Thrash metal: "Murder in the Front Row"

Director/filmmaker Adam Dubin (mitfr.com); Steven Cuevas, "The Frame" (SCPR.org, 8/1/19); Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story (official trailer)

In the early 1980s a small group of dedicated Bay Area headbangers shunned the hard rock of MTV and Hollywood "hairspray bands."

Instead, they favored a more dangerous brand of punk-infused metal that became known as thrash.

From the cassette tape-trading network to the clubs to the record stores and fanzines, director Adam Dubin reveals how the scene nurtured the music -- and that music spawned a movement.

Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story is told through powerful first-person testimony and stunning animation and photography.

The film is a social study of a group of young people defying the odds and building something essential for themselves.

Featuring interviews with Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Possessed, and many more! Narrated by Brian Posehn of Mr. Show with Bob and David and The Sarah Silverman Show fame.

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The Frame's documentary film review

Steven Cuevas, John Horn (scpr.org/programs/the-frame..., Aug. 1, 2019

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The bands Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth are household names these days — bonafide Grammy Award-winning rock stars. Such acclaim seemed inconceivable in the early 1980s when the bands were forging what came to be known as "thrash metal." Radio and MTV steered clear. But the feral, punk rock-inspired sound of thrash got a foothold in Northern California and became the epicenter of this metallic revolution. The new documentary Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story by longtime Metallica and Beastie Boys collaborator Adam Dubin tells not only the story of the bands but of the many fans who created the D-I-Y (do it yourself) scene around them. "The Frame" contributor Steven Cuevas has the first-hand story. Yep, he was there. LISTEN TO THIS FRAME EPISODE