RIGHT NOW: MetalSucks & Metal Injection Live Snark The Big Four!!!

We have successfully arrived at Yankee Stadium and are sitting in the press box. We feel so professional!

We’re gonna put the live blog after the jump so it doesn’t eat up the entire page. You’ll hafta refresh to get updates. Sorry.

And now, enjoy the snark…

3:47 – The bad news is, the stadium is pretty much empty for Anthrax. The good news is, a not-very-crowded stadium is still a ton of people. -Axl

3:52 – Waiting for Anthrax,  waiting for Rob from Metal Injection, listening to them crank “People = Shit,” and we can’t get a beer yet. So far, so grumpy. -AR

3:54 – Dude introducing the band can’t talk ’cause the mic ain’t even working properly. The crowd boos. -AR

3:55 – Watching a video about how it’s Anthrax day in the Bronx. Video is overcome with puns based on the titles of Anthrax songs (e.g., “They’re keeping it in the family…”). But maybe they should have thought of a different name? My dad read it was Anthrax day in the Bronx, and he fled the state. -AR

3:57 – Anthrax take the stage wearing mock Yankees jerseys. I can see the smoke coming out Vince’s ears. -AR

3:58 – “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t”

3:59 – Can’t believe I’m saying this, but Belladonna sounds pretty good! Better than he did Monday night, fer sure. -AR

4:00 – Rob from Metal Injection has arrived! NOW it’s a fuckin’ party!!! -AR

4:02 – I gotta say, though, if I can be my usual cynical self for a moment, it’s a little weird that ‘Thrax are opening this big nostalgia show with a new song. But it’s a good song, so I ain’t gonna complain too much. -AR

4:04 – “Got the Time.”

4:07 – I know you guys were worried but I made it!! Axl and Metalsucks won’t know what hit them. – Rob

4:08 – “Madhouse”

4:08 – “The sound is pretty good!” Thus spake Vince. -AR

4:11 – Vince: “Dude, I love Frankie Bello’s stage moves! They’re just so hilarious.” -AR

4:12 – Wow, Joey asked who in the crowd has never seen Anthrax before, and the vast majority of the crowd in GA raised their hands. Crazy. -AR

4:13 – “Caught in a Mosh”

4:14 – I just want to say that this experience of watching a metal show, in a stadium IN THE FUCKING PRESS BOX is a pretty ridiculous way to experience this event. First World Problem: The stage is pretty far away. First World Solution: We have an HD feed of the show in the box to look at everybody’s mugs. I feel like it’s just going to get more ridiculous. – Rob

4:18 – Someone in the comments section asked if we could post some pics while we blog. We’ll try, but we don’t really have professional photo equipment with us or nuthin’. Sorry. -AR

4:19 – “Antisocial”

4:19 – They switched to mock Yankess away jerseys. Wow!  A costume change! -AR

4:22 – This is what it looks like when Anthrax play “Antisocial” at Yankee stadium:

4:25 – “The Devil You Know”

4:29 – Since you guys asked for pics, here is one of me with my complimentary Pepsi. No free beer!!! – Rob

4:31 – Not to be insensitive, but why is there closed captioning for deaf people at a metal show? They can’t hear the music anyway — do they really care about the lyrics? – AR

4:32 – “Indians”

4:33 – Here is Axl ferociously posting that previous comment against deaf people having a good time at the Big 4 show -Rob

4:35 – Now that I think about, Joey sounds kind of like an Indian. I think I’ll call him Big Chief Bellardini for the remainder of the show. -AR

4:36 – Band stops mid-song ’cause Charlie thinks the crowd isn’t showing enough energy. -AR

4:37 – Better pic, courtesy Metal GF, who found it on FB somewhere. -AR

4:40 – Random shout-out at the end of “Indians” — “Everybody remember Ronnie James Dio!” Uh, I do, fer sure, but what’s that got to do with anything? -AR

4:41 – Scott Ian: “They told us they wanted to do this show at Citi Field, and we said, ‘We can’t play at the stadium for a losing team!’ or something to that effect. And thus, Scott just alienated his biggest ally at MetalSucks. -AR

4:41 – “Metal Thrashing Mad”

4:42 – I have to say, I am very impressed at how incredible Anthrax sounds. This is the best outdoor sound I have ever heard. It may also be because the press box has a bunch of speakers in the ceilings. Overall, this short experience has made me feel like I need to get into sports journalism… simply for the press boxes. – Rob

4:44 – “I Am the Law”

