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| Slayer |
The origins of thrash metal are generally traced to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a number of bands began incorporating the sound of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, creating a new genre and developing into a separate movement from punk rock and hardcore. This genre is more aggressive compared to its relative, speed metal, and can be seen in part to be a reaction to the lighter, more widely acceptable sounds and themes of glam metal.
Thrash metal generally features fast tempos, low-register, complex guitar riffs, high-register guitar solos, double bass drumming, and an aggressive vocal style, such as the gruff voices of Metallica's James Hetfield or Tom Araya of Slayer. Occasionally, a thrash metal band will have a more melodic singer. The most prominent example of this is Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, whose style follows a similar vein to that of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford.
Most thrash guitar solos are played at high speed, as they are usually characterized by shredding, and use techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, Tremolo picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping. Thrash lead guitarists are often influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.
Thrash guitar riffs often use chromatic scales and emphasize the tritone and diminished intervals, instead of using conventional single scale based riffing. For example, the main riff of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is a chromatic descent, followed by a chromatic ascent based on the tritone. Rhythm guitar playing is characterized by extensive palm muting and down picking to give the riffs a chugging sound, along with extensive use of the pedal point technique (creating what can be considered a distinctive, 'thrashy' sound).
Speed, pacing, and time-changes also define thrash metal. Thrash tends to have an accelerating feel which may be due in large part to its aggressive drumming style. For example, thrash drummers often use two bass drums, or a double-bass pedal, in order to create a relentless, driving beat. Cymbal stops/chokes are often used to transition from one riff to another or to precede an acceleration in tempo.
To keep up with the other instruments, many thrash bassists use a pick. However, some prominent thrash metal bassists have used their fingers, such as Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve DiGiorgio, Robert Trujillo and Cliff Burton. Several bassists use a distorted bass tone, an approach popularized by Burton and Motörhead's Lemmy.
Lyrical themes in thrash metal include isolation, alienation, corruption, injustice, addiction, suicide, murder, warfare, and other maladies that afflict the individual and society. Humor and irony can occasionally be found, but they are limited, and are the exception rather than the rule.
Most thrash guitar solos are played at high speed, as they are usually characterized by shredding, and use techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, Tremolo picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping. Thrash lead guitarists are often influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.
Thrash guitar riffs often use chromatic scales and emphasize the tritone and diminished intervals, instead of using conventional single scale based riffing. For example, the main riff of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is a chromatic descent, followed by a chromatic ascent based on the tritone. Rhythm guitar playing is characterized by extensive palm muting and down picking to give the riffs a chugging sound, along with extensive use of the pedal point technique (creating what can be considered a distinctive, 'thrashy' sound).
Speed, pacing, and time-changes also define thrash metal. Thrash tends to have an accelerating feel which may be due in large part to its aggressive drumming style. For example, thrash drummers often use two bass drums, or a double-bass pedal, in order to create a relentless, driving beat. Cymbal stops/chokes are often used to transition from one riff to another or to precede an acceleration in tempo.
To keep up with the other instruments, many thrash bassists use a pick. However, some prominent thrash metal bassists have used their fingers, such as Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve DiGiorgio, Robert Trujillo and Cliff Burton. Several bassists use a distorted bass tone, an approach popularized by Burton and Motörhead's Lemmy.
Lyrical themes in thrash metal include isolation, alienation, corruption, injustice, addiction, suicide, murder, warfare, and other maladies that afflict the individual and society. Humor and irony can occasionally be found, but they are limited, and are the exception rather than the rule.
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| Judas Priest |
History
NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) bands directly influenced the development of early thrash. The early work of artists such as Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang, Raven, and Angel Witch, among others, introduced the fast-paced instrumentation that became essential aspects of thrash. Features on Judas Priest's British Steel, "Rapid Fire", have been noted as a "proto-thrash" song. Warheads have also been mentioned as a proto-thrash band.
In Europe, the earliest band of the emerging thrash movement formed in 1979, which was Venom from Great Britain. Their seminal 1982 album "Black Metal" has been cited as the major influence on many subsequent genres and bands in the extreme metal world, such as Bathory, Hellhammer, Slayer and Mayhem. It was also the first studio release to contain tracks which can still be recognised today as fully formed thrash metal. The European thrash scene was almost exclusively influenced by the most aggressive music both Germany and England were producing at that time. British bands such as Tank, and Raven, along with German metal exports Accept, motivated musicians from central Europe to start bands of their own, eventually producing German thrash exports such as Sodom, Kreator and Destruction.
