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Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression. Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. Thrash metal lyrics often deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory language, an approach which partially overlaps with the hardcore genre. The "Big Four" bands of thrash metal are Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer, who simultaneously created and popularized the genre in the early 1980s.
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 aggressive vocals. 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, 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, Jack Gibson, Steve DiGiorgio, Robert Trujillo and the late 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.
Inclusive thrash metal music subgenres:
- Crossover thrash, often abbreviated to crossover, is a form of thrash metal that contains more hardcore punk elements than standard thrash. It is sometimes referred to as punk metal, though this is generally incorrect due to the existence of other music genres that combine forms of punk rock and heavy metal, such as grunge, crust punk, and more recently metalcore and its subgenres. While thrash metal is heavily influenced by hardcore punk, the overall sound of crossover thrash is more punk-influenced yet more metal-sounding and aggressive than traditional hardcore punk and thrashcore. The term was coined by the band D.R.I. with their album Crossover, released in 1987. The term 'crossover' is based on the metaphor of crossing over from one genre into the other, thus capturing artists the operate within the transition zone between thrash metal and hardcore punk. With the metaphor comes the conception of directionality, such that the genre is applied to hardcore and crust punk artists who have crossed over into thrash metal territory, such as D.R.I., Discharge, The Exploited, The Accüsed, Agnostic Front and Suicidal Tendencies (who eventually ventured into alternative metal), and thrash metal artists who crossed over into hardcore punk territory, such as Nuclear Assault and S.O.D. A number of death metal bands (especially those of the first wave of Swedish death metal) draw on hardcore punk, mainly because their members listen to crossover thrash - these bands are included under the death metal subgenre here at the MMA.
- Death-thrash combines elements from thrash metal and death metal. The most common type of death-thrash is based on thrash metal music (often played a bit faster than standard thrash metal) with growled vocals. Sepultura's "Schizophrenia", "Beneath the Remains", and "Arise" are considered examples of death-thrash. Given that death metal is derived from thrash metal, many early death metal bands played a style that was anchored thrash metal and could be considered death-thrash. Many of those artists are included under the death metal genre here on MMA.
- Technical/progressive (or tech/prog) thrash metal is considered a legitimate genre by some (or even two legitimate genres), while others argue that it is a pseudo-genre. Bands included in this genre take emphasize technicality in their music, in the form of complex riffs and/or complex song structures, while others apply the ethos of progressive music more broadly without straying from their basic thrash metal sound. Examples of artists that are sometimes considered tech/prog thrash metal acts are Dark Angel, Death Angel (especially on "Act III"), Annihilator, Artillery (especially on "By Inheritance", "When Death Comes", and "My Blood"), and Invocator. Releases like "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All" by Metallica are quite progressively oriented with complex song structures and numerous sections per song. Some bands like Voivod, Antithesis and Watchtower took the progressive approach so far that they are primarily considered progressive metal artists rather than thrash metal artists.
- Blackened thrash metal is thrash metal with black metal elements. Its thrash metal basis is more primitive and akin to early German thrash metal. Examples of blackened thrash metal bands are Assaulter, Aura Noir, and The Metaphor. It should be mentioned that much early black metal, such as Venom and Hellhammer/Celtic Frost actually had its roots in thrash metal.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrash_metalWritten by Time Signature.
Sub-genre collaborators (+ child sub-genres & shared with Speed Metal and Groove Metal): - Vim Fuego (leader)
- Nightfly
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Demo · 1989 ·
Thrash Metal
UMUR
"Sickness Revealed" is the second demo release by Finnish thrash metal act Lycantrophy. The demo was independently released in 1989. It´s the follow-up release to the 1988 "No Sorrow, No Pain" demo. The material from the "Sickness Revealed" along with two tracks from the 1990 "Sleepwalker" demo would be reissued on the various artists compilation album "Thrashing Relics Vol. 1" (April 2006, Bestial Burst).
Stylistically Lycantrophy belong to the Teutonic influenced school of late 80s Finnish thrash metal along with artists like Phlegethon and A.R.G. So this is brutal, aggressive, and raw sounding thrash metal with a gnarly and snarling vocalist in front. Fans of Kreator, Sodom, and a host of South American thrash metal acts from the 80s should find a lot to appreciate here.
