Question
Scorpion, with Megadeth being recognized as one of the founders of Thrash Metal, I'd like to hear how the band defines thrash metal, how it feels to be one of the original founders of the genre, how it has developed over time and how it feels to have influenced generations to come.
Thanks, Adam
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Answer
Hello Adam, I went to David Ellefson with your questions. Here is what he had to say about it.
Thrash is a combination of the attitude from punk rock but the riffs and complexities of traditional metal. I never really think of it in terms of being one of the original founding members because we were just creating our music. In light of that, it's still an honor to be seen as such by our fans. It didn't appeal to everyone because at that same point in time, 1981-1992, it was mostly melodic 'hair metal' on the landscape. Thrash appealed to the rest of us who liked the essence of pure music without all the hype and showy stuff surrounding it. It emerged out of European metal music and by the mid 1980's the USA and other parts of the world were ready to embrace it because they were tired of the glitzy hair metal that was all the rave at that time.
The 1990's were not very favorable to thrash music. In fact from 1994-2004 was a really dark period for the genre. Then the bands in the mid 2000's started to really make it thrive; bands like 'Lamb Of God' and others really lit the flame because they were from a younger generation who grew up on our music.
I think thrash metal has influenced today’s music mostly from the technical side of the musicianship. Players of other genres have credited bands like Megadeth & Metallica as influential to their playing. It's a great feeling to know that we may have had something to do with influencing generations to come!
