By the mid-1980s, the sound of heavy metal had come a long way from the demonic riffs of Sabbath and the groovy beats of Deep Purple. Its themes had evolved a lot, too. When Ozzy encounters Satan on the song “Black Sabbath,” he lets out a petrified cry of “Oh, no, no, please, God, help me!” But in the music of Slayer, Entombed, and the other bands in this playlist, we start to see man aligning with evil, pursuing it, making peace with it, even encouraging it. As thrash gave way to the rise of death metal, the mantra became “the more evil, the better”—we start getting dark, mythological, and even sadistic lyrics accompanying faster, heavier, and gnarlier music. As Mercyful Fate sang, “You know my only pleasure/ Is to hear you cry.” If that ain’t true evil, I don’t know what is.This feature is part of our Thrash 101 online course that was produced in partnership with the good rocking folks at GimmeRadio, a free 24/7 metal radio station hosted by heavy-music experts like Megadeths Dave Mustaine and Lamb of Gods Randy Blythe. Check them out here and sign up for the Thrash 101 course here.
