This article is about a subgenre of heavy metal music. For the similar subgenre of heavy metal music, see Crossover thrash.
Thrash metal
Stylistic origins
NWOBHM
speed metal
hardcore punk
Cultural origins
Early 1980s, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Latin America
Derivative forms
Black metal
death metal
groove metal
heavy hardcore[1]
Fusion genres
Blackened thrash metal
crossover thrash
deathrash
funk metal[2]
metalcore
Regional scenes
Australia
Brazil
California
Canada
Germany
New York
Poland
United Kingdom
Local scenes
Los Angeles
San Francisco Bay Area
Other topics
Extreme metal
NWOAHM
thrashcore
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.[3] 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.[4][5][6] Philosophically, thrash metal developed as a backlash against both the conservatism of the Reagan era[7] and the much more moderate, pop-influenced, and widely accessible heavy metal subgenre of glam metal which also developed concurrently in the 1980s.[8]
The early thrash metal movement revolved around independent record labels, including Megaforce, Metal Blade, Combat, Roadrunner, and Noise, and the underground tape trading industry in both Europe and North America. The genre was commercially successful during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, with the "Big Four" of thrash metal – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – being joined by Exodus, Overkill and Testament, as well as Brazil's Sepultura and the "Big Four" of German thrash metal: Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard. Some of those bands are often credited for helping create, develop and popularize the genre.[6][9][10]
The thrash metal genre had declined in popularity by the mid-1990s, with the commercial success of numerous genres such as alternative rock, grunge, and later pop-punk and nu metal. During that period, 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.[11][12][13][14]
^Janosik, MaryAnn (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The video generation, 1981-1990. Greenwood Press. p. 231. Heavy hardcore was considered hardcore based more in metal, adding heavier thrash metal riff stylings
^Prato, Greg (16 September 2014). Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine: Insight into Primus and the World of Les Claypool. Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-322-0.
^Kahn-Harris, Keith, Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge, pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, ISBN 1-84520-399-2.
^Prato, Greg (19 December 2023). "Steve Hackett Recalls His Reaction to Thrash and Death Metal of the '80s". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
^"Technical Thrash Metal: Historia, Bandas, álbumes y más". metallerium.com (in Spanish). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
^ abMcIver, Joel (29 April 2010). "A History of Thrash Metal". Total Guitar. MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
^Farrar, Justin (26 December 2017). "The 30 Greatest Thrash Bands of All Time". Spin Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
^Weinstein 2000, p. 48.
^"Sodom, Kreator, Destruction and Tankard: the untold story of German thrash's Big Four". loudersound.com. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^"The 20 Albums That Invented...Thrash". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Goldminemag.com. 4 May 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^"Hatchet: "Fear Beyond Lunacy" Album Review by Jason Z!". skullsnbones.com. 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"Havok - Unnatural Selection". thisisnotascene.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"New Extremes: Deafheaven Play Sold-Out LA Show with Health, Skeletal Remains". metalassault.com. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^"DAVE ELLEFSON Says EXODUS Invented Thrash, LAMB OF GOD Helped Reset It in the 2000s". 22 February 2023.
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