353: CELTIC FROST

When Hellhammer broke up in the mid eighties, it gave frontman Tom G. Warrior and bassist Martin Eric Ain the opportunity to form a new band. One that would go on to be pioneers of multiple extreme metal genres as well as avant-garde metal. That band was, of course, the mighty Celtic Frost. In 1985 …

344: STRAPPING YOUNG LAD

When Devin Townsend, heavy metal alchemist and all around musical genius, set about creating his musical project, Strapping Young Lad, it was a shock to the Canadian metal scene. With the perfectly titled debut, ‘Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing’, Townsend combined elements of thrash, death, and industrial metal, and more, into a monstrous wall …

333: BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

It really only took BFMV less than fifteen years to become one of the bigger metal bands touring today, and it doesn’t take much time with their catalogue to understand why. Not unlike Trivium, BFMV were initially labelled metalcore but by relying heavily on thrash influences and a general hard rock sound, they produced a …

302: MEGADETH

The final member of the Big 4 of Thrash for me to write about, Megadeth are often considered the more technically proficient of the four. Dave Mustaine’s writing and playing style, while still rooted in thrash, leans more into speed and complex compositions. Megadeth’s sound has always been elaborate in structure, and often dealing in …

301: ANTHRAX

I’ll always have a soft spot for Anthrax. They were basically the first “proper” metal band I got into and, with their more raucous, fun take on thrash, were my gateway into that world and beyond. Because that’s how I’ve always seen them when it comes to their fellow Big 4 bands - they’re the …

300: METALLICA

It could be said, for most people, that if tasked with naming a metal band, the first name that would come to mind would be Metallica. As one of ‘The Big Four’ (alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax) Metallica helped spearhead thrash metal. By taking the power of NWOBHM and supercharging it with punk influences, thrash …