Thrash - when the technical prowess of heavy metal formed a holy trinity with its best friends - power and speed. Motörhead led the way, predating the blistering tempos of not only punk rock, but also its ferocious offshoot, hardcore. Then came Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and Venom - all of whom helped define the sound and style of a genre that, against all odds, found massive worldwide success in bands like Metallica, Megadeath, Slayer, and Anthrax a.k.a. thrash metal's Big Four.
From '85 to '91, the creative and mainstream successes of The Four forever cemented their reps as metal gods, enabling each band to endlessly put out records and forever tour the world to bring thrash metal to the masses (quite literally in Metallica's case, as the band even played Antarctica for a one-off gig).
But what about the numerous thrash bands that fill out the history of the genre in far greater numbers than 4? As essential as The Big Four have been, it's impossible to understand the history of thrash in just four bands. So here's ten thrash classics to help you flesh out a genre that was, is, and always shall be the glorious alignment of style, power, and speed.
10 10. Morbid Saint - Spectrum Of Death (1989)
Key Tracks: Lock Up Your Children, Assassin, Crying For Death
One listen to Morbid Saint's Spectrum Of Death, and you'll start to understand why the "Satanic Panic" crisis of the 1980s was something that suburban parents genuinely feared. This thing sounds straight-up possessed! Like the demon on the album cover came to life to form a band for the sole purpose of sucking the souls out of all the long-haired and Reebok-wearing youths from Mid-America (and beyond).
The pride of Sheboygan, Wisconsin (I thought the devil was supposed to be from Kansas?), Morbid Saint recorded their one (and only) album in 1988. An instant classic, except there was one problem: almost no one heard it. It was only released by a tiny record label based in Mexico. Even more impressive? Spectrum Of Death wasn't even conceived as an album proper - it was the band's demo tape.
In subsequent years, the growing rep of both the band and the album has turned this repurposed demo into its rightful status as an all-out thrash classic. Slayer and Satan would be proud!
9 9. Sodom - Agent Orange (1989)
Key Tracks: Agent Orange, Ausgebornt, Baptism Of Fire
Come on, look at that album cover! It screams a classic - like Doom Guy and a baddie from Half-Life 2 have ed forces to blow up planet earth. Way rad, but how does it sound? Positively evil! Harsh, fiery vocals accompany a thick brick Discharge-influenced sound that results in a punishing (in a good way) listen.
Each track on Agent Orange flows with equal parts punk, metal, and military bombast, all ing forces to create a cohesive whole that rocks from start-to-finish, without a single bum note in between. It's perhaps one of the most economical, stripped down thrash recordings of its time.
As a bonus, unlike most thrash records of the day, you can actually hear the bass! Not only that, it's majestically played by one Tom Angelripper (a metal name for the ages) with the rhythm section completed by his partner-in-crime, drummer Chris Witchhunter (ditto). Sodom's Agent Orange not only rips, it tears.
8 8. Sacrilege - Behind The Realms Of Madness (1984)
Key Tracks: Lifeline, Shadow From Mordor, A Violation Of Something Sacred
Where to start with Sacrilege? In the early days of trash, the Birmingham, UK band immediately stood out from the pack in no small part due to the band's vocals: Lynda "Tam" Simpson sings like anger incarnate. Lyrical lines like "Through innocent minds the knife glides in / cutting the lifeline to sanity" are delivered with a contemptuous roar - she sings it like she means it.
Behind her is a band that's equally ferocious and raw. They're loud, fast, and abrasive. They play with all their edges upturned and spiked, with zero attempts at sanding themselves down for mainstream tastes. While there's an undeniable influence from the UK82 crowd in Sacrilege's sound (think The Exploited) the band is predominately thrash metal, whilst simultaneously inventive and adventurous enough to be considered originators to eventual subgenre offshoots like crust and stenchcore.
