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Poll

POLL: BEST “BIG FOUR” RELEASE OF THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS

 Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 3:30pm by

A lot has been made of the “big four” shows happening this Summer in Europe, and with good reason: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax were some of the biggest and most influential metal bands of their era. Somewhat miraculously they’re all still around touring and making new music today.

While seeing old favorites live is a no-brainer, new music from legacy acts isn’t necessarily. Anthrax haven’t released new music since 2003, so for the sake of this poll we’re going to include Testament as an honorary “big four” member (and really, shouldn’t they be part of a “big five”?). So, of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Testament, consider which band is still putting out the best music today.

Of the aforementioned bands’ most recent releases, which is the best?

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{democracy:49}

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  • http://schenkeltown.blogspot.com SchenkelTown

    since when were testament considered one of the big four?

    i know anthrax haven’t had an album come out in a while, but i thought they were part of that “big four” thing

    • dot

      learn how to fucking read, dumbass.

      • http://schenkeltown.blogspot.com SchenkelTown

        i can’t read

  • DemonicLemming

    None were memorable, but Metallica was the lest non-memorable, and at least they had the added bonus of making a decent comeback from St. Anger.

    • Boob

      agreed

      They were all pretty meh. Metallica worked best when you look at their context, haha.

  • Tony

    Death Magnetic, by a long shot.

    It wasn’t perfect, but it’s another step closer to the sound we’ve wanted for some time.
    WPB was more listenable than much of the stuff Slayer has released lately, but it never grew on me, and barely gets played anymore. In many ways, it’s like Slayer-lite.

    Endgame sucked. Period.

    Testament was cool in ’91.

    • americanfckinghatred

      TFOD sounds more like metalica than death magnetic.

      YOU LOSE!

      • IAmTheClitCommander

        TFOD sucked, as did EG and WPB.

        +10000000000 to the original poster on DM

      • Tony

        99% of people have no idea what TFOD is.

        They, and you — lose.

    • Glenn

      Agreed on DM.

  • Nigel McCloud

    Testament’s TFOD is hands down the best of the four. The next two are a toss up between Slayer and Megadeth, for me I would say Slayer. And last is Metallica, while it was a massive step up from St. Anger and showed they still have some spirit it was no doubt the weakest.

    • ZapBranigan

      Testament, without a doubt

  • bearbomb

    Completely underwhelmed by World Painted Blood, surprised it got so many votes. And yes, Testament should permanently replace Anthrax in the big four.

  • Bob

    Magic Eight Ball say, “Vote for Megadeth Or You Dumb”

  • americanfckinghatred

    wtf? what happened to exodus with shovel headed kill machine or exhibit a? this poll sucks

    • http://lordsofmetal.nl/index.php?lang=en Cavorka

      +1

      (Although Testament is alright and Endgame was solid)

  • Ben

    Testament by far, outta these. But Shovel Headed Kill Machine was pretty much the best thrash release of the decade.

    • http://lordsofmetal.nl/index.php?lang=en Cavorka

      +1 for you too

      • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt (AKA: Dallas Coyle’s Juicy Curl))

        Thank christ someone mentioned Exodus. Good job Sir.

  • Slayerific

    If you’re gonna put Testament in here, you might as well have put every new release from the 80s thrash bands that are still around

  • msv81

    SLAYER all the way.

    And that’s two good suggestions manifested in one day. Loving the polls!!

  • jagbag

    Testament byfar.

  • http://lavidastrangiato.blogspot.com/ Jake Strangiato

    I don’t care what anybody says, for me, it’s “Death Magnetic” all the way.

  • M@

    TFoD wins easily for me. Of all of them it feels the most natural. Testament never really abandon their sound (Though they came close with The Ritual) so this feels like continuation of the greatness of The Gathering. While at times Metallica and Megadeth’s latest feel like calculated pieces of nostalgia. It is almost as if the made a conscious decision to replicate an earlier sound, just without the soul that powered those earlier albums.

    • dedseed1

      Testament…..

    • your idol

      I agree 100%

  • krunkulor5000

    what!? no Lazarus A.D.? grrrrrrrr
    those are good bands but all those albums together didnt amount even to a hersheys kiss to my metal appetite (thumbs down!)

  • http://lordsofmetal.nl/index.php?lang=en Cavorka

    Exodus – Tempo Of The Damned

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Devon-Czekaj/550092101 Devon Czekaj

    Endgame, but of all the “legacy” thrash bands to put out an album recently Kreator wins.

  • brandonmetal

    big four what? majorest labelest famousest bands that are from the 80s?
    who cares, seriously…
    probably the same people who shout ‘go [sports team]!!!!’

    • bearbomb

      Isn’t writing fun?!

  • Geekbeater

    Considering World Painted Blood stinks and so does Megadeth’s entire catalog I had to vote for Testament because Ive never heard a song off it and that alone makes it better than anything else on this list.

  • Tonberry

    Having not listened to 3 of the 4 CDs, I predicted that the Testament CD would be in the lead.

  • Kuranes

    I think if Testament are still around in another 20 years or so, a good album title for them would be “The Formation of Tarnation”.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

    Surely Exodus deserve more of a place in a “Big Five” than Testament, Testament weren’t even around ’til a few years after the others anyway.

