In a recent discussion with Metal Hammer, Dave Lombardo, the original SLAYER drummer, was asked about who he considered the top performer amongst the “Big Four” thrash metal bands of the 80s — that is, METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER, and ANTHRAX.
He responded: “SLAYER. Ha ha ha! Who else could I pick?! We were brutal man, we were on top of our game, and if you watch the videos we were on fire. We really showed everyone else how it should be done — we tore everyone a new one.”
In a 2021 interview with Metal Hammer, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King was asked what “was the vibe like” on first Big 4 show, which took place in Poland, in 2010.
“It was cool,” King responded. “The METALLICA quotient was weird for me because, even then, they were bigger than everybody. But we ran in very different circles. Unless we ran into them at a European festival somewhere, we didn’t see them very often. I know the photo you’re talking about and at that point I thought, ‘This will be really cool for the fans.’ By the end of that first show I thought, ‘You know what? That was cool for me, too.’”
On what he remembers from those shows, he said: “Just that we loaded our set. It’s hard to say ‘loaded our set’, because we only played eight or nine songs, but we played some heavy, heavy hitters. Just because we hadn’t played with METALLICA since the early 80s! We wanted to make a great showing and we went out there, guns f*cking blazing. And we had great shows. We wanted to make ourselves seen doing what we do best, and set the stage for METALLICA, because they’re coming out after Slayer and they’re going to be playing some heavy hitters, too.”
When asked if SLAYER would do a Big 4 if they happen in future, King responded: “I would! But the way that I’m moving forward is I don’t think SLAYER are ever going to play again. There’s no business of me playing by myself! Ha ha!”
SLAYER played its final show of their farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry King‘s wife, Ayesha King, said that there is “not a chance in hell” that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more shows.
