.

“It was the 20th anniversary of that album, and for me it was just an honor to be part of those magical shows,” Trujillo says. “The song ‘Orion’ is one of Cliff Burton’s masterpieces. For me just playing that song was a blessing. I felt very fortunate to be part of this special tour.”

Click here for more.

With the Big Four show in Indio, CA a part of metal history, photo galleries and reviews are beginning to surface. Two links to galleries, courtesy of The Press Enterprise Examiner.com are available below

Big Four - PE.com

Examiner.com slideshow

Watch for more Big Four updates over the course of the week.