1 definition by Leannee(:

A fucking awesome subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by high speed riffing and aggression.
Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work.

Possibly the four biggest bands in the Thrash Metal genre include: Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, and Anthrax.

Thrash guitar solos are almost exclusively played at high speed, as they are usually characterized by shredding, and use techniques such as sweep picking, legato phrasing, alternate picking, string skipping, and two-hand tapping. Thrash lead guitarists are rooted in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.

The speed and pacing of the songs is what defines thrash metal. The music tends to have a visceral, propellant feel to it due to its drumming style, most commonly utilizing the snare drum on the 1/2 beat, or the 2nd and 4th beats of the measure. Frantic bass drum use is also common. Thrash drummers often use two bass drums. Some thrash drummers are revered as some of the "best drummers in rock music".
Most famous thrash metal bands: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax.
by Leannee(: August 7, 2008
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