Showing posts with label Alex Skolnick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Skolnick. Show all posts

CD Review: Metal Allegiance – Metal Allegiance

CD Review: Metal Allegiance – Metal Allegiance
Nuclear Blast Entertainment
All Access Rating: B+

Metal Allegiance - S/T 2015
The army of mercenary artists assembled for Mark Menghi's Metal Allegiance has a history of violent aggression and sonic brutality. Their mission: Go forth and shred, and do whatever's necessary to keep metal alive and vital.

Assembled by Mark Menghi, the all-star project – established in 2011 – unites a veritable "Who's Who" of metal and hard-rock notables in a rather large and seemingly unwieldy musical collective with a revolving cast, although the core of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and David Ellefson (Megadeth) is unchangeable. And Menghi is the ringleader, making a foursome that created the original material for this record.

Up to this point, Metal Allegiance's activities have been limited to live performances on boat cruises and special events like NAMM, but in September, their self-titled debut LP – released by Nuclear Blast Entertainment – dropped from the sky like a burning asteroid of furious, full-on thrash (meaner than hell on "Can't Kill The Devil" and the anthemic "Pledge of Allegiance) that satisfies and more traditional metal swimming against periodic melodic tides. In "Destination: Nowhere" and the rumbling, action-packed "Scars," with its scissoring, serrated guitars and the contrasting vocal textures of Cristina Scabbia and Mark Osegueda, Metal Allegiance toggles between barely harnessed rage and bittersweet ruminations, but the searing opener "Gift Of Pain" is the gift that really keeps on giving. A relentless, slamming juggernaut of grinding guitars, "Gift Of Pain" sets a blistering pace, its momentum only temporarily stalled by a swinging bridge that almost cracks under the weight of its ponderously heavy riffs, as Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe growls with malevolent intent.

Weighed down by deep melancholy and trudging along, "Dying Song" is just the opposite, a thick, gothic slice of metallic Southern-rock frosted by Philip Anselmo's hoary utterances and struggling to hold onto its bruised and battered soul. There are complex progressive instrumental parts that hijack "Wait Until Tomorrow" and the multi-part, technically brilliant "Triangulum," which suffers from self-indulgence and boring, masturbatory jamming. On the whole, however, there is a surprising cohesiveness to Metal Allegiance that allows for the occasional head-scratching departure, such as the beautifully rendered Spanish guitar interlude that breaks up "Let Darkness Fall" – otherwise a fine specimen of solid, lively hooks and propulsive energy. While the standard version of Metal Allegiance keeps to nine tracks, the digipak edition adds a faithful and thrilling version of Dio's "We Rock," as singers Osegueda, Chris Jericho, Alissa White-Gluz, Chuck Billy, Steve "Zetro" Souza and Tim "Ripper" Owens pay homage to a metal icon with a variety of interesting singing styles.

The project's list of contributors includes a slew of metal heavyweights, its vast Rolodex including ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown, Exodus and Slayer guitarist Gary Holt and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, just to name a few. Still, what keeps this alliance together, whether on record or onstage, is a common vision and a healthy respect for metal's glorious past and its promising future.
– Peter Lindblad

Alex Skolnick Unlocks His Vault Of Vintage Testament Treasures for Auction

Alex Skolnick
For more than 3 decades Alex Skolnick has shared his near immeasurable talents with all of us.  Known as one of the fastest and technically skilled guitarists in modern rock history, it takes all but one Testament live gig to be left in awe!

Like many great minds, Alex didn't limit that sharing to touring and recording with his legendary Bay Area Trash band; from writing columns in Guitar magazine and offering lectures, to penning down his memories in a must-read book and straight-up, old school sit-down guitar lessons with aspiring shredders, Skolnick has made it a goal to spread his 6-string gospel.

Well, the sharing has taken on a new dimension as Alex has opened the doors to his vault of vintage touring and recording memorabilia! In partnership with Backstage Auctions, Skolnick is offering up a most impressive collection of vintage guitars, gear, stage worn clothing and historical ephemera that is set to hit the auction block.

