Bay Area thrash metal
Bay Area thrash metal | |
---|---|
Other names | Bay Area thrash |
Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | The San Francisco, California |
Local scenes | |
The San Francisco Bay Area |
Bay Area thrash metal (also known as Bay Area thrash) referred to a steady following of heavy metal bands in the 1980s who formed and gained international status in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.[1] Along with Central Florida, the scene was widely regarded as a starting point of American thrash metal, crossover thrash and death metal.[2][3]
History
Exodus and Metallica
The earliest documented roots of the Bay Area thrash scene date back to the formation of Exodus in 1979.[4] By the time the group recorded their full-length album four years later, five different guitarists or bassists had already passed through the lineup, with some going on to join or form bands that were equally relevant to the area's burgeoning metal scene.[5] In November 1982, Exodus opened a show at San Francisco's Old Waldorf venue for Metallica,[6] a then-relatively unknown (and unsigned) band from Southern California who were recently discovered by Brian Slagel and had appeared on the first volume of his Metal Massacre compilation. Exodus (who were also unsigned at this time) had distributed an untitled demo the same year with a lineup that included guitarist Kirk Hammett.
Although Metallica had initially formed in Los Angeles, it was not until their February 1983 relocation to the
Metallica's signing to Megaforce Records, the release of their first album and the songwriting process and rehearsals for Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets had all taken place while the group resided at Whitaker's El Cerrito home.[8]
Networking between local bands
Burton and Hammett's friendship with other local acts, notably Oakland's Exodus and Testament, and later, San Francisco's Death Angel—among others—strongly vitalized the scene, leading to intensive touring and tape trading that would cross borders and seas, and eventually graduate to record signings.[9][10][11]
Members from Possessed had also maintained a strong network with other integral musicians of the Bay Area thrash scene: vocalist
After Possessed's first disbanding, LaLonde went on to join
Networking between bands in other scenes
Heavy metal in Southern California had spanned back to the 1970s, and in the 1980s, was the home base of Slayer and Megadeth, two of thrash's "big four". However, from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s, glam metal had been the pervading and popular subgenre within the boundaries of the Los Angeles scene.[19]
Notwithstanding, both Slayer and Megadeth would receive recognition early in their careers by playing at Bay Area venues, including Berkeley's Ruthie's Inn with Exodus between 1984–85, a time in which current Slayer guitarist Kerry King had played alongside Mustaine in Megadeth. Oakland native Jeff Hanneman was a founding Slayer member; Paul Bostaph (formerly of Forbidden, and later Exodus and Testament) had been Slayer's full-time drummer for the balance of the 1990s. Similarly, drummer Dave Lombardo played on Testament's The Gathering album before returning to Slayer in 2004.[21]
In 1987, shortly after the release of Scream Bloody Gore and Schuldiner's move back to Florida, Reifert would form his own endeavor,
Musical characteristics
Influences
As different thrash metal scenes developed around the world throughout the 1980s, each had their own distinct style and influence.
Several early luminaries of the Bay Area scene borrowed heavily from the
Other bands, such as
Attitude Adjustment's style, "crossover thrash", a grindcore precursor, would influence many bands of the latter subgenre, including chief innovator, the British band Napalm Death, who would cover Attitude Adjustment's "Dope Fiend" and Hirax's "Hate, Fear, and Power" on an exclusive covers album (coincidentally, the Hirax track had featured Attitude Adjustment drummer Eric Brecht on the original 1986 recording). Hirax, while Orange County, California-based, had many connections to bands of the Bay Area thrash scene, as the group had played at Ruthie's Inn, and in past lineups, featured Paul Baloff (formerly of Exodus and Heathen) and Ron McGovney (Metallica's first bassist).[25]
Jeff Becerra of Possessed cites early
Image, themes, philosophies and lifestyle
In regards to heavy metal and image, Sadus co-founder Steve DiGiorgio explained:
...in high school, if you were playing any kind of music that wasn't dance, or just something that was really different—you know, rock, metal or hard rock, anything like that—then you needed to look like it. You needed to look like a bad dude, and we just looked like normal dudes....It wasn't about trying to impress everybody, because we looked at those types of people as weenies trying to do that stuff ... We just wore our normal stuff and we didn't really think about it. It just kind of happened that way and I think because we were searching for an extreme style, coupled with this no image, who-cares-what-we-look-like thing, then I think we fit in to that new movement that we discovered a little ways later, the whole Bay Area thrash scene.[31]
For logos, many bands within the Bay Area scene had a more "do it yourself"-artistic approach[32] compared to the older metal bands using an already established font. Conversely, professional illustrators (most notably Ed Repka on Beyond the Gates, Eternal Nightmare, Product of Society, and Scream Bloody Gore) were sometimes utilized to design album art.
Lyrical topics generally dealt in themes like the occult, horror, death,
Dave Mustaine's association to the Bay Area scene was limited to his brief El Cerrito tenure with Metallica (in addition to the early
At live shows, members of Exodus were forward in their disdain for the glam metal scene in Los Angeles, making the phrase "kill the posers" a common stage mantra; guitarist Gary Holt often recalled how both he and then-singer Paul Baloff would approach individuals wearing
While Vio-lence had been signed to a major label (MCA Records) for their 1988 debut album, a rare feat for any 2nd wave thrash band, then-guitarist Robb Flynn described tour life:
...we were all like nineteen ... our stuff was crammed into the van, no hotels, crashing out on people's floors and shit like that. (Then-Vio-lence manager) Debbie (Abono) came out with us for a few dates and those ruled because we'd get to eat at Denny's. We'd just eat as much as humanly possible and hopefully we'd eat at the show, but we had absolutely no spending money. We weren't making anything, that's for sure, maybe we made $50 a night.[38]
Decline
By the early 1990s, the scene had mostly died down, with many groups disbanding, going on hiatus or venturing to musical styles deemed more commercial or accessible at the time.
