Bay Area thrash metal
[4] By the time the group recorded their full-length album four years later, five different guitarists or bassists had already passed through the lineup, with some going on to join or form bands that were equally relevant to the area's burgeoning metal scene.
[5] In November 1982, Exodus opened a show at San Francisco's Old Waldorf venue for Metallica,[6] a then-relatively unknown (and unsigned) band from Southern California who were recently discovered by Brian Slagel and had appeared on the first volume of his Metal Massacre compilation.
Although Metallica had initially formed in Los Angeles, it was not until their February 1983 relocation to the East Bay area that Cliff Burton formerly from TRAUMA joined as bassist, sealing the band's first, formative lineup.
Metallica's signing to Megaforce Records, the release of their first album and the songwriting process and rehearsals for Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets had all taken place while the group resided at Whitaker's El Cerrito home.
[8] Burton and Hammett's friendship with other local acts, notably Oakland's Exodus and Testament, and later, San Francisco's Death Angel—among others—strongly vitalized the scene, leading to intensive touring and tape trading that would cross borders and seas, and eventually graduate to record signings.
[13][14] Members from Possessed had also maintained a strong network with other integral musicians of the Bay Area thrash scene: vocalist Jeff Becerra and then-guitarist Larry LaLonde had played in a short-lived speed metal band called Blizzard,[15] which featured former Exodus bassist Carlton Melson and Desecration guitarist Danny Boland (then-Possessed drummer Mike Sus and former Possessed bassist Bob Yost had also played in Desecration, a Bay Area death/thrash band active between 1985 and 1989).
[21] In 1987, shortly after the release of Scream Bloody Gore and Schuldiner's move back to Florida, Reifert would form his own endeavor, Autopsy, which has also been regarded as an early inspiration of the death metal genre.
Several early luminaries of the Bay Area scene borrowed heavily from the new wave of British heavy metal and early punk rock: Exodus guitarist Gary Wayne Holt mentioned discovering Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head, Trauma, Angel Witch, Venom and Budgie on a KUSF radio show hosted by Ian Kallen and Ron Quintana.
Hirax, while Orange County, California-based, had many connections to bands of the Bay Area thrash scene, as the group had played at Ruthie's Inn, and in past lineups, featured Paul Baloff (formerly of Exodus and Heathen) and Ron McGovney (Metallica's first bassist).
[25] Long Island-born multi-instrumentalist Joe Satriani had relocated to Berkeley, California, in 1978 to pursue a career teaching music; although he was mainly influenced by blues rock[26] and had not specialized in heavy metal music initially, many of Satriani's students would go on to become progenital guitarists in the Bay Area metal scene, including Kirk Hammett of Metallica/Exodus, Larry LaLonde of Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, Rick Hunolt of Exodus, Phil Kettner of Lȧȧz Rockit and Geoff Tyson of T-Ride.
Montana (who had played guitar on the first Possessed demo) also cited early Exodus as an influence, in addition to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Joe Satriani.
Conversely, professional illustrators (most notably Ed Repka on Beyond the Gates, Eternal Nightmare, Product of Society, and Scream Bloody Gore) were sometimes utilized to design album art.
Dave Mustaine's association to the Bay Area scene was limited to his brief El Cerrito tenure with Metallica (in addition to the early Megadeth shows).
Cranston's text related to nuclear disarmament and the Cold War, two hot-button political issues during the 1980s which would become song topics on the second Megadeth album, Peace Sells...
[37] While Vio-lence had been signed to a major label (MCA Records) for their 1988 debut album, a rare feat for any 2nd wave thrash band, then-guitarist Robb Flynn described tour life: ...we were all like nineteen ... our stuff was crammed into the van, no hotels, crashing out on people's floors and shit like that.
The same year, Geffen created a subsidiary label, DGC Records, which was responsible for signing Nirvana, who—along with Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden—epitomized the face of the Seattle grunge phenomena of the early 1990s.
[42] Despite lineup shifts and label changes, Testament managed to intercept thrash's slow period by touring Europe and building a new fan base abroad.
The record was considered a musical departure from their thrash metal days, showing a direction reared toward modern hard rock, and was attributed (along with Load and ReLoad) as alienating long-time fans.
[47] The April 2000 Napster file sharing lawsuits would bring the band further controversy from both the press and fans,[48][49] considering the process of music trading was a factor in their early success.
On July 9, 2005, a "sequel" concert, Thrash Against Cancer, took place, featuring Testament, Lȧȧz Rockit and Hirax, with Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar.
At Berkeley's Keystone: Megadeth, April 15, 1984[60] Located at 435 Broadway in San Francisco, this club held a number of shows for hardcore and thrash bands.
[61] In 1975, frustrated by the commercialism of jazz, Robinson focused on the Bay Area hardcore punk scene and Ruthie's Inn,[62] a small club, on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, California to present these bands.
The Stone is attributed for hosting Burton's first concert appearance with Metallica,[77] and would lead to repeat performances from other thrash acts, such as Megadeth[60][78] and Dark Angel.
