Did Queen Invent Thrash Metal Genre? Here's What Brian May Thinks

Did Queen help invent thrash metal with one of its hit songs?

Since the band's formation in 1970 in London, its members - Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon - continuously worked on songs of different genres. Although May and Taylor are the only active members (Mercury died; Deacon retired), the duo continues the band's legacy by remaining active through the band and its spinoffs.

Although Queen is known for its songs, May recently opened up about the possibility of one of its tracks helping create thrash metal.

May recently appeared in an interview with Guitar World and discussed how "Stone Cold Crazy" made a massive contribution to the genre although the members did not "take it seriously."

The original version was included on the Queen's third album in 1974, "Sheer Heart Attack."

"It was one of the first songs we ever played together, so it's interesting that it never made it onto a record until the third album," he said. "That's quite unusual, isn't it? I think we were playing 'Stone Cold Crazy' in our very first gigs."

Metallica notably covered "Stone Cold Crazy" after Queen released it.

According to the guitarist, the original version did not have much pace to it. So when he added a riff on it, the public reportedly started telling him it was the beginning of thrash metal.

For May, "Stone Cold Crazy" has a lot of adrenaline in it, leading him to call the track "nice and heavy."

Queen's Accolades Explored

Queen's career in the past decades led the band to receive several notable accolades and recognitions.

Among the most famous ones involved its hit song, "Bohemian Rhapsody." The track was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame two years after the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book voted it the favorite hit of all time based on a poll.

The same track became the most-streamed classic rock song, most-streamed song from the 20^th century, and a Diamond certified. When Queen performed it at Live Aid in 1985, the song made the public dub it as the best live act in the music history.

Within the past two decades, Queen got inducted by several organizations. In 2002, Queen scored a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band also became the first group to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Its other inductions were made by the UK Music Hall of Fame, RockWalk of Fame, VH1 Rock Honors, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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