Oakland thrash metal band Vio-lence would dissolve, leading guitarist Robb Flynn to form and front Machine Head, who would help popularize the groove metal genre.[39] Flynn (who had also co-founded Forbidden) would be joined by drummer Chris Kontos (formerly of Attitude Adjustment) and later guitarist Phil Demmel, who played alongside Flynn in Vio-lence.
Vocalist Steev Esquivel would take a similar direction to Flynn after the 1994 breakup of his thrash metal band, Defiance, when he formed groove metal/nu metal group, Skinlab, the following year.
Possessed would disband in 1989 after vocalist/bassist Becerra was
The 2008 documentary film Get Thrashed attributed thrash's disintegration to
Despite lineup shifts and label changes,
Almost in tandem with grunge's receding vogue, and the increasing popularity of
Out of all bands from the Bay Area metal scene,
Revival
In August 2001, a small "reunion" of Bay Area thrash metal bands organized Thrash of the Titans, promoted to help Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, who had been diagnosed with cancer, as well as Death's Chuck Schuldiner, who was ailing from a brain tumor. Although Death was based in Orlando, Florida, Schuldiner had relocated the group to the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1980s while pooling a lineup.
The classic Vio-lence lineup (minus Machine Head's Robb Flynn), Death Angel, Heathen, Forbidden (going under their original name, Forbidden Evil), Anthrax, Sadus, Stormtroopers of Death and Exodus were among the performers. Schuldiner died from cancer four months later, and Exodus' singer Paul Baloff died from a stroke the following year.[53] However, Testament's singer, Chuck Billy, survived cancer.
Death Angel and Heathen would reform and record new albums as a result of their reunions for the benefit concert, and Exodus, who had been on semi-hiatus at the time, asked 1980s era singer Steve Souza to rejoin the band after Baloff's death, also leading to a new album.
On July 9, 2005, a "sequel" concert, Thrash Against Cancer, took place, featuring Testament, Lȧȧz Rockit and Hirax, with Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar.[54][55]
Notable venues
This article may relate to relocate relevant information and remove irrelevant ones. (May 2020) |
The Chatterbox, San Francisco
- Formerly Graffiti. Hosted early 1980s punk shows.[56]
- NOFX: July 1, 1988[57]
- Hell's Kitchen: February 25, 1989
The Fillmore, San Francisco
- Exodus & Forbidden: July 14, 1989 (Recorded and released as the live album Good Friendly Violent Fun)
- Testament: 1995 (Recorded and released as the live album Live at the Fillmore)
- Metallica: 2003 and 2011
The Old Waldorf, San Francisco
Hosted some of Metallica's first shows in the Bay Area.
Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco
Metallica, Armored Saint, & Death Angel: March 14 & 15, 1985[58][59]
Megadeth and Exodus: May 31, 1985[60]
The Farm, San Francisco
Exodus and Heathen: July 17 & 18, 1986. These were Zetro's first shows singing for Exodus.
The Keystone, Berkeley & Palo Alto
At Berkeley's Keystone: Megadeth, April 15, 1984[61]
Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco
Located at 435 Broadway in San Francisco, this club held a number of shows for hardcore and thrash bands.
Death Angel, Possessed, and Testament: February 23, 1985
On Broadway, San Francisco
Open from 1984–1985, second floor of 435 Broadway, also called "
Ruthie's Inn, Berkeley
Prior to, and upon moving back
From 1982 to 1988, the club was an early local venue for Metallica,[67] Megadeth, Death, Slayer, Exodus, Possessed, Death Angel, Testament, Suicidal Tendencies, Vio-lence, Forbidden and D.R.I., in addition to presenting punk rock groups. Cliff Burton had also been a regular in the audience.[68]
The club was eventually converted into a restaurant, Rountree's, in 2002. On December 31, 2006, the venue's original founder, Wes Robinson, died at age 77.[69][70] In a Berkeley Daily Planet op-ed, Robinson was remembered for focusing on "freshness and originality of the music and passion of its artists rather than the commercial appeal."[71][69]
In 1982,
Aquatic Park, Berkeley
From, at least, 1981 to 1984,[75][76] Wes Robinson held a music festival at Aquatic Park known as "Eastern Front" or "Day on the Dirt". The 1984 Eastern Front featured Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus, and Slayer, which became known as "the Woodstock of Bay Area thrash metal".[77] This show may be an early crossover thrash show.
The Stone, San Francisco
The Stone is attributed for hosting Burton's first concert appearance with Metallica,[78] and would lead to repeat performances from other thrash acts, such as Megadeth[61][79] and Dark Angel.[80]
The Warfield, San Francisco
The 1920s vaudeville theater the Warfield featured a myriad of thrash metal bands during the 1980s and was the exclusive location for Slayer's War at the Warfield video in 2003.
The Omni, Oakland
Testament, Vio-lence and Forbidden: May 6, 1988
Testament and Vio-lence: August 18, 1989
Death Angel: November 3, 1989
Death: March 30, 1990
San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
Metallica, Exodus, Metal Church & Megadeth: December 31, 1985.
Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, Oakland
Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus, Possessed & Verbal Abuse: July 26, 1985. Show is also known as "Summer Slam".
Scottish Rites Temple, Oakland
Suicidal Tendencies, Testament, & Forbidden: November 26, 1986.
River Theatre, Guerneville
Exodus and Testament: January 10, 1986
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