Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan recently ruminated on what bands are considered metal and what bands are not. While speaking to UGO.com about his new album with Loaded, The Talking, McKagan weighed in on the metal question.

“See, I don’t know what is ‘heavy metal,’” he said. “I was on That Metal Show yesterday, and they were [discussing] heavy metal drummers... and they didn’t have John Bonham. ‘Well, he’s not metal.’ But then they had Bill Ward from Black Sabbath. But if heavy metal is Slipknot, it would probably be Joey [Jordison]; he’s killer.”

McKagan went on to question if Led Zeppelin could be considered metal, but removed GN’R from the metal camp.

“What else is metal? If Led Zeppelin is metal, then hands down, John Bonham. But Guns N’ Roses is not – I would say we were not a metal band,” he said. “Metal to me when I was coming up was like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. That was metal. And Motörhead wasn’t metal to me.

“I think there is – with metal purists – a definite line. I’m probably like some dumb ass poking my nose into something I don’t know much about.”

Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax are collectively known as thrash’s Big Four – the cornerstones upon which the entire thrash movement is built, and the compass one uses to orient oneself when navigating the turbulent waters of that aggressive, precise, angry, powerful metal variant.

But thrash does not begin and end with those four bands. For each one of the Big Four there are dozens more who trod similar ground but never quite made the leap to superstardom. Here are the great thrash bands that came mighty close to dislodging one of the Big Four but didn’t quite get over the line.


1. Exodus

Another classic Bay Area thrash stalwart, Exodus was formed in 1980 by Kirk Hammett and Paul Baloff, with Hammett’s guitar tech Gary Holt stepping up to the co-axeman role early in the group’s history. While Hammett went on to bigger things with Metallica, Holt and Co. released the classic Bonded by Blood in 1985, and a few more albums before calling it a day after 1992’s Force Of Habit. A 2001 reunion led to several new classics, including 2010’s brutal Exhibit B: The Human Condition. Most recently, Holt was drafted into Slayer to sub for Jeff Hannemann while he recovers from surgery.


2. Sepultura

The brainchild of Brazilian brothers Max and Iggor Cavalera, Sepultura’s early lo-fi works were underground classics but the band started to shrug off the Slayer influences with Beneath the Remains in 1989. By the time Arise was released in 1991, Sepultura were poised to become the new kings of thrash, and their 1996 hit Roots was one of the few metal albums to survive the ’90s intact. Sepultura, however, did not: Max left to form Soulfly that same year, and Iggor left in 2007. The brothers reunited in the thrash-influenced Cavalera Conspiracy in 2007 and the band is preparing to release their second album, Blunt Force Trauma.


3. Annihilator

Another classic thrash band from Canada, Annihilator are led by virtuoso guitarist Jeff Waters, a huge influence on modern metal heroes Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) and Willie Adler and Mark Morton (Lamb of God). Waters has played V-style guitars throughout almost his entire career, and currently dishes out ferocious thrash riffs on his signature Epiphone Annihilation-V guitars. Annihilator’s most recent release is a self-titled 2010 album that features a cover of Van Halen’s “Romeo Delight.”


4. Death Angel

These Bay Area thrash icons were formed in 1982 by cousins Rob Cavestany, Dennis Pepa, Gus Pepa and Andy Galeon. Right as they were poised to hit the big time with 1990's Act III, Galeon was sidelined by a traffic accident and the band were never quite able to capitalize on the buzz surrounding them. After a hiatus lasting most of the 1990s, the band returned in 2000, and their most recent thrashfest is 2010’s Relentless Retribution.


5. Bathory

Essentially a one-man band apart with occasional contributors brought in under a revolving door policy, Bathory was the creation of Quorthon, who formed the band when he was 17 years old in 1983. Bathory’s albums were typically quite lo-fi but Quorthon never let the limitations of his 4-track recording medium affect his songwriting or playing. Tragically, Quorthon passed away of heart failure aged 38 in 2004.


6. Voivod

A prog-inspired thrash outfit from Quebec, Canada, Voivod also tempered their metal with an occasional punkish edge, and were not afraid to delve into political post-apocalyptic science fiction themes in their lyrics. Although there are gems on all of the band’s albums (including those made after original guitarist Dennis “Piggy” D’Amour passed away in 2005), Nothingface (1989) and Angel Rat (1991) are held in particularly lofty regard among prog-thrash connoisseurs.


7. Overkill

Featuring the inimitable vocals of Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth, Overkill was at one time the musical home of future Anthrax lead guitarist Dan Spitz, and they hit the big time with The Years Of Decay in 1989. Produced by Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden, White Zombie), the album combined stellar production with complex song structures. It was followed up in 1991 with Horrorscope, which featured new guitarists Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant, who teamed up for a particularly memorable cover of Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein. The band is still active today, and their most recent release is 2010’s Ironbound.


