Domenica 13 Gen 2008, 20:04
Since I'm a chronic procrastinator and I have a lot of crap to do, I've decided to update my top 50 thrash list. So it's good news for all you thrash-starved bastards, because I will make your eternal search for quality thrash a bit easier. I vouchsafe that the thrash listed below is of the highest quality and is guaranteed to rape your ears with sweet, sweet thrashin' thrashmageddon.
50. Possessed - Seven Churches
49. Tyrant's Reign - Tyrant's Reign
48. Vio-Lence - Eternal Nightmare
47. Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal
46. Exodus - Bonded by Blood
45. Vio-Lence - Oppressing the Masses
44. Artillery - By Inheritance
43. Hexenhaus - A Tribute to Insanity
42.Rigor Mortis - Vs. the Earth
41. Sacrifice - Forward to Termination
40. Rammer - Incinerator/Krusher
39. Deathrow - Riders of Doom
38. Exhorder - Slaughter at the Vatican
37. Destruction - Mad Butcher
36. Sacrifice - Apocalypse Inside
35. Destruction - Release from Agony
34. Overkill - Feel the Fire
33. Iron Angel - Hellish Crossfire
32. Mekong Delta - Mekong Delta
31. Hypnosia - Extreme Hatred
30. Aura Noir - The Merciless
29. Destruction - Infernal Overkill
28. Ulysses Siren - Above the Ashes
27. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
26. Overkill - W.F.O.
25. Deceased - Supernatural Addiction
24. Havoc Mass - Killing the Future
23. Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids
22. Infernal Majesty - Unholier than Thou
21. Venom - Black Metal
20. Slaughter - Strappado
19. Holy Terror - Terror and Submission
18. Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver
17. Sabbat - History of Time to Come
16. Mekong Delta - Dances of Death (and Other Walking Shadows)
15. Intruder - Live to Die
Another lesser heard name in thrash metal. Yep, it's not revolutionary. It's not anything new. But Christ, man, is this an album. You know back in the late Gothic period of painting, everyone tried to copy the masters that came before them (e.g. Giotto)? Well this is the same thing. This is riffage that would have made Kill Em All era Metallica and Show No Mercy era Slayer smile with pride and perhaps with some alarm, because this album has surpassed them in terms of straight-up musical quality. If they weren't so late in to the game these guys would have been on every thrasher's big name list among Slayer, Metallica, Exodus, Destruction and the rest.
14. Exodus - Fabulous Disaster
Exodus you say? Bonded by Blood sure was a good album! Yeah, yeah. See Fabulous Disaster. Yeah the one with the ridiculous album cover and a name that sounds like something from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. If an album can overcome that terrible outward appearance, it's gotta be a good album (see Rainbow's Rising and Accept's Balls to the Wall for more hideous-looking albums overcoming adversity and rocking the fuck out). And it does thrash awesomely. See, unlike Bonded By Blood, the production on FD was tweaked to give it a thick dose of venom to each riff and lyric. Unforgetably catchy with a new-found heaviness that gives the genre a subtle extra kick. I've yet to hear a thrash album that does the same thing.
13. Atrophy - Socialized Hate
Why did I rate a band that has very little critical acclaim even in thrash metal elitist circles? Well this band accomplished something that I thought was impossible. They converted the quintessence of crossover into conventional thrash and thus created one of the catchiest little albums I've ever heard. I refuse to believe that any fan of thrash can dislike this album.
12. Metal Church - Metal Church
Sometimes there comes along a band that is defined by one man to such a degree that it becomes acceptable for that man to completely rip off the logo and cover-art of the main band for his solo project. In this case, that man is of course David Wayne. No disrespect to the rest of the guys of Metal Church, but David Wayne's insane shrieks have propelled this particular album towards the apex of my list. And trust me, I don't listen for vocals when I put on a thrash record, but damnit if David Wayne didn't lead the band's thrash songs into a clear and compelling compositional structure. Without him, none of their songs ever demanded the same attention from me. Rest in peace, Wayne, you were truly one of the best thrash vocalists out there.
11. Slayer- Show No Mercy
You could say all you want about your Hell Awaits and Haunting the Chapel, but it's all about Show No Mercy. Why? Because it's early thrash in a second-to-finish sort of way. If Metallica never existed, this would have been the album that would have been at number one on my list. One of the most satisfying shifts from speed metal into full-blown unrelenting thrash.
10. Necrosis - The Search
If you are not from South America, I'm guessing you're a little confused right now. Who are these guys, right? This is the best Chilean thrash I have ever heard. Well, actually it's the only Chilean thrash I've heard. But let me tell you it's an album that's got the rough edge of Brazilian thrash and a artistic vision that blows half of the stuff from America out of the water. Sure they aren't doing anything novel with this album, but they know that. They know the big names in thrash and the smaller names. Well they utilize all those influences and create a late-comer masterpiece that would have undoubtedly created a thrash metal religion had it been released back in the early 80s.
9. Overkill - The Years of Decay
So many good Overkill albums, so little time (and space). I think no one disagrees that Overkill has probably the best track record as far as thrash metal bands that have survived into the 90s go. I think that may be one of the reasons why I chose Years of Decay, specifically. '89 and no signs of waning. Longstanding champions of thrash were beginning to decay–a pun ha!–in influence and quality. But not fucking Overkill! Besides, I just think it's their best album by a close margin–chaotic speed all over the place and D.D. Verni's kickass bass-work twanging louder than most of their thrash contemporaries. Unforgetable riffs and a completely headbangable sense of rhythm. Definitely a solid contender for the top 5, but just missing out because I can't have ties or else my top 50 list would have at least a hundred albums on here.
