When Metallica's "Kill 'em All" and Slayer's "Show No Mercy" were released in 1983, a new groundbreaking sub-genre in heavy metal was born. Drawing its inspiration from the new wave of British heavy metal and hardcore punk, thrash metal became the most uncompromising form of metal music up to that point. In the mid to late eighties the thrash metal scene took a steep rise into public recognition, reached its peak in popularity by the end of the eighties, and then gradually faded out of the public eye.
Many note that thrash metal is making a comeback due to the popularity of metalcore bands, many of which claim to be thrash metal bands though having very little in common with the genre. This is very similar to the 1980s, when the genre was created to combat the rising movement of glam metal bands, many of which were thrown of major labels to be replaced by thrash metal bands, then their popularity faded and were ignored by labels all together. The same cycle (as some claim) is starting to repeat itself, with newer bands like Municipal Waste, Evile, Warbringer, and most recently Malachi, spitting on their hands and hoisting the black flag once again as part of the new generation of Thrash Metal.
On the Endurance of Thrash Metal: "Thrash endures because we're the disenfranchised youth of America, and somebody has to play the music that will soothe the savage beast in all of us." -Dave Mustaine
