Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music.

Take off

Thrash metal took off in 1984 or so, 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. 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. This was followed by the 1986 EP Attack From Above and the 1991 LP Open Fire. Also, Artillery debuted with We Are The Dead in 1985, as did Megadeth, formed by former Metallica axeman Dave Mustaine. 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.

Related Topics:
1984 - Overkill - Slayer - Haunting the Chapel - Exodus - Hell Awaits - 1985 - Eudoxis - Attack From Above - Open Fire - Megadeth - Dave Mustaine - Judas Priest - Rust in Peace

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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 underrated Darkness Descends, which is one of the heaviest and fastest thrash 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 the complex, technical Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, Metallica had Master of Puppets, which had a few staple thrashers and some more complex pieces that moved away from the genre, 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.

Related Topics:
1986 - Dark Angel - Reign in Blood - German - Kreator - Pleasure to Kill - Death metal - Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? - Master of Puppets - Nuclear Assault - Hobbs' Angel Of Death - Australia - Europe

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Thrash metal developed in the mid 1980s to split into many subgenres and influence a lot of bands like Death and Possessed. 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, and perhaps the first example of it would be the death-thrash classic 'Seven Churches', from 1985. Some bands combined speed metal and thrash metal, like the aforementioned 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.

Related Topics:
Death - Possessed - Death metal - 1985 - Helstar - Testament - Heathen - Watchtower - Coroner - Atheist - Cynic

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By 1988 or so the genre was quite saturated with new bands, but classic albums would continue to be put out. Sepultura's third album, Beneath the Remains (1989) earned them mainstream appeal as it appeared on Roadrunner records. 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 hardcore punk vocal delivery. However, the genre was also filled with many bands that were not attempting to expand on the style. Rust in Peace (1990) by Megadeth is sometimes thought to be the last good classic thrash metal album, and to this day it is still thought to be Megadeth's finest work.

Related Topics:
1988 - Sepultura - Beneath the Remains - Vio-lence - Hardcore punk - Rust in Peace

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