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Blazing out of the fires of heavy metallic element and adopting the stride and aggression of the burgeoning hardcore trend , thrash metal was the defining sound of heavy music in the 1980s . That intact crusade was based upon ruthless speed and a take - no - prisoners posture , inspired by the double - kick drum lead , punk n ' roll assault of Motorhead , the raspy bitchiness of Venom , and the rant of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement .
From its inception , four band have powered thrash metal ’s live on popularity . Metallica , Megadeth , Anthrax , and Slayer each have varying characteristic and approaches to thrash , but all have pass the mental test of clock time to lead a mark on the face of heavy metal eternally . This listing examines each stria ’s contributions to thrash , the eubstance of their output , and the estimable and spoiled decisions that have impart to the live on legacies they have each left on heavy euphony .
4Anthrax
Thrash Gave Birth To One Of Metal’s Most Underappreciated Bands
Anthrax are one of the most significant band to ever play ponderous euphony . The New York thrashers are often last place when this conversation comes around , but that ’s more to do with the quality of the other three stripe than any soil on Anthrax . Scott Ian ’s Germanic veracious - hand and his iconic headstomp have all the stylemark to make him thrash ’s Angus Young , Anthrax are the band that gave thrash its signature face of boardshorts and hightops , andtheir spell and collaboration with Public Enemy made metal coolheaded than anyone else in The Big Fourever handle .
When it comes to ranking The Big Four , Anthrax ’s Graeco-Roman Sung are the most bound to the 1980s . While John Bush had a more present-day style that made Anthrax voice sturdy and more streetwise , Joey Belladonna is a Isaac Merrit Singer whose vocal register and expressive style is stuck in the decade of Conan The Barbarian and Predator . With the least amount of bonafide classic album among their peer , Anthrax rank last on this listing , but that does n’t exclude them from being one of the great heavy metal bands to ever do it .
3Megadeth
Flawless Musicianship And Punk Rock Attitude From Mustaine & His Band
Just as some find it arduous to admit they love The Smiths because of Morrissey , Megadeth have had a jolting road with metal ’s larger fanbase , because Dave Mustaine insists on doing things that are n’t playing guitar and vocalizing . Because when Dave Mustaine is just playing guitar and vocalizing , conjuring trick happens . rust fungus In Peaceis a unflawed tidal wave of technical wizardry and middle fingerbreadth position , Megadeth are the most musically talented ensemble of The Big Four , and Vic Rattlehead and the band ’s logotype are some of the most iconic image to ever sanctify dense music .
There ’s a lot to bonk about Megadeth : but there ’s also a lot to acknowledge here to counter that too . Mustaine ’s vocals can be distractingly nasal , and he has proved controversial - to say the least - thanks to some of the thing he ’s quite happily allege in interview . And on a musical note , Megadeth ’s creative low are the lowly of The Big Four by some distance : RiskandSuper Colliderare only more astonishing because of the quality of songs like " Tornado Of Souls " .
2Slayer
Thrash’s Hardest And Fastest Band Continue To Reign
The dissolute , dense and smutty of The Big Four , Slayer boast a back catalogue that is a gold mine of pace and power , and which has enough breakneck speed to melt the flesh from your case . Slayer ’s live show was always the stuff of caption , they looked the coolest of The Big Four , and their recorded production is one of the most consistent of any banding in heavy euphony .
While most of thrash ’s big four fight with their individuality in the ' 90s , Slayer thrived by leaning into their barbarity , notably on the blood - soaked video forSerenity In Murderand covering the like of Minor Threat and D.R.I. on the hard-core cover album , Undisputed Attitude . There ’s the correctly malignedDiabolus In Musica , but that ’s part of why they ’re not top of this list .
Slayer always prided their whole brand on being the hard - hitting and least phony of The Big Four . Their decision to reverse their 18 - month global farewell tour and to have 63 - class - old Tom Araya tattle " War Ensemble " was misdirect at well . At worst , Slayer ’s reunion spell threatens the credibleness they builtas a no - nonsense functioning , but their legacy is unquestionable .
1Metallica
Metallica’s ’80s Output Is SImply Untouchable
There is a legitimate argument thatMetallica ’s first four album can be described as complete . As gravid as anyone else but with more skill , top executive and songwriting power than their generation , Metallica ’s thrash era changed the fount of metal evermore . They are the band that is credit with start thrash , and the structure in their songs made weighed down metal a spacious and more engaging art shape . More hood than the punks onMotorbreath , and more prog than the prog giants all the way through the … And Justice For Allalbum , everything Metallica touched in the 1980s twist to gold .
How you experience about Metallica after this point will wildly differ . Those who line up their obsession in Metallica when they pound out aggression can be forgiven for faltering at " Nothing Else Matters " , but the monumental sonic power of " Sad But True " , and the authentic soul of " The Unforgiven " were far less easy to dismiss . There have since been questions over the Lollapalooza - geological era eyeliner , theSome Kind Of Monsterdocumentary , the Lou Reed album , and later lively shows , but James , Lars , Kirk , and Rob proceed to receive new devotee by the stadium - load . And no matter what , Metallica ’s thrash period remains one of the hottest streaks in the account of recorded medicine .
