Thrash metal all purpose thread (love AND hate)

There has recently been some discussion about Megadeth and Anthrax, which makes me think this place is not so metal-phobic as it first seemed. Furthermore, I have just had a quite long (and not a little sweaty) listening session with a couple of Artillery and Destruction albums, so in that spirit, here's a thrash metal thread.

Discuss whatever you will. Anything goes. Do you like thrash metal? What bands are your favourite? What are your top 10 (20, , 50, 100...) thrash metal albums? Were you around when it was developing and what did you think of it? Any live experiences? Etc.

Those who are less favourable towards this subgenre are also more than welcome to post. I promise that I will not consider any "anti-" posts to be threadcraps, no matter how vitriolic, and no attempts will be made to convert anyone who doesn't like thrash metal. I simply want to see the full spectrum of responses. So, do you hate thrash metal? Are you ambivalent towards it? Do you happen to like older, classic heavy metal, but dislike thrash metal? I am especially interested in hearing from people who like heavy metal in general, but not thrash.

Of course, the "now playing" posts and discussions about masterings are also welcome.


For me, the album that introduced me to thrash metal was Ride the Lightning. More precisely, it was a tape dubbed by my best friend's brother, and it didn't even contain all 8 songs. But I remember the first three being there, along with "Creeping Death", and that was enough. This was a completely new world for me. The combination of the aggression and the darkness with the precision and the sense of song developing on an epic scale spoke to my 12-year old self who had previously been affected by the theatricality of Queen, the soundscapes of Pink Floyd, the mystical tension of The Doors, and the hardness of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Ride the Lightning fulfilled ALL those needs and then some.

Sixteen years later, this is my top 10 of thrash metal albums:

1. Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
2. Metallica – Ride the Lightning
3. Artillery – Terror Squad
4. Sepultura – Arise
5. Slayer – Reign in Blood
6. Artillery – By Inheritance
7. Megadeth – Rust in Peace
8. Voivod – War and Pain
9. Destruction – Live Without Sense
10. Nuclear Assault – Game Over

Discuss, relax, and enjoy.

 

No Anthrax?

 

Yeah, really. What's up with that?!?

Well, all are entitled to their tastes. And there are a lot of metal lovers here for sure.

I'm a definite metalhead, but not so into thrash. Find it can be a little...too much or something, like the newer wave of bands with some guy (or Steve Harris' daughter) hollering in a fake low voice. However, I really appreciate the energy in this sub-genre, both recorded and live. Saw Metallica touring Master of Puppets and Megadeth touring for Peace Sells and much later The System Has Failed. But my favorite thrash show (I don't count recent Metallica as 100% thrash any more) was a 2006-ish Anthrax show. UNBELIEVABLE energy, blowing away the previous time I saw them back when "I Am The Man" was out. The "Thank You" from stage was answered by a "NO! THANK YOU!" screamed by the guy in front of me-to which I thought "Hell Yeah" and hollered "Amen!"

 

Never got into thrash metal for the most part yet I LOVE Anthrax, Metallica and Megadeth. bands like Testament, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, etc... just never did much for me though. I definitely lean more towards hair metal/British Invasion Metal so maybe Anthrax etc.. and their sense of melody breaks through the thrash for me so to speak? I also dig Pantera and Metal Church. I guess I just never found Slayer for instance to have "Catchy" songs where I was grabbed by the hook of a song. It sounded like a wall of noise although they are talented musicians no doubt. Anthrax to me was the perfect combination of intelligence/goofiness. One minute a song about Indians or homeless people, the next minute a track about judge Dredd.

 

I'm a fan of Ride the Lighting, Master of Puppets and And Justice for All as well as Megadeth's Rust in Peace. I got the recent live DVD which features Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer (the Big 4). Excellent concert.

 

Anthrax's Among The Living is an essential thrash metal classic though I don't really consider it attaining the lofty, hallowed status of Ride The lightning, Peace Sells, or Reign In Blood. It comes close, but I'd have to rate it fourth among those listed. Now ranking the other three in order of greatness would be quite a challenge!

I was lucky enough to catch the Clash Of The Titans tour back in '90 or '91. I remember Slayer completely dominating, overpowering everybody - just demolishing the other bands, the audience, etc. everything in their path. It was astonishing and unforgettable. Also, out of those 4 groups Slayer is the only one who I remain interested in hearing any of their new material.

 

Motorhead was my first experience of Hard Rock/Speed Metal/Thrash whatever you want to label it, it is just Rock music played very fast and heavy, i like Metallica and the song 'One' was a total revelation for a teenager playing Iron Maiden and Saxon, but a find Metallica not 'musical' enough and i mean that with the greatest respect because i am a fan but they are just not as competent at there instruments enough where as the musicians within Motorhead and my current favourite 'thrash' band Slayer

 

loved it in the 80's and still love the records from that era. Pretty much was done with it by 1990. it got seemed to get too slick for my tastes by then.