In 1981, a Southern California band by the name of Leather Charm wrote a song entitled "Hit the Lights". Leather Charm soon disbanded and the band's primary songwriter, vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield met drummer Lars Ulrich through a classified ad. Together, James and Lars formed Metallica, the first of the "Big Four" thrash bands, with lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who would later form Megadeth, another of the "Big Four" originators of thrash, and bassist Ron McGovney. Metallica later relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. McGovney was replaced with Cliff Burton, and Mustaine was later replaced with Kirk Hammett. The band released "Hit the Lights" on their first studio album, Kill 'Em All, in July 25, 1983.
Another "Big Four" thrash band formed in Southern California in 1981, when guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King met while auditioning for the same band and subsequently decided to form a band of their own. Hanneman and King recruited vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, a former respiratory therapist, and drummer Dave Lombardo, a pizza delivery driver, and Slayer was formed. Slayer was discovered by Metal Blade Records executive Brian Slagel while performing Iron Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera" at a show, and were promptly signed to the label. In December 1983, less than six months after the release of Kill 'Em All, Slayer put out their debut album, Show No Mercy.
In the early 80s Canada produced influential speed metal bands like Toronto's Anvil and Ottawa's Exciter whose insistence upon fast playing and aggressiveness is considered a main influence to proper thrash metal[citation needed]. Bands such as Jonquière's Voivod were one of the first bands to combine progressive rock influences with speed metal.
Mid-1980s
In Europe, the earliest band of the emerging thrash movement formed in 1979, which was Venom from Great Britain. Their seminal 1982 album "Black Metal" has been cited as the major influence on many subsequent genres and bands in the extreme metal world, such as Bathory, Hellhammer, Slayer and Mayhem. It was also the first studio release to contain tracks which can still be recognised today as fully formed thrash metal. The European thrash scene was almost exclusively influenced by the most aggressive music both Germany and England were producing at that time. British bands such as Tank, and Raven, along with German metal exports Accept, motivated musicians from central Europe to start bands of their own, eventually producing German thrash exports such as Sodom, Kreator and Destruction.
In 1981, a Southern California band by the name of Leather Charm wrote a song entitled "Hit the Lights". Leather Charm soon disbanded and the band's primary songwriter, vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield met drummer Lars Ulrich through a classified ad. Together, James and Lars formed Metallica, the first of the "Big Four" thrash bands, with lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who would later form Megadeth, another of the "Big Four" originators of thrash, and bassist Ron McGovney. Metallica later relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. McGovney was replaced with Cliff Burton, and Mustaine was later replaced with Kirk Hammett. The band released "Hit the Lights" on their first studio album, Kill 'Em All, in July 25, 1983.
Another "Big Four" thrash band formed in Southern California in 1981, when guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King met while auditioning for the same band and subsequently decided to form a band of their own. Hanneman and King recruited vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, a former respiratory therapist, and drummer Dave Lombardo, a pizza delivery driver, and Slayer was formed. Slayer was discovered by Metal Blade Records executive Brian Slagel while performing Iron Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera" at a show, and were promptly signed to the label. In December 1983, less than six months after the release of Kill 'Em All, Slayer put out their debut album, Show No Mercy.
In the early 80s Canada produced influential speed metal bands like Toronto's Anvil and Ottawa's Exciter whose insistence upon fast playing and aggressiveness is considered a main influence to proper thrash metal[citation needed]. Bands such as Jonquière's Voivod were one of the first bands to combine progressive rock influences with speed metal.
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| Anthrax |
Mid-1980s
The popularity of thrash metal increased in 1984 with the release of Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Anthrax's Fistful of Metal, Overkill's self-titled EP and Slayer's Haunting the Chapel. This led to a heavier sounding form of thrash, which was reflected in Exodus's Bonded by Blood and Slayer's Hell Awaits. In 1985, the German band Kreator released their debut album Endless Pain and the Brazilian band Sepultura released their EP Bestial Devastation. Megadeth, which was formed by former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine, released their debut album Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!, and Anthrax released the critically acclaimed Spreading The Disease in 1985.
