Your way in
Bay Area thrash 1983
The original epicentre: technical riffing, clearer production and a little more melody.
- Heaviness
- 8
- Speed
- 9
- Melody
- 7
- Where from
- San Francisco, USA
- Tempo
- 180-240 bpm
- Song length
- 4-7 min
- Written about
- Nuclear war, Corruption, Violence, frequently comic, The scene itself
- Vocals
- Shouted
Why this one
| You said | Bay Area thrash | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shouting, but I can still hear the words When someone is singing, what should come out? | shouted | 100% | ×3 |
| There, but not the point How much weight do you want behind it? | 8 out of 10 | 70% | ×2 |
| As fast as anyone can play What pace? | 9 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| The nineties Does it matter when it was made? | 1983 | 72% | ×1 |
| Anger at something real What should the words be about? | Nuclear war, Corruption, Violence, frequently comic, The scene itself | 100% | ×1 |
| Long. Let it go somewhere. How long should a song be? | up to 7 min | 42% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 83% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 6 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, era 1, about 1, length 1 out of 10. Bay Area thrash ties with the next, and won on being the broader of the two. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
Slayer, Reign in Blood 1986
Slayer - Reign in Blood. Twenty-nine minutes that redefined the word extreme.
- 2The one to put on first
Exodus, Bonded by Blood 1985
Exodus - Bonded by Blood. Recorded in 1984, released late, and it held up anyway.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Thrash metal, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Bay Area thrash's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Melodic hardcore 80%
Same speed and urgency, but with sung choruses and guitar harmonies.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 7 steps from Bay Area thrash.
The way into Melodic hardcore -
Avant-garde metal 71%
Metal that imports anything - jazz, cabaret, electronics - and refuses to settle into a shape.
4 steps from Bay Area thrash, meeting it only at Heavy metal.
The way into Avant-garde metal
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- As fast as anyone can play put 4 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Drone metal, Funeral doom. Worth 2 of 10.
- The nineties put 23 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Blues rock, Progressive rock, Rock and roll. Worth 1 of 10.
- Anger at something real put 108 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Alternative rock, Black metal, Blues rock. Worth 1 of 10.
- Long. Let it go somewhere. put 40 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Rock and roll. Worth 1 of 10.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.