Wikipedia calls Thrash Metal: “an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.  The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work.”

More simply put, it’s a result of influences from punk rock, hard rock and heavy metal – specifically the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal or NWOBHM.

Ground Zero for the thrash movement was San Fransisco, with major players such as Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Metal Church, Death Angel and Possessed hailing from there.  Los Angeles and New York City played a large part as well with Megadeth beginning in L.A. following Dave Mustaine’s ouster from Metallica.  Anthrax and Nuclear Assault were both from NYC.

The term “thrash metal” was first used in the music press by Kerrang! magazine’s journalist Malcolm Dome while referring to another of the “Big Four” (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer), Anthrax, and their song “Metal Thrashing Mad”.   Before this, Metallica frontman James Hetfield referred to his band’s sound as speed metal or power metal.

In the August 17, 2024 episode of “Cause and Effect” on WRIR, I walk through some of the early influences of thrash including fast and powerful songs from rock and metal bands such as Queen, Black Sabbath, Accept and Motorhead and punk bands such as GBH, Black Flag and The Misfits.  Then we make our way into the first wave and peak of thrash (Big Four, Metal Church, Overkill, Nuclear Assault), the second wave (Testament, Annihilator, Sacred Reich), and into the resurgence following the big “Thrash of the Titans” festival in 2001 which brought a lot of the early players back into the metal public’s consciousness.  New players (Evile, Warbringer, Iron Reagan and Enforced) picked up where the early pioneers left off and brought it into modern times with speed, power and ferocity.

The full playlist is listed below.  Due to time constraints some of the songs the needed to be mentioned are presented as short clips, but the full versions can be heard in the Spotify playlist linked above.

The show is available via this archive link for two weeks after air date (8-17-24).

 

 

2024 0817 Cause and Effect – Jay Smack Host

“Metal Thrashing Madness – An Audio History of Thrash Metal”

(non-indented titles are full songs, indented titles are clips)

Playlist/Timeline

Influencers

1974 – Queen – Sheer Heart Attack – Stone Cold Crazy (London)

1975 – Black Sabbath – Sabotage – Symptom Of The Universe (England)

1977 – Dead Boys – Loud, Young and Snotty – Sonic Reducer (Cleveland)

1977 – Judas Priest – Sin After Sin – Dissident Aggressor (England)

1979 – Motorhead – Overkill – Overkill (England)

1980 – Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (England)

1981 – Venom- Welcome To Hell – Angel Dust (England)

1981 – Tigers of Pan Tang – Spellbound – Gangland (England)

1981 – Black Flag – Damaged – Rise Above (LA)

1982 – GBH – City Baby Attacked By Rats – City Baby Attacked By Rats (England)

1982 – Anvil – Metal On Metal – March of the Crabs (Toronto)

1982 – Accept – Restless and Wild – Fast As A Shark (Germany)

1982 – Tank – Filth Hounds of Hades – Filth Hounds of Hades (England)

1983 – Exciter – Heavy Metal Maniac – Heavy Metal Maniac (Toronto)

1983 – Misfits – Earth A.D. – Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight) (NJ)

The Big Four

1984 – Anthrax – Fistful of Metal – Metal Thrashing Mad (NYC)

1984 – Metallica – Ride The Lightning – Fight Fire With Fire (SF)

1984 – Slayer – Haunting The Chapel – Haunting The Chapel (SF)

1986 – Megadeth – Peace Sells But Who’s Buying – Wake Up Dead (L.A.)

First Wave 83-87

1984 – Metal Church – Metal Church – Beyond The Black (SF)

1985 – Exodus – Bonded By Blood – Bonded By Blood (SF)

1986 – Kreator – Pleasure To Kill – Riot of Violence (Germany)

1986 – Nuclear Assault – Game Over – Sin (NYC)

1987 – Sodom – Persecution Mania – Perseution Mania

1987 – Overkill – Taking Over – Powersurge (NJ)

1987 – Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence – The Ultra-Violence (SF)

1987 – Possessed – The Eyes Of Horror EP – Storm In My Mind (SF)

Second Wave 88-92

1989 – Testament – Practice What You Preach – Practice What You Preach (SF)

1989 – Sepultura – Beneath The Remains – Beneath The Remains (Brazil)

1988 – DRI – 4 of a Kind – Suit and Tie Guy (Houston, moved to SF)

1989 – Annihilator – Alice In Hell – W.T.Y.D. (Welcome To Your Death) (Canada)

1990 – Sacred Reich – The American Way – I Don’t Know –  (Phoenix)

1990 – Destruction – Cracked Brain – Cracked Brain (Germany)

1990 – Exhorder – Slaughter In The Vatican – Exhorder (New Orleans)

1991 – Cornoner – Mental Vortex – Semtex Revolution

Post-thrash – 91-92, nu metal, groove metal, thrash bands evolve, early 2000’s

Metallica’s “Black Album”, grunge – change from speed and length to concise, heavy songs.  Rise of grunge and alternative metal – Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains

Resurgence

2007 – Evile – Enter The Grave – Thrasher (England)

2012 Lich King – Born Of The Bomb – Combat Mosh (Massachusetts)

2012 – Municipal Waste – The Fatal Feast – Jesus Freaks (Richmond)

2017 – Iron Reagan – Crossover Ministry – A Dying World (Richmond)

2018 Sepulcher – Panoptic Horror – Abyssal Horror (Norway)

2020 – Warbringer – Weapons of Tomorrow – Forepower Kills (L.A.)

2023 – Enforced – War Remains – Hanged By My Hand (Richmond)