Teutonic thrash metal

Teutonic thrash metal is a regional scene of thrash metal music that originated within German-speaking countries during the 1980s, and its title is a reference to the Germanic tribe. Along with Bay Area thrash metal, East Coast thrash metal, and Brazilian thrash metal, this was one of the major scenes of thrash metal in the 1980s, and it was developed and popularized by four German bands—Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, and Tankard—that have been referred to as "The Big Four of Teutonic Thrash". The label of "Big Four" has often been rejected, emerging from the belief that the influence and popularity of Tankard was far less than that of the other three, leading to the alternate title "the Teutonic Trio".