Anthrax’s Frank Bello wants more Big Four shows with Metallica

Anthrax bassist Frank Bello told Heavy Consequence, in an interview published on 12 October 2026, that he would join a new run of “Big Four” shows with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth “in a heartbeat”. It is not his decision, he said, pointing to Metallica: “They know our number,” the bands are friends, and Anthrax will wait for the call.

The four thrash metal acts played 14 shows together in 2010 and 2011, ending at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. According to Consequence, any new shows would likely have to happen within the next few years, with Slayer back on stage after calling it quits in 2019 and Megadeth in the middle of a farewell tour.

Bello said he recently reconnected with Metallica’s James Hetfield at the Back to the Beginning concert, after a long time without speaking, and the two talked for about half an hour. He also looked back at 1986 and 1987, when Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”, Megadeth’s “Peace Sells”, Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” and Anthrax’s “Among the Living” came out within 13 months, saying those records met the moment and that the scene is still growing.

Anthrax are an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1981. In September mbuzz reported that the band released “Cursum Perficio” on 18 September 2026, their first studio album in a decade. Metallica, meanwhile, are in the middle of their “Life Burns Faster” residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas.