Just some thrash metal
Some thrash metal albums I really dig. I love the Big Four and disagree when people say stuff like "once you listen to other thrash you realize the Big Four are waaaaay overrated" but I'm leaving them out of this because Ride the Lightning and Rust in Peace are on enough "thrash favorites" lists. This list is in no particular order. |
| 1 |  | Coroner
Mental Vortex
My favorite Coroner album, an undisputed classic of technical thrash metal that probably would've been accessible to any metal fan if it had melodic vocals. |
| 2 |  | Heathen
Victims of Deception
Very technical and somewhat progressive, this is sort of like the sequel to And Justice For All with a more operatic vocalist. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in melodic thrash in the vein of 80s Metallica. Morbid Curiosity is particularly lyrically interesting, and I could totally see Prisoners of Fate being a mega hit song with major label backing. |
| 3 |  | Paradox
Heresy
Concept album about the crusades, with that classic dated 80 thrash metal production. If the fast riffs weren't so distinctly thrash, one might relate this to power metal. |
| 4 |  | Testament
The Legacy
Testament were awesome right from the get-go with The Legacy, which balances melodicism with heaviness very well. Alex Skolnick's guitar playing really helps in that department, with his classic solos adding some expressiveness and leading to some catchy guitar harmonies, like the one in Over the Wall (If you've heard this album, you know the one) or the one in First Strike Is Deadly. |
| 5 |  | Testament
The New Order
My personal favorite Testament album, which takes plenty of time to cultivate an ominous and mysterious atmosphere. Skolnick, who shined on their debut, is even better here, and is given more emphasis. But don't worry, The New Order is more than just listening to Alex shredding over acoustic guitars and wind sound effects; Into the Pit and The Preacher aren't incredibly brutal, but are fast enough to get the blood flowing. I could go on about how great the riffs and solos and choruses are, but if you want one song that distills all of this album's best qualities, just check out Disciples of the Watch. |
| 6 |  | Testament
Practice What You Preach
I know I have two other Testament albums on here already, and this album is almost not fast enough to be called thrash, but it's still awesome, if more melodic than Testament's previous two releases at this point. The songwriting flows really well and there's some very catchy moments. I guess you could say this is kind of like what would happen if Metallica were a little more in tune with their thrash metal roots when recording the Black Album. |
| 7 |  | Anacrusis
Screams and Whispers
Could stand to have a little more speed, but beyond that this is a very, very good tech thrash album. |
| 8 |  | Annihilator
Alice in Hell
Awesome guitar playing from Jeff Waters and Randy Rampage's classic vocal performance wouldn't mean too much if the songs themselves weren't solid...but they are. |
| 9 |  | Toxik
Think This
The second incredibly dope concept album from 1989 on our list, Toxik's Think This is pretty much also a progressive metal album, what with its unified lyrical themes, use of synthesizers, incredibly technical playing, layered guitars, and high pitched vocals. It's pretty much also a masterpiece, too, so check it out sometime. |
| 10 |  | Believer
Dimensions
Aggressive, progressive, and sometimes symphonic thrash metal with Christian overtones. |
| 11 |  | Dark Angel
Time Does Not Heal
While this album might have some occasionally poor vocals that detract from the overall listening experience, and a weak penultimate track, it also has a LOT of riffs, most of which are pretty good and fit well together, not to mention great drumming from Gene Hoglan. Gene also wrote most of the lyrics, which are thoughtful and somewhat philosophical, if VERY dark, with a lot of focus on subjects like abuse, emotional trauma, and sexual depravity. While the title track and Pain's Invention, Madness are probably the best songs on the album, An Ancient Inherited Shame is very much worth mentioning, a 9 minute epic sung from the point of view of a female rape victim, with a nice selection of riffs and tempo changes to keep things interesting and some impressively fast shredding at the end. Not for everyone, but a favorite of mine. |
| 12 |  | Voivod
Killing Technology
This album is brutal and ahead of its time, with some of Snake's most vicious vocals and the unique, dissonant riffage of Piggy. By far the heaviest and most raw of Voivod's progressive albums. |
| 13 |  | Voivod
Dimension Hatross
My personal favorite Voivod release, less thrashy than Killing Technology but even more progressive. Another classic concept album, this one is about Voivod's mascot from the land of Morgoth creating a new dimension (Dimension Hatross!) and ruling over its people, only to find the same problems in their society as ours, like terrorism and political corruption. After some battles with psychic monsters or something, he destroys the dimension, killing all of the inhabitants. The songs on here are pretty weird, but are also often quite catchy. |
| 14 |  | Vektor
Black Future
The first time I heard this, I thought "Whoa, Killing Technology Part 2?!" In retrospect this doesn't sound TOO much like that album, but Vektor's debut album is just as worthy of your time. |
