0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A.M.Q.A. (USA)

Punk-ish thrash/crossover, more on the melodic side; there are two bass players in the band, and this can be very clearly felt; there is a very heavy bass bottom on every track, and yet the music is catchy and melodic.

Cats are Neat EP, 1986
Mutant Cats From Hell Full-length, 1988

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A.N.I.M.A.L. (ARGENTINA)

Based on "El Nuevo Camino Del Hombre": groovy post-thrash, but lacking energy and speed, mostly mid-paced, often moving towards slower, balladic fields, one-dimensional and ultimately boring; there is one awful attempt at funk (or rap, or jazz?) at the end: "Chalito".

A.N.I.M.A.L. Full-length, 1993
Fin De Un Mundo Enfermo Full-length, 1994
El Nuevo Camino Del Hombre Full-length, 1996
Poder Latino Full-length, 1998
Usa Toda Tu Fuerza Full-length, 1999
Animal 6 Full-length, 2001
Combativo Full-length, 2004

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A.N.S. (USA)

"The Process of Stocking Out" is thrashcore mixed with punk and a few instrumental variations with a strong modern industrial vibe; not terribly bad, actuallly, even sounding original at times. "Pressure Cracks" is cool thrash/crossover in the spirit of Broken Bones and Ludichrist; fast energetic songs take turns with noisier more hardcore-based ones. The modern elements have gone, except for the nice spacey instrumental near the end "Instru-Monu-Mental" with touches of Mastodon, and now this effort sounds more classic, but quite derivative as well.

The Process of Stocking Out Full-Length, 2008
Pressure Cracks Full-Length, 2009

A.O.D. (FINLAND)

Based on the 2-song demo "Painful Awakening", this obscure band play cool heavy thrash sounding like early Testament. Both songs could well stay on "The New Order" with their crushing, semi-technical riffs and nice Alex Skolnick-like guitar work.
The band's full-length is finally a fact, and "Gallery of Pain" doesn't disappoint offering well-executed retro thrash, but with a drier more clinical production and more hoarse semi-shouty vocals. The pace gets high from the get-go with the first two songs being major headbangers, followed by the more moderate "Children of Misfortune" which influences the next mid-pacer "Guilty Or Not", before the rage returns with the short Slayer-sque fury "Cross the Line (Of No Return)". The guys switch onto pure proto-death/hardcore on "Suicide…Are You Fucking Insane?", but this is the only part where things get slightly out of control, but in a good way.

Demo 1988 Demo, 1988
Painful Awakening EP, 1989
AnnODomini Best of/Compilation, 2001
Gallery of Pain Full-length, 2010

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A.R.G. (FINLAND)

A really good Finnish thrash metal band who perfectly combine aggression and technicality; their debut is rawer, but very effective, quite intense and speedy with great riffs and ambitious long, complex tracks ("Heathenism in Penitentuary"). The overall style is similar to late 80's Kreator and Destruction. The sophomore album is pretty much in the same vein, but is more technical and polished with another monstrous, 12-min multi-layered thrash opus near the end: the title track "One World Without The End", and really impressive excercises at a more complex, technical song-writing: "Adoration of the Kings", the smashing speedy riff-fest "Misfortune Along My Side", or the crushing galloping "Back To Life". This uncompromising thrash assault still finds room for one brilliant fast-paced melodic crossover piece: "Hey Hey My My".

Entrance Full-Length, 1989
Back To Life EP, 1990
One World Without The End Full-Length, 1991

Official Site

A BURIAL AT SEA (NORWAY)

The EP offers modern thrash/death metal of the Gothenburg school, fast and intense with clever technical riffage ("Among Betrayers") present.

Pestilent Demo, 2007
Like a Blessing EP, 2009

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A LOWER DEEP (USA)

A cool mixture of thrash, progressive and doom metal with a heavy, thick sound and a small doze of modern groove; will appeal to fans of Nevermore, Memento Mori, the last Hexenhaus album and even Iced Earth. "Parable of the Thorn" is the band's least thrashy effort; it's still quite good, with a bigger concentration on the progressive/power metal side of the music; the more intense thrashy sections (quite a few of them here) are modern-sounding, and not really engaging.
"Trinity" is a better offering, starting with a cool heavy power/thrashing number ("Ascent Of The Fallen"), which sets the tone for the rest. The tracks are longer, and are not sustained in a hard-hitting thrashing vein the whole time, but include slower, doomy sections, as well as more melodic ones. Certainly there are more laid-back, power metal-based songs ("Gods And Monsters"), as well as pure doom metal delights (the excellent, Candlemass-influenced "Lost in Eden"), plus a few exercises in modern groove (the closing "The Power Of Why"), but generally the guitar sound is sharper and more aggressive.
"Black Marys" continues the harder course from the last recording, and the brutal death shout at the beginning of the opener "Bleed" may scare you, but this number is the prototypical for the band mix of doom and power/thrash surrounded by a dark ominous atmosphere, which sets the tone for what follows: mid-paced to slow crushingly heavy stuff, clinging between the modern and the classic sound, with the doom metal opus "Hamartia" being the highlight, with the more dynamic technical power/thrasher "The Narrow Way" a close second. "For Those Left Behind" is the other place where your head will start banging, and where more extreme lower-tuned vocals can again be heard; the closing "Revelation" offers a nice fast twist in the middle, but as a whole this effort focuses on heaviness, now moving closer to Communic sound-wise.

A Lower Deep Full-length, 2002
Parable of the Thorn Full-length, 2004
Trinity Full-length, 2005
Black Marys Full-Length, 2007

Official Site

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A PUNTO (ARGENTINA)

A modern blend of thrash and death metal with technical pretensions, coming mostly from the jumpy hectic riffage, which springs up from time to time. The tempos change quite a few times, as the predominant one is the mid-paced. There are a couple of short 1/1.5-min tracks which are awkward, as they are more aggressive and less serious, and do nothing more but ruin the rest which offers pounding heavy rhythms as well as several groovy ones.

