The “Big Four” series of European shows came to an end last night (June 27) in Istanbul, Turkey. Many metal fans thought the day would never come when they’d see Metallica share the same stage with Megadeth (let alone with Slayer and Anthrax as well). But now that we all got a chance to see the historic metal shows (you did see the movie theater screenings, right?!), we are left with one question stuck in our heads: what other “big sub-genre” tours do we want to see? Granted, the “Big Four” shows were pretty … well, big, and hopefully won’t be the last time the four share a stage. But they aren’t the only group of misfit bands to leave a huge inspiration on the world of metal. With that in mind, we think big and take a look at other big dream tours that many would kill to see.
–NWOBHM: This one sticks out pretty high on our dream list. Who in their right mind would not go apeshit over seeing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Saxon and Diamond Head on the same bill?
–The Godfathers: So you can probably put this show in the “never going to happen” folder. Yet we can’t help but dream about possibly seeing Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple performing on the same stage together.
–Florida Death Metal Scene: I know many who would be in heaven (or hell if you prefer) if they got to see Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death and Obituary grace the stage together. Death might not be able to join in for obvious reasons (R.I.P. Chuck Shuldiner), but the other four bands could easily pull a tour together.
–Glam/Hair Metal: Ok, so Poison and Motley Crue would definitely have to be involved with this. Besides that, we’d be open to any 80’s hair band from the sunset strip taking part in a night celebrating big hair and eye liner. Oh wait … guess the Rocklahoma Festivals have already made this dream come true.
–The “Other” Big Four: Many strongly feel that bands like Exodus, Testament, Overkill and Death Angel have never gotten their fair due. Sure, we’d all prefer to see these four bands take part in a major historic tour with the main “Big Four.” But would anyone object to seeing these four tour together? Neither would I.
–The Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal Scene: As we speak, Melinda is going insane at the thought of In Flames, At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity sharing the stage. No seriously … she won’t stop running around the office.
–Stoner Metal Gods: With Sleep reuniting and members of Kyuss making surprise appearances together, a performance with the two together would make a lot of metal hippies happy, or just really, really high.
–The German Thrash Triangle: Considered the German equivalent to the Big Four, a tour featuring Kreator, Sodom and Destruction might not turn as many heads in the States, but I’m sure it would make a big splash overseas.
–The Big Grunge Four: This one might seem a bit too obvious and somewhat impossible. But with Alice In Chains back at full steam and Soundgarden reuniting at Lollapalooza this summer, at least one show with the two and Pearl Jam performing together seems plausible. The only obvious roadblock to a massive show with all the pioneers is Nirvana.
–Norwegian Black Metal Scene: A tour featuring Mayhem, Immortal, Emperor and Darkthrone and others from the second wave of this genre would be enough for some fans to burn down churches for (as if they needed more convincing to do so).
–Progressive Metal: To some it might seem like the longest night of instrumental and operatic vocals. To many though, a tour with Queensryche, Dream Theater and Fates Warning would be a dream come true.
–Masscore: While still a relatively new scene, many bands have spawned from the Masscore genre to become pretty influential. A hometown show featuring Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and All That Remains would excite at the very least all of the New England area (are you listening New England Metal And Hardcore Fest?).
–Southern Sludge Metal: Yes, there is a difference between this and Stoner Metal (how dare you)! It would be pretty sick to see Crowbar, Acid Bath (thanks muxlow) and Eyehategod perform together on a package tour. Granted, you can somewhat see the two combined together in Down, but it isn’t the same.
–Grindcore Pioneers: Napalm Death, Carcass, Brutal Truth and Bolt Thrower. Think about how awesome that would be and get back to me.
–The Industrial Pioneers: While each band has paved their own sound and route to success, a bill with Nine Inch Nails, and Ministry would leave many intrigued at the very least.
And now for some historic genre tours you may not want to see:
–90’s Boy Bands: N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, LFO and O*Town. And you thought the Norwegian Black Metal tour was a scary thought.
–Rap/Nu Metal: Ok everyone, let’s face it. We might not want it to happen, but with Korn still on the charts and bands like Limp Bizkit and Rage Against The Machine reuniting, it’s bound to happen. With the addition of Mudvayne, Papa Roach, P.O.D. and Static-X, this would be a mid-’90s fraternity’s dream show. In fact, there may be a few bands on this hypothetical tour that would make me bust out my red baseball cap out for (head slowly lowering down in shame).
– New Jack Swing: if we are going to mention 90’s boy bands, then we had to give a shout out to the likes of New Edition, Boys II Men, Another Bad Creation and Bel Biv DeVoe. It was either that or we talk about the dream tour of Britney Spears and other 90’s pop divas. Which is your preference?
–Auto Tune Abusers: T-Pain, Kanye West and Lil Wayne on the same … ok actually let’s not even think about it.
– The British Invasion: If we ignored logistics, a tour with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks would be … amazing actually! Wait, why wouldn’t you want to see this?
Is there a dream tour that we possibly left off? If so, what would you go gaga over to see?
