Metalheads, Which of "The Big Four" Is Your Favourite?

UPDATE: Just a bit of clarification, the Big Four refers to Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer, the four American bands that introduced and pioneered the Thrash Metal genre in the 1980s.

Mine's Metallica! They're my ultimate favourite band and the first of the Big Four that I got to know. I love Metallica to bits. I enjoy listening to the other bands as well so I've decided to put a list here - 1 being my most favourite and 4 least favourite:

1. Metallica
2. Megadeth
3. Anthrax
4. Slayer

Feel free to add your own Big Four list too. METAL!

I'm not a metal head but Metallica is the only one of those I even kinda like, and I don't feel strongly about them at all.

I'd put Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Iron Maiden as the big 4, in that order of preference. That's traditional metal though while you seem to be into thrash above all.

1. Megadeth
2. Metallica
3. Slayer
4. Anthrax

Also think many other bands could take Anthrax's place, like Overkill, or Exodus.

Megadeth. Can't go wrong with double the speed of Metellica(arguable at times) and way less wah-guitar solos. I get it Kirk you have wah pedal. Lord.

No disrespect to his abilities or the bands.

Anthrax never sold out like Metallica, weren't too full of themselves like Megadeth, tried new and interesting things unlike Slayer. So I think I respect them the most, even if their music wasn't always best in class.

Though, if you try going back to Spreading the Disease it sounds really fucking dated where if you go back to Metallica's first 4 albums they still sound fresh and still haven't been outdone.

I'd go with this list, if we're just ranking those four. I do like all of them though.

I'm not a huge fan of Anthrax but if you haven't heard their newest album I'd give it a listen, really good shit.

1. Anthrax ( John Bush style ;) ) Among the Living. Pure Thrash majesty

2. Metallica (A very close second) ...And Justice for All probably one of my favourite songs / albums of all time.

3. Megadeth

4. Slayer


Im not to much into Megadeth or Slayer, i think Dave Mustaine is a bit of a prat to be honest, but i like about 5 of their songs, around the same as Slayer.

Good stuff. I think Anthrax sounds better live. Did you see them performed at the Big Four: Live at Sofia, Bulgaria (2010)?

I think every one of those bands comes with a caveat, but all of them in their prime:

1. Megadeth

2. Metallica

3. Slayer

4. Anthrax

It might be a toss up between megadeth and metallica for #1 (again, both bands in their prime) but I think megadeths best stuff holds up better than metallicas listening to it now. I would also sub any number of bay area bands for anthrax (testament, violence, forbidden)

Also, I'm gonna leave this here without comment:

It speaks for itself.

1. Slayer - overall I enjoy most of their catelog. Their 80's is amazing, a bit of a lull in the mid/late 90s but have loved everything they have released since God Hates Us All.
2. Metallica - Early stuff is awesome but after the black album I'm really indifferent towards their material. I think St. Anger gets too much shit, I like that they at least tried something different but their last album was a nice return to form.
3. Megadeth - Mustaine is amazing but I feel like their best never reaches the heights of the other bands, even Anthrax. Love a lot of their music but can't name one album that blew me away overall, usually always have mediocre and bad songs mixed in that keeps them in this position.
4. Anthrax - Amazing beginning, first few albums awesome, then disappeared into obscurity for 20 years give or take a few. (Except for Sound of White Noise, criminally underrated and an awesome album). Their last album was another amazing return to form like Metallica but Anthrax is extremely hit or miss over their entire career with me.

Love all of them but none of them compare to Iron Maiden personally.

Probably...

1. Metallica
2. Slayer
3. Anthrax
4. Megadeth

Yeah I did I recently picked up the Blu-ray, sounded pretty damn good.

Slayer if only because I haven't listened to enough Anthrax or Megadeth. Not a fan at all of Metallica.

You brought me here from the Megadeth forums several years ago, thanks for suggesting it!

1. Megadeth

2. Metallica

3. Anthrax

4. Slayer

If I could replace Slayer with Kreator I definitely would.

I'm not really a huge metal guy, though I have liked some Metallica songs.

What I really like in metal though, is Iron Maiden.

Metallica is only one I still occasionally listen to.

1. Slayer
2. Megadeth
3. Metallica
4. Anthrax

Slayer kept a consistent sound after all these years and it's great. Megadeth is similar but I ain't much of a Mustaine fan.

Metallica's early stuff was legendary, but boy what a nosedive later on. And Anthrax I have always been a little indifferent towards, I guess I should listen some more

While we're at it, I still think Overkill is my favorite thrash act

My fondness of Anthrax comes mainly from seeing them Live and 'The Greater of Two Evils' where they re-recorded loads of their best tracks with John Bush. I can't/never listen to the original recordings.

1. Megadeth

2. Anthrax

3. Slayer

4. Metallica

BUT, a more accurate list would be

1. Testament

2. Megadeth

3. Anthrax

4. Slayer

In my honest opinion, none of them.

