Thrash Metal Revival - What the hell happened?

So I was going through my music and glanced upon my nowadays dusting CD collection, when I noticed a few old thrash metal revival bands. Do you remember the thrash revival that was happening ten years ago? It was a brief wave of underground thrash bands that rose up to bring down the ever-prevailing kings of the 2000's, namely the metalcore bands.

I remember those times very well. It was in some ways my prime. I turned 15 in 2005 and thus was I part of that entire decade's ups and downs. Most "true" metalheads like myself did not really appreciate the metalcore scene all that much. In retrospect I've grown to love some bands that were lumped in with that scene (Chimaira, DevilDriver, etc.), but the bulk of it was really bad.

Idols at 16: Megadeth (1986) - Chris Poland, Gar Samuelson, Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson

In 2006 I was a full-blown thrasher. I had grown very fond of 80's thrash in 2005 and by the next year I was listening to it 24/7 (I literally used to sleep with headphones back then). I was fanboying early Megadeth (Peace Sells era) above all else and I particularly took a liking to "rawer" thrash bands. I liked thrash bands with heavy influences from Motörhead, rather than the polished and more technical stuff like Megadeth did with Rust in Peace. I did not, however, follow any modern metal scenes and was totally unaware of what was cooking beneath the surface.

By 2008 something just exploded. From seemingly out of nowhere came hundreds of young new bands that played classic thrash metal. It was like a sonic revolution. For years everybody had been talking about how bad metalcore was and how they hated it, including my own band, but it took several years for anyone to properly react. By the time it came, however, it came down hard and without showing any mercy.

Who doesn't remember that album cover by Fueled By Fire? A thrasher beating up two emo kids. It was badass! Or why not the revival of Ed Repka artworks? You know, the guy who did artwork for some of the genre's best regarded masterpieces. Hell, his artwork was often just as synonymous with a record as the actual band, musicians and music. Sometimes even more so. Thrash metal was truly reborn and kicking ass by 2008. The downfall of classic metalcore had begun.

Warbringer, Evile, Lich King, Bonded By Blood, Hexen, Gama Bomb, Municipal Waste, Suicidal Angels... The list goes on. So many bands, no air time, no major labels, low budgets - but a massive fanbase and a huge thurst for the return of a rebellious saviour. It was like an old scene had returned with new blood overnight. But looking at it in retrospect, it was probably the scene's big mistake.

With so many bands coming from out of nowhere that fast, you suddenly had a bunch of new killer records and live tours to catch. At the same time, however, it became like a ridiculous case of bands adapting to a bunch of copy-and-paste formulas. There simply was next to no originality within the revival scene. Bands sounded closer to being tribute acts of their number one favorite band rather than doing their own thing. Now that is not essentially a bad thing, but when everybody does it that way it gets tiresome quickly.

Before you knew it, the thrash metal revival had gone back to the deepest underground whence it came. It lasted for what, two solid years? Even that long? Talk about 15 minutes of fame. What made the original wave of thrash metal so great was how it was something new, something innovative. It was fresh and dangerous. The problem with the revival was how all those bands and musicians had gained great amounts of skill, only to use it for reproducing a certain sound rather than develop and explore their own creativity. Nobody wants to hear twenty Kreator wankers.

So after coming up real hard and heavy the entire movement basically plummeted right back down the abyss. It went from being one of the coolest things to happen in metal history to being one of the most ridiculous ones. But even though its initial impact didn't have more than a minor lasting relevance, it did ultimately leave another, much greater, impact.

In the wake of the thrash revival's demise there were basically two things that happened. The first one was a door left open, a door for classic heavy metal to make its impending return. Just look at that - it's still there after almost ten years, still going strong and seemingly even stronger in recent years. I'm sure that without the thrash revival happening cirka 2008, we wouldn't have gotten a classic heavy metal revival as early as cirka 2010. I'm certain it would have happened sooner or later, just not as soon as it did. The other thing was that it did indeed bring down the metalcore movement. After all, what relevance has the majority of them had in the 2010's? Next to none!

So what can we possibly learn from this musical history? The way I've put it we should basically just avoid playing music altogether. If you're a skilled musician copying your idols down to the notes and styles, you'll never last. If you're part of a more original subgenre (metalcore) then you simply suck and should call it quits already. But hey, surprise surprise, that's not really what I'm suggesting.

While I wasn't a fan of metalcore back then I can look back at it in retrospect and appreciate those musicians doing their own thing (until they started copying-and-pasting each other that is). The thrash revival seems to be mostly suppressed these days with nobody associating with it. There are a few bands I still listen to from time to time. They still sound as unoriginal as they did back then, but at least they did some great thrash music nonetheless. I love the classic heavy metal revial that rose up from it. There are also a lot more originality within that scene, I believe.

The only thing I'm scared of right now is to see what happens next. We're closing in on the end of this decade, which often means new trends and whatnot lies ahead in the wake of the next one. This decade has been plagued with deathcore and dare I say that it generally sucks way harder than metalcore ever did? And similarily to the thrash revival towards the end of the last decade, we've now got something of an "old school death metal revival" instead. I love death metal. Way more than I love thrash. I don't want to see it end up like the thrash revival did, although I'm pretty sure the death revival has already outlasted it (and has more originality). Time will tell!

My TOP-10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Vocalists - Male Edition

One thing that's always been kind of strange for me is how huge my love is for the vocals in my music collection, yet I've never cared much for the lyrics of most bands. You see, a band's singer is super important to me since I'm mostly bored by instrumental music (often with lots of guitar wankery), but for some reason I'm always passive to the words. Instead the vocals are essentially just another instrument in the band's blend to me, giving the songs additional melody or perhaps even most of it.

