Thrash metal is probably one of the most technically complex hard rock/heavy metal subgenres, along with death metal. The subgenre often contains a somewhat progressive musical structure as well. As a result many thrash bands, such as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer , Testament, and Watchtower have frequently overlapped into progressive metal territory. In addition, prog metal bands such as Dream Theater have frequently cited a few of the aforementioned bands as influences.
The genre relies on extremely-fast tempos, and low-register, fast or complex guitar riffs, sometimes layered with high-register guitar solos, often in combination with palm muting to create a "chugging" sound. Thrash guitar solos are almost exclusively played at high speed, as they are usually characterised as shredding, and use techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping. Most thrash lead guitarist are rooted in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, but with more influence from progressive rock and speed metal. Many thrash guitarists are influenced by outside musical genres too, such as jazz fusion and classical music (some guitarists, such as Marty Friedman and Alex Skolnick, have lead styles that could be grouped in the neoclassical shred genre).
The speed and pacing of the songs is usually what defines basic thrash metal. The music tends to have a visceral, propellant feel to it due to the often intense drumming, most commonly utilizing the snare drum on the 1/2 beat, or the 2nd and 4th beats of the measure. Frantic bass drum use is also common. Thrash drummers use two foot-pedaled bass drums, known as "double bass" or a "double kick" almost exclusively. Many thrash drummers, such as Dave Lombardo and Charlie Benante, are revered as some of the best drummers in rock music, due to their ability with the double bass as well as adequetly keeping time as well.
Due to the genres high speed, most thrash bassists use a pick to keep up with the other instruments. However, a few prominent bassists in the subgenre, including Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve DiGiorgio and most notably Cliff Burton have shunned the use of the pick. Distorted bass (also popularized by Burton) is not uncommon.
1981 is seen by some fans as a critical year, though others cite earlier influences on the genre: The first riff of Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" (1975) is possibly one of the first thrash riffs, though their "Into the Void" and "Children of the Grave" (both 1971) were influential as well. Some point to another early example, Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" (1974) (from their Sheer Heart Attack album), which was unusually heavy and fast for its time, and ultimately covered many years later by thrash metal's most famous and successful band, Metallica. Similar to this song was "Ogre Battle" from Queen's 1974 album Queen II. German prog-metal band Night Sun probably had the fastest examples of early thrash metal on their only album "Mournin'" with the songs "Plastic Shotgun" and "Nightmare" (1972). Also worth mention is Iggy Pop & The Stooges who had a profound influence on Motörhead. Their songs "I Got A Right" and "Gimme Some Skin" (Both 1973) utilized a simple, fast paced beat that resembled still-to-come metal and punk thrashings.
It should also be noted that an early song that had a direct inspiration to the genre was Judas Priest's 1978 song "Exciter," off the Stained Class album. It's fast, kick-drum intro was notorious for drummers of this era, as well as the fast guitar solos. While Judas Priest were not a thrash band themselves, several thrash bands like Slayer, Venom, Anthrax, Metallica, and Megadeth cite them as a major influence.[citation needed]
Some suggest that Motörhead's Overkill LP (1979) gave the name to a New York band (Overkill) that would write what is often considered the first thrash metal song in 1981: "The Beast Within". Soon thereafter, the short-lived Southern California band Leather Charm would write "Hit the Lights". This band would break up, but the primary songwriter James Hetfield's next band, Metallica, would feature this song. The band Metal Church recorded a few rehearsals in 1980-81, which were similar to the early Metallica and Overkill efforts, though not quite as thrashy.
The first thrash metal demo may very well be Metal Church's Red Skies from late 1981. An instrumental demo that combined thrash, speed, and power metal, it did not receive much circulation, and was overshadowed by their October 1982 Four Hymns demo.
Metallica were second on the scene (the Power Metal demo, April 1982, and then No Life 'til Leather in July) and the first with a studio LP (Kill 'Em All, July 1983). Meanwhile, in Europe, Artillery recorded a demo in November, 1983. Their We Are the Dead took a more Black Sabbath oriented direction, resulting in a thrash metal form that was not quite as fast as that of Metallica but had similar riff ideas.
Thrash metal took off in 1984 or so, with Metallica and their heavy and fast Ride the Lightning, Anthrax and their thrash anthem Fistful of Metal, with Overkill releasing their second demo (Feel the Fire), and Slayer's seminal Haunting the Chapel EP, which featured the song "Chemical Warfare". This led to a darker and heavier sounding thrash, which was then reflected in Exodus's Bonded by Blood and Slayer's Hell Awaits in 1985. Outside of the U.S. in 1985, the German band Kreator released their debut album Endless Pain and the Brazilian band Sepultura released their EP Bestial Devastation. In Canada, Eudoxis, who performed live in full body armor, metal spikes, and the legendary six-foot long stainless steel bass drums, released the Metal Fix demo in 1985. Also, Megadeth, formed by former Metallica axeman Dave Mustaine, debuted with the release of Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! in 1985. Megadeth combined the riffs of thrash metal with the more fancy soloing of speed metal à la Judas Priest, and their sound would become best realised on 1990's Rust in Peace.