"Sickness Revealed" is a both well performed (Lycantrophy are a very well playing unit), well produced, and well composed release, and although they don´t really produce anything you haven´t heard before, there is still an edge to this and some skill found here, which you don´t find on all releases in this genre, which make "Sickness Revealed" a good quality demo worth investigating. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.
Album · 2007 ·
Thrash Metal
UMUR
"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is the eighth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in October 2007. It´s the successor to "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" from 2005 and the album features one lineup change as drummer Paul Bostaph has been replaced by a returning Tom Hunting, who didn´t perform on "Shovel Headed Kill Machine".
The music on the album is in the trademark sharp, aggressive, and raw Exodus thrash metal style. Exodus were never known for being adventurous in terms of song structures or experimental musical ideas, and they´ve pretty much stuck to their concept since the release of their debut full-length studio album "Bonded By Blood" back in 1985, but as always they are full of fierce energy and raw thrashy attitude. It´s now the second album with lead vocalist Rob Dukes and while I don´t find him as distinct sounding or unique as Steve "Zetro" Souza, he does a great job on this album. The songs are all well composed albeit a bit formulaic and sometimes also a bit too long for their own good. Not all tracks needed the vers/chorus parts repeated three times. "Children Of A Worthless God" is one of the highlight of the album (Dukes even adds a bit of clean singing to this track), but tracks like "Riot Act" and "Funeral Hymn" are great tracks too. In fact "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is a strong album throughout, although the riffing style and the formulaic song structures make it a slightly one-dimensional listen.
The album is produced by Andy Sneap, and features a classic Sneap sound production. Meaty, powerful, heavy, and clear with all instruments and vocals audible in the mix. Upon Conclusion "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" is another high quality thrash metal album from Exodus, but I do detect a bit of autopilot in the songwriting department. I know this is what the fans expect, but I could do with a bit more experimentation or at least a bit more variation. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
Album · 2005 ·
Thrash Metal
UMUR
"Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is the Seventh full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Exodus. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in October 2005. It´s the successor to "Tempo of the Damned" from 2004. An album which was both a comeback album for the band (their last album at the time was "Force of Habit" from 1992) and a reunitement with "classic"-era Exodus lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. The reunited band soon began fighting though as old issues emerged and Souza left again and was replaced by Rob Dukes. There have however been further lineup changes as guitarist Rick Hunolt has been replaced by Lee Altus (Heathen, Die Krupps) and drummer Tom Hunting has been replaced by Paul Bostaph (Forbidden, Slayer). So the only remaining members from the lineup who recorded "Tempo of the Damned (2004)" are bassist Jack Gibson and guitarist Gary Holt. Out of those two it´s only the latter who is a founding member of Exodus.
Holt has however always been the main composer for the band, so multible lineup changes or not the material on "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is unmistakably the sound of Exodus. Dukes has a relatively similar snarling raw vocal style to Souza, although he is slightly less distinct sounding, but he generally does a great job here carrying on the legacy. Bostaph is clearly a hired gun here, because he adds zero personal touch to the drumming on the album, and more or less just mimmicks the drumming style of Hunting. I count one part with double pedalling bass drums (which is actually nicely refreshing and suits the music well), which is not something you´d hear Hunting do, but that´s about it. Other than that I wouldn´t have guessed it wasn´t Hunting playing if I didn´t know better. Anyone familiar with new guitarist Lee Altus know that he is a very skilled musician, so replacing Hunolt is not an issue.
"Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is an aggressive, fast-paced, and heavy thrash metal release and the natural step forward from "Tempo of the Damned (2004)". The tracks are slighly less memorable and rely more on power and aggression, but that doesn´t mean the tracks aren´t catchy and effectful. This is an album loaded with classic Exodus riffs and rhythms, and the vocals and the lyrics are also reminiscent of preceding output. Tracks like "Deathamphetamine", "Shudder to Think", and "Altered Boy" (featuring lyrics dealing with the many cases of Catholic priests and their abuse of alter boys) are among the highlights, but I could just as well have mentioned tracks like "I Am Abomination" and "Going Going Gone".