4:47 – Something just feels so right watching an Anthrax show in the Bronx. By the way, for those wondering, my unofficial survey while walking around outside proved that most people here are wearing Metallica shirts, with Slayer coming in a strong second. At quick glance, I just spotted 5 different Metallica shirts in the stands, an Overkill shirt and a Mudvayne shirt. -Rob

4:50 – The dearth of Megadeth shirts is actually kind of amazing. -AR

4:51 – I started clapping for Anthrax as they finished “I Am The Law,” then I had a revelation…they can’t hear me! No more clapping the rest of the night. -Rob

4:52 – Anthrax are done. One down, three to go. Here’s video of “Metal Thrashing Mad”… -AR

4:56 – If you’re curious, that was the same set list ‘Thrax played on Monday night, ‘cept for “Only” and “Earth on Hell.” -AR

4:57 – Well, while we wait for the changeover, remember that time I interviewed Anthrax about that fake review that Axl wrote for Worship Music which I thought was legit? Ah, what awkward times. -Rob

5:05 – No Megadeth ’til 5:30. That leaves me almost another half hour to prepare my ears for Mustaine’s voice. Don’t worry, ears. I’ll make it up to you. -AR

5:07 – Here’s a photo my buddy Kevin Patrick sent over of Joey Belladonna from earlier. Kevin’s got a pretty sweet spot in the pit. -Rob

5:12 – Thanks to the commenters for teaching me that Joey B. is, indeed, part Injun. See? You learn something new about someone you don’t care about every day! -AR

5:17 – Well, here we are… -AR

5:18 – Soooo… Scarlett Johansson, eh? -AR

5:32 – Megadeth opens with “Trust.” -AR

5:33 – MUSTAINE IS ALIVE! HE’S ON STAGE. Unless it’s a Mustaine robot. Dude looks like he needs a shave, so it’s probably not a robot. -Rob

5:34 – Way more people here for ‘Deth. Stinky that Anthrax had to play at 4 o’clock on a friggin’ weekday. -AR

5:37 – “Hangar 18”

5:38 – Well, Mustaine’s voice is typically awful. At least he’s lower in the mix than when I saw them last summer… easier to ignore him and concentrate of the band. -AR

5:40 – A pigeon is flying over Yankee Stadium. I am easily distracted during the Hangar 18 solo. -Rob

5:42 – Mustaine looks really happy to be here . Now he’s telling a story about how he was in the hospital yesterday morning, and how needs surgery on his neck, BUT HE’S HERE ROCKING FOR US! I guess everybody must’ve really prayed hard for him to allow him to be here. I’d like to take a moment to pause this live blog, so we can all drop to one knee and say a prayer to the man upstairs for our favorite ginger shredder. – Rob

5:43 – “She Wolf”

5:46 – Photo of Dave doing Jesus:

5:47 – “Public Enemy No. 1”

5:48 – I have to say, “Public Enemy No. 1” is one hell of a catchy song. It’s been in my head all week, and now it’ll be in my head for another week. In spite of all the shit we give Dave, the man still knows how to write a great track. -Rob

5:50 – First world problem: Our HD feed is about two seconds behind the sound. :( -Rob

5:51 – Chris Broderick:

5:51 – “Headcrusher”

5:54 – Anthrax had bigger pits. Just sayin’. -AR

5:55 – “A Tout Le Monde.”

5:56 – I like watching the out of sync audio on the monitor. It’s like watching Megadeth perform a Godzilla movie. -AR

5:57 – Rob is air drumming. Megadeth must be good. -AR

5:58 – BREAKING: Marty Friedman is still Japanese. -AR

5:59 – “Sweating Bullets”

6:00 – All of Yankee stadium errupts to yell “Sweating Bullets,” even the press box is rocking out. MEGA FUCKIN DETH!!!!! -Rob

6:03 – How come Mustaine sounds alright all of a sudden? I’m still sober, so that can’t be it… maybe he just need a lozenge. -AR

6:04 – “Symphony of Destruction.”

