Which band invented thrash metal? It’s a debate that has raged for decades. Metallica are widely acknowledged to have released the first thrash album with their 1983 debut album Kill ’Em All. But that record didn’t come out of nowhere. Someone somewhere must have hit on the idea of speeding metal up, taking the influence of proto-thrash bands such as Motörhead and Venom and channelling into a new and faster strain of noise. And Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has a theory who it might be – but it’s not who you might think.
Long before Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield recruited him to replace former Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine on the eve of recording Kill ’Em All, Kirk was a member of Exodus. have been held up as the band who did more than most to lay the foundations for the nascent Bay Area thrash scene while Metallica were still kicking around the clubs of Los Angeles and Orange County.
