2 posts tagged “anthrax”

 A few years ago, when I found out that there was a documentary on the 80's Thrash Metal scene being made, I couldn't help to get excited. I immediately dug through what was left of my "physical" memories of that time and submitted them for use in the film. Music was my life in High School, {and 20 yrs later pretty much still is to a certain degree} and it was all metal and all punk all the time. My friends and I would drive to the city at least twice a week to either go record shopping at The Record Vault or go see a show. Over the years we saw every thrash band you could think of, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed, Anthrax, Testament, Trouble, Exciter, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Motorhead, Mercyful Fate, etc. The list could go on and on. Living in the Bay Area made that time even more special to us since the whole scene literally unfolded right in front of our eyes.
With all that being said, as I sat through the screening of Get Thrashed on Saturday night, I couldn't help but flashback to that period in my life. Yeah, it may have run on just a bit too long, and would have been just fine without any reference to "Nu Metal", but all in all the film hit the nail square on the fucking head. Director/ Producer Rick Ernst did an amazing job assembling footage of the bands of that era and really captured the vibe and spirit of those days. Lots of great concert footage, as well as interviews with Steve "Zetro" Souza, Harold O, Ron Quintana, members of Death Angel, Slayer, and a very funny Bobby Blitz of Overkill. And although San Francisco was ground zero for Thrash Metal, there was also very thorough coverage of both the L.A. and New York scenes. Other highlights for me included:

• Plenty of screen time for both Suicidal Tendancies and DRI. Both may have started out as "punk" bands, but they pretty much invented the crossover sound and made it acceptable for punk kids to like metal, and metal kids to like punk. Both bands also seemed to be curiously absent absent from a few "punk" documentaries that were made recently. They were too important to be left out.

• Dave Mustaine. I've always had a soft spot for the guy. Yeah he may have cleaned up and found someone to pray to, but I've always felt he stuck to his guns and did things on his own terms. I loved how arrogant he was, and how he mentioned his unmistakable influence on 3 of the 5 big thrash bands.

• Vio-lence. Without a doubt my favorite local band during that era. They would open up for just about any big band that came through, and often had the crowd more worked up than the headliner. I still remember the show with Voivod, and bassist Dean Dell tearing up his knee. Their music was heavier than everyone else's, and it was cool to see them get some props.

I could go on and on about the things I like about this movie, but I think you pretty much get the idea. For me, Get Thrashed was a very nice way to re-open a book I finished and put down many years ago. If you a old metalhead like myself, or just curious about those days, I highly recommend you go see it when it comes to your town!

Back in the mid-eighties, any thrash metal band playing in S.F. would make a stop at the Record Vault, the LEGANDARY metal record store on Polk St. As a loyal metalhead, I would always go just to chat with them, and tell them how much I was into there music. Most bands were pretty cool and enjoyed posing for pictures, signing album covers and just hanging out and bull-shitting with us fans. Some of the  friendliest and coolest were Lemmy from Motorhead, Wendy O. Williams, and King Diamond. Scott Ian from Anthrax and the recently concluded "Supergroup" series on VH1 was kind of a dick and seemed a bit too cool to socialize with his fans. But out of all the bands I met during those years, no one was a bigger prick then James Hetfield of Metallica. I was at a show at The Stone,{I believe it was Voivod} back in 1985 or so and there was James, sitting in the back reading a metal fanzine. No big deal, as it was pretty common to see members of Metallica at shows, as it was right before they started getting huge. What was funny was that the zine that he was reading was a one that I was writing record and shows reviews for. I thought this was the perfect oppertunity to go up to him talk about metal for a few minutes, shake his hand, and tell him I was a fan of his music.  So I go up to him, introduce myself and tell him that I was a writer for the zine he was reading. So he just looks at me shakes his head and gets up and walks away. I felt about two feet tall. Even though I was thinking "Fuck You!" in my head I was speechless.  I still see James at shows to this day, and one day when he isn't surrounded by all his flunkies, I am going to go up to him and tell him this story, and then tell him that his band now sucks.