Popular Poder Full-length, 1996

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A THOUSAND REASONS (ARGENTINA)

A 3-song demo of heavy abrasive thrash with very brutal low-tuned vocals; this is dark, almost doomy, music with a sudden faster revelation at the end: the hardcore-ish industrial oddity "Synthetic Heaven" which suddenly switches to darkwave on the final line also introducing nice clean vocals.

Strength and Fight Demo, 2009

A VISION GROTESQUE (USA)

This band, previously known as Art of Dying, a moniker they had to drop due to legal claims made by a Canadian act of the same name, play modern thrash/death metal of the Swedish school (based on "Metaphysical Hypnosis"); nothing extraordinary, pretty typical stuff, mellodic and laid-back, with the rough low-tuned vocals the only brutal thing, reminiscent of mid-period In Flames and the Finns Gandalf. The guitar work is not bad at all, but the guys develop it all in a tedious mid-tempo with only the closer "Whisper the Serpent" thrashing hard with force.

King of the Massacre Full-length, 2007
Waking Up to Hell EP, 2007
Metaphysical Hypnosis Full-length, 2009

My Space

AAMONHAMMER (BRAZIL)

Brutal black/thrash metal, not too dissimilar from others from the Brazilian metal scene at the same time: Vulcano, Sextrash, Sarcofago, etc. with a pinch of early Sodom and Hellhammer.

Funeral Demo, 1987
Warfare Noise II Split, 1988

AARDVARKS (GERMANY)

Based on "Conglomerate", this band offer an interesting blend of thrash and gothic/death which brings a thrashy Crematory to mind. The songs are heavy, slow to mid-tempo. Before you, thrash metal maniacs, give up tracking this band down, I would like to add that there are nice fast thrashers, too: "Grey" is a good example for that. The band's interesting mixture will appeal to gothic, death and thrash metal fans.

Profondo Rosso, Full-length, 1999
Conglomerate, Full-length, 2002

Official Site

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ABACABB (USA)

Heavy groovy thrash, not too bad, with hammering Pantera-sque ("Far Beyond Driven") riffs and sudden very fast "interludes" ("Regression"), which are cool and fresh, boldly jumping on the death metal wagon ("Regression") to an even more impressive effect. Some tracks ("Destruction", etc.) are frankly proto-grinding, but surprisingly this unusual amalgam produces listenable results, without sounding awkward.

Survivalist Full-length, 2009

Official Site

ABACINATE (HOLLAND)

Classy aggressive thrash similar to Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" and Devastation's "Idolatry"; too bad these guys disappeared soon after that. These are actually the same musicians who were behind another great underground act: Brain Implosion. This is very fast-paced intense music, with no single pause for a break, which never goes over the line into death metal territory, providing 7 tracks of pure headbanging thrash.

Out of the System, Demo, 1991

ABACINATE (USA)

These guys pull out a very wild mix of thrash, death and hardcore; the guitar work is fabulous, quite technical and varied, shaking hands with the best in the field: Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Decapitated, etc, although the band here are not strangers to some straight thrashy sections. The grinding passages are quite a few, but are very appropriately used, creating a very nice contrast to the less intense material, nicely adding up to the great dynamics of the album. Even the short, 1.5-2min numbers are packed with superb guitars and sudden tempo changes (check out the mighty riff-fest "Sadist Misogynist"). Another act this band might remind you of, is Carcass, their mid-period (check out the awesome "The Nuremberg Code"). More conventional, Swedish-styled riffs are also added ("She Gave Up the Ghost") here and there, but they stand no chance against the impeccable technical riffage.

Portrayal Of The Gray Man EP, 2006
Ruination Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ABACINATOR (USA)

"Abacinator" is heavy thrash, alternating between fast, Slayer-esque sections and slower ones, recalling Nasty Savage's debut, with mean, declamatory vocals which sound quite cool, actually. "Domestic Violence" abandons the slower parts, and is all-out speed most of the time, with again Slayer being the obvious influence, as well as Evildead's "Annihilation of Civilization" and Sacred Reich's "Ignorance"; the drums sound a bit hollow on this one, and there is a song there: "Acting Like Black Sabbath", which acquires doomy tendencies similar to the Brits' early stage with Ozzy, and is clearly intended as a joke.

Abacinator Demo, 1987
Domestic Violence Demo, 1988

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ABANDON HOPE (GERMANY)

Another band who play modern groovy thrash apparently influenced by Pantera and Machine Head, this time spiced up with stoner/doom elements, as well as more interesting, semi-progressive guitar work. When the guys pull themselves together, they can come up with hard-hitting, headbanging riffs ("Lost But Not Forgotten"). They also offer a cover version of Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath".

The Endless Ride Full-length, 2006

Official Site

ABADDEN (UK)

The full-length reveals "defenders of the old school faith", the main difference coming from the throaty death metal-ish vocals. The main influences come from the American side (the Bay-Area, Slayer, early Whiplash), and rest assured that there is no speed lost here the guys moshing out with fury with sharp lashing riffs the whole time. "The Hand That Feeds" is a cool attempt at more elaborate performance ala late-80's Metallica, followed closely by the last two numbers: "Into The Dark" which scores high in the lead department, and the more mid-paced closer "The Day Of Reckoning" where the guys leave room for cool melodic hooks toning down the speed as a finishing touch.