While later albums saw Sacrilege taming down their sound, Behind The Realms Of Madness remains their blitzkrieg classic - six songs in a breakneck twenty-six minutes. A deep cut, for sure - but once you know, then you know.
7 7. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Key Tracks: The Usurper, Jewel Throne, Circle Of Tyrants
All the bands that make up the Big Four owe something to Celtic Frost. So do all the bands that would later embrace death, doom, progressive, and black metal.
The Switzerland-based band were not only early progenitors of thrash, they also took the genre into uncharted territories, imbibing it with unbridled experimentation, plus a healthy dose of adventurous fun (cue Celtic Frost's take on Wall Of Voodoo's new wave classic "Mexican Radio" for proof of that). But so long as ominous and foreboding sounds were on the menu, no stylistic detours or flourishes were off-limits to Celtic Frost. That willingness to experiment coalesced best in To Mega Therion.
While early on, Celtic Frost were rough and ready to tumble - still holding onto their raw roots of their previous incarnation as Hellhammer, by To Mega Therion, the Frost were already combining their thrash sound with dark, symphonic flourishes. There's an undeniable cinematic element to the album, something Metallica embraced with ...And Justice For All and The Black Album.
Metallica would even go on to "butcher" the album's second track, "The Usurper". Or at least that's according to Celtic Frost frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer who told Rolling Stone in 2019:
"They [Metallica] butchered it, and it was humiliating. Why don't they leave their millionaire fingers off it? They've long lost the ability to play true metal in my opinion. Maybe I should go onstage and do a really miserable version of 'Hit The Lights' with, like, 200 mistakes to set the balance."
Fighting words, but 'To Mega Therion' is something of a sacred cow not only among Celtic Frost, but with thrash fans in general.
6 6. Coroner - No More Color (1989)
Key Tracks: Die By My Hand, D.O.A., Tunnel Of Pain
Speaking of Celtic Frost, here's their roadies - no joke! The of Coroner were all employed as Celtic Frost's road crew, getting their start opening up gigs for said band.
In fact, the band was so dedicated to their day jobs, Coroner didn't even properly tour as a band until 1989 - six years after forming and after two full-length albums under their belt. No More Color is the band's third and best albums. It grooves, it moves, and one listen is all it takes to understand Coroner's reputation as "the Rush of thrash metal".
There's an accessibility factor to Coroner's music that previous entries have lacked: these dudes stood at equal strength with The Big Four in all regards, especially in of Megadeth's instrumental precision (dig those cold, meticulous leads!) and Slayer's corrosive vocal approach. No More Color is one of thrash's best albums by one of thrash's best bands. Period.
5 5. Sepultura - Beneath The Remains (1989)
Key Tracks: Inner Self, Mass Hypnosis, Slaves Of Pain
1989 was such a watershed year for thrash metal that any "best of" list will always be heavy with albums baring that date. It was prime time for the genre before it peaked and elements of its sound became watered down for radio play as the '90s took over.
Brazil's Sepultura had no such deigns on mainstream accessibility at this point in their career. 1989's Beneath The Remains, their third full-length offering, still saw the band as raw as ever but inching in on the Bay Area melodic thrash made famous by Metallica and Megadeath. Except Sepultura's vocals and rhythm guitars were way heavier; akin to Anthrax's penchant for rocking their grit in tandem with their groove.
Frontman Max Cavalera's vocals are recorded deep and dry. He has a bark almost similar to the New York City Hardcore bands that were operating at the same time (Cromags, Murphy's Law, Agnostic Front) and it really helps Sepultura stand apart. While the technical side of thrash in 1989 was definitely fist-in-the-air, the purposeful groove-oriented offerings heard on Beneath... are pure boots to the ground. It's a mosh pit classic.
4 4. Testament - The Legacy (1987)
Key Tracks: Over The Wall, Burnt Offerings, Alone In The Dark
A strong contender for a position in the alternate dimension's Big Five, Testament crafted an instant classic in the aptly titled The Legacy. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick imbibes the entire album with absolutely shredding solos that are as technically impressive as they are earwormingly catchy.