Another thing about my preference is that I'm, like a true Swede/Scandinavian, prefer things to be "lagom" (meaning "just enough" in Swedish). I'm actually not that huge on some vocalists' styles like a lot of people tend to be. I don't like things to feel or sound overcooked. If a singer is in some way "overpowering" a band, then I'd like the band to be more overpowered as well. An example of this is a band like DragonForce - they simply take everything to the extremes. That's how I like it. Either do it extremely or do it stripped down, like AC/DC, but don't mix 'em.

So now you have a good idea about how I like and listen to singers in hard rock and heavy metal music. I might come across as picky but that's how I am. This list is not made to satisfy any of your tastes. It's my personal taste and I'm just sharing because the discussion is always interesting to me.

Let's dive into it!

10. Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend Project, solo)

Devin has one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world but it seems like his vocals are somewhat underrated to me. If you speak with fellow fans of Devin they tend to praise his music, which certainly is great and very unique, but his vocal work plays such a huge part in what he does. With one of the most versatile voices in the business, he pretty much masters anything he tries on. Most of all, however, he does it exactly where it works and enhances the music.


9. Dave Meniketti (Y&T, solo)

One of the most powerful rock voices there are. Dave and his main band Y&T are both criminally underrated. Ever heard "Summertime Girls"? Forget that, it was a one-time thing. Y&T is so much rawer and rocking than that. Try stuff like "Black Tiger" and "Mean Streak" instead and hear for yourself. Not only is the music great but Dave outmatches any similar vocalists from bands of their scene back in the day. Radio played a lot of lighter stuff like Night Ranger, Journey and whatnot, when in reality they should've cranked Y&T up to ten.


8. Mark Osegueda (Death Angel, Metal Allegiance)

I used to think that Joey Belladonna of Anthrax was thrash metal's finest vocalist, but in recent years after three excellent Death Angel records I've changed my mind. Mark Osegueda has done what most vocalists do opposite - he became much better with age. The guy was never bad by any means. I think his early vocals on masterpieces like "The Ultra-Violence" was some great thrash vocals, but he's simply become more than a thrash screamer - now he's a singer. His voice sounds better than ever these days while still maintaining those essential thrash barks. Simply the best voice in thrash.


7. Rob Halford (Judas Priest, Fight, Halford, 2wo)

Rob Halford needs no introduction. Anyone who doesn't know him or Judas Priest is basically wearing a large sign over their face that says "poser". But what is it that makes Rob such a badass vocalist? His extreme range? Yes, and no. While he had an insane range and high octave in his youth, it was always the way he executed them that made me love his style. He uses what fits the music right and nothing else. His almost talkative style in "Electric Eye" is so fitting it's just killer, but his non-stop screaming in "Screaming For Vengenace" works just as perfectly for that one song. But best of all is how his voice has aged - with grace and great maturity, even if it's not as powerful anymore.


6. Joey Tempest (Europe, solo)

I was a massive Europe fan back in my teens and it was all because of Joey Tempest's voice and John Norum's killer guitar playing. "The Final Countdown" is a decent enough record but the band's first two are great hard rock albums. The band's latest three records or so are great as well, even if they sound a lot closer to Deep Purple and Rainbow these days. But Joey's voice is simply one of the best to come out of the Swedish scene. Perhaps he's not that versatile with it, but instead his voice suits anything the band ever played, from their early heavy metal days to their most AOR-ish sound.


5. Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, solo)

If you've read posts on this blog before, chances are good you've seen how big a fan I am of Ozzy's. The man and his music, solo as with Black Sabbath, is my dearest number one of all time. There's just something about him. But what about his voice? His voice has perhaps never been a technically "good" voice in that matter, but it's certainly unique. Well, you obviously should know this already regardless of being a fan or not. For me, however, that uniqueness is just that great. What makes his voice even greater is that he's great at coming up with memorable melodies, as well as always having killer musicians to back him up.


4. Bob Catley (Magnum, Avantasia, solo)

Another terribly underrated vocalist from an underrated band. Magnum is simply one of the finest hard rock/AOR bands ever to grace this earth. Guitarist Tony Clarkin might be the band's chief songwriter and creative force, but Bob Catley's melodically powerful voice is what makes the songs sound magic. He's just that kind of singer that makes your listening experience blissful. If you're not familiar with him, or if you've only heard him in Avantasia (which is not really my cup of tea tbh), then you should definitely check out Magnum. Particularly the 80's and more recent stuff.


3. Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk)

This man should need no further introduction to anyone who's not living beneath a rock. Much like Devin Townsend, Mike Patton is a multitasker and mad creative force. Apart from Devin, however, Mike is much more oriented in the vocal department above all else. While he creates music of all kinds with all kinds of instruments and gear, it's always his voice that is the main focus. He's even done music exclusively made with his voice. His work with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle are my personal favorites and to be widely recommended. You'd definitely be in for a crazy treat.


2. Ronnie James Dio (Dio, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf)

There only one word for this man: legendary. What he lacked in physical height he made up for a hundred times in vocal prowess. In my opinion there's just no one else that can match him. His voice was not only powerful but also extremely melodic, elegant and full of emotion. It was like an epic storyteller's voice. The bands and music he got to sing over was also a perfect match. He's just one of those vocalists who could front any heavy metal band and make it sound awesome. Inferior to none when it comes to metal music.


1. Freddie Mercury (Queen, solo)

What can I say? If Ronnie James Dio was untouchable in heavy metal, then Freddie Mercury was the equivalent in possibly all other musical styles. Queen played a lot of different styles and Freddie mastered them all. I'm not a huge fan of Queen itself but when I do listen to them, I listen to the amazing voice of the great, late Freddie Mercury.