I think thrash is the most important metal genre because:
1. It took metal to the extreme. 80s thrash bands took heavy metal and upped the ante, so we can say thrash is a bridge between Melodic and Extreme metal.
2. It is the base of Death and Black metal, two of the most important genres. Imagine we have Death or Black metal but there's no thrash. Impossible.
3. Thrashy riffs are used in almost every metal genres. I can thrashy riffs even in Ensiferum!
4. Thrash has some of the best metal bands in the world. The 6 most popular bands on MS have 3 thrash bands in them.
So...Do you agree?

If we follow your reasoning you could say NWOBHM was the most important because thrash mostly borrowed from that.

So, for me a simple "no" suffices. Even though I love the old thrash movement to death.

Wouldn't, you know, METAL have to be the most important genre, since that's where METAL came from?

1. METAL took METAL to the... METAL. And did various things to it.
2. It is the base of Thrash (and, of course, NWOBHM, as Marcel said), the bast of Death and Black metal, two of the most important genres.
3. METAL riffs are used in almost every metal genre (and even some outside it).
4. METAL has some of the best metal bands in the world. The 2389 most popular bands on MS have 2389 METAL bands in them.

I don't get your logic.

Written by Ankläger on 10.07.2011 at 02:59

Wouldn't, you know, METAL have to be the most important genre, since that's where METAL came from?

1. METAL took METAL to the... METAL. And did various things to it.
2. It is the base of Thrash (and, of course, NWOBHM, as Marcel said), the bast of Death and Black metal, two of the most important genres.
3. METAL riffs are used in almost every metal genre (and even some outside it).
4. METAL has some of the best metal bands in the world. The 2389 most popular bands on MS have 2389 METAL bands in them.

I don't get your logic.

Exactly.

I wanted to post something along those lines but thought someone else would do it anyway and sure as hell the first post of mine did.

Yes, i do think that Thrash is the most important metal genre, specially "Kill 'Em All" the most brilliant thrash album at the time.

Surely whatever genre you want to Sabbath and the like into, would be the most important. They started it all.

NO fgor me because its DOOM and I wont explpain why .... doomsters will understand

Written by Ankläger on 10.07.2011 at 02:59

Wouldn't, you know, METAL have to be the most important genre, since that's where METAL came from?

1. METAL took METAL to the... METAL. And did various things to it.
2. It is the base of Thrash (and, of course, NWOBHM, as Marcel said), the bast of Death and Black metal, two of the most important genres.
3. METAL riffs are used in almost every metal genre (and even some outside it).
4. METAL has some of the best metal bands in the world. The 2389 most popular bands on MS have 2389 METAL bands in them.

I don't get your logic.

This METAL of yours isn't a genre.

Written by Guest on 10.07.2011 at 17:24

This METAL of yours isn't a genre.

Are you in fact serious? Of course it is, it's a MUSIC genre! Or are you also saying that Rock, Pop etc. aren't genres? Metal just happens to encompass a whole host of sub-genres like thrash, death, black etc. And anyway, I will never understand why people feel the need to obsessively pigeonhole music. There are only 2 categories of music anyone will ever need. Stuff you like and stuff you don't!

As for importance - who's to say? We would still have ended up with some sort of extreme metal without thrash - it might just sound a little different!

Written by LordFezzington on 10.07.2011 at 21:09

Written by Guest on 10.07.2011 at 17:24

This METAL of yours isn't a genre.

Are you in fact serious? Of course it is, it's a MUSIC genre! Or are you also saying that Rock, Pop etc. aren't genres? Metal just happens to encompass a whole host of sub-genres like thrash, death, black etc. And anyway, I will never understand why people feel the need to obsessively pigeonhole music. There are only 2 categories of music anyone will ever need. Stuff you like and stuff you don't!

As for importance - who's to say? We would still have ended up with some sort of extreme metal without thrash - it might just sound a little different!