My Misery EP, 2007
Sentenced to Death Full-length, 2010

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ABANDONED (GERMANY)

These guys like the word "thrash", and it's not hard to guess where they would go with album titles like that: classic 80's thrash is the order of the day, for which responsible are some of the more renowned musicians from the German metal scene: Fabian "Fabs" Schwarz, the guitar player who in the past played for both Storwitch and Tyran Pace, and of more recent times is involved in Paradox and Runamok, among other acts; the bass player Günter Auschrat who also provides the heavy bottom in Out of Order; and the drummer Jan Mischon who is also a member of the talented outfit Courageous. Surprisingly, Abandoned don't follow on the steps of their compatriots, but have looked for inspiration on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and have come up with a good more Bay-Area thrash-influenced debut, with a pinch of Paradox's speed/thrash, which to these ears bears the most "delicious fruit" ("Holy Terror", "Phoenix Rise"). The drums sound hollow and noisy, though, and the singer doesn't quite fit with his throaty semi-shouty tember. Still, the tempo is up and vivid the whole time, and the guys throw in a couple of nice catchy choruses along the way.

"Thrash You!" concentrates on speed/thrash metal ala Paradox, now sounding not far from that same band's "Collision Course". So some may find this album the better offering, since the speed has been increased considerably, and the guys thrash sure-handedly, adding the odd more technical or more melodic hook here and there. The approach gets quite hard, going beyond the Paradox shadow for a while: the bombastic crossover-tinged "Feel The Fire", and speed killers like "Damned For All Time", "In Search of Sanity" and "Trapped" are not too far behind. Two "reliefs" from the hign intensity can be encountered: the short 1.5-min lead instrumental "Repentance", and the short attempt at a calm acoustic ballad "V.O.D. Reprise" at the end. The melodic choruses are not that frequent this time, and the hoarse singing again remains the major flaw.

Thrash Notes, Full-length, 2006
Thrash You, Full-length, 2007

Official Site

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ABATHUR (ITALY)

Based on the single, this band offer brutal black/thrash with a very dirty, fuzzy guitar sound. The 1st song "Blood World Flesh Winter" is almost pure vicious black metal, whereas the other one "Last Man's Last Way" is cool black-ish thrash along the lines of mid-period Bathory ("Blood, Fire, Death") in a good galloping tempo with a very nice acoustic outro.

Grim Fuckin Folktales Demo, 2001
Philosophic Nothingness Split, 2002
Blood | World | Flesh | Winter Single, 2002

Official Site

ABATTOIR (USA)

This band is more famous as the band from where John Cyriis started his career (although he doesn't sing on any of the two albums), and also another member of Agent Steel: the guitarist Juan Garcia. The style is a good mixture of speed, thrash and power metal, with the preferences going for the second album which is heavier, with a more aggressive sound. "Vicious Attack" is almost a full-fledged speed/power metal affair, which keeps a respectable up-tempo throughout (the opener "Screams from the Grave", "The Enemy"), featuring a cool version of, but of course, Motorhead's "Ace of Spades", as well as less sharp heavy/power metal numbers. "The Only Safe Place" is not a very distant departure, but the sound is heavier and not as speed metal-based, close to early Exciter and the songs, albeit longer, are more memorable and catchy.

Vicious Attack, Full-length, 1985
The Only Safe Place, Full-length, 1986

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ABATTORY (SINGAPORE)

The guys responsible for this EP are also those playing in another Singaporean act: Impiety. The music here is more controlled, without going into the extremes so typical for Impiety. There is still a lot of aggression involved ("Voices From The Graves"), and the tracks move at lightning speed at times ("Marching Of The Dead"), with the obligatory slower atmospheric interludes. "Elements Of Chaos" stands out, with the nice more technical guitar work, and the hammering middle section.

Anthems Of Death EP, 2001

Official Site

ABAXIAL (ARGENTINA)

A blend of 80's Metallica and modern 90's thrash; works quite well. The guitars have a nice technical edge, and the tempo varies from nice galloping energetic thrashers ("Self-Respect") to heavy, slower ones ("206 Bones"). "Carnivore" is a cool choppy, more complex number. The singer has a slightly uneven hoarse, semi-clean voice, which at its best sounds like unrehearsed James Hetfield.

Samsara, Full-length, 1994

Fan Site

ABGATOR (GERMANY)

This is good stuff: excellent classic thrash along the lines of Viking's "Man of Straw", but faster-paced, and more aggressive ("Wings of Change" picks up a death metal-like intensity). The guitar peformance is particularly good, boasting great leads and hard-hitting riffs.

House of Cards Demo, 1991

Official Site

ABHORER (SINGAPORE)

Based on the 2-song EP, this band bashes out brutal raw black/thrash/death, very fast music which is not far from the Australian monsters The Berzerker on the more extreme passages.

Rumpus of the Undead Demo, 1989
Deride the Remedied / Rumpus of the Undead Split, 1991
Upheaval of Blasphemy EP, 1994
Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt Full-length, 1996
Unholy Blasphemer Best of/Compilation, 2004

ABHORRANCE (USA)

Based on the EP, this is melodic thrash/crossover akin to Broken Bones and Lawnmower Deth. "Malevolent Existence" is a strange, but not a very successful attempt to cross their basic style with alternative.

Lowering The Spirits of a Narcissistic Superhero EP, 2002
The Right Disease Full-length, 2005

Official Site

My Space

ABHORRED (USA)

Very good energetic classic thrash with a slight shade of death metal, and with death metal vocals; a few scattered blast-beats, but nothing really too brutal. The style resembles the Japanese Torture Squad and the Swedes Defleshed.

None Shall Be Spared EP, 2007

ABHORRENT (BRAZIL)

The band's debut is cool thrash in the Bay-Area tradition with vocals reminding of Max Cavalera. The music is fast and aggressive reminiscent of Vio-lence's "Eternal Nightmare". The second album has almost nothing to do with this style, going for strictly modern groovy semi-thrash.

Rage, Full-length, 1996
Caution Strong Irritant, Full-length, 2001

Official Site

My Space

ABHORRENT (NORWAY)

The singer and founder of the band was one of the most active figures from the early-90's black metal movement, along with the mythical Euronymous (R.I.P.), with whom he formed the pre-Mayhem act Helvete. He also played bass for Mayhem, after Dead (R.I.P.) committed suicide. This badly produced demo is 4 songs of heavy mid-paced to slow doomy thrash, distantly recalling early Celtic Frost. Later the same guys changed their name to Thyabhorrent, where the style shifted into a more sensible, more aggressive death/thrash mix.