 

Well, I'm not sure where you got that impression from. Of all the controversial genres, metal is actually the most respected if not necessarily loved on here. Disco, even punk and especially hip hop get far more hate (though thankfully even that has died down quite a bit recently). It's true that apart from the odd later prog metal band like Opeth and Tool there isn't much discussion beyond the usual traditional metal/NWOBHM/thrash acts mainly centred round the 1970s to early 1990s (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Dio, Iron Maiden, Metallica) - there's not many fans of, say, death, black, power, sludge or doom metal as far as I can tell - but on the whole this place has never struck me as metal-phobic.

Anyway, just to add my little contribution (sorry, for once you won't be getting an analytical essay from me, maybe later though ) Metallica are along with Sonic Youth and The Cure my favourite acts of the 1980s, with Ride the Lightning one of my top three 1980s albums. Not so much a fan of Kill 'em All, however - it was groundbreaking and all but compared to what followed feels rather crude and it's too raw and unrelentless, James Hetfield's screaming vocals barely qualify as singing most of the time (this would be rectified from RTL on) and it really needs a ballad or two like Fade to Black to provide much needed contrast.

Contrary to many, I love the black album but not without some reservations; I actually really wish they had continued with that style and at the same time kept the quality - one "sell-out" album can't be blamed for twenty years of declining inspiration, much though many metal purists, diehard Metallica fans included, like to believe that that album was the beginning of the end. I'd also like to explore more Slayer - based on hearing Reign in Blood and Rust in Peace I think I'd like them quite a bit more than Megadeth, primarily because of the stronger vocals.

 

I was a major fan of thrash in the 80s. Once I discovered Metallica and Slayer in 1984 I pretty much abandoned mainstream metal (Iron Maiden being one of the exceptions). It was the perfect style of music for an anti-social teenager and basically served the function of therapy. Loved the energy, the agression, the precision required to pull it off.

I did get burnt out on the genre and felt it was starting to chase it's own tail by the time 1989 rolled around, my musical tastes started to evolve and I stopped following it by 1992.

I've regained my appreciation for some of it over the past few years, though a little bit at a time does the trick. I'll probably never get over my Metallica-burnout, just WAY too overplayed for too many years...but Slayer still sounds totally fresh to me.

Favorite bands: Slayer, Coroner, Kreator, Megadeth (up through Rust In Peace), Sepultura, Sodom, Overkill. Celtic Frost and Voivod are two of my favorite bands from that era but I've never really considered them "thrash" in the strictest sense. I never really was a big fan of Anthrax but I enjoyed some songs here and there.

 

At least a few of Overkill's albums would have to be mentioned!

Mainly their first 5 albums:

Feel The Fire
Taking Over
Under The Influence
The Years Of Decay
Horrorscope

and

The 2 most recent ones:

Ironbound (my favorite since the early years in the '80s)
The Electric Age

All the albums in between are decent, save for one or two that are kind of blah, especially I Hear Black.

 

I'll throw in Strapping Young Lad's City. I'm not sure it's classed as thrash but it's incredibly heavy and fast. One song, All Hail the New Flesh is MASSIVE!

 

Yes, you're right, browsing the forum, first as a long-time lurker, and then as a member, I did see a lot of love for classic metal. But I also saw a lot of prejudice, ignorance, and hostility towards more extreme forms of metal, so my intro made a reference to that. I'm glad that the thread is free of that so far, although, as I said, all sorts of responses are welcome, at least on this thread.

I've seen you write about Ride the Lightning before. It is something else entirely, isn't it? As for Slayer, Tom's most melodic vocals, I believe, are to be found on Show No Mercy (which bears a strong NWOBHM influence, and is generally a good entry point for fans of classic heavy metal) and South of Heaven, where the band slowed down significantly and Tom started singing again (in places).

 

Anyway, lots of great responses so far. To address the lack of Anthrax on my list: no, there's no Anthrax, but then, there's no Exodus, Testament, Possessed, Forbidden, Overkill, Whiplash, Sacrifice, Watchtower, Coroner, Sodom or Kreator, either (just to name some really good bands). All have made some great albums, but top 10 is a pretty narrow field anyway, so, it's bound to leave out a lot of good stuff.

 

Not surprising, as thrash metal all but died by 1992, not counting the relatively recent wave of neo-thrash, which is not very good IMO. But tell me, being a fan of Sepultura, have you heard the Brazilian band Torture Squad? They're pretty similar, and were one of the rare really good thrash metal bands at the turn of the millennium. Another good one was Hypnosia, from Sweden, which sounded like a mix of Kreator's albums from the 80's.

 

I am a big fan of thrash metal (and early tech death), some of my favorite bands in the genre are Exodus, Sodom, Venom, Demolition Hammer and Possessed. And of course I love the first three albums by Metallica which were my introduction to the genre. I could never really get into Slayer, though I can appreciate Reign In Blood. To me the pinnacle of thrash is those 80s/early 90s bands. After that my interest drops off sharply.

