Rank the Big Four (and vote for your favorite)

[Scorpion]

Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer
Anthrax

Megadeth is awesome, and I really dig Dave's vocals. I don't like Cryptic Writings, Risk and The System Has Failed (though I do love The Scorpion - who'd have thought?), but the rest is pretty awesome. Especially their recent stuff blows any of the recordings of the other three out of the water. The title track on Th1rt3en is easily their best song since Countdown to Extinction.

Metallica is good too, but their recent stuff (aside from Beyond Magnetic) isn't really my cup of tea. I absolutely detest St. Anger and Lulu, which both have no redeeming qualities imo, but especially Kill Them All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All are some of my favorite albums, probably in my Top 50.

Slayer is a bit too aggressive for my taste. I have nothing against speed, but it shouldn't lack melodies, which some of Slayer's work does sometimes. However, Seasons in the Abyss is great (the song), as well as South of Heaven and Behind the Crooked Cross. I don't like Raining Blood, though.

Anthrax, I have never gotten in to. The only song I know is Indians, and that's kind of boring. I might give them a spin in the future, but right now I'm kinda occupied with Haken.

[kirksnosehair]

Never really cared much for Slayer or Anthrax.

Love old school Metallica - everything up to and including the Black album.  Hated Load and Reload.  Never really checked out Saint Anger.  I thought Death Magnetic was decent, nothing earth shattering.

Megadeth......I really enjoy about 1/3 of their stuff.  First few albums are OK, Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction are my favorites.  Not much that they've done after that has done much for me.  Last few albums sound like one, big long track all blended together with some breaks in between.

[jsem]

1. Megadeth
2. Metallica





3. Anthrax



4. Slayer

[WildRanger]

No 1 has to be Metallica, based on their 80's discography.
Megadeth is a close second. I consider Rust in Peace better than the best Metallica album.
I like a few Anthax songs but I'm not a fan, so they are distant third.
Don't care for Slayer at all.

I would take Overkill over Anthax and Slayer combined.

[TAC]

Digging up this thread reminds me of how much I miss having wkiml around.

[Fritzinger]

Clicked on this thread thinking it was about Crimso, Genesis, Yes and ELP 

My ranking:
1. I like Metallica

[mikeyd23]

Metallica by miles and miles.

[Kwyjibo]

Rank:

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

[The Walrus]

Testament
Testament
Testament
Testament

Okay, seriously...

Megadeth
Metallica
Anthrax
Slayer

[Bertielee]

Metallica. Megadeth is fine but I never really got into them -- they always seemed to me to just be a poor man's Maiden. Anthrax is lame and Slayer sucks enormous balls.

Well, this is a very documented opinion...

B.Lee

[WildRanger]

Metallica by miles and miles.

They are miles ahead of other three bands in terms of album sales and commercial success and number of popular songs.
And today they are the only METAL BAND FOR THE MASSES out of Big 4.

[Cruithne]

1. Megadeth
2. Metallica
3. Slayer
4. Testament... sorry, Anthrax.

Ask me in 1994 and Metallica would've been top. However, these days I think it simply comes down to which band I listen to more and according to Last.FM my Megadeth listening count dwarfs that of Metallica. Also, Megadeth haven't put out an album with a comedy drum sound or a mix so brick-walled it's borderline unlistenable.

Anthrax I've never really got. Spreading The Disease was a solid early thrash effort but after that there's little that grabs me, though I do love Monster At The End from For All Kings. I did own the album with Black Lodge and Only on it at one time but they were the only tracks on it I can remember and I've long since passed it on.

Slayer are a mixed bag for me. I used to worship at the alter of the first half of Live: Decade Of Aggression and I really liked the Diablous In Musica album. Their landmark album, Reign In Blood, does little for me and whilst there's loads of good material on South Of Heaven and Seasons In The Abyss I find the production on those two albums makes everything sound really tame. Overall, I just hardly ever listen to them anymore and haven't really followed them since the God Hates Us All album, which was just ok.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Kinda funny just how comparable these band's discographies are. They all had 4 or 5 amazing albums, then the 90's marked a change of sounds (& are considered a low point for the band), then there's the one album that's undoubtedly their worst, & now they've all returned to their roots in their most recent albums. 

granted, I've never heard a Slayer album & I'm only listening through Megadeth now, so I'm just going off speculation there but still

[The Walrus]

I do think Megadeth still has magic left to share. Dystopia was incredible. Metallica had two discs on the last album but only two good tracks imo.

I feel like Kiko brings out the best in Dave, but we'll see when the next album drops.

[mikeyd23]

They are miles ahead of other three bands in terms of album sales and commercial success and number of popular songs.
And today they are the only METAL BAND FOR THE MASSES out of Big 4.

They are, and that has nothing to do with why I like them more than the other three bands listed here. But it is a point worth making that at least two of these bands would have a hard time drawing a couple thousand people to a headlining gig in the US, while Metallica just finished a stadium run here and are coming back to do an arena run. They definitely have the longevity the others have not and, in my opinion, thats because Metallica has the songs that simply resonated more with people, I think from a songwriting perspective Hetfield runs circles around anyone else in the genre.

Metallica had two discs on the last album but only two not so good tracks imo.

