MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON Hopes There Will Be More 'Big Four' Concerts In The Future

July 31, 2019

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson says that he hopes there will be more "Big Four" concerts in the future.

The so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — played together for the first time in history on June 16, 2010 in front of 81,000 fans at the Sonisphere festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland and shared a bill again for six more shows as part of the Sonisphere series that same year. They reunited again for several dates in 2011, including the last "Big Four" concert, which was held on September 14, 2011 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Since then, METALLICA, SLAYER and ANTHRAX have played a number of shows together, including the 2013 Soundwave festival in Australia. They also performed at the 2014 Heavy MTL festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

During a brand new interview with Atlanta's Rock 100.5 radio station, Ellefson was asked if he thinks there is a chance that the "Big Four" concept will be revisited again at some point in the future.

"Well, gosh, I would hope so," he responded (hear audio below). "I think that was the shot heard around the world for all of our fans, for sure, and just for metal, period. It took it all to such a huge level, doing those stadium shows. But, honestly, it comes down to METALLICA. They were generous in offering that to the other three of us, because, obviously, they are the top of the heap. And if they ever wanna do it again, I'm pretty sure all of us would sign back on for it."

The "Big Four" touring rock festival was immortalized on the "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" DVD, containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria stop of the trek.

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett said in a 2017 interview that he believed that the "Big Four" bands would come together again. He explained: "I see those shows as kind of like a celebration — a real celebration of each other, and a real celebration of the music that we all make, and a real celebration of the audience embracing [what] we've done. And why not have more of that?"

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