Thrash Metal
tagStarted 1981Peak 1986-1991Last big hit still active
Located in 3 routes
Fast, aggressive, and precise: tightly palm-muted downpicked riffs, rapid tempos, double-bass drumming, and shouted-but-pitched vocals. Marries NWOBHM riffing to hardcore punk's velocity and venom. Songs are intricate and dynamic, lyrics tackle war, politics, and societal collapse. Sharp, percussive, and relentlessly riff-driven.
History
Coalesced in the early 80s as the Bay Area and East Coast scenes sped up NWOBHM with punk fury. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, the 'Big Four,' defined it across 1983-86 with landmark albums like Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood. Germany's Kreator and Sodom built a parallel scene. Metallica's 1991 'Black Album' carried it to global stadiums.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- AllMusic (Thrash Metal style)
- Wikipedia (Thrash metal)
- Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Decibel