Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often deals with criticisms of The Establishment and concern over the destruction of the environment, and at times shares a disdain for Christian dogma resembling that of their black metal counterparts. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
William Sheehan is an American musician known for his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He had won the "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll from Guitar Player magazine five times for his "lead bass" playing style. Sheehan's repertoire included the use of chording, two-handed tapping, right-hand "three-finger picking" technique and controlled feedback.
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise, all of which received positive reviews in underground music publications and heavy college-radio play."
Strike Anywhere is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia, United States. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and emotionally charged vocals delivered via shouting and singing. The band has received an increased amount of attention after their music appeared in 3 Tony Hawk video games: Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003 ("Refusal"), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland in 2005, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. They were also featured in the documentary, Wake Up Screaming, about the 2005 Vans Warped Tour. The band played their last show with guitarist Matt Sherwood in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2007, with Mark Miller replacing Sherwood. Since then, the band has continued its regimen of international touring, including the group's first South American tour, where they played Brazil and Colombia. In an interview in December 2016, Barnett confirmed that the band is currently working on a fifth studio album. On July 17, 2020 the band released an EP titled Nightmares of the West via Pure Noise Records. The EP contained seven newly recorded songs that were the result of ideas that had been exchanged between bandmates over the course of the 2010s decade.
Destruction is a German thrash metal band, formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with American bands like Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
Lars Erik Frederiksen is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Rancid, as well as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and the Old Firm Casuals. In addition, he currently plays guitar in Oxley's Midnight Runners, Stomper 98, and The Last Resort. He was also briefly a member of the UK Subs in 1991. He joined Rancid in 1993 after the band was searching for a second guitar player and was present on their second album Let's Go. He has produced albums for bands such as Dropkick Murphys, Agnostic Front, The Business, Swingin Utters, Marky Ramone and the Intruders, Anti-Heros, Pressure Point, The Forgotten among others. He mixed GBH's 2010 album entitled Perfume and Piss, as well as Cock Sparrer's 2007 album "Here We Stand" both alongside Michael Rosen.
David Yow is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and The Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, Tonight You Look Like a Spider, was released in June 2013 on Joyful Noise Records.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash.
Sworn Enemy is an American crossover thrash band from New York City.
The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in the East Village, New York City, United States, by Bobby Steele, Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene.
Pegboy is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois with a relatively large cult following. They were founded in 1990 by John Haggerty, along with his brother Joe Haggerty, Larry Damore (vocals/guitar), and Steve Saylors (bass). Both Damore and Saylors had been members of Chicago-based hardcore band Bhopal Stiffs, whose 1987 demo had been produced by John Haggerty. Pegboy's 1990 debut EP, "Three-Chord Monte", was also the first release by Quarterstick Records, an offshoot of Touch and Go Records. Steve Saylors dropped out in 1992 after job commitments prevented him from touring. Steve Albini, a longtime friend of the band, filled the bass slot on the "Fore" EP. Former Naked Raygun bassist Pierre Kezdy became the permanent bass player in 1994. After the reformation of Naked Raygun, Mike Thompson took over for Kezdy on bass.
Trumans Water are an American indie rock band, hailing from San Diego, California. They have released over a dozen albums over their career, on which they collaborated with acts in genre, including Azalia Snail, Chan Marshall and Thurston Moore.
Oneida is an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Their influences include psychedelic rock, krautrock, electronic, noise rock, and minimalism, but the overall structure and intent of their music is not taken directly from any of these styles. Common elements found in their music include improvisation, repetition, driving rhythms, antique and analog equipment, and an overall eclecticism.
Speechless is a 1981 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith of the group Henry Cow. It was Frith's third solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on The Residents' Ralph record label. It was the second of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Thrash Anthems is a studio album released by thrash metal band Destruction in 2007. The album is a compilation of re-recordings of old songs and two new songs: "Deposition " and "Profanity".
Charles Allen Ragan is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the band Hot Water Music. Ragan has also released a variety of solo material, including a series of 7-inches on No Idea Records, a live album and three studio albums on Side One Dummy Records.
M.I.A. is an American 1980s punk rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The band's sound is generally hardcore and thrasher, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. AllMusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."
Jaya The Cat is a Dutch/American reggae/ska/punk rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, but currently based in Amsterdam. The band formed in 1998 and has released four full-length studio albums, one independent release and one live album.
Antillectual is a Dutch melodic hardcore/punk rock band.
Jeff Dean is a punk rock musician and recording engineer based in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for playing guitar in The Bomb with Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun, and Noise By Numbers with Dan Vapid of The Methadones.
