In a new interview with Francisco Zamudio of KNAC.COM, DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Schmier was asked about the possibility of more shows featuring the union of Germany’s legendary “Teutonic Big Four”, completed by KREATOR, SODOM and TANKARD. He said: “I don’t wanna say anything bad now because I’ve been working for the last 10 years on this. I tried to convince everybody. I tried to build bridges between everybody. Everybody knows each other, but in between there’s also managers and labels and different advisors also.

“I was happy that two years ago, we played in Mexico together, a big festival, all four of us,” he continued. “Then this last year, we played Germany and Romania also. It was amazing. The German show was sold out in three days — 7,000 people. It was killer. But then not everything was perfect in between the organization and the whole thing, and some people were unhappy. And I think SODOM doesn’t wanna do it anymore. And we have a show this year — KREATOR, DESTRUCTION and TANKARD, without SODOM, in Germany. And it seems it’s not happening. Tom (SODOM‘s Thomas ‘Angelripper’ Such) did some interviews where he spoke about it. And I guess you have to talk to him and find out how he feels about it.

“For me, I say there’s always a solution for every problem,” Schmier added. “So when you have a problem and you’re not happy and you talk about it, you find a solution and then you can do it, because this is a gift to do this. This is a life goal to tour this around the world. People wanna see it everywhere in the world. And just to throw away this idea just because of some problems that came up, it’s not cool. I think sit down, think about it, recharge your batteries and let’s do this, but I’m not the one making the decision. Everybody has to be involved. Hopefully the day will come again one day that we talk about it, but we’re not getting younger. That’s my concern — we’re not getting younger. Also, people, as they age, they get more stubborn, and that’s not gonna help. So I hope that things will loosen up and one day we can still do this as long as we’re still able to do this, because we’re gonna be the generation of thrash bands that retires in 10 years, 15 years — who knows how long we can do this? So every year counts, every album counts, every opportunity is a cool one. And to have this opportunity to play with a ‘Big Four’, ‘German Big Four’, is an amazing one. So to just throw it away like this, I think it’s not cool, but I’m not the only one in charge here. So let’s hope the day will come that we can talk again.”

Schmier went on to say that a tour featuring KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, SODOM and TANKARD “was supposed to happen in America. There was already some offers for shows. And then SODOM kind of backed out,” he explained.

“It would be great for fans all around the world to see those four bands playing together, and especially also in America, because those guys (SODOM and TANKARD) don’t tour much in the States. And it would be a big opportunity to catch them all together for once. You can bring your kids. All the generations can go together. It would be like going to a baseball game. It’s something special. But we all need to sit at the table, and if somebody doesn’t want, we cannot force him at the moment. So let’s wait and see what happens. Hope dies last, is my saying. So I’m still hopeful.”