Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story

None of the tunes and few of the faces and stories in this doc will be unfamiliar to thrash aficionados, but as someone who always felt a strong connection to the music and no connection at all to the beer-soaked mayhem that fueled it, I was most interested in the glancing references made to the adults in the room, some of whom were new to me. Metal Blade Records honcho Brian Slagel; Ruthie’s Inn proprietor/promoter Wes Robinson (notably the only prominent Black face in the scene); Megaforce Records founders Jon and Marsha Zazula; Day on the Green festival organizer Bill Graham; Possessed manager and scene den mother Debbie Abono. Without them balancing the books, booking the shows, releasing the records, and keeping the metal maniacs from self-destructing, most of these bands would have flamed out long before they had a chance to become legendary. I’d love to see a documentary focused on these unsung heroes.