| 15 |  | Vektor
Outer Isolation
Are Vektor the best modern thrash metal band? Well...probably. |
| 16 |  | Exodus
Bonded by Blood
Paul Baloff's insane wailing vocals are not for everyone, but for those who can adjust, Bonded by Blood, with its incredible intensity, evil and lovably cheesy lyrics, awesome riffs and dashes of catchiness, is the shit. |
| 17 |  | Exodus
Fabulous Disaster
That other classic Exodus album, this time with Steve Souza on vocals. This album brought a fun goofy feeling to their music with tracks like Cajun Hell and (EVERYBODY DO) The Toxic Waltz. Rest assured, however, that this is still unquestionably some intense thrash metal, with the 8 minute Like Father, Like Son being at least as heavy as Piranha. |
| 18 |  | Forbidden
Twisted into Form
Forbidden Evil is a solid debut, but this album in my opinion really showed Forbidden's potential as a band, with some catchier and more melodic songwriting that still manages to pack a punch. |
| 19 |  | Heathen
Breaking the Silence
Forgot to add this earlier, but I'm too lazy to go back and rearrange the entire list just to put this in next to Victims of Deception. Anyways, this debut is quite promising and at times brings to mind power metal, at least with the fantasy-themed lyrics of tracks like Goblin's Blade, Open the Grave, and Save the Skull. They also throw in some social commentary on Pray For Death, which is another one of those lyrically left wing 80s thrash metal songs. Anyways, cool album. |
| 20 |  | Obliveon
From This Day Forward
Super cool progressive tech thrash! Heavy enough to be called death metal by some, but it's thrash to me. |
| 21 |  | Obliveon
Nemesis
Super cool progressive tech thrash/death, part 2! Almost as impressive as their debut. |
| 22 |  | Sepultura
Schizophrenia
Raw and brutal riff festival that never lets up, with rough production only adding to the fury. The instrumental Inquisition Symphony is particularly impressive. |
| 23 |  | Sepultura
Beneath the Remains
Probably most widely agreed upon as their best album, save for those who prefer Arise or Chaos A.D. I'm a little partial to Schizophrenia myself, but this is another fast and heavy riff-o-rama from Brazil with love. Now how did these guys go from writing songs like Inner Self to putting out Roots? |
| 24 |  | Overkill
The Years of Decay
Overkill's best. Plenty of memorable tracks like Nothing to Die For, Elimination (E! LIMINATIOOOOON!), and I Hate, which should've been a big MTV hit. |
| 25 |  | Target
Master Project Genesis
Shaky vocal performances aside, this is a very cool technical thrash album from Belgium that is tragically overlooked. |
| 26 |  | Watchtower
Energetic Disassembly
Some have called the first progressive metal album. I don't know about that, but it is certainly a very cool and fairly thrash-influenced one. Note that it does not feature famed guitarist Ron Jarzombek; he joined for their next one. Shitty production and vocals that are too high pitched for many to handle don't stop this from being a great album to me. |
| 27 |  | Watchtower
Control and Resistance
With much better vocals and production this time around, Watchtower's second album veers into even more progressive territory, with mindblowing guitar playing (and drumming, and bass, and vocals...) and some cool softer moments that really expand Watchtower's range. About one minute into the album it is perfectly clear that these dudes are crazy talented and aren't much into typical verse/chorus structures or playing in 4/4 time. |
| 28 |  | Wolf Spider
Wilczy pająk
Closing off this list now with three albums from Wolf Spider (originally Wilczy pająk), a Polish thrash metal group who I feel deserve a good bit more exposure. I feel that this is the most intense (though not necessarily the best) of their albums, benefiting greatly from Leszek Szpigiel's vocal performance. I can't understand him, but it's a shame that he was replaced when they decided to sing in English and change their name to the English translation of "Wilczy pająk", Wolf Spider. At least you can find a version of their second recorded album (English title Hue of Evil) with him singing. |
| 29 |  | Wolf Spider
Kingdom of Paranoia
Another knockout album from Wolf Spider, this time veering into more technical territory on occasion. The gang vocals feel forced, as though the group heard Among the Living or Fabulous Disaster and thought "Whoa, we should be doing that!" (Note that this is actually their third recorded album, but their second recorded album was eventually released as their fourth and final album in 1991 after being rerecorded with inferior English vocals) but still, very cool album. Foxes is my favorite song on here. Check this one out! |
| 30 |  | Wolf Spider
Drifting in the Sullen Sea
This album from Wolf Spider was released third, but is actually their fourth and final recorded album, retaining the progression introduced in Kingdom of Paranoia. Some of this album can be quite catchy! (Thiiiiiiiis is myyyyyyy woooooooomaaaaaaan...) |
| 31 |  | Alien Kids
Alien Rap - Songs About Life on the Planet Glumph
An essential classic that, despite being a rap album, will no doubt serve as inspiration to future thrashers. If only these guys were around in 1986... |
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