Heavy Metal's Big Four: How Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth Transformed Metal

Discover how four bands—Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer—forged a new breed of heavy metal that fused punk aggression with prog-rock precision … and changed music forever.

Heavy Metal’s Big Four delivers a year-by-year chronicle of how these four titans defined, then dominated thrash metal, beginning with the formations of Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer in 1981. Drawing on more than four decades of history, author Dan Bukszpan explores the bands’ beginnings, key lineup changes, landm...