Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.[4] The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work.
The genre emerged in the early 1980s as musicians began fusing the double bass drumming and complex guitar stylings of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) with the speed and aggression of hardcore punk and the technicality of progressive music.[5][6][7] Philosophically, thrash metal developed as a backlash against both the conservatism of the Reagan era[8] and the much more moderate, pop-influenced, and widely accessible heavy metal subgenre of glam metal which also developed concurrently in the 1980s.[9] Derived genres include crossover thrash, a fusion of thrash metal and hardcore punk.
The thrash metal genre had declined in popularity by the mid-1990s, due to the commercial success of numerous genres such as alternative rock, grunge, and later pop-punk and nu metal. In response, some bands either disbanded or moved away from their thrash metal roots and more towards groove metal or alternative metal. The genre has seen a resurgence in popularity since the 2000s, with the arrival of various bands such as Bonded by Blood, Evile, Hatchet, Havok, Lamb of God, Municipal Waste, and Warbringer, who have all been credited for leading the so-called "thrash metal revival" scene.[14][15][16][17]
Characteristics
Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield of Metallica (pictured in 2008). Metallica's early work is regarded as essential to the development of the thrash metal genre in the 1980s.
Thrash metal generally features fast tempos, low-register, complex guitar riffs, high-register guitar solos, and double bass drumming.[18] The rhythm guitar parts are played with heavy distortion and often palm muted to create a tighter and more precise sound.[19] Vocally, thrash metal can employ anything from melodic singing to shouted or screamed vocals. Most guitar solos are played at high speed and technically demanding, as they are usually characterized by shredding, and use advanced techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, tremolo picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping.
David Ellefson, the original bassist of Megadeth, described thrash metal as "a combination of the attitude from punk rock but the riffs and complexities of traditional metal."[20] On the origins of thrash metal, original Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker recalls: "Thrash was just what they called 'faster hardcore,' because you literally thrashed around when you were either playing it or reacting to it. And thrash metal was born because it was influenced by thrash hardcore, and they just thought it was more metal, so they said, 'Okay, this is thrash metal.'"[21]
New York band Anthrax was among the earliest and most successful thrash acts.
The guitar riffs often use chromatic scales and emphasize the tritone and diminished intervals, instead of using conventional single-scale-based riffing. For example, the intro riff of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" (the title track of the namesake album) is a chromatic descent, followed by a chromatic ascent based on the tritone.
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, drummers often use two bass drums, or a double-bass pedal 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. Some common characteristics of the genre are fast guitar riffs with aggressive picking styles and fast guitar solos, and extensive use of two bass drums as opposed to the conventional use of only one, typical of most rock music.
To keep up with the other instruments, many bassists use a plectrum (pick). However, some prominent thrash metal bassists have used their fingers, such as Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve Di Giorgio, 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 warfare, corruption, injustice, murder, suicide, isolation, alienation, addiction, and other maladies that afflict the individual and society. In addition, politics, particularly pessimism and dissatisfaction towards politics, are common themes among thrash metal bands. Humor and irony can occasionally be found (Anthrax for example), but they are limited, and are an exception rather than a rule.[22][23]
History
Roots (1970s–early 1980s)
Venom's early work is considered a major influence on thrash metal.
The term proto-thrash has been used to describe bands as having elements of speed metal or thrash metal before those genres came to prominence in the early-to-mid-1980s. Deep Purple's 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock is perhaps the earliest proto-thrash/speed metal album, as music journalist Martin Popoff noted, "It's really about the discipline and classical haughtiness of this record, as well as 'Hard Lovin' Man' which is a great contender for first proto-thrash song ever."[10]Queen's 1974 song "Stone Cold Crazy" and Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe", released the following year, have also been cited as examples of proto-thrash/speed metal; the latter of which was a direct inspiration for Diamond Head's pioneering song "Am I Evil?".[24][25] The new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) bands emerging from Britain in the late 1970s further influenced the development of early thrash. The early work of artists such as Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Venom, Motörhead, Tygers of Pan Tang, Raven, and Angel Witch, among others, introduced the fast-paced and intricate musicianship that became core aspects of thrash. Phil Taylor's double-bass drumming featured in Motörhead's 1979 song "Overkill" has been acknowledged by many thrash drummers, most notably Lars Ulrich, as a primary influence on their playing. Thrash metal bands have also taken inspiration from Judas Priest, with Slayer guitarist Kerry King saying that, "There would be no Slayer without Priest."[26]Metal Blade Records executive Brian Slagel played a key role in bringing the NWOBHM to a larger audience, as he was responsible for discovering both Metallica and Slayer and producing their earliest studio recordings.
