The glory days of Thrash metal, as shown by Metallica live in concert.

For quite some time now, true thrash metal has been almost non-existent, but in parts of the world, in the underground scenes, and even in the mainstream, more bands are bringing it back. Of the big Thrash bands from back in the day (Sepultura, Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer, Exodus, Overkill, Kreator, Testament etc.), few are still active AND still making thrash metal. While thinking about thrash metal without the legends who made the genre what it is makes metalheads sad, there is still a lot to look forward to. The glory days of thrash may have passed, but a few glints of hope still remain.

If you look around on MySpace music through the “thrash” genre tag you will find many things, most of which is not thrash, and some that aren’t even metal. If you look deep enough, there is some good old thrash metal to be found. Most of these bands were either around in the 80’s, or are made up of teenagers who look and act like they are stuck in the 80’s. Fatal, Ravage, Evil Army, and Razormaze are just a few of the bands out there that are hot and are looking to break onto the metal scene in a big way. It’s not just the new guys, either. Slayer is still going strong, Metallica’s Death Magnetic was clearly turning more toward their old school sound, and Kreator just started a summer tour with Exodus – all well known bands in the thrash scene from the 80’s.

The OurStage library also has plenty of thrash to offer – a real sign that the genre is making a come back with new and younger bands. Deliverance, one of OurStage’s best metal bands, has been finishing in the top of the metal categories for several months. Their sound is pure thrash metal, and the metal fans on OurStage are loving it. Acerose and Writhing are other Ourstage bands with clear thrash influences. Writhing’s riffs could have been lifted from any Slayer album,but they take it to a more angry level with some death metal styled vocals. Give your ears a taste and join the thrash movement before it takes off: