I guess your Music Cricket has a deep emotional bond with Thrash Metal. I’ve already shared some of my thoughts on Slayer and Sepultura... But when you talk Thrash, you have to begin with Metallica and the other San Francisco Bay Thrashers. (BTW: have you heard the news that Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax are going to tour together next year for the first time since ever?) When I first heard Metallica (back in 1983) with my best buddies, Sander and Yuri, I was blown away. I loved the raw aggression which provided a terrific release for all my pent up stress and frustration. As I said, I thought that Slayer was a tad too extreme for me at the time. And I soon lost interest in Heavy Metal altogether. Only after I regained that interest did I pay any attention to the other bands in the genre.
You don’t have to be a Metalhead to know that Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine was once in Metallica, but got thrown out in favor of Kirk Hammett (ex-Exodus). Everyone who saw Some Kind of Monster remembers the teary-eyed reunion when Mustaine admits being jealous of Metallica’s fame. But all the Bay Thrashers have, at one point or another, borrowed members from each other. I won’t say I dislike Megadeth, but I’ve never gotten used to Mustaine’s voice ... and I find much of their output after the eighties overly mainstream.
Of the Big Four Thrash Metal bands, Anthrax is the only one not from the SF Bay Area. I like most of their albums, certainly the earlier stuff with singer Joey Belladona. I respect their crossover attitude combining Hardcore Punk elements and even Hip-Hop Rap (even if that means we have Anthrax to blame for Nü Metal crap like KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Soil, Staind, and whatnot). Trailing somewhat behind the Big Four, are fellow Bay Thrashers Exodus and Testament (both good straightforward Thrash in their early careers and honestly better now than any of the Big Four), as well as the skate-punk crossover Suicidal Tendencies. There was also a Canadian Metal Scene (believe it or not), including Anvil (remember when we saw that movie?), Exciter, Voivod, and Annihilator. Only recently did I finally listen to the classic Teutonic Thrash album Agent Orange by Sodom. Man, what a tremendous album! That’s enough thrash for now.
You don’t have to be a Metalhead to know that Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine was once in Metallica, but got thrown out in favor of Kirk Hammett (ex-Exodus). Everyone who saw Some Kind of Monster remembers the teary-eyed reunion when Mustaine admits being jealous of Metallica’s fame. But all the Bay Thrashers have, at one point or another, borrowed members from each other. I won’t say I dislike Megadeth, but I’ve never gotten used to Mustaine’s voice ... and I find much of their output after the eighties overly mainstream.Of the Big Four Thrash Metal bands, Anthrax is the only one not from the SF Bay Area. I like most of their albums, certainly the earlier stuff with singer Joey Belladona. I respect their crossover attitude combining Hardcore Punk elements and even Hip-Hop Rap (even if that means we have Anthrax to blame for Nü Metal crap like KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Soil, Staind, and whatnot). Trailing somewhat behind the Big Four, are fellow Bay Thrashers Exodus and Testament (both good straightforward Thrash in their early careers and honestly better now than any of the Big Four), as well as the skate-punk crossover Suicidal Tendencies. There was also a Canadian Metal Scene (believe it or not), including Anvil (remember when we saw that movie?), Exciter, Voivod, and Annihilator. Only recently did I finally listen to the classic Teutonic Thrash album Agent Orange by Sodom. Man, what a tremendous album! That’s enough thrash for now.
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