Video Footage Of 'Big Four' Double-Platinum Plaque Presentation Posted Online

April 26, 2011

The "Big Four" bands of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — were presented with double-platinum plaques for the two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring all four groups. A two-and-a-half-minute video clip of the presentation, which took place this past Saturday (April 23) at the first-ever "Big Four" concert on American soil at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, can be seen below (courtesy of Scott Ian).

"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" was certified double platinum on December 17, 2010 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)

According to Nielsen SoundScan, "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" has sold 110,000 copies in the United States since its early November release.

"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart in November with first-week sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.

The show was part of a two-week European tour featuring the four biggest names from the Eighties thrash metal era. The idea first came up in 2009 and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse of Radio he was glad to finally see it happen. "It's pretty amazing if you think about it, that it's the first time basically in 25 years or 30 or whatever that the four of us have actually played shows together," he said. "So it was a lot of fun, a lot of memories, a lot of fun times — new fun times, and fun times talking about the old fun times. So it sort of was a, it was a winner on every front."

"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" set features full shows from all four bands along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage.

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