Since thrash has made a bit of a comeback...

Why exactly did it die out? In the early to mid 90s, almost every thrash band on the planet changed their sound or split up (usually the latter). From around 1993-1994 until a year or two ago, even the underground metal record labels avoided thrash bands like a bubonic rat.

It's kind of weird how so many metal bands admitted that the thrash bands are among their favorites, but so few bands played the style for about a decade or so.

Now, I love death metal, it's probably my second favorite style of metal after thrash, but how come if thrash completely died off, death metal didn't? It's a bit weird if you ask me.

I don't think it died off at all. It quit getting the "push" from the mags, the big labels, etc. Thrash just went back into the underground from whence it came.

True, it didn't get the push. But even a researcher could look for new thrash bands in that era, and would be hard pressed to find one band in the mid to late 90s playing thrash.

Even the big name metal labels had no thrash bands on that roster in the mid to late 90s (or bands that did play thrash, but had since changed their style).

It was always in the underground to begin with, IMO. It was just an underground metal boom, not a mainstream one.

Anyways, my point is, there are TONS and TONS of thrash bands, both good and not so good, who released albums between 1983-1993 or whenever thrash "died". Try to find new bands releasing thrash albums between 1993-1998 or so, and you'd be extremely hard pressed. Not even underground metal labels were signing any thrash bands at this point. Even then, very few thrash bands were doing self released demos.

The scene had become very saturated with thrash and there were too many bands at one point. Not a bad thing at all. Grunge came along and the record labels seen a lot more money and such with those bands and forced thrash to go deep underground. There were still thrash bands, it was just hard to find them.

The thrash bands on the bigger labels got dropped, the bands that were thrash were changing sounds to keep themselves afloat.

Death metal also had a big play in it and some of the thrash bands went to a more death metal approach so they also could stay afloat.

I don't know, the more I listen to Perilous Times it blows my mind how
technically tallented thrash guitarists/musicians are compared to
todays alt-metal. It's a shame really. Very little offered today can
compare to that venue. I agree. I think Ult recently said they sent a
demo to some "bigger" labels and they said "that's not what we're
looking for". Apparently there not interested in anything but American
Idols and all the pop-tart celebs.

I am not talking about mainstream music record labels. Even underground metal labels hadn't signed thrash bands in this era.

As for death metal, there were a few death metal bands in the late 80s. There were some, but not many. It really had its boom between 1990-1992, with bands such as Suffocation, Monstrosity, Gorguts, Benediction, etc. Even then, if you read metal magazines and see metal labels (both more "popular" metal labels and underground ones), there are still death metal bands there. It never really "died" like thrash did.

Again, I love death metal. I was just using an example.

thrash never died, it just wasn't on mtv anymore.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

I don't think it died off at all. It quit getting the "push" from the mags, the big labels, etc. Thrash just went back into the underground from whence it came.

Yup. Genres don't die. They simply go underground. There are plenty of new grunge, nu-metal, and rapcore bands out there right now.

Thrash was the extreme for its time, then death metal became the new extreme. It then seemed relatively tame by comparison.

The bands that were the leaders of thrash went more commercial and that hurt the scene a lot.

After a few albums thrash bands had to change their sound or else it just felt like "same old same old" and most bands changed unsuccessfully, artistically and commercially.

The internet wasn't as big then to keep indie artists afloat.

KissinMaiden wrote:

thrash never died, it just wasn't on mtv anymore.

How many real thrash albums do you know that were released between 1993 and 1999? For all intents and purposes it was "dead" compared to the ten years prior.

Not to say that any genre can truly be "dead" as long as a good new song can be written in that style. That is my belief.

Temple of Blood wrote:

KissinMaiden wrote:

thrash never died, it just wasn't on mtv anymore.

How many real thrash albums do you know that were released between 1993 and 1999? For all intents and purposes it was "dead" compared to the ten years prior.

Not to say that any genre can truly be "dead" as long as a good new song can be written in that style. That is my belief.

There were some for sure, but there were less. The first band that came to mind from the late 90's for me was Blackend. They were a new, young German thrash band.

Hypnosia were another band who could be considered thrash when thrash was considered dead.

Violent Intensity, an EP, was released in 1999. Extreme Hatred, a full length, was released in 2000. They were working on a third album, but split up after that.

And Temple of Blood, you hit the nail on the head. It was insanely hard to find new thrash bands in that era, no matter what the quality of it was.

Quote :

How many real thrash albums do you know that were released between 1993 and 1999? For all intents and purposes it was "dead" compared to the ten years prior.

I know of 20 albums, which I know is not a lot, I am sure there are a LOT more though. Bands like Cranium, Guillotine, Artillery, Coroner, and more all released albums during that time

Lurideath wrote:

Quote :

How many real thrash albums do you know that were released between 1993 and 1999? For all intents and purposes it was "dead" compared to the ten years prior.

I know of 20 albums, which I know is not a lot, I am sure there are a LOT more though. Bands like Cranium, Guillotine, Artillery, Coroner, and more all released albums during that time

Detritus, Blackend, Overkill, Believer, Accu§er, Ultimatum...

I think it is a little bit tricky, as there is no 1 factor that "killed" thrash metal. I have 3 main factors which I think contributed the most:

1. Grunge! Yup, it darn near killed metal, and of course thrash, already a sub-genre, got an even great blow.

2. As others have said, death metal took over. During the early 90's, death was at it's peak. And where did death metal go when black metal took over? The same thing happened. thrash - death - black

3. Metallica! The other bands saw the success Metallica had with the black album, and many tried to copy them by going softer. Just look at Megadeth and Exodus during this time. And thrash metal as a vital, vicious sound and scene was now trying to become radio friendly.

i have got a few of the new apparent second wave thrash albums but it is really the third wave becuase the second wave was bands like testament and vio-lence.

the new breed like evile, municipal waste, dekapitator, sss, fueled by fire etc tend to play up the punkier side of thrash.

wow just listening sacred reichs cover of war pigs and it is awesome

I'll tell you why Thrash died out in the early 90's, it become to derivative of itself the scene became over crowded with new bands that had nothing new to offer (I aint gonna name em for fear of offending some people but you know who they are). Same thing happened with Glam. Major record labels that didn't have a clue were just signing thrash and glam bands bands left right and center because they played a style of music that was popular not because they were any good. Thats what killed it, it wasn't fresh or ground breaking anymore. Then when the Seattle bands came along with music that was so fresh, dangerous and exciting and quite frankly gave hard rock/metal the shot in the arm it needed the record buying public rightly flocked in huge numbers to the likes of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Nirvana. But also bands that were firmly rooted in thrash but gave it a new spin like Pantera, Sepultura, Machine Head etc. also did very well. Thrash shot itself in the foot, by playing up to it's time worn cliches. But Thrash isn't alone it happens to all music genres that become popular, history repeats itself over and over again. Just look at the European power metal scene, the state of it is terrible so many bad bands being signed to metal labels putting out 3rd rate helloween albums.
This is probably not the right guy to quote but anyway Poison drummer Rikki Rockett made a good point when he said in an article "Nothing ruins rock n' roll more than somebody over-playing it".

Actually that is good quote.

Thrash Metal isn't dead. Why do we keep listening to Metallica? 'Cuz we hope! Thrash isn't dead if people believe in it.