Occultus Brujeria Demo, 1990

ABIGAIL (JAPAN)

A black/thrash metal band with a long, consistent career in the underground; music-wise Abigail are pure unadulterated thrash metal, and the "black metal" tag they rather deserve for the horrifying screaming vocals. Most of the time their style is like a faster mix of Motorhead and Venom, but there are also influences from other sides of the metal spectre.
"Sweet Baby Metal Slut" offers no surprises, thrashing in a jolly unpretentious manner the whole time, as this time the slower mid-paced tracks are not many at all, and the overall speedy approach creates an uplifting roller-coaster atmosphere slightly spoilt by the apocalyptic black metal vocals.

Descending from a Blackend Sky, EP, 1993
Confound Eternal, EP, 1996
Intercourse and Lust, Full-length, 1997
Welcome all Hell Fuckers, EP, 2001
Forever Street Metal Bitch, Full-length, 2003
Fucking louder than hell, Full-length, 2004
Abigail Loves Ilona, as she is the Very Best, Full-length, 2005
Ultimate Unholy Death, Full-length, 2005
Eastern Force of Evil, EP, 2005
Sweet Baby Metal Slut Full-length, 2009

My Space

ABLAZE (CANADA)

2 songs of pretty good American power/thrash metal very close to Laaz Rockit's "Know Your Enemy": sharp riffs, soaring high-pitched vocals, galloping rhythms, and a nice balladic deviation on the not very appropriately titled "Sadistic Dream". Later the guys turned into a Metallica tribute band after a few line-up changes.

Psychopath Single, 1986

Official Site

ABNEGATE (ITALY)

This unknown act play a mix of retro 80's and modern 90's thrash with throaty angry vocals, a mix between Phil Anselmo and Max Cavalera. The guys sound better when they put more speed into the proceedings where a certain death metal feeling is also present ("Cold Life", "Murky Dream"), or when they go for the other extreme: the heavy, doomy "Death Without Dying". "Shadowed" recalls the Black Album with a faster twist, and the closing track "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is the odd unecessary cover of the Beastie Boys.

Insane Souls Full-length, 1994

ABNORMAL THAUGHTZ (USA)

Listless, boring modern power/post-thrash with dull repetitive riffs, preceding the obnoxious sound Machine Head acquired in the late 90's (this band could have been an influence- ha ha!) with a few years. Some slower brooding pieces are not too bad, actually: "Schitzophrenic Love Affair", the pounding thrashy closer "Against The Wall", and it seemed as though the guys would have been better off if they had chosen the doom metal field to explore. The singer is not a complete waste with his solid mid-ranged clean delivery which, again, would be of a bigger advantage to some doom metal act.

Abnormal Thaughtz Full-length, 1995

ABOLISH (USA)

This is your average heavy groovy 90's thrash, which ironically sounds more appealing when it acquires more doomy tendencies ("Fade", the really cool doomster "Alive To Breathe Again").

Tap the Nerve Full-length, 1995

ABOLISHER (USA)

These guys try to give the thrash/death metal hybrid a big doze of progressive, and although at times this compilation sounds fairly intriguing, there are quite a few moments when the music gets confusing, becoming either too complicated, or the addition of extra instruments (keyboards, that is) ruins the riffy sections. There are two overlong compositions here: one a bit over 10-min (the better one), the other a bit over 13-min. Songs of such epic length inevitably come served with boring parts, and these two are full with them. Again, the EP has its moments, it's not a complete waste, but more concentration on the riffage, rather than atmosphere for the future, would be to both the band's and the fans' advantage.

Lament The Season EP, 2001

Official Site

ABOMINATION (USA)

Paul Speckman is one of the greatest figures of the American metal underground. Among his projects, Abomination is arguably the best one. The band's trade mark are the heavy, crushing, stomping riffs which create an ominous, depressing atmosphere, aggravated by Speckman's roaring vocals, and this would not be music you would get back to very often. However, the quality displayed here is undeniable, and fans of the darker, rawer side of thrash will find a lot to like. Unfortunately, their comeback album in 1999 sounds tired and uninspired, with Speckman looking for inspiration at other genres (hardcore) consequently ruining the band's unique sound.

Abomination, Full-length, 1990
Tragedy Strikes, Full-length, 1991
The Final War, EP, 1999
Curses of a Deadly Sin, Full-length, 1999

Official Site

ABOMINATOR (AUSTRALIA)

Abominator are one of the main rivals to Destroyer 666 as one of the leading Australian metal bands in recent years. They actually have a connection to the Destroyers: Chris Volcano- a former singer and a drummer for that band. The music is not far from early Destroyer 666, and is pretty much the same frenetic mixture of thrash, death, speed and black metal, but with a more aggressive attitude, and without any melodic leanings which "flooded" the Destroyers' sound on their more recent works.

Damnation's Prophecy Full-length, 1999
Subversives For Lucifer Full-length, 2001
Nuctemeron Descent Full-length, 2003
The Eternal Conflagration Full-length, 2006

Official Site

My Space

ABRACADATHRASH (SWITZERLAND)

Despite the funny, do-not-take-us-seriously, name these guys come up with awesome speed/thrash akin to Paradox's "Heresy" and Vio-lence's "Eternal Nightmare"; the music is fast, with cool swirling leads, and vocals which are not too far from Chuck Billy. "Reincarnation" moves the sound in a heavier and slightly more technical direction, sounding like a leftover from Heathen's "Victims of Deception", or even Metallica's "...And Justice for All".

F.T.W. Demo, 1989

ABROGATION (GERMANY)

The band's style is consistently cool modern thrash/death metal, which ranges from more moderate, mid-paced gothic-tinged tracks to very furious blasting bombs. The music pays more tribute to thrash, especially on the last "Sarggeburt", which is cool headbanging thrash almost all the way, with some improvements in the guitar work (the leads, in particular) and sparce more extreme episodes (the blast-beats on "Fegefeuer" and "Totensammler").

