Bay Area Thrash

In the early 1980s a handful of bands concentrated around the San Francisco Bay took what the NWOBHM had started and accelerated it to the limit. The circuit revolved around venues such as Ruthie's Inn and a constant traffic of musicians between groups — Exodus was Kirk Hammett's band before Metallica, and that circulation defines the scene as much as the sound does. Bay Area thrash was marked by technical precision and by palm-muted riffs chained into long structures, in contrast to the blunter brutality coming out of Los Angeles. It was from here that Metallica left to become the biggest metal band in the world, with Exodus and Testament sustaining the line for decades.