Recomended thrash albums:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying
Anthrax - Among The Living
Exodus - Bonded By Blood
Nuclear Assault - Handle With Care
Annihilator - Alice In Hell
Stormtroopers of Death (SOD) - Speak English Or Die
Testament - The Legacy
Overkill - Horrorscope
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Kreator - Pleasure To Kill
Late 1980s
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying
Anthrax - Among The Living
Exodus - Bonded By Blood
Nuclear Assault - Handle With Care
Annihilator - Alice In Hell
Stormtroopers of Death (SOD) - Speak English Or Die
Testament - The Legacy
Overkill - Horrorscope
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Kreator - Pleasure To Kill
Late 1980s
In 1987, Anthrax released their album Among the Living, which bore similarities to their two previous releases: Fistful of Metal and Spreading the Disease, with fast and heavy guitars and pounding drums. Death Angel took a similar pro-thrash approach with their 1987 debut, The Ultra-Violence.
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 punk band in that the songs were very melodic and had catchy choruses.
Sepultura's third album, Beneath the Remains (1989) earned them some mainstream appeal as it appeared on Roadrunner Records. Testament continued through the late 1980s 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: Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Vio-lence, a relative latecomer to the Bay Area thrash metal scene, released their debut album Eternal Nightmare in 1988. Canadian thrashers Annihilator would release their highly technical debut album Alice in Hell (1989) which received much praise due to its fast riffs and extended guitar solos. Sadus was a later thrash band, featuring a sound which was primarily driven by the fretless bass of Steve DiGiorgio. Meanwhile in Germany, Sodom released Agent Orange and Kreator would release Extreme Aggression.
Slayer released South of Heaven in 1988, Megadeth released So Far, So Good... So What! while Metallica's album ...And Justice for All of the same year spawned the band's first video, the World War I-themed song "One".
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 punk band in that the songs were very melodic and had catchy choruses.
Sepultura's third album, Beneath the Remains (1989) earned them some mainstream appeal as it appeared on Roadrunner Records. Testament continued through the late 1980s 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: Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Vio-lence, a relative latecomer to the Bay Area thrash metal scene, released their debut album Eternal Nightmare in 1988. Canadian thrashers Annihilator would release their highly technical debut album Alice in Hell (1989) which received much praise due to its fast riffs and extended guitar solos. Sadus was a later thrash band, featuring a sound which was primarily driven by the fretless bass of Steve DiGiorgio. Meanwhile in Germany, Sodom released Agent Orange and Kreator would release Extreme Aggression.
Slayer released South of Heaven in 1988, Megadeth released So Far, So Good... So What! while Metallica's album ...And Justice for All of the same year spawned the band's first video, the World War I-themed song "One".
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| Megadeth |
1990s
In the 1990s, many veteran thrash metal bands began changing to more accessible, radio-friendly styles. Metallica were a notable example of this shift, particularly with their mid to late 90's albums Load (1996), and ReLoad (1997), which both displayed minor blues and southern rock influences, and were seen as a major departure from the band's earlier sound. Megadeth took a more accessible hard rock route starting with their 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, and Testament released the melodic The Ritual in 1992.
A number of more typical thrash albums were released in the 1990s, including Megadeth's Rust in Peace, Anthrax's Persistence of Time, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss, Suicidal Tendencies' Lights...Camera...Revolution!, Testament's Souls of Black, and Kreator's Coma of Souls. All of those albums were commercial high points for the aforementioned artists. Many of these bands embarked on a group tour called the "Clash of the Titans" the same year.
As further extreme metal genres came to prominence in the 1990s (industrial metal, death metal, and black metal each finding their own fanbase), the heavy metal "family tree" soon found itself blending aesthetics and styles. For example, bands with all the musical traits of thrash metal began using "death growls", a vocal style borrowed from death metal, while black metal bands often utilized the airy feel of synthesizers, popularized in industrial metal. Today the placing of bands within distinct subgenres remains a source of contention for heavy metal fans, however, little debate resides over the fact that thrash metal is the sole proprietor of its respective spinoffs (see below).
