TRIPLE THRASH TREAT 5

Teutonic thrash metal is a regional scene of thrash metal music that originated during the 1980s in Germany. Along with Bay Area thrash metal, East Coast thrash metal, and Brazilian thrash metal, it was one of the major scenes of thrash metal in the 1980s.

Two bands influential to early Teutonic thrash metal were Destruction and the female-fronted Holy Moses. After hearing Venom, both bands soon changed their sound within a matter of weeks to their new and permanent sound. 4 other well known bands who followed the two mentioned band were Kreator, Sodom, Tankard and Living Death.

There was also a burgeoning thrash metal scene in the neighboring countries of Austria and Switzerland. Coroner was probably the most famous band coming out of this scene.

The Central European thrash metal scene got great help from the record companies Steamhammer and Noise Records to distribute their records globally, since most of the bands in the region released their records on these labels.

At the same time as the American stage more or less died out in the early 90’s, the same thing happened to a lot of the bands in Europe. But with some loyl fans, it was still possible for many of the bands to continue. Much of the reason this happened in Europe, was probably that very few of the bands began to experiment on a par with the American bands. Some did experiment with their style and failed and most often led to the bands broke up. Some of the bigger bands in recent years taken back to the successful recipe from the 80th century and is experiencing more success than ever.

 

DESTRUCTION "Bestial Invasion" 1985

 

In this fifth edition of Triple Thrash Treat, we have the honor of presenting the answers from 3 thrash metal musicians from Norway and the UK. First up is Sigurd from Rikets Krust, then Ol from Evile and finally Bored from Waklevören.

Sigurd Thune, vocalist of the Norwegian band RIKETS CRUST. Also known from South of Heaven, a famous club concept in Oslo.
Ol Drake, play guitar in the British thrash metal band EVILE.
Bård "Bored" Falkangen Faarlund, play guitar in the Norwegian thrash metal band WAKLEVÖREN.

As usual we ask them the same 5 questions and here is what these 3 fine musicians came up with.

 

 
SIGURD THUNE
(Rikets Crust)

 

What is your favorite thrash metal riff?

Slayer – Raining Blood. No doubt about it. In this case, the majority actually is right.

What was your first gig with a thrash metal band?

No idea. The first proper gig that comes to my mind is Slayer at Roskilde in 2002, but I guess I must have seen some local bands at Gjøvik before that. When was the first Inferno festival? 2001? Probably something there, then. Audiopain or Aura Noir. I’m still a young man!

Who has, in your opinion, the best thrash metal screams?

Tom Araya. Way above everyone else. After him, probably John Connelly, Russ Anderson and Tony Portaro.

And who is the best thrash metal riffer?

James Hetfield, Rob Cavestany or Scott Ian.

Finally, what is your favorite thrash metal album?

Ouch…difficult question. I’ll go for the first Metallica album.

  

OL DRAKE
(Evile)

 

What is your favorite thrash metal riff?

Probably "Master of Puppets" by Metallica. The one before the verse comes in. Perfect.

What was your first gig with a thrash metal band?

First Thrash band I saw live was Kreator in….2001 I think. They were playing with Cannibal Corpse and Krisiun.

Who has, in your opinion, the best thrash metal screams?

I’d sway towards Schmier from Destruction or Tom Araya, Slayer.

And who is the best thrash metal riffer?

James Hetfield

Finally, what is your favorite thrash metal album?

I think it’s always going to be Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets.

 

 
BÅRD "BORED" FARANGEN FAARLUND
(Waklevören)

 

What is your favorite thrash metal riff?

It`s a tie between Madhouse (From the Anthrax album Spreading The Disease) and Trial By Fire (From the Testament album The New Order). When I first heard that Testament song it really trigged me to play Thrash metal. And that song is one of the main reason why I wanted to form Waklevören. It has that incredible groove that you rarely hear these days. Madhouse is just a kick in the face. You`re a total retard if you don`t airplay while listening to that song.

What was your first gig with a thrash metal band?

The Sepultura gig at Rockefeller from the Arise tour in 91 or 92. Amazing show! Watching Max getting pissed at the guards for not letting people stagedive ruled. Especially when he airdived himself at the end of the show. Probably one of the best gigs I`ve ever been to.

Who has, in your opinion, the best thrash metal screams?

Tom Araya is without a doubt the coolest vocalist ever, but is he Thrash? Hmm. I think I will go for Chuck Billy (Testament) on this one. His voice has it all. Too bad I can`t go for Phil Collins fantastic vocal job on the song Mama though. Makes me think of Tom G. Warrior somehow.

And who is the best thrash metal riffer?

Scott Ian (Anthrax). Mainly because his style includes a lot of old style hardcore riffing. He`s probably the guitarist that has influenced me the most throughout the years.

Finally, what is your favorite thrash metal album?

Hmmm, I guess Spreading The Disease (1985) by Anthrax. That was an early ear opener. It was the first album that I really fell in love with. Metallica released three amazing first albums that all needs to be mentioned. But I can`t help being pissed of by the rest of following albums that sucked monkey balls. God, I hate them for that.

 

 

A number of more typical but technically sophisticated thrash albums were released in the year of 1990, including Megadeth’s Rust in Peace, Anthrax’s Persistence of Time, Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss, Suicidal Tendencies’ Lights…Camera…Revolution!, Testament’s Souls of Black, and Kreator’s Coma of Souls. All of those albums were commercial high points for the aforementioned artists. Many of these bands embarked on a group tour called the "Clash of the Titans" the same year.

After this climax for the genre, the energy of the thrash metal was exhausted and it was overtaken by the rising grunge rock. In the 1990’s many veteran thrash metal bands began changing to more accessible, radio-friendly styles. Metallica was a notable example of this shift, particularly with their mid to late 90s albums Load (1996), and ReLoad (1997), which both displayed minor blues and southern rock influences, and were seen as a major departure from the band’s earlier sound. Megadeth took a more accessible hard rock route starting with their 1992 album Countdown to Extinction,[26] and Testament released the melodic The Ritual in 1992.

 

SODOM "Sepulchral Voice" official video 1986