Greg Prato of Ultimate Guitar notes, "Although the thrash movement seemed to have much more in common with punk than prog fashion-wise (leather jackets vs. capes), musically, there were certainly moments when thrash leaned more towards the prog side of things."[5] Canadian progressive rock band Rush has been cited a formative influence on the thrash metal movement and the birth of its subgenre technical thrash metal (or "progressive thrash metal"), which is known for combining traditional thrash metal with elements of progressive, jazz or classical music.[5][6] In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante said: "When I was first learning to play drums, I would strap on my headphones, play along with [Rush's live album All the World's a Stage] and be transformed. I remember talking with Cliff [Burton] and Kirk [Hammett of Metallica] back when we first met, and we all agreed how much of an influence Rush was on all of us."[27]
The thrash metal genre is also strongly influenced by punk rock, drawing inspiration from sources ranging from traditional punk bands from the 1970s, including the New York Dolls, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Dead Boys,[28] to late 1970s/early 1980s hardcore punk bands Discharge,[29]GBH,[30]Black Flag,[31] the Misfits, the Dead Kennedys, and Bad Brains.[28] The Ramones' 1976 self-titled debut album in particular has been noted as a key influence on the genre, due to its sound, which introduced the three-chord thrash style of guitar.[32]Void has been credited as one of the earliest examples of hardcore/heavy metal crossover, whose chaotic musical approach is often cited as particularly influential.[33] Their 1982 split LP with fellow Washington band The Faith showed both bands exhibiting quick, fiery, high-speed punk rock. It has been argued that those recordings laid the foundation for early thrash metal, at least in terms of selected tempos,[34] and that thrash is essentially hardcore punk with the technical proficiency missing from that genre. The crossover with hardcore punk has also been cited as important influence on thrash, especially the English hardcore punk band Discharge, whose "influence on heavy metal is incalculable and metal superstars such as Metallica, Anthrax, Machine Head, Sepultura, Soulfly, Prong and Arch Enemy have covered Discharge's songs in tribute."[29] The eponymous debutalbums by D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies, both released in 1983, have been credited for paving the way for thrashcore.[35][36]
In Latin America, this genre also gained a lot of strength, and its creation is also attributed to it, since it began to gain popularity due to the dictatorships that many countries faced at that time, with bands like V8 (1979) with their debut albums Demo 1982 or Luchando por el metal,[37] and Bloke (1980)[38] from Argentina, Transmetal (1987) from Mexico, also the band Massakre (1985) in Chile.
In Europe, the earliest band of the emerging thrash movement was Venom from Newcastle upon Tyne, formed in 1979. Their 1982 album Black Metal has been cited as a major influence on many subsequent genres and bands in the extreme metal world, such as Bathory, Hellhammer, Slayer, and Mayhem. The European scene was almost exclusively influenced by the most aggressive music Germany and England were producing at the time. British bands such as Tank and Raven, along with German bands Accept (whose 1982 song "Fast as a Shark" is often credited as one of the first-ever thrash/speed metal songs)[39][40][41] and Living Death,[42] motivated musicians from central Europe to start bands of their own, eventually producing groups such as Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction from Germany, as well as Switzerland's Celtic Frost (formed by two-thirds of Hellhammer), Coroner and Carrion (who later became Poltergeist) and Denmark's Artillery.
Thrash metal in the 1980s
Birth and underground expansion (1981–1983)
In 1981, Los Angeles band 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 advertisement. Together, Hetfield and Ulrich formed Metallica, one 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. McGovney would be replaced by Cliff Burton (formerly of Trauma), and Mustaine was later replaced by Kirk Hammett of the then-unsigned Bay Area thrash metal act Exodus, and at Burton's insistence, the band relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. Before Metallica had even settled on a definitive lineup, Metal Blade Records executive Brian Slagel asked Hetfield and Ulrich (credited as "Mettallica") to record "Hit the Lights" for the first edition of his Metal Massacre compilation in 1982. A re-recorded version of "Hit the Lights" would later open their first studio album, Kill 'Em All, released in July 1983.[43]Kill 'Em All is widely regarded as the first thrash metal album, and one of the album's tracks "Whiplash" has been referred to as one of the first songs of the genre.[44]
The term "thrash metal" was first used in the music press by Kerrang! magazine's journalist Malcolm Dome[45] while referring to another of the "Big Four", Anthrax (who, like Metallica, formed in 1981), and their song "Metal Thrashing Mad".[46] Before this, Metallica frontman James Hetfield referred to his band's sound as speed metal or power metal.