FTFY

[The Walrus]

Metallica's also the most commercial of them all. Everybody knows Enter Sandman, but how many people actually know all their albums? They're the easiest metal band on earth to enjoy, partially because half their hits aren't even metal.

[mikeyd23]

Metallica's also the most commercial of them all. Everybody knows Enter Sandman, but how many people actually know all their albums? They're the easiest metal band on earth to enjoy, partially because half their hits aren't even metal.

What are they?

[The Walrus]

Metallica's also the most commercial of them all. Everybody knows Enter Sandman, but how many people actually know all their albums? They're the easiest metal band on earth to enjoy, partially because half their hits aren't even metal.

What are they?

Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True, Until It Sleeps, Unforgiven II, the list goes on - I'd call all of those rock songs, not metal. Metallica from the Black Album up to the last two albums was pretty much a rock band, with some metal songs, imo, not very many of them good. They got their balls back with the last two albums but even those are dismal. Just my two cents. (I'm a Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning kind of guy, personally.)

[IDontNotDoThings]

Metallica from the Black Album up to the last two albums was pretty much a rock band

what do you mean? Death Magnetic was metal as fuck









 

[The Walrus]

Yeah, that's what I said (admittedly, poorly). The last two albums are the most metal they've sounded since the late 80s.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Yeah, that's what I said (admittedly, poorly). The last two albums are the most metal they've sounded since the late 80s.

i was making a lulu joke

[The Walrus]

We don't speak of that album. 

[IDontNotDoThings]

Well, since we're on this discussion, I have a controversial opinion: I actually really like lulu, & I think it's better than Reload & St. Anger

[mikeyd23]

Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True, Until It Sleeps, Unforgiven II, the list goes on - I'd call all of those rock songs, not metal. Metallica from the Black Album up to the last two albums was pretty much a rock band, with some metal songs, imo, not very many of them good. They got their balls back with the last two albums but even those are dismal. Just my two cents. (I'm a Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning kind of guy, personally.)

Eh, I get what you are trying to say, but I'll respectfully disagree. I don't want to get into a debate genre defining specific songs, but Sad But True, to me, is 100% metal. A song doesn't have to have fast tempos to be considered metal. As for some of the other songs you listed, they are ballads, lots of metal bands have done ballads that were big hits, that's cool with me. Some of those songs are fantastic, well written, emotional songs.

Another example, that you didn't list, would be Master of Puppets, a track that's a bigger, wider known hit than anything done by the other bands in the big four. If that's not metal, I don't know what is.

As a larger point though, I really like the fact that Metallica hasn't made the same record over and over again. If they felt inspired to go a different direction, they did. They did what they wanted artistically and I'll never fault them for that because it might not fit into my personal little frame of reference for what makes something "metal" or not.

[WildRanger]

They are miles ahead of other three bands in terms of album sales and commercial success and number of popular songs.
And today they are the only METAL BAND FOR THE MASSES out of Big 4.

They are, and that has nothing to do with why I like them more than the other three bands listed here. But it is a point worth making that at least two of these bands would have a hard time drawing a couple thousand people to a headlining gig in the US, while Metallica just finished a stadium run here and are coming back to do an arena run. They definitely have the longevity the others have not and, in my opinion, thats because Metallica has the songs that simply resonated more with people, I think from a songwriting perspective Hetfield runs circles around anyone else in the genre.

FTFY

In the USA they are much more successful than Iron Maiden when it comes to album sales, famous songs and concert attendance, but worldwide it seems they are equally big.

[ProfessorPeart]

This is tough. I love all 4 bands and have the entire discography of them all. I have seen Anthrax in concert the most. Seen Megadeth many times as well. Never seen the other two.

I guess it would be something like this:

Anthrax
Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer

The space between 2-4 is very minute. Metallica and Megadeth are just about tied and could switch places frequently.

[Stadler]

Metallica.



Megadeth is okay; I like Cryptic Writings.  I have yet to hear any Anthrax I like (I'm not big on the hip hop angle of some of their stuff) and to me, Slayer is a huge joke.   Every time I hear them, all I hear is "Entrance of the Gladiators" (google it). 

[TAC]

Ranking my Top 10 albums from these bands:

1. Kill 'Em All
2. And Justice For All
3. So Far So Good So What
4. Stomp 442
5. Master Of Puppets
6. Seasons In The Abyss
7. Rust In Peace
8. Spreading The Disease
9. Endgame
10. For All Kings
11. Death Magnetic
12. South Of Heaven

[pg1067]

1. Pre-Black Album Metallica
2. Pre-1990 Anthrax (and really only Spreading the Disease and Among the Living)
3. Slayer (only because I've heard a couple songs that were pretty good until the "singing" started)
4. Pretty much anything that doesn't feature Dave Mustaine "singing"
5. Megadeath

[Grappler]

I have yet to hear any Anthrax I like (I'm not big on the hip hop angle of some of their stuff)

Literally two songs (I'm the Man and Bring The Noise) out of twelve full length albums of thrash metal.  If you're going to dislike them, you could find a more applicable reason than such a tiny fraction of their catalog.

As for my vote - objectively, it's Megadeth.  They've been the most consistent, especially in the last 17-18 years.  I tend to listen to them the most.  But it's really a tough ranking because I love every one of these bands, and I could shuffle the order around a dozen ways and still have it be accurate.

Megadeth
Slayer
Metallica
Anthrax