1986 was a landmark year for thrash metal, with some of the greatest thrash albums of all time being released in this year. Dark Angel put out the generally unde Darkness Descends, which is one of the heaviest and fastest thrash/speed metal albums ever. Slayer's Reign in Blood is universally acclaimed as a classic, and also the German band Kreator had Pleasure to Kill, which set new standards for brutality and would be a heavy influence on the death metal genre. Megadeth put out Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, Metallica had Master of Puppets one of the first Thrash metal albums to not only receive critical acclaim (regarded as not just one of the best thrash metal albums ever also but metal in the metal and rock genre) but also to enjoy commercial success, and Nuclear Assault debuted with the punkish Game Over — an album stripped to its bare riff essentials. Hobbs' Angel of Death emerged from Australia, playing a brand of thrash metal drawing heavily on early Slayer, yet geared towards the European market.
In 1987 Anthrax released the renowned Among the Living album. This release saw the band once again thrash metal territory (similarly to their two previous releases: Fistful of Metal and Spreading the Disease) with fast and heavy guitars and pounding drums. Anthrax's songs can considered slighty more "melodic" than other thrash bands of the time, due to their upbeat and catchy riffs.
Anthrax's lyrical direction was also quite different from other thrash bands of the period. Other bands took a more serious direction lyrically, while Anthrax's lyrics can be considered border-line "silly" (Notably: N.F.L. (Among the Living), I Am The Law (Among the Living), A Skeleton In The Closet (Among the Living), and Lone Justice (Spreading the Disease)). Their lyrics complemented their retrospectively humorous stage appearance, with singer Joey Belladonna wearing a headress while preforming the song Indians live from their Among the Living album.
On the other end of this, Testament would release their debut, The Legacy that same year. Musically, Testament generally emphasized the more progressive elements of thrash metal, but their songs were still melodic. The lyrics on this album especially were about the occult and other Satanic topics that would no doubt influence the lyrics of death metal.
Thrash metal developed in the mid 1980s to split into many sub-genres and influence a lot of bands like Death and Possessed (who are best known for guitarist Larry LaLonde, who would later join popular alternative rock group Primus). Possessed were among the first death metal bands, making a demo in mid-1984 of a more dark-sounding thrash metal. This sound would be called death metal by the band and fans, and perhaps the first example of it would be the death metal classic Seven Churches, from 1985. Some bands combined speed metal and thrash metal, like the forementioned Megadeth, and also Helstar, Testament, and Heathen were known for their flashy lead guitar work. Watchtower's Energetic Disassembly (1985) set new standards in technical, jazzy songwriting, which would later be further developed by the thrash metal band Coroner and also the technical death metal bands Atheist and Cynic, as well as later efforts by Death.
In 1988 Suicidal Tendencies, who had previously been a straightforward punk band, released their major label debut How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today. This album had very thrashy guitar riffs and an overall very metal oriented sound, with much more complicated song structures than on their previous albums, but the band still stayed true to their roots as a band in that the songs were very melodic and had catchy choruses.
By 1988 or so the genre was quite saturated with new bands, but classic albums would still be recorded and released. Sepultura's third album, Beneath the Remains (1989) earned them some mainstream appeal as it appeared on Roadrunner records. Testament continued through the late '80s with The New Order (1988) and Practice What You Preach (1989), both albums showing the band was continuing to grow musically and almost gaining Testament the same level of popularity as the "Big Four" of thrash. Vio-lence, a relative latecomer to the Bay Area thrash metal scene put out an acclaimed debut in Eternal Nightmare (1988), combining relentless riffage with a punk vocal delivery.
Older bands continued to record classic albums though. ...And Justice for All (1988) by Metallica, spawned the band's first video, the WWI themed song, "One," and with its extremely complex song structures, is considered to have pioneered progressive metal (many bands in this genre, including Dream Theater, cite Metallica as a major influence). Slayer released the slower, more death metal-ish South of Heaven the same year, as did Anthrax with State of Euphoria, Megadeth with So Far, So Good...So What!, Overkill with Under The Influence and The Years of Decay (1989), and Exodus with Pleasures of the Flesh (1987) and Fabulous Disaster.
