Teutonic thrash metal is a regional scene of

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

music that originated within

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-speaking countries during the 1980s, and its title is a reference to the Germanic tribe. Along with Bay Area thrash metal, East Coast thrash metal, and

Brazilian thrash metal Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that originated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the deca ...

, this was one of the major scenes of thrash metal in the 1980s, and it was developed and popularized by four German bands –

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

, Sodom and

Tankard A tankard is a form of drinkware consisting of a large, roughly cylindrical, drinking cup with a single handle. In recent centuries tankards were typically made of silver or pewter, but can be made of other materials, for example glass, wood, ...

– that have been referred to as "The Big Four of Teutonic Thrash". The label of "Big Four" has often been rejected, emerging from the belief that the influence and popularity of Tankard was far less than that of the other 3, leading to the alternate title, "the Teutonic Trio".D, Hoffman. (Director) Total Thrash - The Teutonic Story ilmMindjazz Pictures

History

Two bands influential to early Teutonic thrash metal were

(from

Lörrach Lörrach () is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the district seat of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, inclu ...

) and

Holy Moses Holy Moses were a German thrash metal band active from 1980 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2023. They were well noted for being fronted by Sabina Classen, who was the only constant member of Holy Moses, and for being one of the first German thrash m ...

(from

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

). After hearing

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

, both bands soon changed their sound within a matter of weeks to their new and permanent sound. Other bands soon followed. In 1982, the

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

-based band Sodom released their first demo, ''Witching Metal''. In their early days Sodom were highly influenced by the

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

, to the point they credited being a trio to bands like

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

and Venom who also featured

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

line-ups. Their style featured raspy vocals, palm muted guitar

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s, and frantic

double bass drumming The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

. Only with the release of their second LP '' Persecution Mania'' and with guitarist Frank Blackfire's input to move away from their original sounds and themes they became a thrash metal band for good.

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

formed and released its debut album '' Endless Pain'' in 1985. Destruction would release their full-length debut '' Infernal Overkill'' in the same year. Also around this time, the German-based SPV records created its Steamhammer imprint label, a label designed to primarily sign metal bands. Noise Records was founded soon afterwards. These two labels would help spread the Teutonic thrash metal scene globally. Teutonic thrash metal would not only come from Germany, but also from Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland. The biggest band to come outside of Germany that were part of the scene was

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

, a highly technical and progressive thrash metal band from Switzerland, that was noted for having dark lyrics and accomplished guitar work on the part of Tommy Vetterli, who would later join Kreator. Many bands soon split up or changed their sound, resulting in further backlash against the scene. Kreator went in to make their music more melodic with gothic and industrial influences, while Sodom would attempt a

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

/thrash style for one album and then briefly move into a more

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

influenced sound. Destruction would instead face a period of instability which saw them split with frontman Schmier, releasing a thrash album without him ('' Cracked Brain'') then attempting to go

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

-friendly and less "thrashy" with the poorly received '' The Least Successful Human Cannonball''. Meanwhile, Schmier would start Headhunter, achieving some success with a slew of three power-thrash albums similar in sound to some of the offerings of Rage.

References

{{Kreator Extreme metal German styles of music Music scenes Thrash metal