A few weeks ago the internet was abuzz when SLAYER guitarist Kerry King said he heard Lars from METALLICA was trying to get the big four thrash bands (that's METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX) to go out on a monster tour for the ages. We blew it off as just rumor-mongering, especially since Dave Mustiane publicly said he's heard nothing about this. Well, now we have another piece of wood to add to the fire. METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo was recently interviewed and had this to say:
I think it's great. We've had a few different conversations on the subject. I'm friends with (SLAYER's) Kerry King and had dinner with him a few months back, and it came up there. I think (MEGADETH's) Dave Mustaine is amazing. I've never had a problem with him personally. I think it'd be great if METALLICA shared the stage with his band. METALLICA's still great friends with (ANTHRAX's) Scott Ian. There's a lot of history there. I think it'd be great for metal. I don't think all four bands have played together at the same time.
He added that nothing is concrete and they are just talking at the moment. Also, they talked about "egos" on the tour and he rightfully mentioned that the majority of the beef would come from MEGADETH and SLAYER and not METALLICA:
I don't know if it would depend on the city, but I'm sure between those two bands, they would want to be up on the bill. I don't know. Who knows? My prediction is that maybe there would be something there. The only way we would do it is if we're headlining, and we would probably be the ones to put it together. I'm not saying that in a disrespectful way. All of these bands are amazing and super-cool.
Makes sense. METALLICA is unquestionably headlining this tour, and ANTHRAX is clearly opening since they have not been on top of the charts lately. So the question comes to the middle of the lineup. Personally, I feel SLAYER should be second and MEGADETH should be direct support. But the case could also be made for the opposite to be true. Who knows? Maybe a rotating lineup there.
One thing not talked about has been ticket prices. METALLICA on their own cost around $70 to see live, so can you imagine how much it would be to see all four of those bands?