Editing Heavy metal music (section)

====Thrash metal====
{{Main|Thrash metal}}
[[File:Slayer, The Fields of Rock, 2007.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|alt=The band Slayer is shown at concert. From left to right are an electric guitarist, a bass player (also singing), an electric guitarists, and a drummer. The first guitarist and bassist have long hair. The right-most guitarist has a bald head. The drummer has two bass drums.|Thrash metal band [[Slayer]] performing in 2007 in front of a wall of speaker stacks]]
Thrash metal emerged in the early 1980s under the influence of [[hardcore punk]] and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal,<ref name=GTM>[{{AllMusic|class=style|id=speed-thrash-metal-ma0000002874|pure_url=yes}} "Genre—Thrash Metal"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 007</ref> particularly songs in the revved-up style known as [[speed metal]]. The movement began in the United States, with [[Bay Area thrash metal]] being the leading scene. The sound developed by thrash groups was faster and more aggressive than that of the original metal bands and their glam metal successors.<ref name=GTM/> Low-register guitar riffs are typically overlaid with [[shred guitar|shredding]] leads. Lyrics often express [[nihilism|nihilistic]] views or deal with [[social issues]] using visceral, gory language. Thrash has been described as a form of "urban blight music" and "a palefaced cousin of rap".<ref>Moynihan, Søderlind (1998), p. 26</ref>

The subgenre was popularized by the "Big Four of Thrash": [[Metallica]], [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], [[Megadeth]] and [[Slayer]].<ref>Walser (1993), p.14</ref> Three German bands, [[Kreator]], [[Sodom (band)|Sodom]] and [[Destruction (band)|Destruction]], played a central role in bringing the style to Europe. Others, including the San Francisco Bay Area's [[Testament (band)|Testament]] and [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], New Jersey's [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]], and Brazil's [[Sepultura]] and [[Sarcófago]], also had a significant impact. Although thrash metal began as an underground movement, and remained largely that for almost a decade, the leading bands of the scene began to reach a wider audience. Metallica brought the sound into the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' album chart in 1986 with ''[[Master of Puppets]]'', the genre's first Platinum record.<ref>Nicholls (1997), p. 378</ref> Two years later, the band's album ''[[...And Justice for All (album)|...{{nbsp}}And Justice for All]]'' hit No. 6, while Megadeth and Anthrax also had top 40 records on the American charts.<ref>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Metallica|chart=all}} "Metallica—Artist Chart History"]; [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Megadeth|chart=all}} "Megadeth—Artist Chart History"]; [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=Anthrax|chart=all}} "Anthrax—Artist Chart History"]. Billboard.com. Retrieved 7 April 2007</ref>

Though less commercially successful than the rest of the Big Four, Slayer released one of the genre's definitive records: ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' (1986) was credited for incorporating heavier guitar [[timbre]]s and including explicit depictions of death, suffering, violence and occult into thrash metal's lyricism.<ref>Phillipov (2012), p. 15, 16</ref> Slayer attracted a following among [[white power skinhead|far-right skinheads]], and accusations of promoting violence and [[Nazism|Nazi]] themes have dogged the band.<ref>Moynihan, Søderlind (1998), p. 30; O'Neil (2001), p. 164</ref> Even though Slayer did not receive substantial media exposure, their music played a key role in the development of [[extreme metal]].<ref>Harrison (2011), p. 61</ref>

In the early 1990s, bands that got their start in thrash metal achieved breakout success, challenging and redefining the metal mainstream.<ref>Walser (1993), p. 15</ref> Metallica's [[Metallica (album)|self-titled 1991 album]] topped the ''Billboard'' chart,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1991-08-31/billboard-200 |title=Top 200 Albums|magazine=Billboard|date=22 January 2015|access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref> as the band established an international following.<ref>Harrison (2011), p. 60</ref> Megadeth's ''[[Countdown to Extinction]]'' (1992) debuted at No. 2,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1992-08-01/billboard-200 |title=Top 200 Albums|magazine=Billboard|date=22 January 2015|access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref> Anthrax and Slayer cracked the top 10,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1993-06-12/billboard-200 |title=Top 200 Albums|magazine=Billboard|date=22 January 2015|access-date=9 January 2022}}</ref> and albums by regional bands such as Testament and Sepultura entered the top 100.<ref>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=testament|chart=all}} Billboard 200 Chart Position: Testament – ''Ritual'', chart date: 30 May 1992]; [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=sepultura|chart=all}} Billboard 200 Chart Position: Sepultura – ''Chaos A.D.'', chart date: 6 November 1993]</ref>