METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX: German 'Big Four' Show Announced

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"If you've been following along, you know that the 'Big Four' of ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, SLAYER and 'TALLICA already have two shows scheduled in Europe in July... well, the party is expanding! We're here today to tell you about and addition to the European vacation with a show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Veltins Arena on July 2, 2011.

"Tickets go on sale on Saturday, February 19 at 9:00 a.m. local time at Eventim.de. MetClub members should check MetClub.com for more details on a special pre-sale for Clubbers only.

"Yes, that headline said 'shows' with an 's.' Keep watching here for a couple more announcements in the coming weeks."

The so-called "Big Four" are arguably the biggest and longest-lasting acts to emerge from the thrash/speed metal underground of the late '80s, but never shared a stage together until last year.

The two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the "Big Four" tour has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)

"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart in November with first-week sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.

The show was part of a two-week European tour featuring the four biggest names from the Eighties thrash metal era. The idea first came up last year and Ulrich told The Pulse of Radio he was glad to finally see it happen. "It's pretty amazing if you think about it, that it's the first time basically in 25 years or 30 or whatever that the four of us have actually played shows together," he said. "So it was a lot of fun, a lot of memories, a lot of fun times — new fun times, and fun times talking about the old fun times. So it sort of was a, it was a winner on every front."

"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" set features full shows from all four bands along with behind-the-scenes and interview footage.

As first reported on January 25, METALLICA has announced the details of the U.S. leg of the "Big Four" tour. Disappointingly, however, there will only be a single North American gig for now, on Saturday, April 23 at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California — the same location where the Coachella festival takes place every year.