Rudolph Can Play This Fucking Game: Thrash It or Trash It!

While hordes of old people who still use dial-up are swarming to super-sized retail outlets this season to buy their loved ones’ affection, the more tech-savvy among us simply point and click our money away into the bitwise abyss.  Similarly, while the plebes will rely on radio and opinionated journalists to decide which tunes may be allowed to kick their asses, you and I will while away untold time playing Thrash It or Trash It and being, like, totally fucking underground.
What began as a Metal Injection podcast topic has now been turned into a populist passtime that creator Robert Pasbani calls “the heavy metal blind taste test.”  Bands can upload their music to the game’s website, and listeners can create a free account and get down to thrashing/trashing immediately.  The site feeds you song after unidentified song, straight-up music unsullied by the bias introduced by band names and song titles… until you decide whether to Thrash It (good) or Trash It (bad).  At that point, you’re told the name of the band and the song you heard, and you’re given the opportunity to learn more about both.

The site is simple and straightforward in its presentation and use, with big rectangular buttons and uncomplicated navigation.  Your votes are tallied and become part of the charts of top (or bottom) rated songs.  The “Hot or Not”-style game is compelling because of its automated continuity and because, hey, it’s fucking metal!  In its current nascent stage, the pool of available music is a little bit shallow, but the game’s progenitor hopes that increased traffic will mean more people uploading more diverse material for game players’ consumption.

Go have a little (or a lot of) fun at Thrash It or Trash It, and maybe wake up to a couple cool bands while you’re at it.  Hey, don’t you kinda wish Decibel‘s reviews section worked like this?