Creation of Madness EP, 1998
Handwerk des Todes Full-length, 1999
Das Blut Der Toten Full-length, 2002
1487 Full-length, 2005
Sarggeburt Full-length, 2009

Official Site

ABSOLUTE (BULGARIA)

These obscure Bulgarians (only two people are behind this project) offer really good classic thrash starting with the mid-paced stomper "Cherni Mutzuni", but soon switch onto faster thrash with "Niakade Zad Stenite" and "Alkoholna Sila". Then comes a time for the romantic but still thrashy semi-balladic instrumental "Mig Predi Golemia Vzriv" which shows the lead guitarist in fine form. More intense thrash with "Osuden Na Jivot" which is a nice mix between speedy and slower pounding passages. "Stranata Na Straha" is excellent more melodic speed/thrash with progressive tendencies; again the leads score high here. "Tehnicheski Progres" is fast-paced thrash ala early Metallica with again, nice lead guitars. "Evolucia" carries on in the same vein, maybe more straight-forward and more aggressive, compensated by the other instrumental: the closing "V Kulta", which both title and music-wise will remind you of Metallica's "The Call of Chtullu", a compelling mix of balladic and hard-hitting mid-tempo thrashy sections. The singer may be a slight pullback with his hoarse non-melodic pitch, but the music is top-notch putting this band right next to the leaders of the bulgarian thrash movement, like Ira Deum, Agressor, Crash, etc. Reportedly the guys produced an immediate follow-up to this album, titled "Nishto ne Stava", and had another material ready for a 3rd release, but split up untimely.

Niakade Zad Stenite Full-length, 1993

ABSOLUTE ZERO (CANADA)

Typical modern 90's post-thrash, mostly mid-paced with angry Phil Anselmo-like vocals often interrupted by bad alternative semi-clean ones; the pace accelerates quite a bit at times reaching hardcore fields, but those are quickly followed by a soft jumpy funky passage. A couple of Oriental tunes can be heard, and the bass work is quite good reminiscent of Les Claypool (Bling Illusion, Primus), but overall this is nothing too original.

Torn Full-length, 1994

ABSOLUTE ZERO (USA)

A 4-song demo (one track is actually an instrumental ("Zappa Death")) of excellent technical thrash; the music is a bit hectic, but never loses coherence, with a frequent change of tempos and numerous twisted technical riffs, recalling Mekong Delta, the Dutch Donor and Watchtower. This is great stuff with the magnificent closer "The King" being a 7.5-min long technical opus featuring aggressive guitars as well as atmospheric calmer moments.

Piracy Demo, 1988

ABSOLUTION (USA)

A really good newcomer on the US metal scene, pulling out worthy classic thrash; the vocal styles vary from clean to rougher, mean-ish ones, both working fine. The tempo is not very fast, but there's enough energy involved to keep the listener on the alert. Some songs are a bit softer, with a power/speed metal vibe ("Reflections Of Hate", "Seven Deadly Sins"), but the musicianship there is better, especially in the lead department. The album starts with two short, immediate thrashers, but with each subsequent song the complexity increases, and although it very seldom reaches progressive dimensions, the overall sound is fairly technical on quite a few times: the awesome Oriental-tinged "Eternal Ascension", the sharp riff-fest "The Servant Of Liars". Near the end the band take it easier, mixing power and thrash in a fairly cool manner, except on the very ordinary modern metal track "Blind Reality". The closing "Human" is a more ambitious progressively-ornated song, but abandons the thrashing, concentrating more on melody and complex arrangements, partially losing in the long run lasting for nearly 9-min.

The Remission of Sin EP, 2005
The Revelation Diaries Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ABSORBED (SPAIN)

The tag "technical death metal" attached to these guys is solely based on the brutal low-tuned vocals, since music-wise this band has no ties to death metal whatsoever. Otherwise the music is well executed technical/progressive power/thrash which shares the calm and serenity, as well as the complex compositions, with the Czechs Scenery. So there's no speed above the mid-pace to be encountered, and the riffs lack sharpness relying more on melodic hooks which come at times with a shade of gothic. The contrast between the scary singer and the peaceful music is really weird at first, strongly recalling the one achieved by the Austrian gothic/death metal act Visceral Evisceration, but one will get used to it without problems. "Contact" contains a nice acoustic interlude and could pass for a technical semi-ballad. "Towards Summer We Soar" is a great progressive opus also rubbing shoulders with Spiral Architect, boasting strong bass support. "Disgust And Hate" abandons the technicality a bit, and is the fastest track sustained in a less pretentious crossover manner also ably helped by the vocals (could be a different singer?) which here are typical hardcore semi-shouts. After it comes the closer "Cosmos Turbine", which is a masterpiece of complex though-out progressive thrash offering clever technical riffs and even a headbanging section.
This album is a really unusual and a very interesting take on progressive metal, which could have aroused the interest in such kind of music in Spain, since later in the new millennium this band's "legacy" was followed by a couple of capable acts (Continuo Renacer, Unreal Overflows (one of that band's guitarits, Fran Pérez, was involved with Absorbed at an earlier stage although he hadn't taken part in the recording of the album), Perseidan, Kaothic, etc.) which offered a more aggressive, death metal-based, interpretation to the music on offer here.

Reverie Full-length, 1999

Official Site

ABSTRACT RAPTURE (LUXEMBOURG)

The people from the richest country in the world have never seemed to care about metal, but here comes a band from there who specialize in modern groovy thrash; nothing exceptional, with the mid-paced heavy tracks ("The Void") predominating, occasionally interrupted by faster, better ones ("Noxious Utopia").

