Get Thrashed

"Get Thrashed" does an excellent job detailing the history of thrash and other offshoots of metal up to the time of its release in 2006. Generally speaking, thrash combined the double bass drumming and complex guitar riffing of NWOBHM bands (including Priest and Maiden) and fused it with the aggression and speed of punk/hardcore along with the technicality of prog bands. The documentary relays all of this in a very energetic fashion, including references to the most prominent bands, along with myriad commentators.

"The Big Four" are, of course, noted at length, but myriad "second tier" bands are acknowledged, like Overkill, Death Angel, Forbidden, Sepultura, Hirax, Kreator, Sodom and Anvil. Hardcore bands are also recognized, like Cro-Mags, as well as the later bands that were heavily influenced by thrash. Of course, there are some omissions, such as Bathory (especially HAMMERHEART, not that early drek), but what's packed-in here is very impressive and entertaining.

Sepultura is fittingly acknowledged and I'm glad that the Derrick Green/Andreas Kisser form of the band is interviewed twice because this is easily the best version of the group, as observed in excellent albums like NATION, A-LEX and MACHINE MESSIAH, et al.

The original drummer of Overkill, Rat Skates (who had a LOT to do with establishing the band up through their first two albums) was heavily involved in the behind-the-scenes production. Meanwhile singer Bobby Blitz Ellsworth appears frequently as a commentator. The original guitarist of their first four albums, Bobby Gustafson, also appears. (I, incidentally, thought Overkill improved after those albums, with excellent releases like THE KILLING KIND, FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW and KILLBOX 13, even I HEAR BLACK and WFO).

You'll hear a relatively unknown song a couple of times with a chorus that goes "Thrash, thrash, thrash... Thrill, thrill, thrill... Mosh, mosh, mosh." This is by the obscure Swedish band The Law and the song is called "Anthem" (with a 1.5 minutes intro called "Lawman & the Law"). You can hear it on Youtube, if interested. The band independently released the song in 2004 and 2006, which explains how it was available for this 2006 documentary. They included it on their only 2008 full-length album and that's the last anyone's heard of the band, except for two singles in 2010.

The film runs 1 hour, 40 minutes.

GRADE: A.

A fun, occasionally amusing documentary. However, there are some things that have to be set straight here.

First of all, the predictable old cliché of talking about the "Big Four", which was always based on utter nonsense. (What is music? A sport? Are these four in the semifinals of some grand hypothetical thrash-band tournament?) Metallica and Slayer were/are extremely influential, hence their places in this fictional "four" aren't questioned. Megadeth is a great, inventive band, too, but Anthrax was never even close to reaching the quality of the other three. If commercial success is the main basis in deciding who's "up there", then that's rather daft, and ironic considering that extreme metal isn't mainstream. Ian, one of the best rhythm guitar players, and Benante, a terrific drummer, certainly played a major role in the development of crossover with S. O. D., but Anthrax was rarely much more than a joke thrash band - that later developed into some laughable metal-grunge hybrid thanks to Ian's cash-lust i.e. His persistence in following trends. Their debut album was pitiful, more like a typically dull heavy metal album, and the vastly overrated "Among The Living" has some good riffs but also some rather cheesy pop-like singing as that absolutely awful vomit-inducing chorus in "Indians". They wrote some great songs, most of which are on STD, but none of their albums are classics. I could give a rat's ass about their supposed "pioneering" in creating "rap metal", with those talentless clowns Public Enemy.

Even worse, Overkill feature here far more prominently than they deserve, partly due to the fact that their original drummer had a lot to do with the making of this film. True, they'd been around from very early on. However, Overkill are more heavy metal than thrash, always have been, with those annoying screechy vocals. "In Union We Stand", their quasi-hymn, is so bad it could have easily been written by Manowar. Draw your swords out, kids! One person here even places Overkill in the main five thrash bands. Of course he would, he was wearing their shirt during the interview...

If any 80s thrash band deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Metallica and Slayer, it's Exodus. There are only 2-3 thrash albums that can compete with "Bonded By Blood" in sheer consistency, sound-quality, song-writing, guitar-playing, drumming, and mood. Unfortunately, when Baloff got the boot, this band took a plunge and never recovered. "Pleasures of the Flesh" was quite good, but the following albums were average. I have to totally disagree with Hirax's singer who said that Exodus found the perfect replacement in Zetro Souza. Personally, I have never met a thrash fan who doesn't hate his voice. Zetro neither has power nor can he carry a tune: he always sounds as if he's doing no 2 (and judging by his increasing weight, that's probably happening more often now). Perhaps these abominable vocals from Zetro sunk Exodus.