This is the sound of Bay Area thrash. Testament made an album as good as Metallica or Megadeth's best, no question. The problem? They might have peaked too early. While 1988's The New Order and 1989's Practice What You Preach are strong, neither did much to expand what's already heard here on their debut, so much as show the band polish their sound to lesser returns..
That's fine, but unlike The Big Four who all bested their debut albums, it proved slightly less thrilling to be a Testament fan as time marched on. Still, The Legacy is an undisputed essential (as is The New Order) for any thrash enthusiast, with the late album track "Alone In The Dark" showing the type of growth that most bands take years to develop.
3 3. Voivod - Killing Technology (1987)
Key tracks: Killing Technology, Tornado, Forgotten In Space
You could take any one of the five Voivod albums the band released in the 80s and put it on this list - they're all classics. 1987's Killing Technology gets our pick for top spot. Why? It's just such a wholly conceived and executed work that brims with originality.
The world of Voivod isn't always an immediate sell for the first time listener. They're a band not beholden to any rigid metal genre or niche. The long-running Montrealers combine punk, prog rock, and thrash metal, then layer their sound with heavy sci-fi themes and concepts, delivered by the one-of-a-kind voice of Denis "Snake" Bélanger.
All-the-while, there's a melodic hardcore bent to their music that's somewhat of anomaly in thrash. The band knows its way around catchy hooks, be they vocal lead or in the band's sometimes languid guitars that seem to hold and stretch out their riffs for maximum impact.
No one sounds quite like Voivod, yet their influence spans through to all the bands that make up The Big Four (Metallica's Jason Newsted ed Voivod from 2001-2008 and Voivoid's influence on Anthrax's 1990 masterpiece Persistence of Time is undeniable). They're your favorite metal band's favorite metal band, but once you're converted, you're sure to be a lifelong member of the cult - Killing Technology makes a great invocation. today!
2 2. Dark Angel - Darkness Descends (1986)
Key Tracks: Darkness Descends, The Burning Of Sodom, Black Prophecies
The sound of the double kick drum that introduces Darkness Descends title track is the equivalent of auditory butter to any true hesher's ears. Just ask Metallica, who (allegedly) stole it outright for their worldwide smash One (check the 1:05 minute mark, if you don't believe me).
Clocking in at 35 minutes, Dark Angel's 1986 masterpiece is a quick and crushing case study in metal perfection. Everything works here. This is thrash incarnate - the biting vocals, the growling guitars, the blazing hot solos, the fat accents of the surprisingly thick, complex bass... It's all cranked to eleven. But it's the drums that really make Darkness Descends a classic.
Drummer Gene Hogland doesn't play behind the beat, or in front of it - he's perfectly on time, every time. He's easily one of thrash's greatest drummers and on Darkness Descends, he makes every song stand out.
1 1. Kreator - Extreme Aggression (1989)
Key Tracks: No Reason To Exist, Stream Of Consciousness, Betrayer
For fans of The Big Four who are looking for something familiar, but... scarier, Kreator's Extreme Aggression is it. All the hallmarks of early Metallica, Megadeath, and Slayer can be heard in the band's razor sharp riffage (here supplied by ex-Sodom guitarist Frank Blackfire), except everything else that's on display is louder, faster, and angrier than almost all the band's thrash contemporaries.
Drummer Ventor kicks off the album, hitting the skins with ferocious speed like a man possessed. Speaking of a man possessed... Frontman Mille Petrozza might just be that. Even taking into of the top-notch music, Mille is the highlight of the album, spitting his misanthropic lyrics like a caustic king.
Extreme Aggression bookends all the great Kreator albums that came before it (and after it), coalescing everything great about a great band. If you're a fan of The Big Four, Kreator, like all the bands on this list, are a worthy addition to your stereo. Play loud, play often!