Genre Histories

Saint Vitus, four long-haired musicians in bullet belts, a bandana and a top hat, in a black and white 1980s band photograph Chapter 2

The Eighties: Saint Vitus, Trouble, Candlemass and Epic Doom

Ilse Brandt · Oct 26, 2025

Monstrosity in a band portrait against a rock wall Chapter 2

Florida: Tampa, Morrisound and the Boom (1987-1993)

Rafael Quintero · Oct 25, 2025

Death Angel on stage at Metal Frenzy in 2018

Testament, Death Angel, Vio-Lence, Forbidden: The Second Wave

Declan Rourke · Oct 23, 2025

Kreator posing together in 1987 Chapter 4

Teutonic Thrash: Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and the Ruhr (1983–1990)

Declan Rourke · Oct 19, 2025

A mosh pit on a club floor

Stage Diving and the Pit: How Thrash Crowds Were Born

Declan Rourke · Oct 16, 2025

Bulldozer, AC Wild in a cape at the centre, in red smoke Chapter 1

The First Wave: Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and the Word Itself (1981-1987)

Eirik Solvang · Oct 11, 2025

Pagan Altar, four musicians in leather jackets posing among old gravestones and ivy in a churchyard Chapter 1

Origins: Black Sabbath, Pentagram and the Decision to Slow Down

Ilse Brandt · Oct 5, 2025

Anthrax posing together in 1987 Chapter 3

Los Angeles, New York and the Big Four (1983–1988)

Declan Rourke with Saint Sylveszter · Oct 5, 2025

Repulsion on stage Chapter 1

Origins: Possessed, Death and the Break From Thrash (1983-1987)

Rafael Quintero · Oct 4, 2025

Cathedral, four long-haired musicians in shirts and a leather waistcoat, photographed against a dark background in the early 1990s Overview

The Slowest Music in Metal: Doom, Sludge and Stoner, from Black Sabbath to Now

Ilse Brandt · Sep 28, 2025

A snow-covered spruce forest in western Norway at last light, the setting black metal made its own Overview

Named Before It Existed: The Complete History of Black Metal

Eirik Solvang · Sep 21, 2025

Exodus performing outdoors in 1984 Chapter 2

The Bay Area: El Cerrito, Ruthie's Inn and the Birth of a Sound (1982–1986)

Declan Rourke · Sep 21, 2025

A darkened recording studio control room at night, the analogue mixing desk and tape machine where the Florida death metal records were cut Overview

Thrash With the Melodies Cut Out: The History of Death Metal

Rafael Quintero · Sep 14, 2025

Angel Witch in a black and white band portrait from their early years Chapter 1

Roots: NWOBHM, Motörhead, Venom, Hardcore and the Tape Traders (1979–1982)

Declan Rourke · Sep 7, 2025

A wall of thrash metal album sleeves spanning the genre Overview

Velocity Over Power: The Complete History of Thrash Metal

Declan Rourke with Saint Sylveszter · Aug 24, 2025