Thrash metal (sometimes referred to simply as thrash), is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression. Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. Thrash metal lyrics often deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory language, an approach which partially overlaps with the hardcore genre.

The "Big Four" bands of thrash metal are Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer, who simultaneously created and popularized the genre in the early 1980s. The origins of thrash metal are generally traced to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a number of bands began incorporating the sound of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, creating a new genre and developing into a separate movement from punk rock and hardcore. This genre is more aggressive compared to its relative, speed metal, and can be seen in part to be a reaction to the lighter, more widely acceptable sounds and themes of glam metal.

Thrash metal generally features fast tempos, low-registers, complex guitar riffs, high-register guitar solos, double bass drumming, and aggressive vocals.

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