THRASH metal: everything to know about it

Claire Abe — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 09:09:19 +0000

So, today, we are really getting into what, for me, is one of the first steps to take to start listening to extreme music.

And maybe you’re thinking it’s not for you, it’s too violent for your little ears, but I’m sure you know at least one band from that genre without knowing it. Read on to find out which 😉.

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

Note: Bands/ artists I quote in the posts, I only mention them to give you an idea of the sounds you find in the different genres. But I want to be clear that over time it has become more and more complicated to do it with style blends and so on.
In addition, my goal is not to categorize artists, but to present them to you so that you discover the different possibilities that there are in rock and metal. And even make you enjoy those genres.

WHAT IS THRASH METAL ?

Thrash metal is a more extreme subgenre of heavy metal. When we listen to it, we can see that it is more violent and faster. It appeared in the 80s in contradiction with glam metal and everything it represents.

Also, the term ‘thrash metal’ is said to have been coined by journalist Malcolm Dome, who referred to Anthrax’s ‘Metal Thrashing Mad’ in Kerrang magazine.

It can be considered as a mixture of NWOBHM and punk (hardcore).

THE ORIGINS

Queen with her title Stone Cold Crazy as well as Black Sabbath with Symptom of The Universe and Led Zeppelin with Communication Breakdown are beginning to set the tone for what will be Thrash metal in the future.

Queen’

Black Sabbath ‘

Led Zeppelin’

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THRASH METAL

Speed

The tempos are fast or even very fast, even more than before! Songs can go up to 180 bpm like Motorbreath from Metallica, but it’s exceptional. Most often, groups use the sixteenth note to induce a sense of speed and urgency. However, we usually stay at more than 100 bpm like Whiplash, a title on the same Metallica album.

Technique

Instrumental techniques are adapted to the tempos of the genre.

In solos, lead guitarists (guitarists doing solos) usually use shredding. It consists in juxtaposing a set of techniques such as sweeping, tremolo picking, or tapping with several fingers in the same solo.

Tremolo picking = scratching or hitting a single string repeatedly in a regular rhythm, especially the fastest rhythm that the player can maintain. It has nothing to do with the hand tremolo or the whammy bar.
Sweeping = Sweeping is a guitar-specific playing technique that consists of sweeping the strings from top to bottom using a mediator. This technique allows obtaining a much faster speed of play and a more fluid sound while producing less muscular efforts.

Shredding has existed since the mid-1970s and has won almost every genre of rock but it is the metal guitarists who systematize it.

The techniques offer a continuous flow of eighth notes that make it possible to inflate the rhythm section.

They allow abrupt rhythmic changes. Shank-beat is an example. It consists of playing on 2 beats a rhythmic phrase that is usually played on 4 beats. It gives the illusion of a doubling of the tempo while the bpm is the same. Moreover, the drummer reverses the usual distribution of the keystrokes. The snare drum comes on time and the bass drum is on delay.

As for bass players, they usually use mediators. However, some famous ones use their fingers like Frank Bello, Greg Christian, Steve DiGiorgio or Cliff Burton.

A dark harmonic color

This one comes from 2 point:

The intervals used

Thrash metal groups use modes with diminished intervals, including second or fifth (also called triton). Its destabilizing harmonic power is considered the diabolus in musica (or more simply the devil’s music). They, therefore, do not deprive themselves of using it with minor modes (including the Locrian mode), diminished as well as chromatic riffs (which are followed by a halftone).

ex: Master of Puppets, Creeping Death, or Enter Sandman

The range

Instruments are often in a lower register than usual. The voices are lower (like James Hetfield) and the guitars are usually tuned in a lower halftone.

Lyrics

They are there to denounce what is happening, whether in relation to society (the system or the environment) or religion. They are often direct and more or less violent.

We can find in the subjects/ themes covered: occultism, horror, rebellion, death, witchcraft, satanism, religion, war, destruction, tyranny, anti-religion, violence, serial killers, drugs, and more.

Bands

Virtuosity is generalized throughout the band. This has the effect that all musicians are on the same pedestal.

THRASH METAL BROADCAST

This whole scene was partially revealed by compilations called Metal Massacre. These were published by Brian Slagel on his Metal Blade Records label. They combine traditional heavy metal and more trendy genres, including thash. We will discover bands like Metallica, Steeler (band where Yngwie Malmsteen will play), Overkill, or Slayer.

In the fifth compilation, we will see the internationalization of the genre with Voivod (Canada) or Hellhammer (Switzerland).

Other bands will impose themselves outside this label such as Testament, Exodus, Sepultura, Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, and Tankard.

BIG FOUR OF THRASH METAL

But the genre is known to have 4 big bands that share the headliner: Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. All except Anthrax are from the Baye Area (California).

The metal thrash will decline at the end of the 80s and will experience a new revival of interest in the 2000s.

This genre, like its predecessor, heavy metal, will continue to pave the way for other genres always heavier, stronger, and more violent.

If you dare, you can listen to the playlist dedicated to this article right here. And feel free to share if you liked it or think it could interest someone you know.

Also, you can see all the drawings / caricatures right here !

See you soon !

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