Thrash comeback albums ranked
:)
(I have used some albums which arguably came out after a band's initial "comeback" album, because some of them were more significant in a band's return to prominence). |
| 1 |  | Overkill
Ironbound
Ironbound hits the sweetspot of confidence and energy, and musical advancement. There's a much greater level of complexity and extremely strong songwriting throughout, with a good variety between riff-monsters (Give a Little) and more layered tracks (Endless War, The SRC). In general a brilliant example of thrash metal that can easily compete with some of the best albums of the 80s. |
| 2 |  | Testament
The Formation of Damnation
Testament's extremely polished and more melodic style of thrash translated fairly seamlessly into the modern metal scene in the late 2000s. Chuck Billy's vocals are pretty much better than ever on this one, and Paul Bostaph puts together one of the best rounded drum perfomances out there. The music is also a bit darker than a lot of their pre-The Gathering material, with tracks like The Evil Has Landed managing to sound sinister a lot more organically than something like Demonic. In general a great, confident performance. |
| 3 |  | Voivod
Target Earth
Dan Mongrain really makes this release. Whilst not necessarily a truly authentic recreation of the Dimension Hatross-type sound this most closely apes, his more traditionally jazzy style lends itself well to some of the band's best songs in decades, such as Warchaic. His solos also consistently amaze. Not perfect, due to the production and some sluggish tracks, but a good and relatively ambitious effort from a band that had played it safe since the start of the 2000s. |
| 4 |  | Exodus
Tempo of the Damned
Tempo of the Damned picks off pretty much immediately from Fabulous Distaster's musical direction without too many frills or innovations, and is better for it. Well produced, heavy, and with some amazing riffs throughout (plus the ever monstrous Tom Hunting on the kit), Tempo is pretty much the exemplary comeback with nothing whatsoever changed about a band's core sound. |
| 5 |  | Destruction
The Antichrist
Whilst hardly original or capturing past glories, The Antichrist succeeds remarkably due to the fantastic vocal performance of Marcel Schmier, whose snarls and shrieks are among the best in the genre. The guitar riffs don't slack either, and the fairly muscular low end and pretty solid mixing aid the album all round. |
| 6 |  | Tankard
Beast of Bourbon
Despite almost 0 variation throughout, Beast of Bourbon is sufficiently aggressive and bruising that it gets the job done. Heavy, great riffs, and especially good bass parts that often times push the songs from "good" to "great". |
| 7 |  | Heathen
The Evolution of Chaos
Heathen were extremely close to nailing this one. The music generally succeeds with flying colours, with some amazing melodies and lead parts, along with great progressive song structures. All is well until you get a couple of songs in and your ears start to hurt from the excessively brickwalled production. Split into a few parts with some breaks, this one is a great effort, but is held back by needlessly tiring mastering. |
| 8 |  | Sodom
Code Red
Savagely aggressive, and certainly one of the darkest and most death-metally efforts from the Germans. Code Red is generally extremely solid, but is perhaps too long and lacks sufficient tonal variation. Altogether though, a good and relatively early comeback album. |
| 9 |  | Megadeth
Endgame
Endgame is an album of highs and lows. Mustaine's vocals are better than usual, and some particular tracks riff your socks off (1320, Head Crusher, This Day We Fight), but some issues arise from its structure, with a few sluggish mid-paced tracks placed together. The drumming is also not terribly exciting for a band as broadly exceptional instrumentally. A few of the weaker tracks have great moments (Bodies's solo, Bite The Hand in general is pretty good but too long). Altogether a lot of wow factor, but could easily be better with some tweaks to the structure. |
| 10 |  | Kreator
Violent Revolution
Another very confident release and a fairly big shift in sound for the largely very aggressive and atonal Kreator, with a hefty dose of melody added that brings them closer to some Gothenburg style melodeath than one may expect. As is often the theme here, a lack of variety or big standouts holds this one back somewhat, but a largely very enjoyable album with solid production values. |
| 11 |  | Sepultura
Machine Messiah
Whilst Sepultura never really disappeared from the metal scene in quite the way some of the other bands here did, I think it's fair to say that Machine Messiah was a pretty crucial return to form and one of their thrashiest and most aggressive releases in a while. Not wholly thrash, even the groove metal tracks here are largely quite good, especially Phantom Self, and the thrashers are all pretty decent. Some stinkers here, but overall a fun and dynamic release that fixes most of the issues with their other post-Max albums. |
| 12 |  | Paradox
Collision Course
If you liked Heresy, this is will likely scratch the same itch, but with additional power-metal influence it could prove a little more cheesy. Additionally the vocals aren't as good as the earlier Paradox albums. Still, a pretty heavy and pleasantly melodic effort from a very consistent band. |
