It IS my unpopular metal opinion, I guess.

I go by which bands came first and which inspired entire genres. That's why I had Priest before Maiden and Mercyful Fate (They had the earlier album release) and Dio started out with Sabbath and Rainbow, hence in a way he was already included. Celtic Frost and Death were influenced by Venom who came by earlier. Exodus were around before even Metallica was, and started off playing thrash right at about the same time. I've argued before that they originally should have been included in the Big 4 over Anthrax, at least back in 1984-1986 they were more well known and bigger than either Anthrax of Megadeth, perhaps even Slayer. (But obviously by 1988/89 that was no longer the case.) Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Death, etc are clearly among the most influential bands either way no matter how you look at it.

So anyway, that was my reasoning.

^When was the term "Big 4" first used? Surely not until sometime in the later half of the 80's? I'm really curious as to when and who used the term first.

I agree, Over and Over is my all-time favourite Sabbath song, really doomy and powerful, I don't know how anyone could call it a weak track, but to each their own.

1st wave black metal sucks. I had to say it

Thrash metal is heavier than death metal and black metal.

As in "black metal" like Venom? Nah, that's the only kind of "black metal" that doesn't suck.

No but I would say it's, on average, faster. Thrash beats generally sound faster than blast beats. If you blast too fast, it starts to sound like slow motion and it loses some forward momentum.

As in Venom, Sodom, Bathory, and Kreator?

Hahahahahaha...

Oh wait, you're serious? Let me laugh even harder!

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

1. Grindcore is the best extreme metal subgenre.

2. Metal is better in general if it's slow or mid tempo like 90's groove.

3. I have yet to see any good black metal.

4. Shout at the Devil > Nevermind

Oh, piss of.



Oh, piss off, too!

Power metal sucks, O'Doyle rules!!!

If we are talking about the majority of European-style power metal - agreed

Agree with these...somewhat. Grindcore WAS the best extreme metal subgenre back in 1990/1991 but I got burned out on it pretty quickly after that, and I've heard way too many untalented, cliche'd bands attempting that style that have nothing to offer but incel lyrics, ridiculous vocals and crappy riffs.

"Shout at the Devil" was by far the best thing the Crue ever did and I still love that album today- even though I don't like anything they did after that. Nirvana was a good band and was a refreshing change from all the stale glam rock being churned out (including what Motley Crue were doing at the time) but... after all these years, I still enjoy "Shout at the Devil" more than "Nevermind."

I believe the term "Big 4" for thrash started roughly in 1987 or 1988 by one of the guys from Metal Forces magazine, but I could be wrong. The time frame- late 1980s- is about right though. By then Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth had separated from the pack in terms of record sales and popularity; Exodus should have been right up there with them but they had a few issues (Record label, personnel, etc.) after "Bonded By Blood" came out and they lost a lot of their early momentum.

True, the dbeat and the totally caustic sound was definitely a major influence on everything that came after. To a lesser extent the other bigger Uk82 bands like The Exploited and GBH, plus New York hardcore, although more limited to thrash I suppose (although Quorthon for example was a big fan and, according to Mayhem's latest EP, so are they).

Interesting contradiction there...

UK82 and GBH in particular would also be a big influence - that band has been brought up by all kinds of other bands - Tom Warrior and Peter from Vader are two examples. It is just that Discharge was even more influential - in terms of d-beat, the extreme sonical approach (bulldozer sounding guitars even compared to GBH) and general atmosphere. GBH sounded like a wild street brawl soundtrack and Discharge was the sound of the apocalypse, a steel-toe boot landing on the face of humanity in musical form. No wonder other extreme bands picked up on that.

Death/thrash bands like Demolition Hammer, 1987-1991 Sepultura and Possessed are heavier than pure death metal a lot of the time. At least in my opinion.

Venom, Motorhead, and Black Sabbath are probably the 3 most influential metal bands in history

Black Sabbath practically created the genre, Motorhead made it faster and more aggressive, and Venom made it satanic.

Not really? What I mean is that I was forced to listen to extreme metal instead of slow metal, I'd choose some grindcore over any of the other styles. I should have gone into more detail.

You probably aren't looking hard enough. Black/Thrash and atmospheric BM are fucking amazing.

What albums do your recommend specifically?

For atmospheric black metal I'd recommend Nyrst and for black/thrash I'd recommend Desaster

If you like metal and can't see any worth in Usurper, then I dunno what to tell you. Especially Diabolosis or Twilight Dominion.

I have a friend that is like that. He will not touch stuff like Usurper, Desaster, Aura Noir etc. He loves NWOBHM, classic heavy metal, USPM, speed metal, even some thrash but stuff has no patience for stuff like Usurper.

I just meant that as part of the "BM sucks" thing. Usurper to me is like the best crossroads of BM with more accessible stuff, at least once you get beyond Venom and all that.

Ah. Understood. Yeah I also point to stuff like Usurper, Desaster, Bewitched (Swe) if someone does not like "traditional" second wave BM and such.

Walk with that riff is one of the most annoying songs I have ever heard.

That is an unpopular opinion I can get behind.

POPULAR opinion that is unpopular on this site:
-US """"Power Metal"""" is mostly garbage. I would much rather listen Rhapsody than Omen. And I say this as someone who can't stand Rhapsody.

-The best way to get someone into extreme metal is NOT through softer or more accessible hybrid style bands, instead you should choose the most "pure" and extreme albums of the genre. Wanna get into death metal? Listen to The Art Of War by Vader. Have a friend who is curious about black metal? Show him The Return...... by Bathory. (Not an unpopular opinion, just something I felt like saying)


I really like Necronemesis, but didn't get into Twilight Dominion. At first glance it has a very cool sound, but it didn't captivate me for some reason. The production is kinda weak too. Maybe I should give it another try.

What about this?:

Black metal sure. Death metal? Not sure if you've heard enough of it.

I'd argue that albums like Pleasure to Kill, Reign in Blood, Darkness Descends and Epidemic of Violence sound far heavier and more extreme than early death metal albums such as Scream Bloody Gore or Leprosy. People should just stop calling Demolition Hammer thrash/death metal though...because they're not.

"extreme instead of slow" isn't a real choice - they are overlapping categories, or don't you think disembowelment counts as extreme metal?

Those are FIGHTING words!

Hmmm play any thrash song you can find next to Infecting the Crypts by Suffocation and tell me which one sounds more extreme.

lol ok my previous comment seems to have ruffled some feathers so let me clarify. I think that the most extreme thrash bands are heavier than the average death metal band. If you take an album like Beneath the Remains there's no question in my mind that it's heavier than what earlier death metal bands were doing at that time. I didn't mean my comment to be taken as "thrash is always heavier than death metal" or anything like that.



My listening report from last year proves that that's not true: https://www.last.fm/user/DraconionDevil ... eport/year



I'm not sure what part of that genre description for Demolition Hammer you disagree with, the thrash part or the death part, but to me they're pretty much the epitome of a band that merges the two styles. However, I would say that their style is firmly rooted in thrash.



Ok. I choose Beneath the Remains by Sepultura and it's heavier lmao

I agree with the claim that a lot of Thrash is just as extreme as DM/BM but Suffocation on their first two albums is arguably the most extreme Metal can get imo.

Mkay, I pick Pleasure to Kill by Kreator.

Yes, this is some pretty sound thinking overall, I can agree with this.

Hobbs' Angel of Death, "Lucifer's Domain" (in fact the whole album). This maniacal thrash sounds positively unhinged whereas a lot of DM sounds very controlled.