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Thrash metal came to being in the mid-'80s, typified by breakneck tempos, shouted vocals and a level of hostility that plain scared the pants off parents. In the U.S., Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth became known as The Big Four. Simultaneously, Kreator, Destruction and Sodom formed The Big Three of Germany. Wherever they were, the bands all seemed to have a single aim: to take the hallowed moves of NWOBHM (that's New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and fire them out of a cannon. Scenes sprouted up in San Francisco, SoCal, Jersey and Toronto, to name a few spots, with records coming out throughout the '80s and on into the '90s. Basically, death and black metal came out of thrash. Below, we offer a collection of tunes geared to either introduce folks to the genre, hit on some of the big moments for the acolytes or just provide a playlist that, when suitably cranked, is guaranteed to bum out your neighbors. Unfortunately we don't have the rights to Metallica, so no "Whiplash."