Dave Mustaine’s New Big Four: Which Thrash Bands Made His Cut?

WHAT THEY SAID

"I think that TESTAMENT, I think OVERKILL, I think EXODUS, and maybe TRIVIUM; I don't know." ^* That's Dave Mustaine building a new thrash Big Four for Czech outlet Óčko, while admitting Trivium may not even be a thrash band ^*. He also flagged that his picks wouldn't be a young generation ^†.

THE DETAILS

• Mustaine called Overkill important to the East Coast scene and named Exodus' Gary Holt his longest-running friend in the industry ^*.
• He praised Testament guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick as strong players ^*.
• Back in a 2013 Radio.com interview, Mustaine already said Exodus should be the addition if the Big Four became a Big Five ^*.
• The original four — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax — first shared a stage June 16, 2010 in Warsaw before 81,000 people, and played their last Big Four show September 14, 2011 at Yankee Stadium ^*.
• Blabbermouth ran Mustaine's comments September 13, 2026 ^*.

WHO IS RIGHT

Holt and Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth have the stronger case: both argue the label is driven by record sales, not influence ^*, and Kirk Hammett himself told Metal Hammer in 2014 that "Bonded By Blood" is as good as "Kill 'Em All" ^*. Chuck Billy's multi-platinum standard only proves their point — it's an accounting line, not an artistic one ^*.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

No new Big Four billing exists — this is Mustaine talking, not a tour announcement.