| 13 |  | Mekong Delta
Lurking Fear
Whilst never really disappearing or experiencing any significant drop in musical quality, Mekong Delta's "comeback" to thrash on Lurking Fear is quite welcome and is just as intense as one would hope. Hardly lacking for musical depth or technical complexity, Lurking Fear is again a bit repetitive and held back by bizarre production choices (what on earth is that drum sound???) |
| 14 |  | Hirax
The New Age Of Terror
Do you like extremely simplistic and aggressive thrash? If so, this will do the job. Katon's voice is the same as ever and the energy is very tangible with some great blast beats cropping up on occasion and some meaty production. A good but extremely forgettable effort. |
| 15 |  | Death Angel
Relentless Retribution
A prototype to a sound better realized on later albums, Relentless Retribution utilizes some NWOAHM tropes with a lot more clean vocals and some groove metal influence. That said, it manages to succeed with a lot of its ideas thanks to great riffs and typically excellent musicianship and songwriting. Whilst it took a while to iron out the creases with this sound, it started pretty well nonetheless. |
| 16 |  | Powermad
Infinite
Barely resembling their old sound at all, Powermad adopt a lot of modern progressive metal traits for Infinite. Whilst not very polished, there are some great riffs and a lot more aggression than perhaps expected for the relatively light-weigh speed metal band. A lot of the ideas fall flat, but the more interesting range of styles on display lend this album a lot of listen-ability and replay value. |
| 17 |  | Forbidden
Omega Wave
Forbidden's M.O. here seems to be matching Twisted Into Form's dark tone and frantic sound. Whilst certainly very fast at times, the riffs are a bit lacking and the vocals don't match the great character of their earlier work. The leads guitars are still extremely good, however, thanks to veteran axe-for-hire Steve Smyth. There are also a fair amount of moments that (appropriately) resemble band's like Nevermore, particularly the guitar work during choruses and the deeper sound. Some particular tracks really excel as well, such as Adapt or Die and Dragging My Casket. Overall another album with a lot of interesting new ideas, but lackluster execution at points. |
| 18 |  | Anthrax
Worship Music
Whilst I think this album was extremely important and has aged better than the other Big 4 comebacks, the fact that only about 5 of the many tracks here really feel worthwhile hurts it so much. Earth on Hell slams out the gate with the aggression Anthrax so sorely lacked after Persistence of Time, but it's followed by The Devil You Know, a fairly dull hard rock song with a catchy chorus and little else. The duality of exciting metal music with average hard rock seeping in really brings down the highlights like Fight Em' Till You Can't, Judas Priest, and In The End. Joey's vocals help to keep this at least somewhat interesting on its weaker tracks, but altogether there's a lot of potential missed here, although For All Kings generally manages a lot better. |
| 19 |  | Onslaught
Killing Peace
Extremely competent, extremely generic. Whilst quite well written and with plenty of hooks, I think the fact that this is probably the most forgettable thrash comeback (to the extent that I forgot to put in on the list the first time round) hurts it to a large extent. Still pretty decent and I'm happy to see these guys having a decent chunk of success in the 2010s. |
| 20 |  | Xentrix
Bury The Pain
I think this album is slightly disappointing, with a vocal performance with less character than their older material and a more generic overall sound. The more melodic sound they had before is somewhat neutered here with a greater emphasis on groove, and the tracks generally feel a bit more cluttered. The production also is quite disappointing compared to Shattered Existence and For Whose Advantage, which both had extremely good production. |
| 21 |  | Exhorder
Mourn the Southern Skies
HM: Haven't really heard this one in detail yet. Individual singles sound good, but the tone of the tracks seems the same throughout and there isn't much riff variety. Still, a very groovy album from what I remember. |
| 22 |  | Slayer
Christ Illusion
HM: This album has never really clicked with me, but a few songs work really well (Eyes of the Insane, Jihad, Cult). I'm also not sure if Slayer has ever really had a comeback album? Diabolus in Musica was bad but this album isn't much of a step up from God Hates Us All which wasn't much of a step up from Diabolus. |
| 23 |  | Metallica
Death Magnetic
HM: Despite overblown songwriting and awful production, Death Magnetic has a lot of charm in its confidence and grooves. The whole album honestly sounds like an extended jam session between extremely experienced musicians, with great results at times, such as on All Nightmare Long, The Judas Kiss, and Suicide and Redemption, but some tracks are pretty weak and the album seriously drags with every track clocking in over 5 minutes in length. Decided to put this as an HM because I need to relisten to it but since the album feels like its a whole day long idk when I'll do that |
| 24 |  | Protector
Reanimated Homunculus
Bad |
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