Photos: Bay Area Thrash Metal In The 80s, Including Metallica, Testament, and Exodus

Thrash metal ruled the Bay Area in the early 80s, giving birth to Metallica, Testament, Possessed, and Exodus and supporting L.A. bands such as Slayer and Megadeth.

Budding photographers Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew were there to capture much of it, collecting 400 photos from the period in the book Murder In The Front Row: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter. They've shared a dozen of their pictures with SFist, which depict a baby-faced Metallica just starting out and hair-flying concert footage from many now-defunct Bay Area venues.