Another landmark year for thrash was the year 1990, at the dawn of a new decade. Among the thrash albums released this year included Megadeths highly progressive and technical Rust in Peace, Anthraxs dark, socially themed Persistence of Time, Slayer's "defining" record Seasons in the Abyss , Suicidal Tendencies thrash/ /funk hybrid Lights...Camera...Revolution!, and Testaments Souls of Black. Not only are these albums considered classics today, they were also commercial high points for all of the aforementioned artists. All of the aforementioned bands embarked on the Clash of the Titans tour that year. Many consider 1990 to be thrash metals high point commercially.
Soon, post-thrash metal bands with a newer sound would continue the more innovative direction, whilst those that played classic thrash metal were seen as throw-backs, though the 1990s had some excellent thrash metal, for example Iced Earth's Night of the Stormrider (1992), which combined power-metal and thrash metal. Many bands, however, opted for a slower, more groove-oriented sound, including Machine Head (formed out of the ashes of Vio-Lence) and Pantera.
While alternative rock was the predominant genre of the '90s, thrash managed to gain influence. Popular '90s Alt rock group Primus (who featured ex-Possessed guitarist Ler LaLonde), particularly in their earlier years, blended Les Claypool's funky bass lines with considerably thrash influenced guitar riffs and songs played at an overall high speed.
The '90s saw many older thrash bands changing to more accessible styles, and although gaining popularity, being accused of selling out by longtime fans. The most famous example of this is definitly Metallica. In 1991 Metallica released a radio-friendly metal album (Black Album), which saw record album sales for the band, then, famously, cut their long hair and released two albums, Load (1996), and Re-Load (1997), which had an alternative-rock feel with bluesy and Southern rock influenced songs.
Megadeth and Anthrax also changed their sound during the '90s for varying reasons. Megadeth also took the same more accessible (though heavy) route of Metallica with their 1992 album Countdown To Extinction which enjoyed success critically and commercially with a string of hit singles and videos. Anthrax, after departing with singer Joey Belladonna, recruited Armored Saint singer John Bush, who's vocals were more gritty and current than previous Anthrax singers who represented a more classic metal song more akin to Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. With this new more mature voice came a new sound that also was acclaimed. The 1993 album Sound Of White Noise represented a new page in Anthrax's career with a sound somewhere between Pantera and Alice in Chains. Like Metallica, these bands (although to a lesser extent) were accused of "selling out" as well.
Thrash metal has seen something of a comeback in the late 1990s with European bands like Hypnosia (sounding much like Pleasure to Kill) or Carnal Forge, a fast death-thrash hybrid. Some bands also combine Swedish death metal riffs and punk influence, but these stray too far from the original ideals to be really called thrash metal bands. Meanwhile, other bands soldier on — including Overkill, who have recently put out a fourteenth studio album, Relixiv (2005), and Destruction, whose The Antichrist (2001) is a staple of modern thrash metal — updated production values, and a classic riff sound. The recently released Exodus album, entitled Tempo Of The Damned, is another recent highlight of the genre, as is Megadeth's 'comeback' album, The System Has Failed. The latter, while not 'true' thrash, is a complex hybrid of thrash and power metal, reminiscent of Rust In Peace. Indeed, the opening track, "Blackmail the Universe", shares much in common with Rust In Peace's opening track, the seminal "Holy Wars". The album's cover art also seems like a cross between 1986's Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? and Rust In Peace. The album met with commercial success, reaching #17 in the United States. Exodus opened for Megadeth on their 2004 Blackmail The Universe tour.
Members of Sepultura, Annihilator, and many others have recently performed on RoadRunner's United album in 2005-06. The first release of its kind combined vintage thrash talents with newer metal musicians who incorporate thrash textures into their music. There has recently been older Thrash Metal bands that have reunited and put out new albums including Nuclear Assault who has just recently released their new album Third World Genocide. Los Angeles Speed Metallers Dark Angel have been attempting to reunite the band and put out a new album written before their previous break-up in 1992 called "The Atrocity Exhibition", but production on that album was indefinitely halted when vocalist Ron Rhinehart suffered a severe neck injury that may very well end his vocal career. Recently the original line-up of the band Testament reunited and toured, there was also a live album and video released with the classic line-up playing called Live In London. They are currently writing material for a new album due out sometime in 2007.
Recently thrash (along with many genres of extreme metal previously considered dead by the mainsteam media, but well alive to the underground metal scene) has seen a certain degree of resurgence of popularity, including (but not limited to) the younger audience of Generation Y (many of which have embraced the genre greatly). This is perhaps due in part to an increase in exposure to many forms of metal and classic rock, thanks to the publicity spotlighted on it by such mediums as internet radio, satellite radio, cable networks like VH1, and cover songs by newer bands of older metal classics.
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