My Top 12:



12. The Eyes Have It

POSSESSED - "The Eyes of Horror" (EP) 1987

This underated five song release, produced by 80's guitar hero Joe Satriani, found the band in peak form. Drummer Mike Sus had his timing very consistent by this point, and Jeff Becerra's vocals were clearer than ever, while still retaining most of their sinister edge. The four newly written songs have improved lyrics, dropping the Satanic ones in favor of a horror-themed approach (the remaining track is an older song called "Swing of the Axe" that didn't make it onto their previous releases). The last track on the EP, "Storm In My Mind", is probably my favorite Possessed song.



11. The Devil Made Them Do It?

SLAYER - "Seasons in the Abyss" 1990

I'm not a big fan of this band's image, but I will admit they excel at playing fast, brutal thrash. Many people consider their 1986 album, "Reign In Blood", to be the definitive thrash album, and aside from not liking the atonal guitar solos, I would have to agree.

However, I think this one is a better album. There are some slower songs on this one, for a bit of variety. Surprisingly, they kick just as much ass as the fast ones. One of my favorites is "Dead Skin Mask", about serial killer Ed Gein.



10. Are You Morbid?

CELTIC FROST - "Morbid Tales" (US version) 1984

This group sounds like a more extreme version of early Black Sabbath. I picked their first album because it has the most consistent songwriting and contains one the greatest crunch riffs ever (in the song "Procreation of the Wicked"). There are some odd parts too, like the vocal effect at the beginning of the album, and a genuinely creepy sound collage called "Danse Macabre". The lyrics are mostly pretentious nonsense, with one exception: "Into the Crypts of Rays" is an accurate, disturbing account of child murderer Gilles de Rais. The darkness of the album is somewhat alleviated by the frequent injections of vocalist Tom G. Warrior's unintentionally(?) humorous "death grunts" (as he calls them).



09. New Life For Death

DEATH - "Symbolic" 1995

With this release, Chuck Shuldiner confirmed that he was one of the most technically proficient guitar players in thrash, as well as a unique songwriter and the best lyricist.



08. Where the Hell Is "Bonded By Blood"?

EXODUS - "Tempo of the Damned" 2004

Remember, this is a list of my favorite thrash albums, which are not always the most influential ones. That's why I picked this one, instead of their debut album. Actually, it was a tough call because both are solid albums musically. So if you haven't heard "Bonded By Blood", check it out also, along with Metallica's "Kill 'Em All", to learn about the innovators of the San Francisco Bay area thrash sound.



07. Mublanikufesin (N.F.A.)

ANTHRAX - "Among the Living" 1987

I really like this album and the previous one, "Spreading the Disease". The songs are well written, with excellent rhythm guitar playing and drumming. Joey Belladonna was also one of my favorite thrash vocalists. Finally, the lyrics are actually pretty good, which is not generally the case for thrash bands.



06. Who's God? Who's Dog?

VOIVOD - "Dimension Hatross" 1988

There isn't much middle ground regarding listener opinions of Voivod - I've found that most people either think that their music is brilliant, or they think it totally sucks. My personal opinion of them is that first two albums fall in the latter category, but the third one, "Killing Technology", showed that they were on the verge of creating something new and exciting.

Album Number Four, "Dimension Hatross", is where their sound was fully realized. It could be argued that they shouldn't even be classified as a thrash band at this point of their career, but I value originality, so I'm keeping them on the list.

This is the album where vocalist Snake introduced his unique "talk-singing" - somewhat similar to the vocals of rock artist Lou Reed. I much prefer it to the relentless shrieking on the earlier Voivod albums. The lyrics are now much easier to understand, which is especially important here because this is a concept album - each song tells a part of a story. The lyrics describe what is going on in an unusual way that is often humorous.

Earlier Voivod songs often sounded musically disjointed because of jarring transitions between the different parts, but the arrangements are much better this time.



05. A Lesson In Vio - Lence

VIO - LENCE "Eternal Nightmare" 1988

While this album owes a lot to early Metallica / Exodus, it deserves it's high position due to outstanding songwriting, playing and production.

Actually, vocalist Sean Killian does have a unique approach here which I call "scream - rapping". The vocals are similar to the ones in hardcore rap, except that he screams the words.

