# Clash of the Titans (tour)

Clash of the Titans was a concert tour co-headlined by American thrash metal bands Megadeth and Slayer, which took place in September and October 1990 and again from May to July 1991. Launched in support of their respective albums Rust in Peace and Seasons in the Abyss, the tour had two legs, first in Europe (supported by Testament and Suicidal Tendencies) and second in North America (tri-headlined by Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax and supported by Alice in Chains). Clash of the Titans is considered one of the most successful tours in heavy metal history, and bridged the gap between the popularity of thrash metal and rise of the alternative rock and grunge scene.

## History

The tour began in the fall of 1990 with a three-week European leg featuring Megadeth, Slayer, Testament and Suicidal Tendencies, promoting their then-current albums Rust in Peace, Seasons in the Abyss, Souls of Black and Lights...Camera...Revolution! respectively.
A second leg in 1991 in North America had a slightly different lineup: Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax headlined, and Alice in Chains supported; while Megadeth and Slayer were still promoting their respective albums Rust in Peace and Seasons in the Abyss, Anthrax was supporting their fifth studio album Persistence of Time and Alice in Chains was touring behind their debut album Facelift.
Alice in Chains was not originally on the bill for the North American tour. According to the documentary Get Thrashed, Death Angel was to be the supporting act – however, after a near-fatal tour bus crash, they were forced to bow out. Sepultura was also mooted for the tour, but, according to then-frontman Max Cavalera, "got kicked out", and instead embarked on the New Titans on the Block tour with Sacred Reich, Napalm Death and Sick of It All. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian stated in an interview with Guitar World that they wanted Pantera as the opening act of the Clash of the Titans tour. Other bands, such as Exodus, Vio-lence, Kreator and Obituary, also reportedly declined to take part in the tour as the opening act.
About the tour, Ian recalled, "We didn't start making any money until 1991, on the Clash of the Titans tour in the States – not even a dime. I got home from that tour to receive a cheque for a sizeable amount and called my accountant, saying, 'There must be a mistake.' We were of Iron Maiden's style of mindset, where we had to have these huge stage sets, and everything went straight back into the band."
Interesting to note is that Metallica was the only "big four" of thrash metal act that did not take part in the Clash of the Titans tour. Slayer guitarist Kerry King told Guitar World that, "There might have even been talk of a 'Big Four' tour back then, but we probably couldn't get Metallica onboard. But we had three pieces of it, and that was all the management and promoters needed." The members of Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax have indicated that one of the reasons Metallica was not part of the Clash of the Titans tour was due to their ascension to popularity, specifically with their self-titled "black album", which was not released until five weeks after the tour's conclusion. King has been quoted as saying, "I knew Metallica wouldn't be a part of it 'cause they didn't need us."

### Spin-offs

The Clash of the Titans tour has spawned at least two spin-off tours. Three-fifths of the European lineup (Megadeth, Slayer and Testament) were reunited on the American Carnage Tour that took place from July to early September 2010. This was followed shortly by a second leg of the tour that featured three-fourths of the North American lineup of the Clash of the Titans tour: Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax.
A similarly titled tour Klash of the Titans took place during the spring of 2023, with Kreator as one of the co-headliners to both of them. The first leg took place in Latin America and featured Kreator and Testament, followed shortly by a North American leg that was co-headlined by Kreator and Sepultura and included support from Death Angel and Spiritworld.

### Possible revival

On December 9, 2017, Ultimate-Guitar.com reported that a rebooted Clash of the Titans tour featuring Megadeth, Slayer, Testament and Sepultura was in the works, and scheduled to take place in 2018 or 2019 in support of new albums from these four bands. More speculation about a tour similar to Clash of the Titans was renewed in January 2018, when Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine mentioned a potential tour featuring Exodus and three of the "big four" (Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax); a month later, Mustaine tweeted another potential tour similar to Clash of the Titans, titled "The New Big 4", featuring Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus and Testament.
When Slayer announced their farewell tour in January 2018, it was suggested that the recently rumored Clash of the Titans tour (also featuring Megadeth, Sepultura and Testament) would take place as part of the aforementioned tour. Although Mustaine cryptically denied that this tour was in the works, he stated in a June 2018 interview with Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon that, "I hope that Megadeth and Slayer get to go one more round somewhere. I think it would be great, especially if it was a 'Big Four' show, but that's entirely up to them. And if it doesn't happen, we've had our share of Slayer and Megadeth shows, and I'll always appreciate those times together." Testament frontman Chuck Billy also commented on the tour rumors, referring to Slayer's farewell tour, "I doubt it, this is Slayer's last tour so this is it. There will be no more Slayer tours."
When asked in August 2018 by CBS San Francisco about the possibility of a revival of the Clash of the Titans tour with Slayer and Megadeth, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello stated, "I wouldn't say it's under wraps because I don't know about it. But I would absolutely love for the Big 4 thing to happen again. That would be the right thing to do for everybody. I would love that. I mean, as far as Slayer goes, I'm sure they're going to do more shows next year, but I don't know if we'll be on them, because we do have our album to write. It's all about scheduling and agents and all that. But we'd be open to any of that, specifically the Big 4. I think all four bands that were involved with the Big 4 would love to do it again. But that's totally up to Metallica."
In August 2019, the website Metal Addicts reported that a 30th anniversary edition of the Clash of the Titans tour was rumored to be taking place in 2020 and would feature a different lineup, with Megadeth and Testament likely to be included, but added that Slayer was not expected to be on the bill due to their farewell tour, which ended in November 2019. When asked a month later by The Metal Voice what the odds were for the revival of the Clash of the Titans tour and their European tour with Testament and Exodus—The Bay Strikes Back, Death Angel frontman Mark Osegueda commented: "The revival of the Clash of the Titans one, that's of course out of our hand. I've seen, some rumors floating around everywhere of course, we've not been approached so I could not tell you that, you know, I've heard anything. We've not been approached as a band as far as the Bay Strikes Back to tour that's happening in February–March in Europe."