6:08 – “Peace Sells”

6:09 – Pretty ironic that the first line of “Peace Sells” is “What do you mean I don’t believe in God? Talk to him everyday.” 20 years ago, Mustaine was being ironic. Now he’s being sincere. As my friend Sgt. D would say: sincerity is the new irony. – Rob

6:11 – Vic Rattlead walks out on stage. Just a dude in a mask and a suit. Y’know, like Eddie, only not awesome. -AR

6:13 – “I have a question for you… how many of you are sick of our fucked up government?” – Dave Mustaine moments before going into “Holy Wars” -Rob

6:14 – The aforementioned Vic…

6:15 – Dave Mustaine cannot sing “Holy Wars” anymore. -Rob

6:17 – Here’s video of “Symphony for Destruction”…

6:19 – Some dude just ran out onto the field and headed straight for the GA section. Like a dozen security guards chased after him. He almost made it, and the crowd started cheering… and then he got tackled. And now they’re kicking him out. So that was exciting. -AR

6:20 – As requested, here is a shot of Megadeth’s crowd, albeit quite pixelated -Rob

6:21 – Megadeth are megadone. Do I wanna go to the Anthrax press conference, or hit the buffet? Tough choice. -AR

6:23 – Rob and Vince are going to the Anthrax press conference, so we’ll have some kind of report on that in a little bit. I’d join them, but I don’t want to. -AR

6:37 – While we’re waiting for Slayer, why don’t you watch this hilarious interview Rob did with a very drunk Dave Mustaine at the Revolver Golden Gods a couple of years back? -AR

6:42 – Definition of “irony”: An ad for a new show called Metal Evolution exclusively using clips of The Big 4. -AR

6:43 – Definition of  “irony”: An ad for a new show called Metal Evolution airing on VH1. -AR

6:45 – Five minutes ’til Slayer. The stands are definitely crowded, but if you had wanted to walk up to the box office today and buy and ticket, you would have had no problem. -AR

6:51 – CORRECTION! Slayer don’t go on ’til 7. Sorry about that. -AR

6:57 – “SLAY-ER! SLAY-ER!” chants in the GA section. I still get all tingly when this band is about to take the stage. -AR

7:02 – “Disciple”

7:03 – Slayer mix is way muddy. Hopefully it gets better as the set progresses, ’cause the other bands sounded great… -AR

7:05 – In case you were wondering, no, Hanneman isn’t here. Gary Holt is playing with them. -AR

7:07 – “Post Mortem”

7:11 – “Hate Worldwide”

7:12 – Dave Lombardo is bringing it. It is being brought. Playing Slayer must be really good cardio. – Rob

7:14 – You’re not allowed to say “fuck” on the closed caption monitor. DEAF PEOPLE MUST BE PROTECTED FROM SWEARING!!! -AR

7:15 – “War Ensemble”

7:16 – With Araya unable to headbang, Lombardo obviously being tied to the drums, and Holt really being a guest, this has become the Kerry King show. I’ve never seen him move around so much on stage before. It’s like they gave him cocaine right before he went on. -AR

7:17 – I want to say that 85% of the crowd is on their feet right now. Fuck it, I’m gonna say it. Wait, I just said it. I’m confusing myself -Rob

7:20 – “Psychopathy Red”

7:23 – Araya dedicates “Mandatory Suicide” to all the people fighting for our freedom. In that same spirit, I’d like to dedicate this live blog to our attorney. -AR

7:25 – Slayer mix has definitely gotten way better, by the way. -AR

7:27 – “Chemical Warfare”

7:29 – Oh hey, our friend Raphael posted this photo of Slayer’s backdrop. Pretty, no? – Rob

7:32 – “Silent Scream”

7:33 – The sun has set. Metal o’clock! Slayer is the perfect band to bring us into the darkness. – Rob

7:36 – Slayer are great, but Araya’s stage banter ain’t exactly electric. -AR

7:37 – “Dead Skin Mask”

7:38 – There are three-four good sized pits in the GA section, but the fact that the entire crowd isn’t trying to kill each other is a little disappointing. Especially since, at least based on how few people earlier claimed to be seeing Anthrax live for the first time, I’m assuming it’s mostly young folks in there. -AR

7:39 – What are the odds that I can get a circle pit going in the press box? -Rob

7:43 – “Snuff”

7:44 – The last time I saw Gary Holt this happy, Kirk Hammett was still in Exodus. -AR

7:46 – “Born to be Wild.”

7:47 – No, I’m kidding, it’s “South of Heaven.” AS IF!