Another "Big Four" thrash band formed in Los Angeles 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 and drummer Dave Lombardo, and Slayer was formed. Slayer was discovered by Metal Blade Records executive Brian Slagel; the band's live performance of Iron Maiden's "Phantom of the Opera" so impressed him that he promptly signed them to his label. In December 1983, five months after the release of Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All, Slayer released their debut album, Show No Mercy.
Slayer (pictured in 2007) released Reign in Blood in 1986, considered a landmark achievement in the genre's history.
From a creative standpoint, the year 1986 was perhaps the pinnacle of thrash metal,[citation needed] as a number of critically acclaimed and genre-defining albums were released. Metallica's major label debut Master of Puppets was released in March, becoming the first thrash album to be certified platinum, being certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); it would be the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in a bus accident six months after its release. Kreator released Pleasure to Kill in April 1986, which would later be a major influence on the death metal scene.[50] Megadeth released Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? in September, an album which proved to be the band's commercial and critical breakthrough and which AllMusic later cited as "a classic of early thrash".[51] Slayer, regarded as one of the most sinister thrash metal bands of the early 1980s,[52][unreliable source?] released Reign in Blood in October, an album considered by some to have single-handedly inspired the death metal genre.[53] Also in October, Nuclear Assault released their debut album Game Over, followed a month later by Dark Angel's Darkness Descends, which marked the debut of drummer Gene Hoglan. Flotsam and Jetsam's debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver (released on the Fourth of July in 1986) received some attention as well, due to the album being "the first of only a handful" to ever receive a 6K rating from Kerrang! magazine, and it is also notable for featuring a then-unknown Jason Newsted, who, not long after the album's release, joined Metallica as Burton's replacement.[54]
Also during the mid-to-late 1980s, bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., S.O.D. (who featured three-fifths of Anthrax), and Corrosion of Conformity paved the way to what became known as crossover thrash, a fusion genre that lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk, and is arguably faster and more aggressive than thrash metal.[55]
By the mid-to-late 1980s, thrash metal began to achieve major mainstream success worldwide, with many bands of the genre receiving heavy rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball,[12][56] and radio stations such as KNAC in Long Beach and Z Rock in Dallas,[57][58] as well as coverage on numerous publications, including Kerrang! and RIP Magazine. These outlets not only played a major role in the crossover success of thrash metal during this time, but helped push album sales of the genre's "Big Four" and similar bands or moved them from playing clubs to arenas and stadiums.[59]
In 1991, Metallica released their eponymous fifth studio album, known as "The Black Album". The album marked a stylistic change in the band, eliminating much of the speed and longer song structures of the band's previous work, and instead focusing on more concise and heavier songs. The album was a change in Metallica's direction from the thrash metal style of the band's previous four studio albums towards a more contemporary heavy metal sound with original hard rock elements, but still had remnant characteristics of thrash metal.[85][86] It would go on to become the band's best-selling album and began a wave of thrash metal bands releasing more garage-oriented albums, or else more experimental ones.