Dead End Entry EP, 2006
Democadencia Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ABSU (USA)

Absu started as a black/death metal band on their debut, which sounded pretty close to Darkthrone. "The Sun of Tiphareth" introduced a more restrained, epic sound which showed another, very interesting side of the band. "The Third Storm of Cythraul" was a transitional work, featuring both the epic moments from the previous album and really fast thrashy passages, suggesting at the future direction taken by the band. "Tara" is a masterpiece of black/thrash reminding of Slayer at times, with Proscriptor doing an amazing job on drums; clearly one of the leading extreme bands on the contemporary American metal scene.
A self-titled album after a long string of albums is a sign of a retrospection made, or a new direction taken, but in the case of Absu this is just the next album, despite the lengthy hiatus. This is by no means a bad effort, featuring the same fairly aggressive mix of black, thrash, and death metal, this time nicely spiced with calmer majestic operatic mid-tempo black/thrashers ("Amy"), but rest assured that the compensation is just around the corner, in the face of furious pieces like the black/death metal madness "Nunbarshegunu", or the classic thrash killer "13 Globes", or the quite stylish combination of the three aforementioned styles "Of The Dead Who Never Rest In Their Tombs Are The Attendance Of Familiar Spirits". Sorry, but the review ends here, since the song-title took the space required... Kidding, of course... Something quite technical, but also brutal, comes later: "Magick Square Cipher" with thrash and death shaking hands here. The technicality disappears, but the speed and the no-prisoners attitude remains for the rest of the material, except for the closing "Ye Uttuku Spells", which is a fine display of stomping, hectic technicality. The fans of the band will be delighted to hear their heroes blasting with full force again by adding tasteful "detours" from their merciless delivery.

Barathrum V.I.T.R.I.O.L. Full-length, 1993
...And Shineth Unto the Cold Cometh EP, 1995
The Sun of Tiphareth Full-length, 1995
The Third Storm of Cythraul Full-length, 1997
In the Eyes of Ioldanach EP, 1998
Hallstattian Swords EP, 2001
Tara Full-length, 2001
L'Attaque Du Tyran: Toulouse, Le 28 Avril 1997 EP, 2007
Absu Full-length, 2009

Official Site

My Space

ABSURD (BELGIUM)

This band features Gunther Maes- the guitarist who also took part in an early incarnation of the great Chemical Breath. Based on the "Oppression Murder" demo, this band offer a mix of hardcore and thrash similar to Acrophet's "Corrupt Minds", or early Prong. The music is not very heavy, but is fast and enjoyable. The vocals are put a bit forward in the mix, and their presence "chokes" the instruments at times.

Possessed by Insanity Demo, 1989
Oppression or Murder Demo, 1989

ABSURD (SWITZERLAND)

Atmospheric doom/gothic-tinged modern thrash which starts in a sleepy morose fashion before speeding up later, but just a bit, giving us a jolly totally out-of-context crossover piece ("No Jesus") and several not very interesting mid-paced stompers with a few melodic hooks which starkly contrast to the harsh semi-death metal vocals.

Shadows Full-length, 1996

ABSURD CONFLICT (CZECH)

Based on the Promo, this band play modern thrash/death metal with a technical twist. The music moves from very fast early Dark Tranquillity-like moments to choppy modern breaks, to atmospheric, almost gothic sections. The lead guitar work is particularly good (check out "Till The End"), but after the furious opener "A Tragedy Concept" the sound gets softer and slower, relying more on melodic hooks, and more frequent time changes.
The "Hopeless Despair" demo is both "hopeless" and "desperate"; joking, folks... it sees the band having adopted the thrash/death hybrid, but the technical elements are nowhere to be heard. It's a pretty standard modern stuff in mid-pace, with only "Hope & Despair" bringing some "hope" (thankfully not "despair") providing both more technical prowess and more aggressive faster riffage.

Hopeless Despair Demo, 1998
Promo Demo, 2003
Point of Crisis Full-length, 2007

Official Site

ABSURD2 (NORWAY)

This band was formed by former and present members of Extol, who apparently were not too happy with the melodic and unimpressive form of music which this band have started to play recently. This is standout technical thrash/death pretty much along the lines of Extol's magnum opus "Synergy". The music is quite energetic with smashing technical guitars, frequently changing tempos, great jazzy parts, and will also remind you of Cynic, Atheist, Chemical Breath, Coroner, among other masters of the technical genre. The vocals are slightly irritating, being high-pitched hysterical semi-hardcore ones. Hopefully the full-length will hit us soon...

Absurdďż˝ EP, 2004

Official Site

ABSURDITY (FRANCE)

A modern death/thrash metal band with a strong presence of hardcore on the second demo.

Sessions Recordings Demo, 2003
Decline Of Human Condition Demo, 2004

Official Site

My Space

ABUSER (ITALY)

Technical/progressive thrash metal shifted through the years from the gorgeous models of the late-80's, early-90's (Target, Coroner, Anacrusis, Flaming Anger, Mekong Delta, Deathrow, Hexenhaus, Nasty Savage, etc.), which was the real time of this sub-genre, to more straight-forward stuff with a couple of more technical leanings of more recent times which we, the technical metal maniacs, had no choice but call "technical" due to the lack of anything better out there.
Abuser come close to the models of the 80's on a few times, but their infatuation with speed is bigger leaving some of the more technical passages kind of unfinished. Still, this effort rises well above the modern pack with a style quite close to the one album wonder Bezerker from Australia and Target's debut. Virtuoso guitar work ala Mike Wead can also be heard, but again it is the "need for speed" which will be fully satisfied in the long run with energetic roller-coasters like "Flesh Eaters" and "Creations". Technicality and speed come brilliantly mixed on the progressive opus "Iron Ghost" which is complex intense thrash at its best. The other tracks are shorter speedy "stingers" with genuine technical "decorations", the culmination among them being the excellent "Possession", a headbanger of a less ordinary nature with a few technical "surprises" along the way. The final is a bit underwhelming, though: a pretty faithful rendition of the early Whiplash hit "Spit on Your Grave" with no technical play whatsoever, but the speed metal fans will salivate all over once again. This is a truly impressive entry from Italy, and hopefully the guys will manage to stay afloat unlike several of their more recent compatriots (Rainspawn, Fear Traders, Death Mechanism, etc.) who disappeared after just one album.

