Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that originated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the decade and the first-wave of black metal. Brazilian thrash metal grew from a blend of thrash, progressive, and death metal influences from around the world, expressing resistance, opposition, and rage. Brazilian metal became a way to express frustrations of young individuals longing for change in the system in a country experiencing political and social hardships. The lack of resources led bands to self-release their music, rather than turning to a label. This style of thrash metal includes fast-paced rhythms and vocals that encapsulate the feelings of Brazil's people. Although some bands, like Sepultura and Nervosa, have become mainstream, the scene remains an underground icon.

During the early 80s, bands from the United States, Germany and Canada, such as Metallica and Slayer (U.S.), Destruction and Kreator (Germany), and Voivod and Exciter (Canada) appeared. During this time, Brazil experienced a shift from dictatorship to democracy, while also facing economic instability. At the same time, Brazil had a growing metal and rock scene and was influenced by the same music subgenres as their European and North American counterparts: New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and hardcore punk.

Brazilian rock has its roots in the 1960s, developing from the movement called Jovem Guarda, which evolved into progressive rock and heavy metal. In 1982, the first Brazilian heavy metal LP was released by the band Stress, who is from the northern city Belém. The European and North American heavy metal and hardcore scenes influenced a majority of Brazilian bands, The first thrash metal (or speed metal) album released officially in Brazil in 1984 was a split album between two bands called Ultimatum, by Dorsal Atlântica and Metalmorphose. The album came out around the same time as Kill 'Em All by Metallica, War and Pain by Voivod, and Sentence of Death by Destruction.

In the late 1980s, Sepultura achieved success outside of Brazil. The last thrash metal albums to represent the "old-school" style of thrash in Brazil were Mass Illusion by Korzus (1991), Arise by Sepultura (1991), Rotten Authorities by Executer (1991), and The Laws of Scourge by Sarcófago (1991).^{[citation needed]}

Entering the 90s, thrash was mixed with alternative metal, grunge, industrial music, and Brazilian traditional music.The combination of thrash and Brazilian traditional music is sometimes labelled as tribal metal. Sepultura and Overdose are credited to be the first and most important acts that mixed thrash with tribal sounds. Bands that did not simply disappear from the scene had to adapt their sound to new genres that were appearing in order to succeed.

Korzus brought the New York hardcore influences to their sound with their album, KZS. A band from Belo Horizonte named The Mist became an "industrial-thrash" band and Dorsal Atlântica turned into a hardcore/crust variant. Ratos de Porão experimented with alternative metal before returning to a more punk-influenced sound.

During the 1990s, the most important bands to appear in the decade were Scars, Distraught and Zero Vision. However, their sound had a greater influence from groove metal of Machine Head than thrash metal.

In the 2000s, Brazilian metal expanded into a plethora of subgenres, including symphonic, progressive, and death metal. Additionally, newer urban cities in Brazil, such as Aracaju, sought inspiration from cities like São Paulo and Brasilia by adapting their own unique metal scene. A lot of these bands used Afro-Brazilian culture and rhythms to turn their music into something that piqued global interest. Metal soon turned into a resistance movement against political and social injustice.