7:48 – Getting chills from these riffs. This song is only slightly ruined for me because we parodied it on the Livecast, changing the title to South of Trenton. -Rob

7:52 – “Raining Blood” and the crowd goes absolutely BANANAS! The stadium is totally packed at this point and EVERYBODY is on their feet, except us…cause we’re in the press box, and these seats are fucking comfortable! -Rob

7:56 – “Black Magic”

7:59 – “Angel of Death”

8:00 – OMG! Tom Araya actually did the scream at the beginning of “Angel of Death.” The last two times I’ve seen them he did not. Life is complete. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! -Rob

8:04 – Slayer are done. Unless Lombardo is gonna play drums for Metallica tonight, the best parts of the show are now over. -AR

8:05 – Video of Slayer doing “Raining Blood”:

8:09 – While we wait for Metallica to hop on stage, perhaps you may enjoy this interview I did with Tom Araya and his family two years ago at the Golden Gods, and then the one I did with the rest of the band the following year. – Rob

8:11 – Axl and Vince went to get food and left me all alone with their website. HAI GUIZZZ!! -Rob

8:16 – Here are some more fun Big 4 themed videos while we wait. These focus on all of the bands’ overuse of certain words. For example: Metallica likes Death, Slayer likes Satan and Megadeth likes killing. -Rob

8:28 – For the sake of comparison, below is a pic of the crowd waiting for Metallica…

8:36 – We’re still waiting for Metallica. While we wait, why don’t you watch Enter Sandman performed entirely on kazoo. -Rob

8:37 – There is a 100% chance that all the bands will come back on stage for a jam. While we patiently wait for Metallica, let’s take a look back at the first time they all got on stage together, last year to perform Am I Evil?… watch it again! -Rob

8:41 – We know there are some metal celebs in the house tonight, like Robb Flynn and Mike Portnoy… I wonder if they’ll be invited up on stage, too? -AR

8:46 – Just received this text from anonymous: “Dude, before you go, go into the pressbox bathroom, drop the largest turd of your life, then leave it there. Karma for meathead Yankee fans.” LET’S! GO! METS! – Vince

8:47 – Randy Blythe is also in the house, and he tweeted that he met Lou Reed. Could this be the night we hear one of their songs off Lulu? Actually, Axl made a good point. Ja Rule lives in New York, maybe he’ll come out for their collaboration. -Rob

8:51 – Metallica were supposed to go on at 8:35. I heard the delay is because James needed to be re-frosted. -AR

8:53 – Pic taken at the Anthrax press conference a couple of hours ago. Vince and Rob got some good stories, which I imagine they’ll share tomorrow… -AR

8:54 – Metallica Morricone intro. The crowd is stoked even if I’m not. -AR

8:56 – Axl might not be stoked but I sort of am. I’ve never seen Metallica before. Why did I wait so long? (Probably because they never invited me to their previous shows’ press boxes) -Rob

8:56 – “Creeping Death”

8:58 – Wow, the crowd is electric. Everybody is on their feet and singing along to every word. Chills. -Rob

8:59 – Listening to I dunno how many thousands of people yell “DIE! DIE! DIE!” is pretty intense, I admit. -AR

9:02 – One song in and this is very clearly Metallica’s show. Holy shit! I’m truly floored (in that I’m still sitting in my seat). -Rob

9:03 – “For Whom The Bell Tolls”

9:04 – Are they playing FASTER than the record? -Rob

9:05 – Video of “Creeping Death”:

9:07 – “Fuel”

9:09 – Can’t stop thinking of this image -Rob:

9:10 – Fire:

9:11 – “Ride the Lightning”

9:17 – A Kirk Hammett guitar solo already? Fo’ reals? -AR

9:19 – “Fade to Black”

9:21 – It’s lighter city up in this bitch. And I mean actual LIGHTERS, not just cell phones. That’s how old this crowd is. -AR

9:27 – James promises Metallica will be around another thirty years, then launches into “Cyanide.” -AR

9:28 – Jaymz:

9:29 – That one riff in “Cyanide” is pretty tolerable. -Rob

9:30 – Hey, as long as they don’t try to play anything from St. Anger, I promise not to incite a riot. -AR

9:33 – “All Nightmare Long”

9:34 – Two Death Magnetic songs in a row? I’m gonna take this opportunity to go flush one out, flush one out. -AR

9:38 – The crowd:

9:42 – Just got word: 41, 454 paid attendees today. -AR

9:43 – “Sad But True”

9:46 – As it turns out, Kirk can’t sing, either. -AR

9:48 – Oh, good, I was really worried Trujillo might not take a bass solo. -AR

9:49 – Now they’re saying it’s 41, 451. So, uh, FUCK THOSE THREE EXTRA PEOPLE! -AR

9:49 – “Sanitarium”

9:51 – “Why aren’t they playing anything off of St. Anger?” -At least one person in the audience. – Rob

9:56 – “Orion”

9:57 – ARE THEY SERIOUSLY PULLING OUT ORION??? EEEEEFFFFFFFFYYYEEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH -Rob

