Slayers output until 1990 was pure gold. Every right to be there.

They never had a major record the way Megadeth did but they never lost their fan base either. Slayer are definitely a bigger draw live and that's exemplified by the running order on the Big 4 shows

Quote from: Cryptic Stench on July 16, 2019, 01:33:35 PM
Slayers output until 1990 was pure gold. Every right to be there.

They never had a major record the way Megadeth did but they never lost their fan base either. Slayer are definitely a bigger draw live and that's exemplified by the running order on the Big 4 shows
It's certainly close, but considering Slayer are more extreme, it's impressive that they would even have as much of a draw.

I would say Megadeth would have weathered the storm better with the Rust in Peace lineup as opposed to the circus it turned into.

Quote from: welshchris on July 16, 2019, 12:44:53 PM
Like a load of folks already mentioned here was there ever really a big 4 surely it's always been a Big 3 and Anthrax not much more than an also ran..

If we're being really honest Slayer were also never the huge mass pull of Metallica and Megadeth certainly not in that big cross over out of Metal.
The Big Four was obvious at the end of the 80's, when it was relevant. They were the four biggest selling bands to come out of thrash, no matter what revisionist filters are now applied with 30 years of distance. Were it the Big Four of crossover appeal out of Metal, you'd probably have to make some room for Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Take the first four albums of each and you've got most of what you need.

Quote from: Papa Het on July 17, 2019, 09:32:28 AM
Quote from: welshchris on July 16, 2019, 12:44:53 PM
Like a load of folks already mentioned here was there ever really a big 4 surely it's always been a Big 3 and Anthrax not much more than an also ran..

If we're being really honest Slayer were also never the huge mass pull of Metallica and Megadeth certainly not in that big cross over out of Metal.
The Big Four was obvious at the end of the 80's, when it was relevant. They were the four biggest selling bands to come out of thrash, no matter what revisionist filters are now applied with 30 years of distance. Were it the Big Four of crossover appeal out of Metal, you'd probably have to make some room for Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Take the first four albums of each and you've got most of what you need.
The Big Four were touring together as recently as 2011. Anthrax are definitely in the equation....


https://youtu.be/k1bxdjWLgRc

I'd hardly be an Anthrax fan  but c'mon, "Among The Living" is great - admittedly that might be cos I was about 10 when it came out and it was probably the only thrash album I could get in Waterford, but I played the shit out of it as a kid and I still love it. Is it the wackiness that people don't like about them?

Quote from: Pentagrimes on July 17, 2019, 10:31:05 AM
I'd hardly be an Anthrax fan  but c'mon, "Among The Living" is great - admittedly that might be cos I was about 10 when it came out and it was probably the only thrash album I could get in Waterford, but I played the shit out of it as a kid and I still love it. Is it the wackiness that people don't like about them?
I absolutely loved them as a kid (along with the other 3) and have a particular soft spot for them because they were the first band I got to see live. Albeit at that infamous Top Hat gig in DĂșn Laoghaire in 1989..... Hahahaha, 5 songs...

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/anthrax/1989/top-hat-ballroom-dublin-ireland-1bdac108.html

The wackiness was definitely an annoyance at the time. Part of Persistence Of Time's appeal for me is that they ditched the majority of that shtick at the time and just got on with it (didn't last long - hello I'm The Man '91, Milk, etc.) and produced their finest music IMO.

Quote from: Carnage on July 17, 2019, 11:03:02 AM
The wackiness was definitely an annoyance at the time. Part of Persistence Of Time's appeal for me is that they ditched the majority of that shtick at the time and just got on with it (didn't last long - hello I'm The Man '91, Milk, etc.) and produced their finest music IMO.
Yep, a lot of people would choose Persistence of Time as their go to Anthrax album alright.

After a lot of careful thought and deliberation I have finally settled on my list.


Metallica

1.   Garage Inc.

2.   Re-Load

3.   St. Anger

4.   Load

Slayer

1.   Diabolus in Musica

2.   Christ Illusion

3.   God Hates Us All

4.   Undisputed Attitude

Megadeath

1.   Risk

2.   The World Needs a Herp

3.   Super Collider

4.   Cryptic Writings

Anthrax

1.   Bring the Noise single

2.   Volume 8: The Threat is Real

3.   Stomp 442

4.   State of Euphoria

#54 July 17, 2019, 11:13:52 AM Last Edit: July 17, 2019, 01:35:28 PM by Papa Het
They have always had a strong element of humour through what they did. Still do. It doesn't diminish the quality of the music or how seriously they approached making it. Among The Living is a great album. Bush-era were the only good albums coming out of any of the Big Four past the very early 90's.

Quote from: Pentagrimes on July 17, 2019, 10:31:05 AM
I'd hardly be an Anthrax fan  but c'mon, "Among The Living" is great - admittedly that might be cos I was about 10 when it came out and it was probably the only thrash album I could get in Waterford, but I played the shit out of it as a kid and I still love it. Is it the wackiness that people don't like about them?

I was similar in that 'Among..' was my first taste of the band back then as a youngster. I still think it's a strong album though I could live the rest of my life without hearing 'Caught in a mosh' ever again. There are other stronger tracks on the album.

The 'Wackiness' as you put it was probably just their cartoonish logo (that weird head thing) and their skater gear and Bermuda shorts etc, especially during the 'State of Euphoria' days (which isn't actually a half bad album either- 'Now it's Dark' is amazing.)


Oh the shorts/skateboarding/cartoony logo/guitar covered in Ninja Turtle stickers definitely endeared me to them as a kid. Whereas when I saw "Hell Awaits" on Sky channell around the same time, I was fucking terrified of Slayer.

My introduction to Anthrax was Metal Thrashing Mad on a compilation and then the Oidivnikufesin video, so that image was ingrained from the get-go. I was so happy when they ditched it, the music seemed to grow up with them. But yeah, Among The Living and Spreading The Disease (and State Of Euphoria, I suppose) are great, if far from perfect albums.

Anthrax are one of the worst bands ive ever heard

Quote from: Papa Het on July 17, 2019, 11:13:52 AM
They have always had a strong element of humour through what they did. Still do. It doesn't diminish the quality of the music or how seriously they approached making it. Among The Living is a great album. Bush-era were the only good albums coming out of any of the Big Four past the very early 90's.

Nah, God Hates Us All and World Painted Blood are decent to great.