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| Europe ||||
| September 22, 1990 | Genk | Belgium | Limburghal |
| September 23, 1990 | Bern | Switzerland | Festhalle |
| September 24, 1990 | Florence | Italy | Firenze Palasport |
| September 25, 1990 | Milan | Italy | Palatrussardi |
| September 27, 1990 | Barcelona | Spain | Velòdrom d'Horta |
| September 28, 1990 | San Sebastián | Spain | Velodromo de Anoeta |
| September 30, 1990 | Leiden | Netherlands | Groenoordhallen |
| October 2, 1990 | Paris | France | Le Zénith |
| October 3, 1990 | Stuttgart | Germany | Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle |
| October 4, 1990 | Mainz | Germany | Rheingoldhalle |
| October 5, 1990 | Munich | Germany | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle |
| October 6, 1990 | Düsseldorf | Germany | Philips Halle |
| October 7, 1990 | Bremen | Germany | Stadthalle Bremen |
| October 9, 1990 | Stockholm | Sweden | Solnahallen |
| October 10, 1990 | Copenhagen | Denmark | K.B. Hallen |
| October 12, 1990 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Exhibition and Trade Centre |
| October 13, 1990 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre |
| October 14, 1990 | London | England | Wembley Arena |
| North America ||||
| May 16, 1991 | Dallas | United States | Starplex Amphitheatre |
| May 17, 1991 | Lubbock | United States | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum |
| May 18, 1991 | San Antonio | United States | Sunken Gardens Amphitheater |
| May 19, 1991 | Houston | United States | The Summit |
| May 21, 1991 | El Paso | United States | El Paso County Coliseum |
| May 22, 1991 | Albuquerque | United States | Tingley Coliseum |
| May 23, 1991 | Phoenix | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| May 24, 1991 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| May 25, 1991 | Costa Mesa | United States | Pacific Amphitheatre |
| May 26, 1991 | Daly City | United States | Cow Palace |
| May 27, 1991 | Sacramento | United States | ARCO Arena |
| May 29, 1991 | Portland | United States | Memorial Coliseum |
| May 30, 1991 | Seattle | United States | Mercer Arena |
| May 31, 1991 | Spokane | United States | Spokane Coliseum |
| June 1, 1991 | Vancouver | Canada | Pacific Coliseum |
| June 3, 1991 | Salt Lake City | United States | Bonneville Raceway |
| June 5, 1991 | Morrison | United States | Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
| June 6, 1991 | Omaha | United States | Omaha Civic Auditorium |
| June 7, 1991 | Bonner Springs | United States | Sandstone Amphitheater |
| June 8, 1991 | Cedar Rapids | United States | Five Seasons Center |
| June 9, 1991 | Forest Lake | United States | Trout Aire Amphitheatre |
| June 11, 1991 | Springfield | United States | Prairie Capital Convention Center |
| June 12, 1991 | Louisville | United States | Louisville Gardens |
| June 14, 1991 | Tinley Park | United States | First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre |
| June 15, 1991 | East Troy | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| June 16, 1991 | Columbus | United States | Battelle Hall |
| June 18, 1991 | Noblesville | United States | Deer Creek Music Center |
| June 20, 1991 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| June 21, 1991 | Toronto | Canada | Exhibition Stadium |
| June 22, 1991 | Clarkston | United States | Pine Knob Music Theatre |
| June 23, 1991 | Mears | United States | Val du Lakes Amphitheatre |
| June 25, 1991 | Burgettstown | United States | Star Lake Amphitheatre |
| June 26, 1991 | Corfu | United States | Darien Lake Performing Arts Center |
| June 27, 1991 | Middletown | United States | Orange County Fair Speedway |
| June 28, 1991 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| June 29, 1991 | Philadelphia | United States | Wachovia Spectrum |
| June 30, 1991 | Baltimore | United States | 1st Mariner Arena |
| July 1, 1991 | Hampton | United States | Hampton Coliseum |
| July 3, 1991 | Hershey | United States | Hersheypark Stadium |
| July 4, 1991 | Weedsport | United States | Cayuga County Speedway |
| July 5, 1991 | Portland | United States | Cumberland County Civic Center |
| July 6, 1991 | Mansfield | United States | Great Woods |
| July 7, 1991 | Bristol | United States | Lake Compounce |
| July 9, 1991 | Fayetteville | United States | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum |
| July 10, 1991 | Greenville | United States | Greenville Memorial Auditorium |
| July 11, 1991 | Charleston | United States | King Street Palace |
| July 12, 1991 | Atlanta | United States | Omni Coliseum |
| July 13, 1991 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| July 14, 1991 | Miami | United States | Miami Arena |

### Cancellations

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| June 17, 1991 | Cincinnati | United States | Riverbend Music Center |

## Setlist
### Anthrax Setlist

* "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)"
* "Got the Time" (Joe Jackson cover)
* "Caught in a Mosh"
* "Keep It in the Family"
* "Indians"
* "Antisocial" (Trust cover)
Encore:
* "I'm the Man"
* "Won't Get Fooled Again" / "I Am the Law"