Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth at a Cinema Near You

In quite possibly the heaviest of heavyweight meetings since Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met in Yalta in 1945 to re-draw Europe's map, the Big Four of Metal -- that'll be Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth -- are about to embark on an ear-splitting tour of Europe. From June through until August they will be featured on the Sonisphere touring festival and, as any self-respecting headbanger knows, this the first time the bands have shared a bill anywhere in the world. Ever.

And while European fans will delight at the prospect of the touring levelling their locality, global fans have had to look on envy. But not anymore -- on June 22, Team Sonisphere are to redress the balance by broadcasting the four bands' performances from Bulgaria via satellite, live and in high definition into cinemas around the world.

Clearly enthused by the prospect of reaching a global audience via the wonders of digital communication, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich gushed in a statement on CMU, "Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal's Big Four would not only still be around, be more popular than ever, playing shows together at stadiums all over Europe, and on top of that, coming to a movie theatre near you in high definition (for better or worse!)? Bring it on!"

Quite so.

For more information on how to buy tickets and to find out where the nearest participating cinemas are, fans are advised to check out The Big Four's official website.