In a recent conversation with Chris Akin of “The Classic Metal Show,” Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick addressed the longstanding debate regarding his band’s omission from the “Big Four” of 1980s thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax).
While many fans argue that the Bay Area legends deserve a spot alongside the genre’s titans, Skolnick offered a different perspective, emphasizing that the distinction comes down to timing rather than talent.
“I never give it much thought, because, to me, it’s not just the ‘Big Four’ — it’s the first four. Those bands had albums out when Testament was still called Legacy and was still a local band that I used to hear about when I was in high school. And they supported some of those bands, but all of the ‘Big Four’ bands had records out at the time that Legacy was still getting started. And by the time Legacy became Testament and released its first, debut album, those bands all had several albums out. So you can’t really make the comparison. They were there [and] they were so much further along by the time we even got started. So I think it makes more sense to look at, okay, the next wave after the so-called ‘Big Four’ bands. And it’s an honor that people think — most of the time we’re one of those names. That’s great. I’ll take it,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
When pressed on Testament‘s status as one of the premier acts in thrash history, regardless of the label, Skolnick confirmed the band is content with their legacy.
“And that is just fine with us. I mean, I can’t speak for anybody else in the band, but I don’t know of anybody that has any issue with that. [Nobody] says, ‘No, we should be in the ‘Big Four’.’ No. They’re the ‘Big Four’. All good. But we’ll proudly take our place in the next wave.”
This isn’t the first time Skolnick has deferred to seniority. During a 2019 appearance on the “Basel Meets” podcast, he broke down the timeline of 1986 to illustrate why the grouping makes sense.
“Interestingly, I have no problem with it, because I look at it as a seniority thing. I joined Testament in very late ’85; I think my first gig was early ’86. So, 1986 — what happened [that year]? Metallica releases Master Of Puppets. They were already on their third record. They were on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world… Slayer released Reign In Blood that year, after having several albums out. Anthrax had several records out. I think at that point, Megadeth was on their second record. So all those bands, they were past their first record. They were all off and running. At the time, the classic Testament lineup was just forming. So, I’m fine with that.”
Testament vocalist Chuck Billy shares his guitarist’s view. Speaking to the “Music Mania” podcast in 2018, he noted that the changing music industry landscape of the early 90s also played a role in cementing the “Big Four” as a distinct entity.
“When you say ‘Big Four,’ you think of the ’80s when that was what was referred to as the ‘Big Four’, which is correct — those four bands [Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax] were the biggest four bands of our era; at that time, all [of them were] at the platinum level, when there was much more acceptability to this music. Around ’91 [or] ’92, the grunge scene came in, and all the bands following us — Exodus and Overkill and all those kind of bands — lost that momentum because the industry started changing its format. So when they say [Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax are the] ‘Big Four,’ I say that’s correct. We were the next generation of the ‘Four’ [laughs], but we were just caught in the wrong time… wrong place, wrong time.”