Skolnicks pre-Testament days guitar
Among the highlights are three of his oldest guitars that date back to the pre-Testament days when the band was locally known as Legacy. Each of these guitars has a phenomenal touring and recording history and are absolute crown-jewels. In addition to several sets of Marshall amp & cabinet combos and a colorful array of vintage pedals, the auction will also feature a unique assortment of recording and sound equipment.

And then there are the shirts and jackets...from vintage mid 1980s stage worn shirts to exclusive leather Testament tour jackets, it's all there. Coupled with rare paper goods such as itineraries, tour programs, signed vinyl and vintage Legacy concert handbills, Testament collectors will have to pinch themselves more than once to realize that this is not a dream. Rounding out the auction are cool mementos from the time Alex was carrying the guitar torch for the likes of Savatage and Ozzy Osbourne.

Owning a true piece of Alex Skolnick memorabilia does not come with the guarantee that you will end up being the virtuoso he is, but it does come with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, a great deal of history and the spirit of passion and inspiration!

The Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up.
Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 



#RGMM2015

Decades of Music Memorabilia Takes Center Stage in the 2015 Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction

This year’s Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction is going to be one of “the” auction events of the year and if you haven’t signed up for your All Access Auction Pass you will definitely want to do so after reading about the artists and type of items featured in the auction.

We have an impressive group of notable hard rock and heavy metal artists who have cleaned out their storage lockers and personally selected each item that will be featured in the auction. 
 
The headliners include; Alex Skolnick (Testament), Paul Bostaph (Slayer), Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), Scott Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello (Antrax), Rex Brown (Pantera) and Lita Ford (Runaways).

Additionally, the auction will showcase memorabilia featuring AC/DC, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest, Kiss, Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Motley Crue, Motorhead / Hawkwind, Ozzy, Poison, Slipknot, Van Halen Rob Zombie and loads more!

Whether you collect guitars, amps, pedals, gear, drums, record awards, stage worn attire, picks & sticks, signed memorabilia or vintage crew and tour t-shirts & jackets, tickets & passes, itineraries, photos, posters, promotional items – there is something for everyone’s taste and budget.

Of course we have a few special highlights including; an amazing collection of artist owned and used guitars, drum kits and gear, impressive array of rare and unique artist signed items, an absolute stunning collection of original RIAA Record Awards and a vast selection of tour memorabilia including itineraries, passes and apparel.

The auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up. Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 

#RGMM2015

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS - A boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively represents legendary musicians, entertainment professionals and entities. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career.





Hatriot: New centurions of thrash

Steve "Zetro" Souza puts Exodus behind him, looks ahead with Hatriot
By Peter Lindblad


Steve "Zetro" Souza of Hatriot
Steve "Zetro" Souza was there at ground zero. The Bay Area thrash-metal scene was exploding in the early 1980s, and Souza was right in the middle of a fiery musical conflagration, singing like demon for Legacy, the band that evolved into Testament, and recording their first demo with them.

"We thought every city had a scene like ours," said Souza. "Looking back on it in hindsight it was magical."

Three years after Legacy was founded, Souza came to a crossroads in his career. He was offered the chance to become lead vocalist for another Bay Area thrash outfit. He couldn't turn it down, and in 1986, he joined Exodus.

To his credit, Souza didn't just abandon his old Legacy mates. It was Souza who introduced them to his replacement, Chuck Billy. 

As for Souza, who's often been compared to AC/DC's Bon Scott, he was about to embark on an amazing thrill ride, with plenty of ups and downs. With Exodus, he sang on five records before the band disbanded, lending his uniquely evil, flesh-ripping caterwaul to 1987's Pleasures of the Flesh, 1989's Fabulous Disaster, 1990's Impact is Imminent, 1991's Good Friendly Violent Fun and 1992's Force of Habit

There have been other bands. Dublin Death Patrol, Tenet, AC/DZ – Souza's been with them all, teaming with Billy in Dublin Death Patrol. More than anything, though, Souza would like to see another project of his really take off, and that endeavor is the furious, all-consuming Hatriot, a band that includes his sons Cody (bass) and Nick (drums), and phenomenal young guitarist/composer Kosta "V,"  as well as second guitarist Miguel Esparza.