For anyone who's followed thrash closely in the 80s and 90s, there aren't any major revelations in GT - with the exception of Dave Mustaine's claim to have practically invented thrash all by himself. He didn't say it in so many words, but that was pretty much the gist as he described how he "taught" Kerry King and James Hetfield the basics of rhythm-guitar playing. This typically bold, arrogant, exaggerated claim - as only Mustaine can make it - would sound silly if it weren't supported by Ian and Gary Holt. So could it be that Mustaine is the "Father of Thrash"? Let's not forget Venom in all this: they may have mostly sucked, but they played the fast thrash riff before any of these guys.

For some reason his Grand Highness the Hetfield did not deem it worth his divine time to appear in the documentary. It would have been more interesting to hear his take on the whole story than to listen to Lars Ulrich ramble with his new Hollywood teeth shining like walrus tusks. Lars even had the gal to describe the mid-80s as a period in which "there was none of that crap about selling units, it was about the passion". This, coming from Mr. Napster himself, the guy who would sell his right arm to get that next multi-platinum album... Then again, Ulrich always was the least likable personality in the thrash scene. His reputation as a money-obsessed scenester follows him to all four corners of the world...

Gary Holt, Hoglan, and particularly Sean Killian were more interesting, fun, and to the point. ("I neutered my cat. Now's he's French". Great shirt.) Pantera's Phil was predictably zombified, drugged out of his mind. It was fitting to see Devin Townsend's S. Y. L., because that band was one of extremely few who played brilliant thrash in the mid and late 90s. I can understand why useless new-generation metal bands like Slipknot, Lamb Of God, In Flames, Hatebreed, and Godsmack were invited to give their views, but all they said were things like "wow! Slayer is cool!". Their presence was more useful in an unintended way: they remind us just how low metal has sunk over the years. This decade has seen almost nothing new, just the same old 80s clichés being recycled, all the singers sounding the same, and bands without an iota of song-writing skills (e.g. Slipknot) being hailed as messiahs.

Grunge is being given here as a poor excuse for why thrash died off. The the main reason lies in bands losing their edge, turning more commercial. Grunge is just a small part of the fall of thrash.

Informative to a certain point, had some fun moments, but indeed not living up to the title. Europe gets very few attention and some American bands get way to much attention. Some trash bands got hyped over the top in their own country, but couldn't live up to the hype. See for instance Overkill in the US and UK bands like Acid Reign... Don't hate me for this, they did some nice things, but overall I'm just telling facts. If you really love the music, it's often hard to stay objective. I think this happened here. So be it. I'm happy I finally saw some new footage from bands like Kreator, Death Angel, etc... Maybe I'm spoiled with documentaries like "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", or "American Hardcore" (that does live up to the title), but I was a little disappointed...

As a huge fan of Thrash Metal, I can definitely say that "Get Thrashed," represents the genre very well. Most of the time I feel like this sub-genre of Metal is often glossed over in a lot of documentaries, or they will mostly just focus on Metallica or Slayer. But "Get Thrashed," goes beyond the usual crap. It analyzes the culture, the fans, the impact, as well as the music itself without ever seeming too preachy or self indulgent. It helps that the majority of people interviewed are the people who played a big part in it, cause often these documentaries will have maybe a few of the key players then a bunch of journalists. Personally when I want to be informed on something I want to go to the source itself, rather than get someone's testimonial. My only real flaw with it is that it does meander a bit, otherwise it's great.

Get Thrashed basically serves as a guide to thrash metal. It's a true 'who's who' film that explains in great detail the up and comings of many thrash bands that still exist today. From start to finish it's a fun ride packed with interviews from artists (including Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, Corey Taylor, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament, Kreator), DJs, fans, and more.

It begins with a long look at the explosion of thrash metal from L.A. and San Francisco, and gradually progresses to other North American scenes including New York and New Jersey. We hear about the madness of early Exodus shows, the technicality of Megadeth, the blast-beats of Anthrax, and of course the early days of Metallica. We also get a glimpse at the lifestyle of the thrash movement. Everything from touring, playing shows, the fans, and even death is covered here. We learn that thrash metal truly was raw, gritty, and true to its fans.

If you have any interest at all in metal, I would really consider picking this up. It's a detailed guide into a movement which influenced almost all metal bands that exist today. The film is a non-stop riff-shredding feast of music and early footage of kick-ass bands.