Thrash metal is 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.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas in 1982 and would later relocate to San Francisco, California. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, lead vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as bassist Greg Orr and drummer Rob Rampy.
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing early grindcore and death metal records between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Its roster has since diversified into more mainstream guitar music, working with bands such as Rival Sons, the Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Scarlet Rebels and the White Buffalo. The company also hosted the 'Earache Express' stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and 'The Earache Factory' at Boomtown 2018. The label's logo is a homage to Thrasher magazine, as Pearson was a skateboard culture enthusiast.
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, yet inspired by cross-genre influences including blues vocalist Sam Cooke, who De Pena once cited as "the greatest vocalist [De Pena] has ever heard."
The Accüsed is an American crossover thrash band from Washington State, USA, formed in 1981 by Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman, Dana Collins and Tommy Niemeyer. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between thrashcore and thrash metal, later influencing grindcore and some crust punk bands; as well as an influential band in the Seattle area alternative scene. The band calls their music "splatter rock", and their zombie mascot, Martha Splatterhead, created by Blaine Cook and Tommy Niemeyer, appears on most of their albums. Common lyrical themes involve social injustice and Martha Splatterhead coming back from the dead to slaughter rapists and child molesters.
Edward J. Repka is an American graphic artist, best known for creating album covers for metal bands as well as shirt designs, including those featuring Megadeth's mascot Vic Rattlehead. Repka's portfolio also includes Dark Angel's logo and model designs for the Hellraiser films. He works for the National Entertainment Collectibles Association as their lead painter and head of art direction.
Municipal Waste is an American crossover thrash band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2000. To date, the band has released seven studio albums, three EPs and four splits. They have gone through a few line-up changes, leaving vocalist Tony Foresta and rhythm guitarist Ryan Waste as the only constant members. In addition to Foresta and Waste, their current lineup includes Philip "Land Phil" Hall on bass, Dave Witte on drums and Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos on lead guitar.
Sacrilege is a band from the Midlands region of England originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Damian Thompson and vocalist Lynda "Tam" Simpson and Tony May. Originally rooted in hardcore punk, their sound later changed to thrash metal and doom metal. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their original existence, Sacrilege is recognized as an important band, both as an influence on later crust punk, thrash metal and doom metal bands and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk, radical politics, and thrash/death metal that occurred during the mid-1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical crust punk bands of the time.
Gama Bomb are a thrash metal band based in Northern Ireland. The band's 2009 album Tales from the Grave in Space was one of the first albums released as a free download by a band signed to a record label.
Attitude Adjustment is an American crossover thrash band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Their debut album, American Paranoia, is considered to be an early "crossover" between hardcore punk and thrash metal.
Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that originated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the decade and the first-wave of black metal. This genre is both raw and intense, drawing in global audiences and holding a legacy that inspires bands outside of the country. Brazilian thrash metal grew from a blend of thrash, progressive, and death metal influences around the world, expressing resistance, opposition, and rage. In a country experiencing political and social hardships, Brazilian metal became a way to express frustrations of young individuals longing for change in the system. The lack of resources led bands to self-release their music, rather than turning to a label. This style of thrash metal includes fast-paced rhythms and vocals that encapsulate the feelings of Brazil's people. Although some bands, like Sepultura and Nervosa have become mainstream, the scene remains an underground icon.
Concrete Sox are a British crust punk band. They are largely seen as an early crossover thrash band who incorporated many thrash metal-like riffs in the style of their earlier recordings.
Desaster are a German black/thrash metal band formed in Koblenz in 1988. Their lyrical themes involve war, hate and Satanism.
Toxic Holocaust is an American thrash metal band from Portland, Oregon.
Skitzo is a thrash metal band from Santa Rosa, California, United States. The band was formed in 1981 in Healdsburg, California, when Lance Ozanix and several other people joined and called their band Venom. The name was later changed to Skitzo, after discovering that there is already a band with the same name.
Vektor is an American technical thrash metal band from Tempe, Arizona. Their music is heavily themed around scientific, philosophical, futuristic and astronomical topics.
Shaun Ross is a bassist from Venice, California, and member of Excel, a band he performed with from 1985 until its dissolution. He took his first inspirations from very different kinds of music, like Rudimentary Peni, Jungle Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone and Deep Purple. Also he released an EP with the Thrash metal group Hirax in 2001.
Jorge Iacobellis is an Argentine drummer, tour promoter and producer primarily known as the drummer of the thrash metal band Hirax and former drummer of Todos Tus Muertos. He promoted and produced international bands on tour such as Kreator, Sick of It All, Viper, Ratos de Porão and Testament and assisted in the tour productions with Kiss, Iron Maiden, Machine Head, Jerry Lee Lewis, Motörhead, Exodus, Sepultura, Ramones, Poison, REO Speedwagon, Slayer and L.A. Guns.
Kraptor is a thrash metal band from San Cristóbal, Venezuela.
Nuclear is a Chilean thrash metal band founded in Arica, Chile, in 1998. The band has gone through several lineup changes and is currently signed to the label Candlelight Records.
