Everything Heavy Metal: Exploring the Subgenres for Metal: Thrash Metal

Brief History: The 80's was the best decade for Thrash Metal. Let's start off with first Thrash Metal album that was released by Metallica's in 1983, Kill 'Em All. Less than six months later Slayer's depute album, Show No Mercy, came out. Fast forward a year and you have all these Thrash Metal bands starting to come out. Anthrax released their depute album Fistful of Metal. Exodus deputed Bonded by Blood. And both Slayer and Metallica released their second albums (Slayer's Hell Awaits, Metallica's Ride the Lightening). In 1985 the final of the "Big 4" bands released there depute albums, Megadeth's Killing is My Business... And Business is Good! But their are two bands that also released their depute albums that don't get that much credit, Kreator's Endless Pain and Sepultura's Bestial Devastation EP. In 1986 you see the release of three Classic Thrash Metal albums release by Metallica (Master of Puppets), Megadeth (Peace Sells... But Who is Buying?) and Slayer (Reign of Blood). In 1987 Anthrax released their third album Among the Living and Death Angel released their depute album The Ultra-Violence. From 1987 to 1989 Overkill (A really under rated band) released three albums (Taking Over, Under the Influence, and The Years of Decay). And then in the 1980's Metallica released ...And Justice of All, Megadeth released So Far, So Good... So What! (Their best selling album) and Testament released Practice What you Preach.

That was the 80's, lets begin with the 90's. The 90's started off so strong for Thrash Metal: Megadeth's Rust in Peace, Anthrax's Persistence of Time, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss, Testament's Souls of Black, Kreator's Coma of Souls, and Exodus' Impact Is Imminent. But then you have Thrash Metal bands that changed to a more "Radio Friendly Sound." One of the biggest was was Metallica. Being one of the biggest members of the "Big 4" they went the way of a less of thrash sound and more of a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal sound. They released The Black Album (Their Best Selling Album) and then Load and Re-Load which are more Hard Rock sounding albums. Megadeth took more of a Heavy Metal route with their released of Countdown to Extinction. Youthanasia, Cryptic Writings. and then Megadeth's biggest bomb Risk. In the 90's Thrash Metal is on s decline in popularity but two more extreme genres are on the rise, that is Death Metal and Black Metal. And you will see some Thrash Metal bands releasing some Death Metal inspired albums, such as Testament's 1997 release Demonic. And you also see a rise in popularity in a more less extreme genre of music Grunge.

In the 2000's Thrash Metal is not a popular as it once was, some may disagree. But in the late 2000's and early 2010's you see a lot of old Thrash Metal bands releasing albums that have that Thrash Metal feel to them again: Metallica's Death Magnetic (2008), Megadeth's Endgame (2009), Slayer's World Painted Blood (2009), Exodus' Exhibit B: The Human Condition (2010), Anthrax's Worship Music (2011), Overkill's The Electric Age (2012), Testament's Dark Roots of Earth (2012), and Flotsam and Jetsam's Ugly Noise (2012). which seems like the start of Thrash Metal trying to make a come back. But I don't think that Thrash Metal will every be a popular as it was in the 1980's. But I could be eating my own words because in 2009 the "Big 4" had their first concert together and it was a huge hit. So we will see how the 2010's treat Thrash Metal!

10 Thrash Metal Albums for the Noobs (In no order)