Threats Of Fate Full-length, 2010

My Space

ABYSM (CANADA)

Based on the first demo, this band plays classic thrash/death metal of the French school with vicious black metal vocals. The music is generally fast with the obligatory blast-beating sections "decorating" every song.

Demo Demo, 2007
June '07 Reh Demo, 2007

My Space

ABYSMALIA (FINLAND)

A strong newcomer on the Finnish scene, which suggested at their big potential on the debut demo, which offers heavy, mostly mid-paced technically-minded thrash of the modern variety, with gruff death metal vocals, which are the downside. There are atmospheric sections recalling Coroner's "Grin", as well as a whole song sounding as though directly taken from that album: "Irreplaceable": a nice short abstract modern progressive piece. The music nicely picks up speed on the final "The Sewage of Lies (Phase Two)", but the track is ruined by the indifferent clean vocals, accompanying a pointless, very melodic section in the middle.
"Portals to Psychotic Inertia" comes just a few months after the demo, but the guys show that they have grown musically. If we exclude the very bad clean vocals, the rest is well done modern progressive/technical thrash metal rubbing shoulders with early Meshuggah and Obliveon. The compositions are longer, and are not "deprived" of speedy passages, which are well embedded in the overall quite complex musical picture: check out the first two songs. "Whispering Insomnia" is a less elaborate and softer composition, followed by the creepy, slow-ish progressive "Coma Recurring". The strong beginning finally finds its match, in the face of the short direct thrasher "The Mindscraping Multitude", which will be a delight to the more level-headed fans, although it also offers a couple of more twisted sections. Don't bother with the closer "The Naiad of the Dawn (Anam Cara)": total waste of 5.5-min for the thrash fan: a gothic/orchestral number, which doesn't even sound progressive, assisted by the worst clean vocals on the album: semi-Dave Gahan-like (Depeche Mode) tember, which hardly has a place on an album like this. This is not too bad, but the guys scatter their sound into too many directions, sometimes not quite necessarily; more focus for the future on the harder guitar sound could bring better results.
"Replenish Entirety" is another larger-than-life affair now adding black and post-black metal to the already overdone amalgam. Thrash metal comes stifled more than now and then, if ever present, replaced by numerous quiet atmospheric passages, sprawling doomy sections, orchestral arrangements, and more. Apparently from now on the band will concentrate on extreme multi-layered progressive metal without any boundaries.

The Sewage of Lies Demo, 2007
Portals to Psychotic Inertia Full-length, 2008
Replenish Entirety Full-length, 2010

Official Site

ABYSS (CHILE)

A good album of classic 80's thrash; the music is closer to the German school, and more particularly early Destruction and Darkness. The tempo is dynamic, up-tempo for most of the time, with clever, sharp riffs, but nothing overtly technical. The songs flow in the same vein, without any changes, but there is no time for that, since the album is only 6 songs. The singer has a sinister, black-ish snarl, seldom accompanied by more aggressive death metal growls.

Under the Shadows of Evil Full-length, 2006

Official Site

ABYSS (FRANCE)

Based on the "Against The Sea" EP, these guys play run-of-the-mill modern thrash/death metal, fast, energetic and sharp, with gruff aggressive Jan-Chris De Koeijer-like (Gorefest) vocals, but pretty derivative without any surprises, although the peaceful balladic interludes are not bad ("The Navigator").

Silent Depths EP, 2006
Against The Sea EP, 2009

Official Site

ABYSSALS (FRANCE)

The line-up consists of former members of two excellent extreme French thrash metal formations: Mutilated, and Mutilator who never managed to make it above the demo stage. This demo shows that despite the lengthy hiatus between these two bands' recordings, they haven't lost their touch. This is pure classic thrash, aggressive and fast, certainly bringing to mind both bands (staying closer to Mutilator), but having a 80's Slayer vibe, too, with pure death metal vocals and occasional blast-beats.

Demo Demo, 1994

ABÜSOR (CANADA)

Very good all-out retro thrash (based on the "Living Death" demo), which opens nicely with the intense thrashing instrumental "Stealing Blood" and the deadly headbanger "Thrash Is Death". The other tracks preserve the energetic riffage, but add more melodic hooks; watch out for "Living Death" which is a first-class speed/thrasher worthy of the Angel Dust debut, and especially for the raging closer "Abüsor" which will pour tones of sharp speedy riffs over you.

Montreal Thrash Inferno Demo, 2008
Living Death Demo, 2008

My Space

ACADEMY BLACK (USA)

Thrash/crossover with quite a few experimental touches: "That's Uncool" crosses punk and funk (and thrash, of course), "Tonite I'm Gonna Rock You" is pure rock'n roll happiness, and "Dead Horse", the highlight here, brings cool alternative shades supported by a nice melodic guitar line.

24 Hour Foundation Project Demo, 1990

My Space

ACARIYA (USA)

Typical modern Swedish-influenced thrash, quite fast and intense, recalling early The Haunted, but with a more melodic, and better guitar work. There is some technicality involved (the standout riffest "The Understanding"), but it comes second to the sheer energy (the merciless "Burning The Bridges"). The clean vocals, of course, are also here, but they are very sparcely, and appropriately, used.

Acariya Full-length, 2008

My Space

ACARO (CHILE)

The self-titled demo is thrash/death metal of the retro variety, a bit chaotic but pretty heavy stuff never too fast except for the nice headbanger "Moraturi" at the end which lashes in a cool semi-technical death metal manner. The vocals are gruff semi-shouted death metal ones.

