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Band:Get Thrashed DVD:THE STORY OF THRASH METAL Released by:Unknown Writer: Bradzilla Media: You Tube *not available on DVD at press time

Editors note: This is not available on DVD at press time. It is however it very limited theater release. Please check website linked above for details. Please click cover to check to see if Amazon is taking pre-orders yet.

After something like 2 or 3 years of hype, trailers and snippets, Get Thrashed is finally complete and making the rounds in several cities, arriving at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. At the movie’s website the filmmakers have given us little bits and pieces, with promises for it to be an in-depth look at the worldwide thrash scene. Although it doesn’t dig as deep as I had hoped, and there isn’t a whole lot in the way of new information that the well-versed legions don’t already know, Get Thrashed is a mostly well-done, nostalgic trip back to a time unremembered by the masses, but never forgotten by those who lived through it.

Interviews with everyone from Dave Mustaine, Lars Ulrich, Dan Lilker and Brian Slagel to Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Phil Anselmo and Kittie show on the former side people reminiscing about their youth and the great times and low times they shared together, and on the latter you get the people who experienced the scene either after the fact or from the outside. Most of those perspectives though don’t carry much more weight than “Anthrax, yeah they were awesome! “Among the Living” rules!”, but really that’s all you could expect from the Killswitch Engage or Lamb of God guys, because there’s only the fan perspective and no real insight into the scene.

Some of the best stuff comes early on from Dave Mustaine discussing his split with Metallica, complete with a wicked burn directed at his former bandmates, and Gary Holt remembering the insanity of late Exodus frontman Paul Baloff with his garden shears and hatred of all posers. There are plenty of fond remembrances, about touring, stagedivers, the hardcore kids versus the metal kids and the like, along with more sentimental topics touched on, specifically the passing of Cliff Burton, Paul Baloff and Dimebag Darrell (yes, Pantera makes an appearance. More on that later). The flow of the movie from segment to segment is sometimes choppy and could have been helped with a narrator, although any exposition from anyone other than the interviewed parties might have undermined the film’s original intention, which is to get the word directly from the source.

There are several sections devoted to the larger thrash scenes in the world, as well as to the biggest bands. Metallica is given the longest section, and understandably so given their status in the metal world, especially during this crucial period. It is only from their origin through the death of Cliff Burton that is covered, splintering off into a discussion, naturally, about Megadeth. Slayer and Anthrax, the other two of the purported “big four” each get their own segment, along with Exodus, and broader views of the three biggest thrash scenes in the U.S.

The Bay Area discussion is mostly centered around Metallica and Exodus, with not much mention of the likes of Vio-lence, Heathen, Forbidden or Testament, although they do appear among the many mostly-bootleg-quality live videos shown during or between interview segments. And, still frustratingly to me, no mention about how Steve Sousa of Legacy/Exodus got the nickname “Zetro”. Seriously, I even asked former bandmate Greg Christian of Testament once and even he didn’t know where it came from. But I digress. Moving to the Los Angeles scene Megadeth and Slayer are featured with casual mentions of the likes of Agent Steel, Dark Angel (Gene Hoglan participates in the interviews, backstage after a Strapping Young Lad gig) and Hirax (with Katon W. DePena decked out like a true metal warrior for his interview), but nothing that scratches the surface. From there the East Coast thrash scene gets its turn, specifically with Anthrax and Overkill. Bobby Blitz and Rat Skates (also an executive producer of the film) especially, along with Bobby Gustafson, are engaging and seem very upbeat discussing their part in the scene. The emergence of crossover bands like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies – who get their own segment – is also covered.

Now of course, if this were a 10 hour movie there would probably be plenty of time to discuss all the bands in the scene, both on the coasts as well as inland, such as Flotsam and Jetsam, Toxik, Nuclear Assault (who get a couple passing mentions), Dark Angel (ditto), Ulysses Siren (who do have some music on the soundtrack), Meliah Rage and Atrophy. As it is though, they stick with the bands that made the biggest waves, which I suppose ultimately makes the most sense. Plus if they tried to squeeze in any more footage we might be waiting another 3 years for it to see release.

The film leaves the States for a look at the legendary German thrash scene. Again, focusing on the big names – Destruction, Sodom and Kreator of course - and no mention of lesser known names like Assassin and Deathrow. Kreator is the only German band to get their own segment, and it’s not as thorough as far as band history as I thought it should have been, but their mark on the scene is evident in the interviews, one metal DJ even offering his opinion that “Pleasure To Kill” is the best thrash album of all time. Mille Petrozza and Sodom’s Tom Angelripper offer some words, but again there isn’t much new info.

From that point there are casual mentions of thrash bands all over the world, Sepultura being the only one to get named, and it is this part I found the emptiest. I can understand why they wouldn’t have covered some of the bands in the aforementioned American scenes between California and New York, but to have absolutely no mention of British bands like Onslaught, Sabbat or Xentrix, not even briefly, seems like a poor oversight. Additionally, no acknowledgement is given for bands in other European countries such as Pestilence and Artillery in Holland, or Coroner in Switzerland, and the only mention of Canadian thrash is a brief look at Voivod. Big middle finger to Annihilator, Sacrifice and Exciter I guess. Again I must remind myself that they didn’t want to make the movie an all-day affair so not every band can be afforded valuable screen time.

Which brings us to the discussion of thrash metal’s “demise” in the early 90s. The Thrash of the Titans tour is covered, that being the stadium tour package of Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer in 1990, and the conclusion is drawn that this tour was the peak of thrash, and from a commercial standpoint it probably was. Also brought up is the irony of tour opening act Alice In Chains role in the Seattle grunge scene that ultimately ended up destroying the last vestiges of commercial interest in thrash.

And then to carry the torch of thrash, or so the filmmakers want you to think, came Pantera. Now, I have never thought that Pantera was not a metal band. They’re not a good band, but they’re definitely metal. They are NOT, however, a thrash band despite what Scott Ian and Fozzy frontman/former WWE Champion Chris Jericho would have you believe. It must also be mentioned that Phil Anselmo talks like a 78 rpm record slowed down to 33.

Followed by an overview and closing words from some of the esteemed and not-so-esteemed panelists (Scott Ian actually says that “Toxicity” by System Of A Down is a thrash record???), the movie closes with a final word by Ron Quintana, founder of Metal Mania Zine and metal lifer, which is good because if they had chosen someone like Corey Taylor to close the film then the producers would have received a nasty email from me right after the movie ended. It did still feel a little empty at the end, as there was so much more they could have dug deeper into, and they no doubt could have.

For what it is, Get Thrashed is an enjoyable look at a great time in metal history. For the uninitiated it could serve as a perfect place to get started. For me, it got me amped to blast some Exodus on the ride home and scream “Bang your head against the stage!!!” out the window at pedestrians, so the filmmakers must have done something right. They couldn’t cover all things thrash in just 90 minutes, but that just means there’s plenty for the interested viewer to find on their own afterward. What we’re given instead is a lesson (in violence) by the best teachers you could ask for – the musicians and scene-makers themselves - which makes it a lesson worth learning.

Band:Get Thrashed DVD:THE STORY OF THRASH METAL Released by:Unknown Writer: Bradzilla Media: You Tube Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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