A number of more typical thrash albums were released in the 1990s, including Megadeth's Rust in Peace, Anthrax's Persistence of Time, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss, Suicidal Tendencies' Lights...Camera...Revolution!, Testament's Souls of Black, and Kreator's Coma of Souls. All of those albums were commercial high points for the aforementioned artists. Many of these bands embarked on a group tour called the "Clash of the Titans" the same year.
As further extreme metal genres came to prominence in the 1990s (industrial metal, death metal, and black metal each finding their own fanbase), the heavy metal "family tree" soon found itself blending aesthetics and styles. For example, bands with all the musical traits of thrash metal began using "death growls", a vocal style borrowed from death metal, while black metal bands often utilized the airy feel of synthesizers, popularized in industrial metal. Today the placing of bands within distinct subgenres remains a source of contention for heavy metal fans, however, little debate resides over the fact that thrash metal is the sole proprietor of its respective spinoffs (see below).
Recent popularity (2000s)
Thrash metal has recently seen a certain degree of resurgence of popularity. Bands including Skeletonwitch, Lazarus A.D., Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, Bonded by Blood, Warbringer, Evile, Gama Bomb, and Diamond Plate have been cited as key in the "resurgence" of thrash metal.[26] The genre's sense of recklessness and energy has been cited as a potential reason for its resurgence.
Older thrash bands have continued to put out material such as Megadeth's Endgame (2009), Slayer's World Painted Blood (2009), Metallica's Death Magnetic (2008), Destruction's D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. (2008), Sodom's self-titled album (2006), Death Angel's Killing Season (2008), Kreator's Hordes of Chaos (2009), Exodus' Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010), Overkill's Ironbound (2010), Onslaught's Killing Peace (2007), Testament's The Formation of Damnation (2008), Metal Church This Present Wasteland (2008), Artillery's When Death Comes (2009), and Voivod's Infini (2009).
"Big Four" Tour
Older thrash bands have continued to put out material such as Megadeth's Endgame (2009), Slayer's World Painted Blood (2009), Metallica's Death Magnetic (2008), Destruction's D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. (2008), Sodom's self-titled album (2006), Death Angel's Killing Season (2008), Kreator's Hordes of Chaos (2009), Exodus' Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010), Overkill's Ironbound (2010), Onslaught's Killing Peace (2007), Testament's The Formation of Damnation (2008), Metal Church This Present Wasteland (2008), Artillery's When Death Comes (2009), and Voivod's Infini (2009).
"Big Four" Tour
In September 2009, it was reported that Metallica's Lars Ulrich was attempting to assemble a tour with thrash metal's "Big Four" — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax — together on one bill. The "Big Four" took the stage together for seven shows in the Sonisphere Festival concert series. The first show together took place in Warsaw, Poland on June 16, 2010 and the last took place in Istanbul, Turkey on June 27. On May 5, 2010 Metallica announced that the live show in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 22, 2010 would be transmitted via satellite to over 450 movie theaters in the U.S. and over 350 theaters across Europe, Canada, and Latin America. The show also provided the historic moment of all current members of the Big Four (with the exception of Tom Araya, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman) sharing the stage to perform the song Am I Evil by Diamond Head.
Genre spinoffs
Genre spinoffs
Thrash metal is directly responsible for the offshoot of popular underground metal genres, such as death metal and black metal. The blending of punk ethos and metal's brutal nature led to even more extreme, underground styles after thrash metal began gaining mild commercial success in the late 1980s. With gorier subject matter, heavier downtuning of guitars, the more persistent use of the blastbeat, and darker, atonal death growls, death metal was established in the mid-1980s. Black metal, also considered the offspring of thrash, may have risen even sooner, with many black metal bands taking influence from thrash metal bands such as Venom. Black metal continued with such deviations from thrash, often providing more orchestral soundtracks and Pagan or Occult-based aesthetics to distinguish itself from thrash.
Thrash metal with even more punk elements than standard thrash is called crossover thrash or crossover for short. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum, the term was coined by the band D.R.I. with their album Crossover, released on 1987. Its overall sound is more punk-influenced than traditional thrash metal, while more metal sounding than traditional hardcore punk and thrashcore.
Thrash metal with even more punk elements than standard thrash is called crossover thrash or crossover for short. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum, the term was coined by the band D.R.I. with their album Crossover, released on 1987. Its overall sound is more punk-influenced than traditional thrash metal, while more metal sounding than traditional hardcore punk and thrashcore.
Source :
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