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The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria[1] is a DVD/Blu-ray featuring live concert performances by Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, which are collectively known as "The Big 4" of thrash metal. The event took place on June 16, 2010 at the Sonisphere Festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland. Before it's DVD release, it was shown at 450 movie theaters in the United States and over 350 movie theaters across Europe, Canada, and Latin America on June 22, 2010. There was a limited-edition guitar pick unveiled shortly after the contents and artwork were released.

Reception was generally positive from musical critics. Sites like Allmusic and About.com gave the album a positive review, and Blogcritics gave the DVD a mixed review. It peaked at number one on the United States, United Kingdom, Austrian, and Canadian DVD charts, and also carted on three other charts. It went Gold in Germany, and earned Megadeth a Double-Platinum certification.


Background and release

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On June 16, 2010 at the Sonisphere Festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland, the big four —Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax— played together for the first time in history. The first photo of all the members of the four bands (except for Slayer's Jeff Hanneman) in a room together, taken on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.[2] Directed by Nick Wickham,[3] the event was filmed and transmitted via satellite to over 450 movie theaters in the United States and over 350 movie theaters across Europe, Canada, and Latin America. The event lasted for only one night, specifically on June 22, 2010. Tickets were made available for around $20 at TheBigFourLive.com, as well as a listing for the theaters where people could view it.[4] Delayed screenings were planned for Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.[2]

The film's contents and artwork were revealed on August 25, 2010.[5] A limited-edition guitar pick was unveiled on August 26, 2010.[6] Originally, the release dates European release on October 11, 2010.[7] Metallica then announced on their official site that European release on October 15, 2010, an International release on October 18, 2010, and a North America release on October 19, 2010,[8] and on September 15, 2010, it was announced that their would be a limited-edition "super deluxe" The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria box set released.[9] On September 17, 2010, a video was released giving a 36-second preview of the box set was released.[10] On September 20, 2010, it was announced that the release date would be postponed to a European release on October 29, 2010, an International release on November 1, 2010, and a North America release on November 2, 2010.[11] Metallica's "Sad But True" performance, taken from the film, was released on October 21, 2010.[12] Four teaser clips for the video were released on October 12, 2010.[13] On September 21, 2010, a three-and-a-half-minute trailer was released.[14]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [15]
About.comPositive [16]
BlogcriticsMixed [17]

Reception was generally positive from musical critics. Thom Jurek, who reviewed for AllMusic, rewarded the album with four out of five stars. Jurek called the performance of "Am I Evil?", which had members of all four bands perform, a "historic high point," and called each song "incredibly energetic, clearly riding the crowd excitement of the event, and the performances are stellar without a lapse." He also said that the album's standouts were Anthrax's "Madhouse" and "Antisocial"; Megadeth's "Head Crusher" and the "Peace Sells/Holy Wars Reprise"; Slayer's "Angel of Death", "Seasons in the Abyss", and "Raining Blood"; and Metallica's "Fade to Black", "Creeping Death", "Master of Puppets", and "For Whom the Bell Tolls".[15]

Chad Bower, an About.com employee, said that the concert was "one of the defining moments and biggest events in recent metal history." He also said that despite their age, the bands can still put on a "great show." He described each band as having their own distinctive attitude/vibe, writing: "Anthrax has a more lighthearted, fun approach, while Megadeth is 100 percent business with very little banter and focus on the music. Slayer has a more ominous vibe, although their evil mystique has lessened over the years. Metallica were very inclusive, with James Hetfield acting as everybody's favorite uncle interacting with the crowd and taking time to soak it all in."[16]

Chart performance

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Charts (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[18] 71
German Albums Chart[19][20] 4
Swiss Music DVD Charts[20] 3
Austria Music DVD Chart[20] 1
UK Music DVD Charts[20] 1
Canadian Music DVD Chart[20] 1
Billboard Music DVD Chart[20] 1

Certifications

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Country Certification
(sales thresholds)
Germany Gold [21]
Australia Double-Platinum [22]

Contents

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Personnel

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A complete list can be found at AllMusic.[23]

References

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  1. ^ http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=603336
  2. ^ a b "METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX: The First 'Big Four' Photo". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-06-15.
  3. ^ "Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax: The Big 4 - Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (2010)". IMDb. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ^ "METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX: 'Big Four' Coming To A Theater Near You". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-05-20.
  5. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria' Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-08-25.
  6. ^ "'The Big Four' Limited-Edition Guitar Pick Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-08-26.
  7. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sonisphere 2010' DVD, Blu-Ray U.K. Release Date Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-08-14.
  8. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria': More DVD Details Revealed". 2010-08-24.
  9. ^ "'The Big Four' Super Deluxe Box Set: First Photo Available". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-09-15.
  10. ^ "'The Big Four' Super Deluxe Box Set: Video Footage Of Packaging Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  11. ^ "'The Big Four' DVD: New Release Dates Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-09-20.
  12. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria': Four New Teaser Clips Released". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-10-21.
  13. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria': Four New Teaser Clips Released". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-10-12.
  14. ^ "'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria': New DVD Trailer Released". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-09-21.
  15. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  16. ^ a b Bower, Chad (2010-11-25). "The Big 4: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria DVD Review". About.com.
  17. ^ "Music Video Review: The Big Four - Live from Sofia, Bulgaria - Blogcritics Music". Blogcritics.org. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  18. ^ "Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 15th November 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 15, 2010. Archived from the original on November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  19. ^ musicline.de / PhonoNet GmbH. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  20. ^ a b c d e f "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - 'The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria': More First-Week Chart Positions Revealed". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  21. ^ AT LEAST ONE OF artist or title MUST BE PROVIDED for GERMAN CERTIFICATION.
  22. ^ "MEGADETH Presented With Double-Platinum Awards For 'The Big Four' DVD In Australia". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-12-19.
  23. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-big-four-live-from-sofia-bulgaria-r2052333/credits
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