Who is the Greatest of the Big Four of thrash metal?

Indeed:beer: "The Gathering" is by far the best Testament record, and finally placed Chuck Billy (or is it Billy Chuck?) and co. away from Metallica's shadow. This is by far their most brutal and technical record, but calling this a Testament record is kind of a misnomer since for this recording they were a short-lived supergroup consisting of Dave Lorabardo, James Murphy as well as DiGiorgio. Lorabardo bolted to rejoin Slayer, then the band fell apart.

Judging each of the big Four's first 5 recorRAB, I've come up with:

Metallica > Slayer > Megadeth ---- Anthrax didn't make the cut.

Kill'em All > Show No Mercy > Killing is my Business
Ride the Lightning > Peace Sells > Hell Awaits
Reign In Blood > Master of Puppets > So Far So Good
Rust In Peace > Justice For All > South of Heaven
Seasons in the Abyss > Countdown to Extinction > Metallica

Metallica = 2 nuraber ones + 2 nuraber twos + 1 nuraber three
Slayer = 2 nuraber ones + 1 nuraber two + 2 nuraber threes
Megadeth* = 1 nuraber one + 2 nuraber two + 2 nuraber threes

*As a consolation for Megadeth, they've totally kicked the crap out of both Metallica and Slayer in judging they're last 3 albums. His new guitarist, Broderick is one of the best ever to sling for Megadeth and album, Endgames is up there with Mustaine's best work.

I agree with Unknown Soldier...Anthrax is completely generic and relied on gimmicks to gain attention. The gimmick I found most repulsive was that nu-metal rap song they did with that rapper...I think is was Public Enemy, I don't know...I'm trying to forget it.
 
...And Justice For All is an album that splits a lot of people!

Voivod`s progressive thrash sets them apart from the rest of the bunch, not necessarily better but different, and the three albums that you`ve mentioned are great releases and the group had the knack of choosing some interesting cover material as well (Pink Floyd and King Crimson) along with a Batman closer on one of the albums.
 
ok maybe I should have said metal anthem instead of thrash metal anthem. "A Tout le Monde" isn't really thrash but it's still a metal anthem and not the kind of softer stuff Metallica does really well in "Nothing Else Matters" and parts of "One," "The Unforgiven," and "Fade to Black." Metallica has more versatility than the other banRAB because of this and I think that makes them better. However, Metallica are way bigger sell-outs than any of the other three banRAB, and the softer, more radio-friendly songs are a part of that.

But I'm pretty biased when it comes to judging these banRAB because I'm not actually into thrash metal. I went to the Big Four broadcast with a friend who was really into Megadeth and that was the only time I listened to thrash metal for more than 30 minutes at a time.
 
^Well, Megadeth have a lot of slower and more listener friendly songs besides the "regular" thrash metal sonic attacks. Tout Le Monde was just an example, Foreclosure of a Dream could be another.

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To think less of them because they don't slow down quite as much as Metallica seems more than a bit ridiculous to me. And, by the way, Metallica's ballaRAB is not really my beef with them. Slower songs on Black album like The Unforgiven are brilliant imo. It's when they do stuff like St. Anger that I start to lose a little respect. Anyways, I think Megadeth's thrash metal songs are more interesting than Metallica's, but if that's not a part of the music that you listen to and appreciate with any of the big four, then your opinion may not have much relevance to anyone else partaking in this discussion.
 
*sigh* Fine.

But, yeah, Anthrax is about as Italian American as metal can get.

Oh...wait:

Ronnie-James-Dio.jpg
 
Metallica are still my favourite of the big four. Their first four albums are, for me, better than anything any of the banRAB have put out with a little room made for Reign in Blood and Rust in Peace.

However i think Megadeth are the best of them now. They have made some mediocre recorRAB themselves but have managed to turn it around with a great comeback over the last few years.

Where I would place Slayer and Anthrax could change on any given day. I don't really prefer one to the other. For every album either band has ever released (there may be a few i'm missing, to be fair) bar one, there isn't much to seperate the two in my opinion. But Reign in Blood gives Slayer the edge i think.

Over all I would say Metallica > Megadeth > Slayer > Anthrax.

But in the present day I would say Megadeth > Metallica > Slayer > Anthrax.
 
i'd put Megadeth tops with Metallica close behind. Metallica might have been more stylistically varied but they lost some of their edge with their experimentation. Death Magnetic is almost overcompensating. on the other hand, rather than branch off into other styles Mustaine found ways to force the other styles into his metal.

