It has been 25 Years since the "Clash of the Titans" tour featuring Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer unleashed itself onto North America. Sheds and Arenas packed full of thrash fans were treated to 3 of the "Big 4" in a celebration of the music that pushed a stale genre into more extreme territory.
The stages were large. The crowds were rabid. All 3 bands were touring on their then current releases. Each band showing maturity as artists. For those reasons, the timing was perfect.
Megadeth: "Rust In Peace." Their best LP. Every fan knows this.
Slayer: "Seasons in the Abyss." A critically acclaimed, certified gold, fan favorite. Slower, menacing, evil and ominous.
Anthrax: "Persistance of Time" Their best? Not. However it showed the complexity of the band and was more developed than the LP prior.
3 thrash bands, all unique, at their peak. In many ways, this tour was the last stand of the first wave of thrash.
Commercial success via slowed down music followed. Changing trends led to confused offerings from each. Line-up changes muddied the waters. Financial awareness and artistic integrity (ego) became the norm in some cases, but somehow the core of each band made it through to today.
There have been shows since featuring all 3 bands. In particular, the 2010 American Carnage tour reunited all three bands to play smaller venues. Of course the Big 4 shows (featuring the mighty Metallica) should be mentioned, but most of us didn't get to see either.
Is America ready for a proper "Clash of the Titans" reunion tour? Yes we are. The question is: Will it happen?
I don't know. But there is a great reason to try:
Each band has an album in the cycle just in time for a 2016 tour. Each album looks to be their best in years.
Slayer's "World Painted Blood" was released on Sept 11th, and is their highest charting LP to date in the US (#4 on the Billboard top 200). The first LP without Jeff Hanneman is today's Slayer, and it's damn good.
Megadeth fans are foaming at the mouth for the new album "Dystopia" set to release on Jan 22nd. It features with new members Chris Adler (Lamb of God) and Kiko Loureiro (Angra) taking the always rotatable positions of drums and guitar. It looks to be Megadeth's strongest LP since "Rust In Peace." Based in the teaser, it just may be:
Anthrax is dropping a new LP sometime in the first quarter of 2016, and just this morning I heard the new single "Evil Twin," I think it rips, and so far the metal world agrees. Anthrax is finally riding high after years of struggle and drama. This second release since the Joey reunion looks to be just as important to the band as "Worship Music" was. These guy are coming out swinging.
Based on the fanfare and hype, I believe that these bands can pull off large-ish tour together and the fans will support it. The timing is once again perfect.
In todays market, it would be great to see the best of the genre pull it together for the betterment of the scene. The fact that all 3 bands are still relevant today speaks to the impact they still have.
It should be mentioned that a young upcoming band from Seatlle opened the American dates in 1991. Their name? Alice in Chains. I doubt they would be available today to open this dream tour, but I guarantee that many a big name would find the time to do it. I vote for Overkill or Machine Head.
It's time to recapture the energy. My friends and I were 16 then. We all raised our families, and now we are 41. Our kids want this, we want this and we may even buy the kids tickets.
Make it happen.
Nago.
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