I'll just say Maximum the Hormone and move on...

Converge

1. Slayer

2. Megadeth

3. Anthrax

4. Tallica

South of Heaven was a staple of my childhood and nothing matches Reign in Blood in intensity for that time period. Though Rust in Piece was seminol for me as well. Those solos in Hangar 18....

1. Deicide

2. Gorgasm

3. Incantation

4. Napalm Death

Anthrax > Slayer > Metallica > Megadeth

Everyone's accidentally putting their lists backwards

Pantera shits on all of them

I like various types of metal, dunno if I'd consider myself a metalhead, but I can't really stand any of those bands. They all kinda remind me of something a biker gang of old guys would listen to.

1. Metallica - I listen to them more than any of the other three and their catalogue is probably the most diverse and serves different moods way better than the rest of the Big 4.

2. Slayer are a pretty close second, it helps that they're probably the most consistent and haven't ever released a truly bad album. Plus they influenced a lot of the extremer ends of metal, which I'm into.

3. I really like Anthrax's style, they're the band I'd most want to hang out with and I thing a lot of that comes through in the music.

4. Megadeth - Fuck Dave Mustaine.

Not really thrash.

I like some of Metallica's songs but I've never been big into thrash metal so forgive me if I don't know which order I'd place them in.

I'd say Anthrax among the bands you posted. 'Madhouse' and 'Be All, End All' are great tunes. But I'm more a fan of anthemic metal, i.e. Judas Priest, Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc.

Not a metalhead at all (symphonic metal is as close as I come, and that's barely metal in most cases), but I love me some Metallica. Even love their post sellout stuff, minus St. Anger.

Slayer > Metallica

I never really got into Megadeth or Anthrax.

Metallica and Megadeth aren't really metal by today's standards. Also they are all terrible bands, so I'll pick Agalloch.

I love Metallica's first few albums but I really don't care for the rest of their stuff. Kill Em All is definitely one of my favorite albums regardless of genre. That one track is an entire bass solo. It's sick!

And while not so much metal and more powerviolence, I looooove me some Locust.

anthrax.

1.megadeth

2.testament

3.slayer

4.metallica

5.sepultura, not technically thrash but sure damn better than most

Going with your list my top pick would be Slayer, but my top 4 thrash list is a little different.

1.Exodus

2.Slayer

3.Metallica

4.Death Angel

I'm not cool enough to like 80s thrash, sorry. I've tried, but I just can't.

Slayer>Megadeth>Anthrax>Metallica.

This is based on the eighties and early nineties output of these bands. All of these bands produced classic albums in their primes.

I'm sad there's only two Testament mentions. If any band deserves to be included in that tier, it's them. Maybe more than Anthrax. If you like Master of Puppets, try out Testament's Practice What You Preach. I listened to it again last month and it's actually hilarious how relevant the topics remain.

1. Metallica

2. Testament

3. Megadeth

4. Slayer

5. Anthrax

Personally I'm more of a European power or American progressive metal guy. Blind Guardian, Fates Warning, Tad Morose, Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Nightwish, Queensryche, Demons & Wizards. Early Hammerfall was fun. MANOWAR, MANOWAR, LIVIN ON THE ROOOAD!

NEVERMORE is the best 90s/00s thrash band. Dreaming Neon Black. I only now realize the effect that band had on me. "We are the useless product of soulless flesh". Accurate.

I like both Metallica and Megadeth pretty well, but most people would say my opinion doesn't count because my favorite phase of Metallica was the sell-out phase. Black Album, Load, S&M.

Even as a huge metalhead, I'm not really a big fan of any of these bands, even though I probably should be. I have a lot of respect for them and what they've done for music, but I just never got into them that heavily. Though I would say that Slayer is probably my favorite of the bunch and Metallica is my least favorite, while Megadeth and Anthrax fall in the middle. Although Megadeth was technically my first metal band, so they will always have a special place in my heart for that, I suppose.

Even though they have of course long since semi-imploded and fallen off, I still think that when Metallica was at its peak they were better than the other 3 you listed.

Master of Puppets

...And Justice for All

Metallica

I always hated the big four because my favorite band wasn't on it.

1. Iron Maiden

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. Megadeth

7. Metallica

8. Slayer

9. Anthrax (just never listed to them much)

I'd put Iron Maiden or Pantera on the list before fucking Anthrax! No offense to Anthrax but looking at those three other bands they are minor league.

1. Meshugga.

That is all

1. Slayer
2. Megadeth (Spell it right, people...)
3. Anthrax
4. Metallica (Anything before the Black Album, not including the Black Album)

That's the order I would put your list in.

Now for my actual list of top 4:

1. Death
2. Slayer
3. Nile
4. Carcass

1. Metallica
2. Megadeth
3. Testament
4. Slayer
5. Anthrax

I've always considered it to be the big five. Not having Testament on there is a criminal act.

Hard to beat this