The beginning of Thrash Metal and the "Big Four"
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The genre emerged in the early 1980s as musicians began fusing the double bass drumming and
complex guitar stylings of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) with the speed and aggression of hardcore punk.
Philosophically, thrash metal developed as a backlash against both the conservatism of the Reagan Era and the much more moderate, pop-influenced, and widely accessible heavy metal subgenre of glam metal which also
developed concurrently in the 1980s.
The genre was commercially successful during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, with the "Big Four" of thrash metal – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax – being joined by Exodus, Overkill, Testament, and
Sepultura, as well as the "Big Four" and of German thrash metal: Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard.
The Big Four
Metallica
Metallica is an American thrash metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich.
Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Metallica first found commercial success with the
release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which is cited.
The band's next album, ...And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. Its fifth album, Metallica (1991), achieved substantial commercial success and made it the best-selling album of
the SoundScan era.
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Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California formed in 1981. Slayer's final lineup comprised Araya, King, Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt.
The band's lyrics and album art has been highly influential, being cited by many bands as an influence musically, visually and lyrically; the band's third album, Reign in Blood (1986), has been described as one of
the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums.
Slayer released twelve studio albums, sold 5 million copies in the United States from 1991 to 2013 and over 20 million worldwide. The band has received five Grammy Award nominations. Slayer announced in January 2018
that it would embark on a farewell tour, which took place from May 2018 to November 2019.
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Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine.
In 1985, Megadeth released their debut album, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!, on the independent record label Combat Records, to moderate success. It caught the attention of bigger labels The band
went on to release a number of platinum-selling albums, including So Far, So Good... So What! (1988), Rust in Peace (1990), and Countdown to Extinction (1992). These albums, along with worldwide tours, brought them
public recognition. Megadeth earned platinum certifications in the United States for five of its sixteen studio albums, and has received twelve Grammy nominations.
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Anthrax
Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist
Jonathan Donais.
Anthrax's third full-length record Among the Living (1987) brought the band mainstream success for the first time, and is recognised as one of the greatest thrash metal albums.
The album Sound of White Noise (1993), reached number seven on the Billboard 200 chart (their greatest chart success) and spawned the radio hit "Only", Worship Music (2011) was released to critical and commercial
success, reaching number twelve on the Billboard 200. The band's most recent album to date, For All Kings, was released in 2016.
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