In April, Hatriot released its volcanic second album, the Massacre Records release Dawn of the Centurion, a burning slab of old-school thrash that sticks to the basics – made it fast, make it loud, make it devastatingly brutal and leave a beautiful melodic corpse. Hot riffs, charred black, hold hands with pummeling beats and crushing bass maneuvers, as scary, impassioned and crazed lyrics are recited in sinister fashion to those who cannot deny their dark thoughts. 

Recently, Souza talked about Hatriot's plans for world domination, the new record and his days with Exodus in this revealing interview. 

Hatriot - Dawn of the Centurion 2014
When you first formed Hatriot, what did you want to do with it and does Dawn of the New Centurion match that vision?
Steve "Zetro" Souza: I honestly wasn't looking to do a new band at my age, but I met Kosta Varvatakis and was so impressed with his guitar abilities that I felt this was something I needed to do. The world needs new guitar heroes and new rock stars, so I felt I needed to make another serious run in metal and help showcase this kid's talents. In that regard I'd say it definitely matches my vision. Dawn of The New Centurion has some of the best guitar playing in thrash metal, and what people need to know is all the music and arrangements come from Kosta. He is a f**king monster when it comes to thrash metal, and is the perfect writing partner for me. He creates the riffs, and I put words to them.

What do you like most about working with Kosta "V" and where does he rank with other guitarists you've worked with?
SZS: He is right up there with all the greats. I have been very fortunate to work with a lot of amazing guitarists in my career, and Kosta is right there with them. I think the biggest difference is back in the early days of thrash there were a lot less people doing it. In the early '80s when I was jamming with Legacy, I had Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson on guitar, and they were f**king amazingly good.  Then in Exodus it was Gary (Holt) and Rick (Hunolt), who went down in history as a great thrash guitar tag team. Kosta is right there on their skill level, but now there's a shredder in every neighborhood in the world. It's not as big of a deal as it was in the early days. It's a lot more difficult to make a name for yourself. If it was still 1988, Kosta Varvatakis would be a household name in metal.  Hopefully he still will be in this day and age. He is certainly good enough.

Steve "Zetro" Souza, formerly of Exodus
In making this album, was there a point at which you thought, "This is really something special?"
SZS: I knew it was going to be special before we ever recorded the first note. The thing with Hatriot is we are constantly writing material and working on new stuff, so by the time we go in and record a record we have the material fully worked up and ready to go. At that point it's just a matter of executing it in the studio, and capturing the best vibe possible. I knew it was really special when we were doing the demo recordings and pre-production. 

Vocally, was this album different for you in any way?
SZS: For the most part it was business as usual for me. I have a signature sound that fans expect from me, so I don't try and stray from that too much, but there are some more brutal vocal parts at times on this record. We experimented with some gang shouts and death-metal vocals just to add dynamics.  Then, of course, I do a lot of screaming when the song calls for it. It's all about what the song needs to be effective.

"Superkillafragsadisticactsaresoatrocious" and "Silence in the House of the Lord" are really heavy, hard-charging songs, as is "World Funeral." That's probably my favorite section of the record. Is there a particular sequence of songs on Dawn of the New Centurion where they just seem to fit together really well for you?
SZS: I did all of the sequencing for the album, as I do on all the records. I just want the album to have a flow to it, with dynamics, so it keeps the listener on edge. Lots of albums these days are so predictable, and it makes it where the listener gets bored with the record after one or two listens. I like the Hatriot records to have those dynamics that made the early thrash records so great. I think we achieved that with this album.

Steve "Zetro" Souza with son Cody
Hatriot is a bit of a family affair. How do you make that work?
SZS: It's really not as complicated as people think. My sons grew up around the music business, so they have an idea as to how things work. I am dad when I need to be with them, but most of the time we are band mates and good friends, the same way any other band operates. Most dads would give anything to have a common interest with their kids, and the fact that I get to be in a band with two of mine makes it all worth it. The only downside is we don't really get a separation between business and family, but for the most part having them in the band is all positive. I'm really enjoying it.

Lyrically, what topics, including gun rights, did you want to address on Dawn of the New Centurion?
SZS: I have always been drawn to the darker side of life, and that's where my lyrics go every time. On this record I have songs about corrupt world leaders, a "cabin in the woods" killer, the end of the world, and the entire human race going insane. There's plenty more in there, too. It's a sick and twisted record, the same way our debut record was lyrically. It's a f**king heavy metal album!