"Shovel Headed Kill Machine" and especially poor Dukes often don´t receive praise from reviewers/fans talking about them, but to my ears "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" is a strong release and Dukes performance here deserves a lot more credit than it´s been given. I´d call him a near perfect replacement for Souza (and probably expose myself to the wrath of the hardcore Souza fans). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
Album · 2004 ·
Thrash Metal
UMUR
"The Art of Dying" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash/heavy metal act Death Angel. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in April 2004, almost exactly 14 years since the release of the band´s last studio album "Act III" from April 1990. Death Angel disbanded after their 1991 near fatal tour bus accident, where drummer Andy Galeon was badly injured. He would spend the better part of a year recovering from his injuries during which lead vocalist Mark Osegueda departed (and famously auditioned for the lead vocalist role in Anthrax after Joey Belladonna left). The remaining members (including Andy Galeon) would subsequently form The Organization and release two albums under that monicker. When that band folded in 1995 some years went by before the members were heard of again (some members had a project called Swarm, who released a couple of EPs). That happened in 2001 when Death Angel reunited to play at a benefit concert, which was set up to help pay the medical bills for the cancer treatment of Testament´s Chuck Billy.
Guitarist Gus Pepa wasn´t able to return for the reunion of Death Angel, but with his blessing the band asked longtime friend and fan of the band Ted Aguilar to join. The remaining members of the lineup were also members of the lineup who recorded "Act III (1990)".
Stylistically the material on "The Art of Dying" pretty much continues where "Act III (1990)" left off, although "The Art of Dying" isn´t quite as eclectic and uneven as it´s direct predecessor. The funky bass and rhythms have been left behind in the 90s and most of the alternative metal tendencies were also left were they belong (in the 90s). So most of the material on "The Art of Dying" are in the vein of the most hard edged thrash/heavy metal styled tracks from "Act III (1990)". Death Angel haven´t completely shed their tendencies to make bad decisions, and letting other members of the band sing on "Spirit", "Land of Blood", and "Word to the Wise", makes very little sense when you have a skilled and commanding vocalist like Osegueda in your ranks. Other than that "The Art of Dying" is a good quality comeback album from Death Angel. The album features a well sounding production, stellar musicianship, and for the most part well written, memorable, and powerful material. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
Movie · 2004 ·
Thrash Metal
martindavey87
‘Some Kind of Monster’ is an interesting look at the personal problems that arise amongst band members after having worked together throughout careers that span decades. The biggest rock band in the world is on the verge of breaking up, with one member leaving, one member in rehab and one member being the most hated man in music. It’s compelling viewing, that’s for sure.
However, it’s been often stated that this will appeal to Metallica fans and non-fans alike, and I do consider that a bit of an overstatement. I’m a huge, huge die-hard fan of the band, but at two hours and 10 minutes in duration, and a couple of hours of extra material, even I find this quite a tedious viewing at times.
Essentially, it boils down to the egos of two men, James and Lars, and goes on to become nothing more than “Temper Tantrum: The Movie”. Still, it’s always fun and interesting to see what musicians I admire get up to when they’re not on stage. The process of recording their 2003 dud of album ‘St. Anger’, what they do in their spare time, the auditions for a new bass player and the endless promotional events they partake in.
While this isn’t essential viewing to the average movie-goer, fans of the band will enjoy this stripped and bare movie that shows that even rich and famous rock stars have egos and emotions, and the tolls that that stardom takes on them.
Movie · 1998 ·
Thrash Metal
martindavey87
It feels like a lifetime ago that I bought this DVD! Back in 2002, at the impressionable age of 15, this was such an awe-inspiring show to watch. Metallica were (and still are) so much larger than life, and everything about this home video release was amazing.
The main show, despite being at the peak of Metallica’s mid-90’s alternative rock era, shows a band who could rock out with the best of them, and while the set list may not hold up amazingly well by today’s standards, it’s still brimming with heavy metal and hard rock anthems.
There’s an abundance of extras that show the behind-the-scenes process of the show and it’s titular stunts, and the pre-show footage is a blast to watch, so much so, that lurking somewhere out there is a home video my friends and I (all aged 15 and in our first band) made of us embarrassingly recreating many of the scenes.
While Metallica has certainly released better home videos and DVD’s, ‘Cunning Stunts’, with its top notch sound and picture, and brimming with fantastic visuals, still holds up just as well today as it did 20 years ago.