Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Death metal1985

Second genre

Thrash metal1983

Head to headDeath metal vs Thrash metal
Death metal: heaviness 10, melody 4, speed 9. Thrash metal: heaviness 8, melody 6, speed 9.Heaviness10 / 8Melody4 / 6Speed9 / 9
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Thrash keeps a chorus you can shout back. Death metal keeps the riff and deletes everything about it that was built to be memorable.

Thrash metal is shouted where death metal is growled or screamed, and keeps to a narrower band: 180 to 250 bpm against 120 to 260. To hear the difference, play Death next to Metallica. Both grew out of heavy metal, thrash metal first and death metal two years after.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Death metal10
Thrash metal8
−2
Speed
Death metal9
Thrash metal9
level
Melody
Death metal4
Thrash metal6
+2

Death metal

1985 · Florida / Sweden · 10 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Death metal

In short

Guttural vocals, low tunings, blast beats and tremolo picking. Thrash pushed past the limit of legibility, with two founding schools: Florida and Stockholm.

How it sounds

  • Guttural growls produced from the diaphragm, with controlled vocal distortion.
  • Tremolo picking on down-tuned guitars (D, C, B) and blast beats past 200 bpm.
  • Structures without a classic chorus; riffs succeed one another instead of repeating symmetrically.

Key acts

  • Death
  • Morbid Angel
  • Cannibal Corpse
  • Entombed

Start here

The pickEntombed - Left Hand Path. The first twenty seconds explain the entire Swedish sound.

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Thrash metal

1983 · California / Germany · 4 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Thrash metal

In short

NWOBHM plus hardcore punk: palm-muted riffs, brutal tempos and lyrics about war and society. The first truly extreme branch.

How it sounds

  • Palm-muted riffs in sixteenths, played with relentless downpicking.
  • Tempos of 180 to 250 bpm with skank beats and double kick.
  • Barked or shouted but still intelligible vocals, and fast aggressive solos.

Key acts

  • Metallica
  • Slayer
  • Megadeth
  • Kreator

Start here

The pickSlayer - Reign in Blood. Twenty-nine minutes that redefined the word extreme.

Full page →