๐ฅ Metallica. Slayer. Megadeth. Anthrax.
The four horsemen of thrash. The titans who defined an entire genre. And on Sunday, July 4th, 2010, they all took to the same UK stage for the first time ever at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, England.
Let that sink in. It was the thrash Avengers Assemble moment, and for tens of thousands of lucky metalheads, it felt like the second coming of heavy metal. Or maybe the fourth? ๐
๐ฐ KNEBWORTH: THE HOLY GROUND OF UK ROCK
Sonisphere 2010 wasnโt just another summer festival โ it was sacred ground. Knebworth Park has hosted everyone from Led Zeppelin and Queen to Oasis and Robbie sodding Williams. But July 4th, 2010? That was for the headbangers. That was for us. ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ
It was the first time the UK crowd got all four legends of thrash on the same bill. This wasnโt just about the music โ it was history, unity, and decades of beef finally squashed (sort of) in the name of LOUD. FAST. RIFFS.
โ๏ธ THE BIG FOUR: A QUICK HEADBANG THROUGH HISTORY
Letโs get nerdy for a sec (you love it):
- Metallica โ The biggest band in metal history. Pioneers of precision riffing, stadium dominance, and the Lars Ulrich snare sound that launched a thousand memes.
- Slayer โ The most brutal. The heaviest. The scariest logo to draw on your school notebook. Reign in Blood still makes people spontaneously combust.
- Megadeth โ Dave Mustaineโs revenge-fuelled masterpiece. Technical, nasty, and politically furious. Mustaine never met a solo he didnโt want to play twice.
- Anthrax โ The party thrashers. East Coast legends. Mosh pit royalty. Joey Belladonnaโs voice could knock over buildings.
They all came up in the early โ80s, they all took different approaches, and they all had massive egos. But damn, when they got togetherโฆ it was like Zeus, Odin, and Lemmy had a jam session.
๐๏ธ JULY 4TH, 2010 โ THE SETLISTS THAT SHOOK ENGLAND
๐ฅ ANTHRAX
Anthrax opened the day with a high-energy set packed with crowd-pleasers:
- Caught in a Mosh
- Got the Time
- Antisocial
- Madhouse
- Indians
They also gave a cheeky shout to the late Ronnie James Dio and proved Joey Belladonna still had pipes that could cut steel.
๐ฅ MEGADETH
Next up, Uncle Dave and co., tighter than ever with a freshly rejoined David Ellefson on bass. Highlights:
- Holy Warsโฆ The Punishment Due
- Hangar 18
- Sweating Bullets
- Peace Sells (But Whoโs Buying?)
- Symphony of Destruction
No political rants, just shred ’til you drop.
๐ฅ SLAYER
Then it got dark. Literally. The clouds rolled in. The mood shifted. Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt (standing in for Jeff Hanneman) and Dave Lombardo unleashed hell. Setlist brutality:
- World Painted Blood
- War Ensemble
- Dead Skin Mask
- South of Heaven
- Raining Blood
- Angel of Death
The mosh pits looked like a zombie film set in Newport after closing time. ๐ฅ๐ฉธ
๐ฅ METALLICA
Finally, the kings took the stage. Lars, James, Kirk and Rob were in prime form. This wasnโt St. Anger era nonsense โ this was full-blown, crowd-eating classic Metallica:
- Creeping Death
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- One
- Master of Puppets
- Enter Sandman
And to cap it offโฆ THE BIG FOUR JAM ๐งจ
๐ค โAM I EVIL?โ โ THE BIG FOUR ALL TOGETHER
Thatโs right โ after decades of squabbling, sniping and riff-fuelled rivalries, all four bands shared the stage for an all-out jam of Diamond Headโs โAm I Evil?โ.
It was like watching every issue of Kerrang! and Metal Hammer from the ’80s collide in real time. Hetfield, Mustaine, Belladonna, Araya โ all trading lines, smiling (well, sort of), and looking like metalโs answer to the Avengers.
Yes, Mustaine and Hetfield kept a little distance, but the fact that they even stood on the same stage was a miracle. Like Noel and Liam sharing a pint without it ending in fisticuffs. Miraculous stuff, butt.
๐ฌ DOCUMENTED FOR THE AGES
While the UK got the debut, the show recorded for posterity was a few days later in Sofia, Bulgaria. That concert was broadcast in cinemas worldwide (remember those?), and later released as โThe Big Four: Live from Sofiaโ โ a must-own for any self-respecting thrasher. ๐๐ฅ
๐ฏ๏ธ WHAT MADE IT SO SPECIAL?
- First (and possibly last) time they played together in the UK.
- Fans from across the world gathered in Knebworth. There were Welsh flags, Slayer tattoos, and more patches than a denim warehouse.
- Proof that thrash still ruled โ in a world of DJs and indie fluff, this was a guitar-driven punch in the teeth.
- It was a moment of peace in metalโs most infamous soap opera โ the ultimate โenemies to bandmatesโ storyline.
๐ฃ FAN MEMORIES: YOU HAD TO BE THERE
โI crowd surfed during Slayer and lost a shoe. Worth it.โ โ Lee, Swansea
โDave Mustaine smiled. I swear on my vinyl collection.โ โ Emma, Bristol
โWhen they all played โAm I Evil?โ I legit wept. Donโt @ me.โ โ Rhys, Cardiff
๐ชฆ COULD IT HAPPEN AGAIN?
Sadly, unlikely. ๐
- Slayer officially retired in 2019.
- Metallica are busy ruling the world (again).
- Megadeth and Anthrax are still killing it, but the full Four? A pipe dream.
But for one night in 2010, it happened. And it was utterly biblical.
๐ IN CONCLUSION (BUT NOT REALLY):
The Big Four show at Sonisphere UK wasnโt just a concert. It was a mosh-pit baptism, a history lesson screamed through Marshall stacks, and a giant middle finger to anyone who said metal was dead.
If you were there โ you know.
If you werenโt โ watch the Sofia DVD, crank the volume, and throw something at your wall.
And if anyone ever asks when the gods of thrash truly stood united?
Tell them: โKnebworth. 2010. We saw the storm.โ
Got your own Big Four story? Chuck it in the comments or shout us on socials @theriffreportuk ๐ถ๏ธ๐ค
And diolch for keeping the metal flame alive, you beautiful riff-loving lunatics. ๐ค
#TheBigFour #Metallica #Slayer #Megadeth #Anthrax #Sonisphere2010 #KnebworthRiffs #RiffReportRewind ๐ธ๐ฅ๐ฅ