What made the early Bay Area thrash scene so special, especially when you started with Legacy, and do you ever think something like that will happen again?
SZS: It will never happen again. People try to recreate that time, but if you weren't there you missed it.  It was a very special time in heavy metal history because it was a natural thing, and not fabricated. It was not manufactured by the record business and exploited at that point in time. The scene in the Bay Area at the beginning was a very tight knit one. All the bands would support each other, and there was something happening every night of the week. It wasn't just a weekend thing. You might go see Exodus do a show on a Tuesday night, and the Metallica guys would be there hanging out. That kind of thing happened all the time. So it was a very exciting era for thrash, even though we didn't realize it at the time.

Reflecting on your time in Exodus, was it a difficult decision to join the band?
SZS: To be honest, I really had to think on it for a few days when I was asked to join in 1986. I had so much time and energy invested in Legacy that I hated to throw that all away, but at the same time, Exodus was on another level in the eyes of the metal scene. They had a record out and people around the world knew of the band.So I knew it was a great opportunity for me, and I decided to go for it. The fans didn't embrace me at first, and it was a lot of work to win them over. It wasn't until the success of Fabulous Disaster that I really felt like Exodus was my baby. By that point the fans were on my side.

Artistically or career-wise, what was the most gratifying experience you had with Exodus?
SZS: I know it sounds cliche, but the whole ride was amazing, even the bad times. I wouldn't trade it for anything. For specifics I'd say the "Headbangers Ball" tour that we did with Anthrax and Helloween was a definite highlight. The tour we did with Black Sabbath was amazing because I became friends with Ronnie Dio. How fucking metal is that? The most gratifying overall would be the tour cycle for the Fabulous Disaster record. We were full-fledged rock stars at that point. Media hounded us and fans were rabid. It was a whirlwind, and we had amazing shows during that record cycle. That was definitely the peak of the Exodus success during the glory days of thrash.

In what ways have your experiences with Hatriot mirrored those you had with Exodus and in what ways are they totally different?
SZS: Similarities? For starters there is the youth factor. The ages of the band guys in Hatriot ranges from 19 to 25. You can add two of them together, and it doesn't even make one of me! So that's a similar thing to the early days in Exodus. We were young and hungry for it back then. Nobody was a lazy rock star at that point. We also had a cycle in Exodus that we use in Hatriot: make a record, then go on the road, then immediately do another record, then back on the road, etc. With that method we never lose momentum. The biggest differences between the two bands are big ones. First off, there's no real music industry anymore. Not like the big machine of the old days. Everything is independent now, which is a cool thing, but there's not a lot of resources like back in the day. There's no buying on tours and getting on MTV. It's not a huge thing like it was. Another big thing is the technology of today.  From recording albums to networking with fans on social media, technology has leveled the playing field. There's no half million dollar records now. We do records for ten grand. There's no passing out flyers outside a club. It's all done on Facebook. I hate a lot of that sh*t, but that's where we are today as a society. 

What are your hopes for Hatriot?
SZS: I hope to make this thing as big as it can be. My days in Exodus will always be wonderful memories for me, but I am hoping to add another chapter to the book with Hatriot. I don't want to just be known as the "former singer of Exodus." I want this to stand on its own. I'm 50 years old, but I have a lot more metal left in me.