8. Heathen - Victims of Deception
From the get-go this album gets a million extra-credit points, for one of the best intros to an album in the history of music. Jim Jones giving one of his rabble-rousing speeches and then DUM DUM. A perfect segueway into mid-paced thrash. As for the music itself, two words: The solos. Good God the solos! Not that the riffs aren't solid-as-fuck, but the melodic aspect of this band just dominates this record. But see they know what it is to keep things within reason. No guitar-wankery. A disciplined, strictly compositional approach yields blazing solos that resist the temptation of ever becoming solos for solos sake. Their solos work with the song and lift what would be just a solid thrash band to the level of musical godliness.
7. Shah - Beware
Soviet thrash metal? How more badass can you get? Well I'll tell you just listen to Shah's guitar texture and tell me it's not one of the most refreshingly unique chainsaw sounds to ever rock the fuck out of thrash metal in '89. That's one thing, but the fact that each song on this album is perfectly composed in every feasible way makes this album a must own for all thrash fans. Just listen to the guitar lead on "Threashold of Pain" at around the 2 minute mark and tell me it's not the most perfectly timed musical device possible. It makes me cry tears of molten lead every time I hear it.
6. Holy Terror - Mind Wars
In 1988, someone stole the soul of punk and shoved into a thrash band. And this isn't even crossover! None of that smug mocking cynicism–just the most heartfelt balls-to-the-wall desperation possible. Fast. Complex. If this was the last stand of thrash it'd be a battle to the fucking death with the most hyperactive little beast you've ever seen. It'll claw your eyes out before you kill it.
5. Slayer - Reign in Blood
This marvelous bastard of an album defines the boundary between speed metal and thrash metal for me. Maybe because a short song like Necrophobic blazes through with clear leads rather than the crunchy riffs, but I've always considered this album more speed than thrash. Either way, this album surges forward with fucking percision. No mindless guitar wankery here; it feels composed and whole despite its unrelenting fury.
4. Metal Church - The Dark
I like to think of the first three Metal Church albums as the Godfather trilogy. Their debut was Part 1. The Dark was part 2. And part 3 was… well you see why Blessing in Disguise is missing from this list. Anyways, I know I've tended to put debuts ahead of later albums, but The Dark is just a more mature, more badass version of the s/t. There's really little that differentiates the two albums musically wise. They may as well have been one album, but The Dark was just a little catchier and just a little louder. Metal Church was playing at 10, The Dark was turned up to 11, in a metaphorical sort of way. The Dark was the only follow-up to a balls-out killer debut that didn't disappoint me, which means it's that much better.
3. Torture - Storm Alert
(I keep listening to this album and it still sounds as kickass as the first time I heard it.) This is a fucking monster of an album. Completely underrated, often overlooked, but now that they rereleased Storm Alert almost two years ago, you should have no excuse of not having heard it. This is brutality incarnate and no eardrum shall be left unraped. Imagine the bite of Sadus packaged in Kill Em All with the brutal heaviness of Sodom but still with the musical intricacy of Mekong Delta. All that and faster, heavier, and more complex. Fucking bass solos out of nowhere, instrumental tracks, and the most memorable riffs since Kill Em All! Hell yeah, it's that good!
2. Artillery - We Are the Dead Demo
I have a good mind to make this number one, but it's only about 15 minutes long. I have listened to this demo over and over again and I have become completely convinced that this is truly the first stage of high quality thrash. I consider this to be one of the first fully thrash demo out there. Now I don't usually include demos on here, but this is the exception of exceptions. Nothing Artillery ever did afterward sounds as remotely as epic as this short bastard. Satanic, diabolical, raw as fuck, and completely evolving the hell out of speed metal into (rather simple) thrash riffage. I should also mention that the vocals have no resemblance to their operatic technicality in later albums. Here they're sloppy, amateurish, and with a strong accent. But they just work with the raw, catchy feel of this amazing piece of music.
1. Metallica - Kill Em All
I hate Metallica, personally. And by that I mean, I think they are wretched human beings. But that doesn't mean that their achievements in the early days of thrash deserve to be marginalized. Kill Em All was the first pure thrash metal album, in that it comprehensively included all the necessary musical elements that defined the burgeoning genre. Most people can concede that fact, but far too many people seem to forget how fucking amazing the record is. Catchy, but not overly-simple. It stands the test of time even today. The naysayers will say that the best thrash metal album is possibly some obscure album that's VERY out of print today (Deathrow and Morbid Saint I'm looking at you)… And hell musically they might indeed be better! (Personally, I'd put Torture's Storm Alert into number one, if it was purely personal preference.) But these naysayers forget the sheer ammount of influence Kill Em All had on the thrash metal scene. When the album came out, it was fucking revolutionary. Kill Em All is still thrashy as fuck today and will be for years to come. This is the album that defines what thrash stands for (despite any personal qualms one has towards the douchebags that comrpise the band today).
This is getting harder and harder to compile… Sadus got completely bumped off. :(