The title track is one of the best thrash songs ever written.



04. Deaaath Metal

POSSESSED - "Seven Churches" 1985

Even today, this stands as one of the fastest, heaviest thrash albums ever released.

I love the production: the guitars have a highly distorted, in-your-face sound, yet still retain clarity. You can actually hear the notes played on the bass guitar, and the drum sound has good definition and considerable punch.

Each song is brutally intense. For example, take the song "Burning In Hell": It starts out with a brief guitar riff intro, goes into a very fast verse, then into an extremely heavy chorus which pounds the listener into submission. After a guitar solo, there is a tempo change to a much slower bridge. This gives the listener a chance to relax, but in a short time it returns to the verse section - this time played in a insanely fast double time rendition!

The members of Possessed were quite competent at playing their respective instruments on this album, with one exception - the erratic timing of drummer Mike Sus sometimes makes the rhythmic flow of the songs uneven.

Jeff Becerra's harsh, guttural vocals are placed slightly back in the mix, making it hard to discern every word he is singing(?), but I actually consider that an advantage. The extreme Satanic lyrics are occasionally effective, but generally ridiculous. Back when only Venom and Mercyful Fate were doing this sort of thing, it was a somewhat interesting gimmick, but it quickly got tiresome when it became a thrash trend.

"Seven Churches" is generally considered the first Death Metal album (the term may have originated from the title of the last track) and inspired many imitators, but very few of them were able to produce anything to rival it.

Who would have thought that "four drunk El Sobrante kids trying to play heavy" (as one of the band members described themselves) could have come up with such a great thrash album for their debut? Unfortunately, their second full - length album, "Beyond the Gates", was merely OK, and the original band split up soon after their final release, the aforementioned EP "The Eyes of Horror" (#12 on my list) .




03. They Were Thrash When Thrash Wasn't Cool

METALLICA - "Ride the Lighting" 1984

Since they eventually became the most popular rock band on the planet for a time, it seems hard now to believe that in the early days of their existence, Metallica were not accepted by local metal fans.

At this point, Metallica had two options: change their sound and try to fit in with the local (L.A.) scene, or keep doing their own thing and hope that more people would like it.

Of course, they took the second option. So, when their newly acquired bass player (Cliff Burton) asked them if they were willing to relocate to where he lived - the San Francisco Bay Area - they agreed.

And, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

I picked their second album, "Ride the Lightning", because it is the first Metallica album that I heard and I instantly liked "Fight Fire With Fire".

Their next album, "Master of Puppets" made a significant impact in the U.S., but after that a strange thing happened: it seemed like the more popular Metallica came, the more they abandoned the things that they originally stood for.

I still haven't heard "Death Magnetic" yet, but some have called it a return to form for these guys. To be honest, I am not that interested in hearing it, because the last new album I bought from them was the "Black" album in 1991.

But regardless of my current feelings for them, I have to give them credit for sticking with their sound in the early part of their career, even though it was unpopular at the time. Had they given up, the other bands in this article might have never come into existence.



02. Rust In Peace Sells

MEGADETH - "Rust In Peace" 1990

Ex - Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine finally got out from under the shadow of his former employers with this incredible album.

"Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" from 1986 established Megadeth as a top thrash contender, but the follow-up album, "So Far, So Good... So What?" was somewhat of a disappointment in comparison. Never one to give up, Mustaine put together his best lineup ever and emerged with "R.I.P.", which wound up becoming the best-selling Megadeth album up to that point.

While Megadeth has never achieved the level of commercial success that Metallica has, "R.I.P." is actually better than any album Metallica has released (like I said earlier, I haven't heard the current Metallica album at the time of this article yet, but I seriously doubt I would like it more than "R.I.P.").

Every track on "R.I.P." features virtuosic guitar, bass and drum parts played over an interesting song arrangement. The lyrics are just average, and although Mustaine is an awesome guitarist, he isn't the greatest singer. But that's O.K., you can just ignore the vocals and enjoy the music.



