“It’s not the Big Four – it’s the first four”: Alex Skolnick on why Testament aren’t included in the “Big Four” of thrash metal
Metallica. Megadeth. Slayer. Anthrax. These are the four thrash metal bands forever immortalised as the “Big Four”. But debate has raged for years as to whether certain other bands should be part of that cohort.
Such names include Bay Area greats and Kirk Hammett’s former band Exodus, East Coast thrashers Overkill, and, arguably the band most commonly argued as the group’s fifth member, Testament.
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Across their vast discography – comprising 14 studio albums released over the course of four decades – Testament have made a strong case for their title as the Big Four’s fifth member.
But in a new interview with The Classic Metal Show [via Blabbermouth], guitarist Alex Skolnick explains why he believes the Big Four has always remained those four bands only. And the reason, he says, comes mostly down to timelines.
“I never give it much thought, because, to me, it’s not just the ‘Big Four’ – it’s the first four,” he says.
“Those bands had albums out when Testament was still called Legacy and was still a local band that I used to hear about when I was in high school. And they supported some of those bands, but all of the ‘Big Four’ bands had records out at the time that Legacy was still getting started. And by the time Legacy became Testament and released its first album, those bands all had several albums out. So you can’t really make the comparison.”
“They were there. They were so much further along by the time we even got started. So I think it makes more sense to look at, okay, the next wave after the so-called ‘Big Four’ bands. And it’s an honour that people think – most of the time we’re one of those names. That’s great. I’ll take it.”
Skolnick makes clear that he and his bandmates don’t mind at all that they aren’t cited as a member of the Big Four.
“I don’t know of anybody that has any issue with that,” he says. “[Nobody] says, ‘No, we should be in the Big Four.’ No, they’re the Big Four. All good. But we’ll proudly take our place in the next wave.”
Testament have a North America tour planned across March and April 2026. Aptly titled Thrash of the Titans, the trek will see the metallers take out support acts Overkill and German thrash metal outfit Destruction.
See Testament’s official website for tickets and a full list of dates.
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