Editing Thrash metal (section)

=====First wave (1984–1986)=====
The popularity of thrash metal increased in 1984 with the release of Metallica's sophomore record ''[[Ride the Lightning]]'', as well as Anthrax's debut ''[[Fistful of Metal]]'' and [[Metal Church]]'s [[Metal Church (album)|eponymous debut album]].<ref name="goldminemag"/> Slayer and [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]] released extended plays on independent labels during this era, ''[[Haunting the Chapel]]'' and ''[[Overkill (EP)|Overkill]]'' respectively. This led to a heavier-sounding form of thrash, which was reflected in Exodus' debut album ''[[Bonded by Blood]]'', Slayer's ''[[Hell Awaits]]'' and Anthrax's ''[[Spreading the Disease]]'', all three released in 1985. Several other debut albums were released that same year, including Megadeth's ''[[Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!]]'', Overkill's ''[[Feel the Fire (Overkill album)|Feel the Fire]]'', Kreator's ''[[Endless Pain]]'', Destruction's ''[[Infernal Overkill]]'', [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]]'s ''[[Seven Churches (album)|Seven Churches]]'', [[Celtic Frost]]'s ''[[To Mega Therion (album)|To Mega Therion]]'', [[Watchtower (band)|Watchtower]]'s ''[[Energetic Disassembly]]'' and the [[Sepultura]] EP ''[[Bestial Devastation]]''. ''Seven Churches'' and ''To Mega Therion'' are often credited for pioneering and popularizing the mid-1980s [[extreme metal]] scene (as well as the then-developing genres of [[death metal]] and [[black metal]], respectively),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/30-years-of-possessed-s-seven-churches|title=30 Years Of Possessed's Seven Churches|website=[[Metal Hammer|loudersound.com]]|date=16 October 2015|access-date=August 6, 2022|archive-date=6 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806164123/https://www.loudersound.com/features/30-years-of-possessed-s-seven-churches|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2015/04/06/celtic-frost-to-mega-therion/|title=Celtic Frost – 'To Mega Therion'|website=[[Decibel (magazine)|decibelmagazine.com]]|date=6 April 2015|access-date=August 6, 2022|archive-date=6 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806164234/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2015/04/06/celtic-frost-to-mega-therion/|url-status=live}}</ref> while ''Energetic Disassembly'' has been cited as the first [[progressive metal|progressive/technical thrash metal]] album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://themetalfiles.com/2009/10/04/watchtower-energetic-disassembly-1985/|title=Watchtower – Energetic Disassembly (1985)|website=The Metal Files|date=5 October 2009|access-date=25 June 2021|archive-date=28 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228140226/https://themetalfiles.com/2009/10/04/watchtower-energetic-disassembly-1985/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Slayer, The Fields of Rock, 2007.jpg|thumb|Slayer (pictured in 2007) released ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' in 1986, considered a landmark achievement in the genre's history.]]
From a creative standpoint, the year 1986 was perhaps the pinnacle of thrash metal,{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} as a number of critically acclaimed and genre-defining albums were released. Metallica's major label debut ''[[Master of Puppets]]'' was released in March, becoming the first thrash album to be certified platinum, being certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); it would be the band's last album to feature bassist [[Cliff Burton]], who was killed in a bus accident six months after its release. Kreator released ''[[Pleasure to Kill]]'' in April 1986, which would later be a major influence on the death metal scene.<ref>{{cite web|first=Cosmo |last=Lee |title=Interview with Cannibal Corpse |url=http://invisibleoranges.com/interviews/cannibalcorpse.html |publisher=[[Invisible Oranges]] |year=2006 |access-date=29 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703180313/http://invisibleoranges.com/interviews/cannibalcorpse.html |archive-date=3 July 2007 }}</ref> Megadeth released ''[[Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?]]'' in September, an album which proved to be the band's commercial and critical breakthrough and which [[AllMusic]] later cited as "a classic of early thrash".<ref>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Megadeth: Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/peace-sellsbut-whos-buying-bonus-tracks-mw0000650486|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=26 August 2014|archive-date=26 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926062844/http://www.allmusic.com/album/peace-sellsbut-whos-buying-bonus-tracks-mw0000650486|url-status=live}}</ref> Slayer, regarded as one of the most sinister thrash metal bands of the early 1980s,<ref name="Rockd">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,8188.sm |title=Slayer band page|publisher=Rockdetector.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184733/http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,8188.sm |archive-date=30 September 2007|access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2016}} released ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' in October, an album considered by some to have single-handedly inspired the death metal genre.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Huey|title=Slayer: Reign in Blood|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=10 August 2010|archive-date=14 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014044933/http://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in October, [[Nuclear Assault]] released their debut album ''[[Game Over (Nuclear Assault album)|Game Over]]'', followed a month later by [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]]'s ''[[Darkness Descends]]'', which marked the debut of  drummer [[Gene Hoglan]]. [[Flotsam and Jetsam (band)|Flotsam and Jetsam]]'s debut album ''[[Doomsday for the Deceiver]]'' (released on the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]] in 1986) received some attention as well, due to the album being "the first of only a handful" to ever receive a 6K rating from ''[[Kerrang!]]'' magazine, and it is also notable for featuring a then-unknown [[Jason Newsted]], who, not long after the album's release, joined Metallica as Burton's replacement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flotstildeath.com/discography/doomsday-for-the-deceiver/|title=Doomsday For The Deceiver (Studio Album) - Flotsam and Jetsam|website=flotstildeath.com|access-date=31 March 2022|archive-date=17 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117160402/https://www.flotstildeath.com/discography/doomsday-for-the-deceiver/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also during the mid-to-late 1980s, bands such as [[Suicidal Tendencies]], [[Dirty Rotten Imbeciles|D.R.I.]], [[Stormtroopers of Death|S.O.D.]] (who featured three-fifths of Anthrax), and [[Corrosion of Conformity]] paved the way to what became known as [[crossover thrash]], a fusion genre that lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk, and is arguably faster and more aggressive than thrash metal.<ref name="DRI">{{cite web|url=http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/dri-biography-dirty-rotten-imbeciles-band.html|title=D.R.I. - Biography - Dirt Rotten Imbeciles - DRI - Crossover Thrash - Kurt Brecht - Spike Cassidy|website=Fullinbloommusic.com|access-date=6 June 2021|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917064341/http://fullinbloommusic.com/dri-biography-dirty-rotten-imbeciles-band.html|url-status=live}}</ref>