Decline (1991–1999)
The era of 1991–1992 marked the beginning of the end of thrash metal's commercial peak, due to the rising popularity of the alternative metal and grunge movements (the latter spearheaded by Washington-based bands Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam).[87] In response to this climate change, many thrash metal bands that had emerged from the previous decade had called it quits or went on hiatus during the 1990s, while half of the "Big Four" and other veteran bands began changing to more accessible, radio-friendly styles.[88] Metallica was a notable example of this shift, particularly with their mid-to-late 1990s albums Load, and ReLoad, which displayed minor blues and southern rock influences, and were seen as a major departure from the band's earlier sound.[89] Megadeth took a more accessible heavy metal route starting with their 1992 album Countdown to Extinction.[90] Testament, Exodus and Flotsam and Jetsam all took a melodic/progressive approach with the albums The Ritual,[91]Force of Habit,[92] and Cuatro,[93] respectively. One of the pioneers of crossover thrash, Corrosion of Conformity, began changing their sound into a slower and Black Sabbath-influenced heavy metal direction with their post-1980s output, adapting influences and textures of sludge, doom metal, blues, and southern rock on several of their albums, including Blind (1991), Deliverance (1994) and Wiseblood (1996).[94]
In the wake of the success of groove metal, instigated by Pantera (who went on to become one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the 1990s), several thrash metal established bands started to expand their sound by adding elements and influences from the groove metal genre.[95][96][97] Anthrax, who had recently replaced Joey Belladonna with John Bush as their singer, began stepping away from their previously established thrash metal formula to a more accessible alternative/groove metal approach for the remainder of their 1990s output, starting with and including Sound of White Noise (1993).[98][99][100] Sacred Reich, Overkill, Coroner, Prong, Testament, and Forbidden followed this trend with their respective albums Independent,[101]I Hear Black,[102]Grin,[103]Cleansing,[104]Low,[105] and Distortion.[106] Sepultura's 1993 album Chaos A.D. also marked the beginning of their transition away from death/thrash metal to groove metal which had influenced then-up-and-coming bands like Korn, who reciprocally became the inspiration behind the nu metal style of the band's next album Roots (1996).[107]Roots would influence a generation of bands from Linkin Park to Slipknot, which during the 1990s meant the replacement of death, thrash, and speed, by nu metal and metalcore as popular epicenters of the hardest metal scene.[108]
Staying away from this new commercial mainstream of groove metal, metalcore, and especially nu metal, the second wave of black metal emerged as an opposed underground music scene, initially in Norway. This crop of new bands differenced themselves from the "first wave" by totally distilling black metal from the combined origins with thrash metal, but they preserved from all these sub-genres the emphasis on atmosphere over rhythm.[109]
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.[110] 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 sub-genres 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 spin-offs.
Revivals (2000–present)
A few thrash metal bands from the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the genre's U.S. "Big Four", continued recording and touring with success in the 2000s. In 2003, Anthrax released their first studio album in five years We've Come for You All, followed a month later by Metallica's double platinum-certified album St. Anger. After experimenting further with a commercialized sound on their previous few albums, Megadeth returned to its heavier sound with their ninth album The World Needs a Hero (2001). It would be the band's final album before disbanding in the following year, due to an arm injury that had left Dave Mustaine unable to play guitar;[111] he would eventually reform Megadeth for a handful albums, including The System Has Failed (2004) which was originally going to be released as a solo album by him,[112] before reuniting with co-founding member and bassist David Ellefson in 2010. Slayer released three albums in the 2000s: God Hates Us All (2001), which saw a return to their signature thrash metal sound,[113] followed by Christ Illusion (2006) and World Painted Blood (2009), both of which marked their first studio albums with drummer Dave Lombardo in nearly two decades. Although their career had declined from its peak in the 1990s, Overkill was perhaps one of the most-active thrash metal groups outside of the "Big Four", having never disbanded or taken longer breaks in-between records, and by 2000's Bloodletting, they were the first band in the genre to release more than ten studio albums. Overkill's popularity was reignited in the 2010s, with three of their albums, The Electric Age (2012), White Devil Armory (2014) and The Grinding Wheel (2017), all entering the Top 100 on the Billboard charts.[114][115]
Thrash metal is directly responsible for the development of underground metal genres, such as death metal, black metal,[134] and groove metal.[135] In addition to this, metalcore, grindcore, and deathcore employ similar riffs in their composition, the former with more focus on melody rather than chromaticism. 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.[136]
With gorier subject matter, heavier down tuning of guitars, more consistent use of blast beat drumming, and darker, atonal death growls, death metal was established in the mid-1980s. Black metal, also related to thrash metal, emerged at the same time, with many black metal bands taking influence from thrash metal bands such as Venom.[137] Black metal continued deviating from thrash metal, often providing more orchestral overtones, open tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, shrieked or raspy vocals and pagan or occult-based aesthetics to distinguish itself from thrash metal. Thrash metal would later combine with its spinoffs, thus giving rise to genres like blackened thrash metal and deathrash.[138][139][140][141]
Groove metal takes the intensity and sonic qualities of thrash metal and plays them at mid-tempo, with most bands making only occasional forays into fast tempo,[135] but since the early 1990s, it started to favor a more death metal-derived sound.[142] Thrash metal with stronger punk elements is called crossover thrash. Its overall sound is more punk-influenced than traditional thrash metal but has more heavy metal elements than hardcore punk and thrashcore.[143]
Thrash metal emerged predominantly from a handful of regional scenes, each of which was generally distinguished by the unique characteristics of its bands.