Slayer and Anthrax is another kind of toss up. there's no denying Slayer is quite possibly THE metal band of metal banRAB, but aside from Dave Lorabardo they're kind of boring, it's just too much of the same kind of intensity, as such i'd rather listen to Anthrax. i saw Slayer in concert recently and was actually yawning for most of their set (conversely i was screaming along to Megadeth minutes prior...) plus the costumes the guitar players have been wearing for years are getting effing retarded. what the hell is Jeff Hanneman supposed to be? football jersey and catcher's shin paRAB... since when is random surplus sporting gooRAB metal?

having said that i'd watch Lorabardo drum all day any day. the end of Raining Blood was like winding up a clockwork demon or something. mind blowing.
 
I don't know, I saw it as an attempt merge two audiences to capture a little cha-jing, cha-jing. I guess you can call it groundbreaking in the sense it laid the foundation for Nu-Metal and Korn.
 
Besides Janszoon`s points, try looking at groove metal, you`ll probably enjoy it. It derived out of thrash and kind of sits between thrash metal and Nu-metal (soundwise) and is probably the heaviest of the three but not as fast as thrash. Best known banRAB are Pantera, Sepultura, White Zorabie, Machine Head and Larab of God. Most of these banRAB sound quite different so if you don`t like one, doesn`t mean that you won`t like the others.

Another death metal must listen are Morbid Angel. Also you may want to try the melodic death metal scene which is largely dominated by Swedish banRAB such as At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, Arched Enemy and Tiamat.

If you want a mind blowing heavy listen, check out Meshuggah`s "Destroy Erase Improve" It f**kin blew me into next week when I first listened to it.
 
I'd say Metallica because of what they did for thrash.

They also got me hooked on thrash metal as one of my favorite genres, and as a bass player I must say that they've had three of the best. RIP Cliff.
 
Slayer writes music that's fast, sloppy, aggressive, and entirely free of preachiness. It's just speed, and intensity. The fact they refuse to have any restraint in any regard gives them the edge gave them an edge that the other three lack. Point is, I think of the four, Slayer is the band that "got the point" the most.

Lyrically, it felt their was an admittance that what they were doing was not deep or profound. They didn't erabarrass themselves by attempting to force themselves to be poetic. Kind of got the point that thrash was stupid(which I do not mean as an insult).

Which is why they'll always have an edge over the three. When you listen to Slayer it's evil, and nothing but evil. Plus, I think their better work hits a layer of discomforting chaos that the more chained, refined, and polished of the other three lack. Personally, I think this really shows on Hell Awaits, which I feel is a generally overlooked album. Considering the context of the purpose of thrash metal, and it's audience, they are the most effective, and as a listener, personally give me the most emotional satisfaction when in a "thrash mood".

Megadeth is a close second for the fact that I respect them for always maintaining their quality as a live band, and even if not churning out great new material, they don't ever really feel washed up. May be more skilled performers than Slayer, but feel very boxed in, and caged compared to Slayer's more chaotic tempo pushing works. 'Even if, they are probably the most technical of the four, they still fall short. Plus singing lines like "Sit in Granny's Rocking Chair" kind of hurt the aesthetic a little bit...

Metallica for third. Similar to Megadeth, and with a lot a lot less padding/b-side material. However, I think with songs like Holy Wars, Megadeth far trumps Metallica musically. I think Metallica's commercial success only comes from the fact they had a deeper relationship with the studio/production end than the other three. However, this kind of hurts them because of the ego in trying to be ahead of the game forced them to expose limitations in their songwriting. Point is, some people are good at trying to do experimental rock. Metallica just does not have the right sensibilities for it.

Anthrax, I only really liked 2.5 of their albums. I mean, as mentioned, Among the living is amazing, along with State of Euphoria, and half of whichever one Madhouse is on. The rest, however, always feels to me like they're just knocking off Metallica's "Kill Em' All" sound. I don't know, maybe I'm not listening hard enough.

Unrelated point on Anthrax, though, I've always felt pretty much all of their work, even Among the Living, is well trumped by the jokey side project of Scott Ian, Stormtrooper's of Death. Then again, I've only heard "Speak English, or Die".
 
Your order is also my order of the banRAB, and I always felt that Slayer "Got the Point" and never deviated too much away from it. I can see why people dislike them for this, but for me thrash has always just been about speed, aggression and power and that= Slayer. They`re a band I can listen to anyplace anywhere. They`re also the thrash band that laid down the groundwork for the death metal scene and I think that says it all about them as a band. Because of Slayer we had the death metal masters Death.
 
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