In the summer of 1984, with the specter of Big Brother looming in the background, two significant records were released back-to-back—Haunting the Chapel by Slayer in June and Ride the Lightning by Metallica in July. Both bands, who had borrowed elements from speed metal that had existed since the '70s and was being played by various bands in the early '80s, intensified the speed metal characteristics and infused them with their own unique style, creating the new genre of thrash metal. While both bands’ debut albums also contained tracks with elements that could be classified as thrash, they didn’t present as cohesive and definitive a sound as their subsequent works. However, despite both being thrash metal bands, it’… More