Metal had no where to go but faster at around 1980...SLow and heavy had been done, but speed only had a few landmarks...Motorhead(the godfathers), inspired moments of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and lots of lesser known, underground groups that would make up a sub-genre-critic-termed New Wave of British Heavy metal. Around 80-81 bands started to pop up that were playing very fast, lots of open-E chugga chugga riffing...Venom, Anvil, etc. In the US, particularly on the west coast, metal bands were being exposed to hardcore...Metallica, in LA, then Frisco were fans of punk as well as being deep metal nerds, as were their peers Exodus, Testament, etc...Slayer, from So Cal were taking the Judas Priest blueprint and adding the speed and agression they were gleaning from hardcore. They also added a healthy does fo Satan. The talented were able to meld the 2 into real music...but thrash actually were lots of bands trying to distance themsleves from hair/party/day glo spandex metal...also at the time there were also a bunch of hardcore/punk bands embracing metal as well...
of course about 5 years later, the industry exploited it and it was referred to as "crossover"...
Add the speed of this plus the prevailing do-it-yourself ethos of punk and NWOBHM, and US equivalents like Dead Kennedies, add hordes of kids around the world sick to death of the excesses of the traditional rock gods and you get the ingredients for thrash. Add some tranquilising drugs to that mix, hordes of kids who could no longer face glamming up for Goth and you set the scene for grunge.
Also skateboarding should be mentioned as an influence on thrash being accepted on a worldwide basis. Not being a skater, however, I am ill-equipped to discuss this aspect.
Henry Rollins describes it (in the documentary "Punk:Attitude") as the moment that the "F*ck YEAH!!" dudes picked up guitars, post Black Flag. He also describes it as very homo-erotic.
Comments
of course about 5 years later, the industry exploited it and it was referred to as "crossover"...
Add the speed of this plus the prevailing do-it-yourself ethos of punk and NWOBHM, and US equivalents like Dead Kennedies, add hordes of kids around the world sick to death of the excesses of the traditional rock gods and you get the ingredients for thrash. Add some tranquilising drugs to that mix, hordes of kids who could no longer face glamming up for Goth and you set the scene for grunge.
Also skateboarding should be mentioned as an influence on thrash being accepted on a worldwide basis. Not being a skater, however, I am ill-equipped to discuss this aspect.
i aint never heard of nobody makin music on a skateboard
If anybody's done it, I'm sure it was these guys:
"Skate or Bate"
Change the world
Grab yourself a skate
Do a grinder on the Capitol steps
Show the politicians what life is about
Make skates not guns
Drop acid not bombs
Train people how to skate
Not how to go to the next Vietnam
Promote fun - not violence
Skate or bate, man
It makes a F*ck of a lot more sense
If we all don't skate . . .
The world's gonna end in a mess!
He should know.
ZING!