Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax

While many of the metal bands formed in the early ’80s eventually broke up or became novelty acts, Slayer and Megadeth have lost little of their vitality and relevance with age, and both acts continue to release new records that serve their legacy well. Slayer’s latest album, 2009’s serial-killer-themed World Painted Blood, is as strong a set as the band’s released in a decade, and Megadeth’s latest, 2009’s Endgame, holds its own among the band’s heaviest and most aggressive records. Tonight these pioneering metal acts co-headline a bill supported by a third member of the so-called “Big Four” of thrash metal: Anthrax, perhaps the most overtly cartoonish of all the major thrash metal groups. Lineup changes and some forgettable late-period releases have tarnished Anthrax’s legacy a bit, but recently the band received a boost when they reunited with heyday vocalist Joey Belladonna.