CD Review: Testament - Dark Roots of the Earth


CD Review: Testament - Dark Roots of the Earth
Nuclear Blast
All Access Review: A-
Testament - Dark Roots of the Earth 2012
Forget the kerfuffle over Testament’s use of blast beats on Dark Roots of the Earth. Such concerns are small potatoes when measured against the enormity of the Bay Area bashers’ latest sonic blitzkrieg on a metal community still dazed by the fire-bombing wrought by Formation of Damnation, unleashed by Testament in 2008. Utilizing a drumming technique associated more with death metal than thrash on “Native Blood” and the unremittingly hostile “True American Hate” – both of these clean-running machines riddled by head-spinning fusillade of fiery riffs and saber-rattling twin-guitar leads – Testament willingly violates a long-held taboo to forge steely, sharp broadswords of battle-scarred aural barbarism that could cut through armor as if it were butter.
Recorded and engineered by Andy Sneap, who seemingly can do no wrong lately, Dark Roots of the Earth, out now on Nuclear Blast, is a somewhat less ferocious animal than its predecessor, despite its full-bodied, high-impact sound. That’s only because Testament chooses to occasionally indulge its more refined progressive inclinations on such complex, tempo-shifting pieces as the tightly-woven, seven-minute descent into madness that is “Throne of Thrones.” The lengthy melodic ballad in “Cold Embrace” – veering cringingly close to power-balladry – cycles through a hoary underworld of intricate acoustic passages and gentle tendrils of electric-guitar arpeggios before periods of crushing heaviness swoop in to lay waste to anything resembling song structure, while the title track initiates a deliciously slow, tantalizing burn that eventually becomes a bonfire.
Not to worry, Testament hasn’t turned into Rush, as the clawing, growling riffage and monstrous brutality of “Rise Up” so violently attests. As defiant as ever, powerhouse singer Chuck Billy seems to detonate land mines every time he opens that raging mouth of his to speak gruffly of war, freedom, death and the end of days – not to mention the oppressed Native American experience that Billy confronts head on in the explosive, deliriously infectious “Native Blood.” Always mindful of maintaining an exhilarating pace and planting hooks with the teeth of bear traps – always biting right through the bone – guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson fluidly wield their axes with impressive precision, rich tonality and diabolically diverse dynamics on such rugged earth-movers as “A Day in the Death” and “Man Kills Mankind.” Sneap and Testament take all of those elements, including the blizzard of beats pouring out of Gene Hoglan’s drums and the thick, gripping bass undertow of Greg Christian, and shape tracks into chugging, monolithic thrash-metal war ships.
This is not your father’s thrash, the raw and sometimes hairy character of old-school recordings sanded smooth on Dark Roots of the Earth. Incredibly detailed, the album’s rigorous attention paid to raising dark melodies and the complex, artistic soloing of Skolnick and Peterson – apparently born of jazz and King Crimson studies – out of the usual Testament tumult strengthens and boosts the force with which Testament attacks. Experiencing almost every song on Dark Roots of the Earth is like getting gored by a bull and then shot by a hunting rifle. Physically, it slams into the body and boggles the senses. Having medical personnel nearby ready to lend aid might not be a bad idea.

-            Peter Lindblad

Metal Evolution - "Thrash"