01. The Return of the King

KING DIAMOND - "Abigail" 1987

After the breakup of the original Mercyful Fate, vocalist King Diamond formed a new band with guitarist Michael and bassist Timi from M.F., plus two talented newcomers: drummer Mikkey Dee, whose outstanding double bass work made K. D. sound heavier than M.F, and guitarist Andy La Rocque, whose neoclassical leads raised the technical bar without sacrificing emotion. While the songs weren't as groundbreaking as the earlier M.F. ones, Diamond took a new lyrical approach: Instead of questionable first-person accounts of Satanic rituals, he created concept albums dealing with occult and horror elements.

The second K.D. album, "Abigail", is still my favorite one in terms of the music, and it also has one of the best stories. I am not going into the story here, because I think it will be more satisfying if you check it out on your own. K.D.'s trademark vocals, which switch often from his "normal" voice to a creepy falsetto, do an excellent job of providing the details.


© 2009, Keith Boron

Great fucking list!!!! I consider Possessed death metal, but still awesome list... speaking of Posessed, I've talked with Jeff Becerra a bunch and he's fuckin' awesome! Easily the coolest 'band' person I've come into contact with.

Either way... my favorite thrash albums? Fuck. That's tough. Here's an atempt....



In no order.

Metallica: Kill Em All
Metallica: Ride the Lightning
Metallica: Master of Puppets
Metallica: ... And Justice For All
Metallica: Death Magnetic

Every Slayer album. Every!

Megadeth: Killing is My Business... And Business is Good!
Megadeth: Rust in Peace
Megadeth: Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Anthrax: Spreading the Disease
Anthrax: Fistful of Metal
Anthrax: Among the Living

Testament: The New Order
Testament: The Gathering
Testament: The Legacy
Testament: Low

Nasty Savage: Penetration Point( WELCOME WAGON!!)

Exumer: Possessed by Fire

Suicidal Tendencies: How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... When I Can't Even Smile Today

Kreator: Pleasure to Kill
Kreator: Endless Pain

GWAR: Scumdogs of the Universe

Ah fuck.. so many of em!!

Eh... it has melody, but I'd still call it thrash. But you are entitled to your opinon.


Wow, my list still didn't even cover all of the great thrash albums.

Sodom, Kreator, Tankard, Exumer, Hirax, Hallow's Eve, nasty Savage, Onslaught, Agony, Overkill, Exodus.... jesus fuck there's a lot of awesome thrash bands!

Metallica ugh. The thing I never really liked about them is the fact in a lot of their songs there a breakdown/slow part to it. Just when youre really getting into the metal, they slow it down! Always hated that. My guess Lars is getting tired and needs a rest- pussy.


Anyways, my choices for my favorite thrash/speed albums.

Heathen- Victims of Deception
Megadeth- Rust in Peace
Helloween- Walls of Jericho...it was thrash before 'power metal' became a term
Kreator- Coma of Souls
Sabbat- A History of a Time to Come
Dreamweaver
Anthrax- Among the Living
Overkill- Horrorscope
Lääz Rockit- Know Your Enemy

[quote="Ultimate.Nightmare"]Metallica ugh. The thing I never really liked about them is the fact in a lot of their songs there a breakdown/slow part to it. Just when youre really getting into the metal, they slow it down![/quote]That what I like about them

Yeah, that's me man!!! I wasn't a thrash/death metal person then though, things have changed a lot!

Jeff is pretty easy to reach on MySpace, and a real nice person!

Definitely check out those bands dude, they're awesome!!! "Welcome Wagon" by Nasty Savage is a fuckin' facemelter!!!

Ah. Well, still, good list bro!

Laaz Rockit is awesome, love "Leatherface"!!!

THRASH! My favorite.

There's a badass newer thrash band you guys need to check out. Mutant. The album Laserdrome kicks ass.

My all time favorite thrash albums are:

Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Overkill - The Years of Decay
Megadeth - Peace Sells, But Who's Buying?
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Testament - The Legacy
Testament - Practice What You Preach
Testament - The New Order
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Slayer - Seasons In the Abyss
Vio-Lence - Eternal Nightmare
Exodus - Bonded By Blood
Exodus - Fabulous Disaster
Anthrax - Among the Living
Evildead - Annihilation of Civilization
Sodom - Agent Orange

WHAT'S UP HS!!!! Hell yeah your back too bro? The bands getting back together again... SB too....