9:59 – While Orion plays, let’s take a moment to remember the greatness that was Cliff Burton, and to think, if he was still alive today…. he would’ve quit Metallica a long time ago. -Rob

10:00 – Somewhere in the world right now, at this very moment, Jason Newsted is not playing in front of 41k+ people. -AR

10:04 – Post-“Orion” shout out to Cliff. -AR

10:04 – “One”

10:05 – Fireworks at the start of “One”…

10:07 – Here’s a photo Randy Blythe tweeted to give you an idea of just how many metalheads packed Yankee Stadium -Rob

10:10 – Concert capacity is apparently about 42k even. So I guess they about it sold it out after all. And I’m glad for them… but I sure do wish that more of those people had shown up for the other bands. -AR

10:12 – Indio had about 50k in attendance, but obviously that wasn’t an option here. -AR

10:12 – “Master of Puppets”

10:12 – 0:20 into Master of Puppets, they fucked it up! Awkward. -Rob

10:20 – LASERS! for “Blackened.”

10:21 – “Master of Puppets” chanting/gee-tar solo:

10:25 – Pic of lasers during “Blackened” below. Video coming shortly. -AR

10:26 – No matter how many times I see ’em, I get really excited at the sight of lasers. Also, that was a pretty rippin’ rendition of “Blackened” -Rob

10:27 – And here’s video of the lasers from “Blackened” —

10:27 – ‘Nother Kirk solo. –

10:28 – “Are they seriously not going to play ‘Frantic.’ C’MON GUYS, MY LIFESTYLE DETERMINES MY DEATHSTYLE! Where do I get refunds?” -Same guy from earlier. -Rob

10:29 – “Nothing Else Matters”

10:32 – Scott Ian tweeted this pic from off-stage as he gets ready to go on:

10:34 – Hetfield: still a better guitar player than Hammett. -AR

10:35 – “Enter Sandman”

10:40 – A closer view, courtesy a friend of Rodney Githens from Vertebrae 33 and Metal Band Art:

10:42 – More amps are being added. I think we know what this means. -Rob

10:43 – People are doing Yankees chants. Tempted to start a “Let’s go Mets!” chant. -Vince

10:45 – James making jokes about the closed captioning now: “I said ‘You kick our asses, New York,’ they wrote ‘You kiss our asses.’” -AR

10:47 – Big 4 jam includes members of Exodus in addition to the usual suspects. It’s “Am I Evil” this time, though, it’s…

10:48 – Motorhead’s “Overkill”

10:49 – This is cool in theory, but there’s just way too many people on stage. The sound is mush. -AR

10:51 – Poor Drover was only handed one drum stick for “Overkill.” But then Lars gave up his entire kit, which was very classy. No sarcasm. -AR

10:52 – Lombardo takes over the drums now. Dude is still a BEAST. -AR

10:54 – Kerry King and Scott Ian are like bizarro world versions of one another. -AR

10:55 – Good Vince observation: Kerry King splits the second the jam is over, without taking a bow or anything. He’s like, “I don’t give a FUCK, I’m outta here.” -AR

10:56 – Non-Metallica personnel vacate the stage, the Metallicats rip into “Battery.”

11:00 – After “Battery,” Lars walks to the lip of the stage and teases the crowd: “No more!” And then James comes out and says “Of course more!” before asking the crowd: “Do you need another song?!?” The crowd, of course, is interested in what he’s selling. -AR

11:02 – “Seek and Destroy”

11:02 – Beach balls! -AR

11:03 – Patience my children. I am uploading the full clip of the Big 4 jam on “Overkill” to Metal Injection as we speak. -Rob

11:04 – Crowd during “Seek and Destroy”…

11:05 – Uh oh, beach balls and Kirk Hammett in the same vicinity? You remember what happened the last time Kirk was near beach balls, don’t you? Watch out little girls! -Rob

11:09 — “METALLICA LOVES YOU NEW YORK!” Aaaaannnndddd they’re done. And so are we.

I wanna thank Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax for being good sports.

I wanna thank Rob from Metal Injection for classin’ up the joint for the night… make sure you stay tuned to Metal Injection for some killer videos from tonight’s show.

And I wanna thank all the readers for hangin’ out with us tonight. Hope you had as much fun as we did.-AR

The footage of the Big 4 jamming on Motorhead’s “Overkill” has been posted right here. Thanks to Axl for letting me snark, and thanks for reading everybody. -Rob

Watch the Big 4 jam on Motorhead’s “Overkill”

Show’s over people, go home!