Which big thrash band fell the furtherest in quality?

I’m thinking specifically of the big 4, but any well-known thrash band would count. 

Speaking just of the big 4, on my first instinct, I’d say Metallica. But I’m torn. They certainly took a remarkable nosedive from which they’d never recovered. But I don’t think the Loads are nearly as terrible as Stomp 442 or Vol. 8. That being said, St. Canker Sore is an abomination. And Anthrax managed to come back with Worship Music and For All Kings, both of which blow away Death Magnetic and Hardwired (and I like those two Metallica albums).

On the other hand, it seems that Slayer stayed pretty consistent—even DiM still sounds like Slayer. But since they let Kerry King write more and be jettisoned all the lyrical progress he had made in the late 80s/early 90s, I haven’t spun any of their stuff past DiM.

Megadeth has been pretty consistently decent. I would argue that they had only one bad album (Risk). Some of their other 90s stuff is stylistically a departure, but it’s still quality stuff. 

So, when it comes to the big 4, I think Metallica and Anthrax fell the hardest, but Anthrax managed to come back recently.

I honestly don't know what Metallica are thinking when they release some of these poorly recorded, poorly thought out albums like St. Elsewhere or Hulu or even Death Pathetic.  Are they trying to earn street cred by being lo-fi?  Are they trying to be a punk band?  Are they thumbing their noses at the public?  Are they just lazy?   I'm not sure what's going on there.

IMO they are not a band that has the kind of creative longevity that should have allowed them to go on for this long.
Even that new song is like a shameless attempt to recapture their early days, but it really doesn't.

At least bands like Megadeth, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, etc. have been generally consistent in terms of their output, with a few missteps along the way.  They don't take any major chances with their formula, but as long as they don't mind playing the same stuff over and over, at least they do it fairly well.

What I don’t understand is how a band who released such incredible albums like Metallica did could then fall so far.

At least they’re still fun live.

Metallica had the Mustaine influence up until the Black album, after that, they seem to have made a concerted effort to not be influenced by him.  They definitely fell the farthest and haven't totally recovered.

Black Rider wrote:Metallica had the Mustache influence up until the Black album, after that, they seem to have made a concerted effort to not be influenced by him.  They definitely fell the farthest and haven't totally recovered.

Probably because mustaches weren’t as popular in the 90s, unless you were Tom Selleck.

Controversial opinion:

I don’t really think Overkill is all that exciting after Horrorscope. They have their moments and they’re pretty consistent, but I don’t find much of their post-Horrorscope songwriting to be that compelling.

I hate autocorrect
And you're as wrong about Overkill as you are on ABBA.

Pethead wrote:Controversial opinion:

I don’t really think Overkill is all that exciting after Horrorscope. They have their moments and they’re pretty consistent, but I don’t find much of their post-Horrorscope songwriting to be that compelling.

The later song-writing is not that compelling but they are incredibly good live.  They go through a lot of guitar players, but for the most part they all seem to be exceptional.  And the rest of the band is incredibly tight.

Constantine wrote:

Pethead wrote:Controversial opinion:

I don’t really think Overkill is all that exciting after Horrorscope. They have their moments and they’re pretty consistent, but I don’t find much of their post-Horrorscope songwriting to be that compelling.

The later song-writing is not that compelling but they are incredibly good live.  They go through a lot of guitar players, but for the most part they all seem to be exceptional.  And the rest of the band is incredibly tight.

I don’t doubt that. I’d LOVE to see them live. 

But at home, I’ll stick to their first 5 albums.

Black Rider wrote:I hate autocorrect
And you're as wrong about Overkill as you are on ABBA.

ABBA>Overkill>The Brave’s Gravedigger

Most of the thrash bands from the original era have experimented to varying degrees, but I think St. Anger and Stomp 442 are perhaps the two biggest artistic flops. 

Metallica got so big, they didn't fit anywhere anymore. St. Anger was a direct result of - as well as a reaction to - their commercial success and the insane level of overexposure that came with it. They also tried too hard to "be hard" for the times and it was just a disaster. Despite the horrid mixing/mastering job on Death Magnetic, the last two albums have been pretty good musically. I don't think they'll ever top their first 5 though.

I like a lot of Stomp, Random Acts of Violence, Riding Shotgun and American Pompeii rip. The production is rough and it's not their best but it's decent. I like it more than Vol 8.

Annihilator started out great then pooped the bed with Set The World On Fire.

I prefer Vol 8 by a hair because it’s a little less monotonous. I wouldn’t pay to own either, though.

I actually enjoy some of WCfYA.

It's a good album too imo.

I like Fueled from Stomp 442. Drop The Ball and Tester have some good riffs. 

Volume 8 was better than Stomp. 

We've Come For You All is a good one. Way better than Stomp or Volume 8.

Black Rider wrote:Annihilator started out great then pooped the bed with Set The World On Fire.

They changed the sheets and got a new mattress with Criteria For A Black Widow.

Metallica climbed to the top of the mountain and they are probably the most well known band in the world today. They conquered everyone and everything that is metal. And they aren't even my favorite metal band, but no one can dispute it. Fact's a fact.

In terms of success they've never fallen. In terms of finance, never fallen. In terms of being popular, never, in terms of staying true to thrash... well, they fell from that mountain peak hard from the black album onward (though in my opinion still wrote some good stuff).

Slayer got old and boring after a while.

Anthrax I have never liked.

Megadeth followed Metallica's shadow and trend setting, but the last few releases have seen a comeback to their thrash roots. No surprises.

You think Megadeth followed Metallica's shadow? Crazy. Dave taught Metallica how to play and when they veered away from it is when they started to lose the plot. If popularity is the measure then Britney Spears was a great artist. Lol

Metallica  \thread

It's a tossup between Metallica and Believer

Mehtallica. I just don't like Pop thrash

As a thrash band, I feel Soul Asylum took a big step-down and squelched it's potential.

Actually, Living Sacrifice fell pretty far. Not that their other stuff is bad at all, but that they ruined their chance to really be the Christian version of Slayer.