Metal Evolution: "Thrash" - Episode 106 
Sam Dunn
VH1 Classic

All Access Review:  A-
Squaring off against everything that ‘80s glam metal represented, the soldiers of thrash – glam’s uglier, angrier cousin – wanted to eradicate every trace of makeup, lipstick and hairspray from heavy metal’s dark underworld. Or, as Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine puts it in the “Thrash” installment of Sam Dunn’s “Metal Evolution” documentary series, the androgynous purveyors of glam metal, many of whom looked almost as pretty as the girls they were bedding, were “fleas on the balls of a camel” and thrash “was a flea bomb.”
The strongest of pesticides, thrash almost killed glam metal dead. Grunge would finish the job in the ‘90s. Obviously a fan of one of metal’s most extreme sub-genres, Dunn, author of the acclaimed “Metal A Headbanger’s Journey” documentary, explores the fiery origins and virus-like developments of thrash metal in the latest chapter of “Metal Evolution,” which appeared over New Year’s Eve weekend on VH-1 Classic. Up to this point, Dunn has done a fine job detailing with great care the genealogy of heavy metal. Every piece is rife with riveting interview material, classic live footage and historical fact. With the exuberant enthusiasm of a fan and the intellectual curiosity of an anthropologist, which is what he is, Dunn has dissected the body of and probed into every nook and cranny of that most reviled of all musical forms.
So far, “Metal Evolution” has taken viewers on a loud, crazed journey through all the mayhem and madness metal has produced over the years. Yes, it’s a history lesson, but the scope of Dunn’s work is wide-ranging, studying the influence of classical and jazz on metal, while also investigating the connection between the gritty, early ‘70s Detroit proto-punk sound of The Stooges and the MC5 and confronting the strained relations between English punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And that’s just a small sampling of Dunn’s exhaustive, but never tedious, testimony.
“Thrash” is another winner. Starting off at its birthplace, Soundwave Studios in California’s Bay Area, where Testament is running through a fiery rehearsal, Dunn, through content-rich talks with Mustaine, Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, Testament’s Alex Skolnick and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, finds the merging streams of hardcore punk and NWOBHM flowing electricity into thrash’s roiling sea. Taking the energy and spirit of punk and the melodic aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, thrash’s innovators, like Slayer and Exodus, upped the ante.
As Skolnick relates in “Thrash,” musicians like him loved punk’s songs and its undeniable vitality; however, what was missing was musicianship, and they wanted desperately to create something that would challenge their chops. Thrash was it. Heavy and punishing, the riffs raged, flying at unheard-of speeds. And the guttural vocals screamed and growled, spitting out graphically violent lyrical imagery that occasionally touched on war and social issues but more often told stories of serial killers and gruesome deaths. Using this symbiotic relationship as a jumping-off point, Dunn segues into how thundering, high-velocity double-kick drums became the driving force behind Trash. Ulrich and Testament’s Paul Bostaph give all the credit to Motorhead’s Phil Taylor for bringing the double-kick drums into fashion, and Thrash’s young vanguard of drummers took Taylor’s style and gave it a shot of adrenaline. Taylor is one of the surprising stars of Dunn’s “Thrash,” a metal veteran telling his war stories and explaining his absolutely vital contribution to metal, with Dunn hanging on every word.
When the conversation turns to Metallica, Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records, and his wife reveal how their mom-and-pop metal label served as the launching pad for the band that would become Thrash’s version of The Beatles. Metallica’s tale serves as the lynchpin for “Thrash,” as Dunn follows the band from its lowly beginnings on through the explosion of San Francisco’s underground metal scene and into the controversial, MTV-courting “Black” album, which some in the Thrash community saw a betrayal of its values. Dunn and Lombardo make no bones about how they felt. It was treason, but to Dunn’s credit, he shares his feelings with Ulrich, who offers Metallica’s side of things. Ulrich feels that “betrayal” is such an ugly word and that if Metallica had done a rehashing of … And Justice for All, that would have been Metallica selling out. They needed to do the “Black” album to expand their horizons and grow artistically, as Ulrich explains. His reasoning makes perfect sense.
So does Nunn’s storytelling. In less capable hands, “Thrash” could have been a jumbled mess, but he sticks to the philosophy of “Metal Evolution,” and that is to follow each stage of metal’s growth and development to the wherever the story leads. Slayer’s Reign in Blood is treated with awe and respect, and the story behind landmark show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City that led to major-label deals for Raven, Metallica and, eventually, Anthrax is told with an insider’s perspective.  By the end of “Thrash,” Nunn has traversed Sweden to investigate Thrash’s unlikely revival in the land of ice, snow and Lutherans – the Gothenburg sound, which, after Thrash’s mid-‘90s swoon, which married melody and harmonies with blinding speed and crushing heaviness in bands like In Flames – and Richmond, Va.’s burgeoning scene, which roared to life because of Lamb of God. Though previous segments of “Metal Evolution” – including a surprisingly sincere look at “Glam,” strategically shown the week before “Thrash,” the juxtaposition probably being no accident – were strong statements of purpose, “Thrash” is the best of the lot. Next week, it’s “Grunge,” as Dunn goes to Seattle to take on the movement that many say destroyed the careers of bands like Warrant and Ratt, among others. Let’s hope Dunn treats the subject matter with just as much care as he does with Thrash.
- Peter Lindblad
Metal Evolution Thrash
View the Full Episode - Right Here, Right Now!




Episode Summary - Arguably metal's most popular and passionate genre, Sam journeys to Northern California to trace the roots of Thrash by interviewing the architects of this hugely popular genre. Sam interviews Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, and many more Thrash Metal legends.
Click here for more information on VH1's Metal Evolution

Collectible Heavy Metal Posters:
  
Anthrax
Megadeth
Metallica
Slayer