It's not a genre OF METAL. It's metal as a whole. We're talking about metal genres, the subgenres. And how can you imagine death and black metal if there isn't thrash??

For me I'd say like Ankläger and 7thSlave they are right in all what did they say.
there isn't any IMPORTANT genre it's just Metal, Thrash Metal is Part and parcel of Metal at all.

The most important metal genre is that genre, which at any given moment in time is the most influential and fastest developing genre. In the late 80's that was probably thrash metal. In the 90's I'd give that title to prog or death and in the 2000's it was without a doubt symphonic metal.

A mix of thrash and heavy IMO

No.. There is no most important Metal Genre imo.

I'll give that a big NO!

Well I don't think theres a metal genre more important than any other... You might like one genre better than another but that doesn't mean its more important. Metal in itself is important since the beginning of its existence. Yes, the Thrash scene was and still is awesome it has alot of my all time favorite bands. But I don't think its the most important, no.

No, it isn't the single most important genre, but it is most certainly a vital genre as it helped spawn black and death meal

/thread

Uh... no? Thrash metal is my favorite style of music, but the NWOBHM was the basis of all other forms of metal-maybe doom was already in development, but the NWOBHM did influence it. From the NWOBHM comes power metal, prog metal and thrash metal, and from thrash comes death and black metal. The NWOBHM really kickstarted metals evolution though.

The start of metal, the early era of heavy metal is the most important. That early era established the foundation from which every metal band ever has been based on: Agression, Darkness, and extreme heaviness. Later subgenres added very important aspects to the evolution of the genre as a whole, but overall, the early era established the foundation, and therefore heavy metal is the most limportant genre.

Written by Guest on 11.07.2011 at 03:45

In the 90's I'd give that title to prog or death

I would give it to Black metal myself but I agree on the "every genre has it's own little special moment in time".

Written by X-Ray Rod on 18.07.2011 at 12:04

Written by Guest on 11.07.2011 at 03:45

In the 90's I'd give that title to prog or death

I would give it to Black metal myself but I agree on the "every genre has it's own little special moment in time".

Oh yeah, 90s black was definitely some of the greatest metal ever, but nothing beats Dream Theater, Opeth and Ayreon for me.

I would say NWOBHM

Written by Jirpo on 20.07.2011 at 09:18

I would say NWOBHM

Hmmm, interesting.

Because it was the time during which metal really spread out and expanded, and different styles began to emerge.

Just think of it the logical way: was it the first metal genre? No. Hard rock/heavy metal was. What bands do you think influenced Metallica to write thrash metal?

Written by Guest on 13.08.2011 at 12:20
Just think of it the logical way: was it the first metal genre? No. Hard rock/heavy metal was. What bands do you think influenced Metallica to write thrash metal?

I believe the blues were more influential (led to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath).

As for metal genres that are already established, thrash definitely holds a place as one of the most significant. I can't say one genre deserves more credit than another, because that's an entirely subjective claim, but thrash serves a historical purpose in the evolution of metal.

Hell no. I love thrash, but doom and NWOBHM were more directly influential to creating the metal that thrash would one day be included in.

Thrash may or may not be the most important, but its sure as hell the best!

No, standard heavy metal is. For the simple reason that all metal sub-genres including thrash are merely offshoots of standard heavy metal. Thrash was merely a faster, more aggressive version of standard metal, something which just continued on with death metal and black metal. All of the pioneering thrash bands were mainly influenced by metal bands like Priest, Sabbath, Budgie, Motorhead, Venom, and the NWOBHM. Where it not for those bands, bands like Slayer and Metallica would likely have sounded very different. Death metal similarly, was merely a more aggressive version of thrash metal.

Written by Angelic Storm on 27.10.2011 at 12:54
No, standard heavy metal is. For the simple reason that all metal sub-genres including thrash are merely offshoots of standard heavy metal.

Ya there doesn't really need to be an entire thread for a question like this. The answer is pretty straightforward... Anyone who listens to any type of metal has only the traditional brand of heavy metal to thank for it.