    Having said that, yes, Testament’s album is easily the best out of those four.

  • Utmu

    I actually like all these releases to some extent, I’m gonna’ have to pass on Megadeth since they’re my least fav. and I’ve heard less off this album than all the others… I’ma have to go with Metallica I guess, cuz I heard almost all if not all of the songs off of DM. Slayer and TFoD are close runners for me though.

  • mahkiavelli

    I picked WPB, but it’s nice to see the Testament album getting some love. It was way better than I expected it to be.

  • Discipleofthewatch

    Testament fucking rules! You know I voted for them.

    The Formation of Tarnatiion! Ha ha, Kuranes! Get off my lawn, or I’ll burn you to that cross!

  • Trousers

    Endgame, alright…but really Dave, put it down.

    Death Magnetic, improvement, but really guys, give it a rest. GTFO

    World Painted Blood, OK really, you have not release anything relevant in 20 years. GTFO.

    Formation of Damnation, alright, you wrote something with some memorable parts, but despite Chuck Billy’s ability to instantly make anything awesome, let’s try not to tarnish the Testament legacy, you’re treading on thin ice.

  • Ray

    Death Magnetic, easily.

    While I enjoyed all of the other releases by the “big 4″, Death Magnetic showed that Metallica are superior songwriters and more diverse musicians than any of their contemporaries. Death Magnetic is better than all the rest because it isn’t just a thrash album, it’s a Metallica album that has, like all other Metallica albums, transcended thrash.

    • stu1

      I don’t think Death Magnetic showed that; I think Master Of Puppets showed that and it’s continued.

  • Dave

    Death Magnetic for me. The new tunes work great live with maybe the exception of Judas Kiss, The End of the Line, and My Apocolypse. This Was Just Your Life is a great way to start the show. Cyanide has alot of bounce that comes across great live. Broken, Beat, and Scarred is a huge crowd pleaser. The Day That Never Comes is a huge arena power ballad. And of course, the mighty All Nightmare Long rules. DM all the way for me.

  • WowWee!

    Formation of Damnation came out before any of them and was greater than all the others.
    The songs on this album were great alone and even better live.

    It’s hard choosing this over WPB but I didn’t have a second thought.
    Formation of Damnation is that awesome.

  • bretton

    It should really be the big 6, Exodus influenced all of them before they did anything

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Keith-Brown/537636633 Keith Brown

    YESSS Testament is winning!

  • Facebook User

    Death Magnetic was great fun to listen to, but mainly it had surprisingly good lyrics. the track “Broken, Beaten, Scarred” had some of the most awful lyrics and singing though, I kinda hated that one. still love the album and Metallica though.

    Endgame was a nonstop riffathon with some incredible melodies, great themes, and great songs overall. a showcase of the performance that the guys are capable of. Love the album but Dave’s insanity shines through a little too bright at times.

    Slayer and Testament…hey, it’s Slayer and Testament. If you like them, you like these albums. World Painted Blood is a great listen, definitely crushes Christ Illusion.

    I’ll go with Endgame.

  • Christopholese

    WPB is easily the best on this list. Every song is killer, lots of nuance and heavy riff writing plus cool subjects like Countess Bathory and those japs. It just fucking grooves harder than anything here and Tom’s voice is incredible, along with Lombardo kicking the teeth outta of all metal drummers.

  • TheHangingBrain

    Kreator’s Hordes of Chaos was the best thrash album all year. PERIOD.

  • Fufkin

    I voted for Testament but it’s neck and neck with Megadeth for me.

  • Nato

    Metallica? Yawn. Slayer? South of Angel of Seasons has been rehashed more than a Simpsons montage clip. Mustaine will reign, but if i had to see one album played live from start to end it’s ‘formation’

  • dot

    love slayer, but testament has made the best albums in recent years among all the thrash acts. the gathering + formation of damnation are the best albums of their careers if you listen to all their records with a fresh ear. although the new order is still my favorite just because it’s the first one i heard.

  • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt (AKA: Dallas Coyle’s Juicy Curl))

    Exodus, “Shovel Headed Killin Machine”

    Testament, “Formation Of Damnation”

    Kreator, “Hordes Of Chaos”

    Slayer, “World Painted Blood”

    In that order, with Metallica and MedaDAVE in distant 5th and 6th.

  • FleischBerg

    Exodus – Shovel Headed Kill Machine
    Agent Steel – Order Of The Illuminati
    Helstar – The King Of Hell
    Onslaught – Killing Peace
    Paradox – Electrify
    Artillery – When Death Comes
    Mekong Delta – Lurking Fear
    Destruction – The Anti-Christ

  • Miguel G

    I’ll go with Testament, with Death Magnetic just behind. I found those albums more diverse and they actually write good songs. I fukin’ love slayer but with I grow old of their new releases fast, I don’t know why. And Megadeth….Dave exaggerates with the soloing. I think that he’s the most talented musician of that generation but I dont like his solos, he only plays fast and that’s it.

    Isn’t ironic that a band that was long overlooked in the 80′s (Testament) is now way superior live and in the studio than the big 4? And this comes from a huge metalli-fan