Ex-Anthrax/Armored Saint Vocalist John Bush Talks ’84 Tour With Metallica in Exclusive “The Rise of L.A. Thrash Metal” Clip

Slayer turned down a gig opening for Flock of Seagulls.

Dave Mustaine sold the Stryper bass player pot and almost invested in the band — until he saw the yellow and black festooning the studio and got cold feet.

Future Body Count bassist Vincent Price once threw down his instrument in the middle of a Steel Prophet gig opening for Sacred Reich to chase a racial epithet-hurling heckler straight out of Fenders Ballroom and onto the street.

When Steve “Zetro” Souza quit Legacy, the members of the band that would soon transition into Testament and make a record for Megaforce attempted to recruit the singer of Abattoir via several snail mailed entreaties before, unrequited, fortuitously joining forces with Chuck Billy.

No matter how much you love classic thrash, unless you’re an insider’s insider or a member of one of the formative bands of that much-beloved subgenre The Rise of L.A. Thrash Metal will almost certainly blow your mind multiple times.

Narrated by Dave Ellefson of Megadeth and featuring a series of deep dive interview with scene players ranging from Lars Ulrich (Metallica), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies), Rocky George (Suicidal Tendencies), and Eric Peterson (Testament), and Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records) to Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth), Juan Garcia (Agent Steel, Abattoir, Body Count), Katon De Pena (Hirax), Scott Peterson (Cryptic Slaughter), Wolf Hoffmann (Accept), Brian Tatler (Diamond Head) and many others, this engrossing, revelatory documentary makes the case that, though overshadowed by the San Francisco Bay Area in the metal history books, the early Los Angeles scene was not only “the rightful birthplace of three out of the ‘Big 4’ thrash bands,” but also ” the breeding grounds for unconventional thrash/punk-metal bands.”

Today Decibel is pleased to present an exclusive clip from the film featuring legendary ex-Anthrax/Armored Saint vocalist John Bush discussing the 1984 Metallica/WASP/Armored Saint tour.

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