8. Kreator

Founded in Essen, Germany, in 1982, Kreator built on the sound of early thrash influencers Venom (see honorable mentions below) and punched it up with more precision and aggression. Guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza is one of the most furious rhythm guitarists in the genre, and is no slouch when it comes to soloing either. Check out the band’s 2009 release Hordes Of Chaos or their 1989 classic Extreme Aggression.

9. Sacred Reich

These Phoenix, Arizona, thrashers were fiercely political in their lyrical approach and equally aggressive in their raw, in-your-face production. Drummer Dave McClain joined in 1991 and went on to join Machine Head in 1995, while founder Phil Rind has reconvened Wiley Arnett, Jason Rainey and Greg Hall to play occasional shows. The 1993 album Independent is an excellent entry point into the band’s particular brand of aggressive thrash.


10. Forced Entry

This Seattle-area thrash band’s sound was so ahead of its time that only now are bands like Cynic catching up. Guitarist Brad Hull was a technical monster, writing cracking riffs punctuated with staccato harmonics and a fat, warm, midrange-heavy tone in an era when everyone else scooped the mids right out. Hull was also a wild man when it came to whammy bar tricks. The band’s crowning glory is 1991’s As Above, So Below, which was reissued in 2009 after many years out-of-print.

ROCKED The Knitting Factory Concert House in Reno on Friday, January 23, 2011 to a nearly sold out crowd of young and old fans who were mostly dressed in leather.

Opening for Motörhead were Valient Thorr.

Motörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, known mostly by his stage name Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band is often considered a precursor to or one of the earliest members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, cemented Motörhead's reputation as one of Britain's foremost rock bands.

Motörhead are typically classified as heavy metal, and their fusion of punk rock into the genre helped to pioneer speed metal and thrash metal. Lemmy dislikes such labels, preferring to describe the band's music simply as "rock n' roll" and usually opening live shows with the line "We are Motörhead. We play rock and roll." Motörhead's approach has remained the same over the band's career, preferring to play what they enjoy and do best; their appreciation of early rock and roll is reflected in some of their occasional cover songs. Motörhead's lyrics typically cover such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and "life on the road". The band's distinctive fanged-face logo, with its oversized boar's horns, chains, and spikes, was created by artist Joe Petagno in 1977 for the cover of the Motörhead album and has appeared in many variations on covers of ensuing albums. The fanged face has been referred to variously as "War-Pig" and "Snaggletooth". The band is ranked number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. (wiki)

Also in Motörhead's line-up at the KNIT were Lead Guitarist "Phil Campbell" (member since 1984) and Drummer "Mikkey Dee" (member since 1992).

The set lasted well over the usual 90 minutes and songs included some new and old favorites.

It went like this,

We Are Motorhead, Stay Clean, Back In Line, Metropolis, Over The Top, One Night Stand, Rock Out, Thousand Names, I Got Mine, Know How To Die, Chase Is Better Than The Catch, In The Name Of Tragedy, Power, Brazil, Killed By Death, Ace Of Spades and two encores Born To Raise Hell and Overkill.

This was a very loud Rock & Roll Show as it should be and "A Good Time Was Had By All"

Be sure to look at the photo slideshow at the bottom.

You can visit Motorhead's web-site @ http://www.imotorhead.com/

After a successful seven-date tour through Europe last year, thrash metal's Big Four—Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax—have announced a concert for U.S. fans. As they say in their poster, "America, your demands have been answered!" The concert will take place Saturday, April 23, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 A.M. PST through Ticketmaster.


The Big Four now have a date announced They've set up a website with Big Four tickets here. You can also get Coachella Big Four tickets here. The date for that show is April 23, 2011, in the warm desert sands of Coachella, California. This is on the same grounds as the other festival held one week prior featuring bands like The Strokes and Cage the Elephant.

Big Four UK Sonicsphere Festival 2011 tickets are available here (provided they aren't sold out).

Will there be more Big Four tour dates announced?

Hopefully yes. The information will be posted here as soon as we have new tour dates! See above to learn about Coachella 2011 featuring these four bands!

The Big Four tour for 2010 has concluded and was a huge success for the band. There was no drama, no missed shows, and no technical difficulties. If you're looking to see these four bands play together again, you're out of luck for now. However, Megadeth and Slayer are touring together on the "American Carnage" tour throughout America this year. Joining them also on some dates will be Testament, and Anthrax in late 2010. Dates have also been announced for 2011 in Europe. See below for more details on the American Carnage and European Carnage tours.

Will the bands play together again in the future? Several music news outlets have reported statements from Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammett, and Kerry King all unanimously saying they'd like to tour again in the future. Now the only question is, when? Will we see a 2011 Big Four Tour in the summer? So far, there's one single date in Coachella announced. In the meantime, keep reading for information on the American Carnage Tour, featuring three of the four "Big Four" bands. The future is looking bright for these four bands to tour in 2012 (the wait is killing us, we know).