Gulf Coast thrash metal: While not as popular as the West Coast and East Coast regions, the Gulf Coast spawned at least three thrash metal scenes (including Texas, Louisiana and Florida) during the late 1980s and early 1990s, which saw a number of bands develop a style that was influenced by punk rock and/or the early-to-mid 1980s heavy metal scene. The most notable bands from the Gulf Coast are Atheist, Solstice, Juggernaut, Opprobrium (formerly named Incubus), Watchtower, Rigor Mortis, D.R.I., Absu, Nasty Savage, Verbal Abuse, Angkor Wat, Dead Horse, Pantera and Exhorder, the latter of the two (along with New York's Prong) are often credited for developing and popularizing the groove metal genre in the early 1990s.[149][150]
Canadian thrash metal: The Canadian region has seen numerous thrash metal bands create a unique blend of speed metal, progressive and hardcore punk into their music, influenced by a variety of acts such as Rush, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead and D.R.I., as well as fellow American thrash metal bands like Metallica and Slayer. Anvil and Exciter are considered to be the pioneers of this scene, while Voivod, Sacrifice, Razor, and Annihilator are often referred to as the country's "Big Four". Notable crossover bands from the Hardcore Punk scene include West Coast bands Death Sentence and Beyond Possession. [151] Other notable Canadian thrash metal bands include Infernäl Mäjesty, Anonymus, Eudoxis, Piledriver, Slaughter, DBC and Obliveon.[152]
Australian thrash metal: While not considered a "major" part of the worldwide thrash metal scene due to distance from the major Bay Area and Teutonic scenes, Australian thrash metal has had a fairly substantial following in overseas markets, while local audiences have always been difficult to gather. The most notable Australian thrash metal bands from the 1980s are Mortal Sin, Nothing Sacred and Hobbs' Angel of Death.
^Sfetcu, Nicolae. American Music. p. 352. Essentially the "heavy hardcore" sound is an amalgamation of deep, hoarse vocals (though rarely as deep or guttural as death metal), downtuned guitars, thrashy drum rhythms inspired directly from earlier hardcore bands, and slow, staccato low-end musical breaks, known colloquially as "breakdowns". Some bands tend to focus more on breakdowns than others (such as New Jersey's Redline), and others tend not to rely on them too much, letting the overall songwriting and feel drive the music (Troy, New York's Stigmata is a prime example). Elements such as thrash metal and hip hop are also common. Sworn Enemy and Boxcutter are two current respective examples of such.
^"5 Under the Radar Metal Bands That Are Pushing Boundaries". Radio.com. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2017. Tough guy hardcore has been around as long as I have. An impressive act here and there have combined circle pits and gang vocals with elements of Metallica-type thrash, but none in recent years have pushed that hybrid to the brink quite like Dallas, Texas' Power Trip.
^Prato, Greg (16 September 2014). Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine: Insight into Primus and the World of Les Claypool. Akashic Books. ISBN978-1-61775-322-0.
^Kahn-Harris, Keith, Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge, pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, ISBN1-84520-399-2.
^The Scorpion (8 January 2012). "SCORPION Q+A". Megadeth.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022. Hello Adam, I went to David Ellefson with your questions. Here is what he had to say about it. Thrash is a combination of the attitude from punk rock but the riffs and complexities of traditional metal.
^"Living Death Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022. One of Germany's -- indeed, the world's -- pioneering thrash metal bands ...
^"Overkill". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2024.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Christe (2003), Sound of the Beast, p. 264, As close to death metal as any other gold-selling record before it, Chaos A.D. stripped down Sepultura's sound into a coarse metallic loop. The CD sold half a million copies, and alongside Pantera the band forged a streetwise, death-derived groove metal that inspired an upcoming generation of mavens in the 1990s.
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