 

A few others....
Testament - The Legacy
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Death - Symbolic or is this Death Metal?
Pantera- Vulgar Display of Power
The Blackening - Machine Head

 

My son is into metal and so, a few years ago, I tried some of his suggestions and found I liked them. But I've never gotten a good handle on all the various sub-genres of metal.
The only bands I've heard that were mentioned so far are Metallica, Megadeth and Motorhead. The old-school bands, Sabbath, Dio, Priest, Maiden, I know and enjoy their music.
The bands I've listening to are Trivium, Opeth, Unearth, Machine Head, Amon Amarth, Carcass, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, Stone Sour, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom, and others. Are these bands considered Thrash? Death Metal?, Grindcore?, etc. Allmusic lists 3 or 4 "styles" for these bands plus I don't know the difference between thrash, death, speed, etc. Are there major differences between the styles or more subtle nuances?

 

I love all types of metal, but I've never been a fan of thrash metal, really. There are albums and aspects of it I like, but no bands stand out. Maybe more so certain albums that I have an affinity for, but the genre, as a whole, was never my favorite. I think thrash never had enough "groove" for me or something. Not sure.

So, for me, the answer is "a little of column A and a little of column B".

 

I have always loved Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence.

 

Liked the "big 4" (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth) during my formative years. Kill 'em All, ...And Justice for All, Among the Living are among my favorites.

Metallica: My favorite of the four, and I loved everything they did up until the Black Album- after that I still followed them, but had nowhere near the interest as what the early music was. I still listen to Kill 'em All quite a bit today. Other than the crappy mastering, Death Magnetic was much, much closer to the album I've wanted from them since ...And Justice For All.

Anthrax: I loved Spreading the Disease and Among the Living. State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time were good. My biggest problem with them was with all the changes in the lineup and musical direction.. I can appreciate the changes made more today, but I wasn't big on them without Belladonna.

Slayer: Many of my friends into Slayer were more of the Reign in Blood-era camp- I was not. I thought South of Heaven was more coherent and their best album, and I can still listen to it today.

Megadeth: This was the one case where I liked several of their albums that came after thrash metal's peak moreso than their earlier "classic" efforts.

 

It's the reason I started playing guitar. Metallica in particular. Theee heavy band of the 80's. IMHO

Top 10 of thrash metal albums:

1. Metallica -Master of Puppets
2. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
3. Metallica - and justice for all
4. Metallica - Kill em all
5. Sepultura - Beneath the remains
6. Pantera - Vulgar display of power
7. Megadeth - Peace sells......
8. Kreator - Extreme Aggression
9. Slayer – Reign in Blood
10. Testament - The Legacy

 

It was back in 1983 and a Seattle rock station, the mighty KISW had a 1 hour program called "Metal Shop" that aired every Wednesday night and it was were I heard "Phantom Lord" from Metallica for the first time. Shock and awe. The following weekend I picked up the album and was somewhat astoundished at the price of $15.99(at that time 'Kill 'Em All' was released on the Canadian independent label, Banzai). I was blown away and it had even more of a profound impact on me than Iron Maiden's s/t debut from a few years earlier. Slayer's 'Hell Awaits' took it to the next level but it was 'Reign In Blood' were it was a rapid descent to the 9th. level of hell. Pure power. An maniacal onslaught. Contrary, noxious, ill intentions and crushed the lame, struggling and suffering mainstream music of the mid '80's. Period!

The Unholy Trinity:

Reign In Blood
South Of Heaven
Seasons In The Abyss

Like others have mentioned, Thrash was on the slide in the early '90's and Grunge started to rise. I got back into it in 2006 as that was the beginning of a resurgence and last year probably the best three releases were from some of the old guard: Testament, Overkill and Kreator. There doesn't seem to be any newer artist(s) that have picked up the torch. Maybe Vektor?

1. Reign In Blood - Slayer
2. South Of Heaven - Slayer
3. Seasons In The Abyss - Slayer
4. Kill 'Em All - Metallica
5. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
6. By Inheritance - Artillery
7. Darkness Descends - Dark Angel
8. Rust In Peace - Megadeth
9. Dimension Hatross - Voivod
10. No More Color - Coroner
11. None Shall Defy - Infernal Majesty
12. Illusions - Sadus
13. Black Future - Vektor

 

Symbolic is death metal. The other two are not really thrash metal either, but they are related.

 

First of all, it's really cool you're trying to understand the genre.Now, to answer your question, neither of these bands is really thrash metal, although there are thrash metal influences, at least for some of these bands. Amon Amarth is melodic death metal. Carcass went from grindcore through technical death metal to some form of melodic death metal, of which they were one of the originators. Children of Bodom are a power metal/black metal hybrid, although the black metal element is mostly relegated to the vocals. Opeth has death and black metal roots, which they have consistently mixed with progressive rock throughout their career. Machine Head and Lamb of God have thrash metal roots (a couple of MH members played in Vio-lence), but they are best described as "groove metal", a subgenre which also includes Pantera and post-1993 Sepultura. I've never heard Unearth or Stone Sour, but I know that the latter is some form of nu-metal. The rest all belong to metalcore, a subgenre highly controversial among metal fans these days. I hope that helps. And yes, the borders between the subgenres are often blurry, and the differences mostly cosmetic. Oh, and Motorhead is not a thrash metal band, although thay have, of course, been highly influential.