El Vacío Demo, 2002
Ludovico Treatment Demo, 2003
Entropía Demo, 2004
Perverso Demo, 2005
Acaro demo, 2009

Fan Site

ACANTHA (CANADA)

The full-length offers a mixture of modern and classic thrash with a certain atmospheric progressive edge. The pace changes from slower to faster the whole time producing a couple of cool tracks: the excellent technical shredder "Blood Beast"; the more melodic epic thrasher "Feast of the Gods"; the galloping "Phrygian Skin". The final "On This Day We Prey" "breaks" the good behaviour blasting out in a crazy fashion, and is the only death metal-laced song to which the vicious death metal vocals suit better. Those vocals are quite a downpoint, by the way, and it's probably good that they are not given too much space near the end, with two pieces being purely instrumental.

Acantha EP, 2006
Eternal Punishment Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ACCELERATOR (GREECE)

3 tracks of melodic retro speed/thrash metal "courting" the 90's speed metal scene a bit also reminding of the American veterans Savage Grace and Omen. All the tracks are sustained in a vigorous up-tempo with melodic guitars, clean emotional vocals, catchy choruses, and screaming leads.

Demo Demo, 2010

My Space

ACCELERATOR (SWITZERLAND)

Mid-paced gothic-tinged thrash/death reminiscent of the Austrian legends Visceral Evisceration; the album is infused with atmospheric, semi-acoustic moments/instrumentals and other gothic gimmicks (keyboards, cleaner vocals, etc.). Even the really short 1.5-2min numbers occupying the middle, refuse to speed up, and that's a shame (isn't it?).

The Prophecy Full-length, 1997

ACCESSORY (GERMANY)

Based on the debut demo, this band tries to bring the depressive sludgy death metal of Autopsy with a more thrashy edge. Nothing exceptional, unfortunately, the final result being very underwhelming with awkward amateurish switches from slow doomy parts to very fast brutal ones. The unique decadent atmosphere of the Autopsy efforts is almost nowhere to be felt the negative impression further strengthened by the bad unrehearsed low throaty vocals.
The full-length sees the guys having matured musically now sounding much more convincing and much more death metal-inclined, with the aforementioned slower sections still present, but now much more professionally done ably assisting the predominating faster semi-technical passages. For fans of Floridian death metal this album would be a sure pick, but the thrash fans may not make much sense out of it.

Look into my eyes Demo, 1990
Symphonies of Disaster Demo, 1990
Promo Demo, 1991
Within Your Mind Full-length, 1992

ACCIDENT (MOLDOVA)

Based on "Tons of Powder", this is typical groovy modern thrash in the vein of... you know who.

Agonize! Full-length, 1992
Sugar Free Full-length, 1994
LSD Full-length, 1995
Tons Of Powder Full-length, 1996
Fuego Full-length, 1998
Psychosport Full-length, 2006

Official Site

ACCIO DIRECTA (SPAIN)

This band shared a member with Spain's most famous and celebrated band Legion (the drummer Joan Ross Loza). The style here is very similar to the other band: energetic thrash of a more straight-forward nature, with a slightly more simplistic guitar work, and probably a bit faster.

Imagínate Full-length, 1990

ACCURACY (GERMANY)

The full-length offers unimaginative modern 90's thrash with hardcore overtones on the faster material. This is tedious boring music which relies on heavy repetitive riffs which do not hide their involvement with the doom/sludge field ("Pawn" is an exemplary Crowbar-esque steam-roller, the best song here) where also the forceful semi-shouty vocals belong.

Accuracy EP, 1995
Absolut 100% Full-length, 1996

ACCURSED DAWN (USA)

This band reminds me of Hellwitch with its ultra-fast, albeit less technical, thrash/death metal style. The difference is that these guys like slowing down sometimes: "Euphony to the Night Treader" (and other separate sections from other tracks) is an example for that, but the rest is pretty much sheer speed and aggression. The vocals are in the same Patrick Ranieri (Hellwitch again)-like shrieky high-pitched unholy vein, and at least half of the songs are long (6-7min) mixing furious death/thrash, including a couple of blast-beats, with atmospheric laid-back passages.

Manifest Damnation Full-length, 2005

Official Site

My Space

ACCUSER (GERMANY)

One of the better representatives of the German thrash metal scene, Accuser started with standard speed/thrash on "The Conviction", not too far stylistically from Rage's "Reign of Fear", maybe a bit more thrashy. But the band soon moved onto a more ambitious, semi-technical song-writing on "Experimental Errors" and "Who Dominates Who?", which featured more stylish guitar work and longer, more complex songs. "Double Talk" retained the technical edge, but the guitars have acquired a drier, more mechanical sound, still rooted in classic thrash, but hinting at an eventual future metamorphosis. At least on "Repent" there are no traces of any metamorphosis yet, and this album is an entertaining headbanging delight with razor sharp riffs and energetic tempos; this work also saw Frank Thoms- the band's founder, taking over the vocals after the previous singer's departure. The band held the fortress of classic thrash up to 1994 when they introduced modern metal sounds on "Reflections", which still contained fairly hard-hitting numbers. "Taken by the Throat" had very little to do with the band's past, going into a post-thrash, groovy direction, recalling mid-period Prong and other heroes from the 90's. The guys resurfaced in 2006 under the name Scartribe under which name they released one demo of more classically-sounding thrash. This act is on hold at the moment due to the guys' decision to proceed under their old name.
"Agitation": another old-timer is "back from the ashes", and in their case the question is: how far would they go in their back catalogue; will they go straight to their classic speed/thrashy roots, or will they stop earlier, at their 90's stage, where they were still able to produce a worthy competition to the angry sound of their US counterparts Pantera and Machine Head? In this case the truth is somewhere in the middle, which is hardly the best option: the guys have mixed both styles which come served with a boosted modern production, and as such creates a passing impression of competent workmanlike classic/modern thrash of the more laid-back variety, with striking lead guitar work which is by far the best part. The blend of faster and slower tracks is by all means achieved, but the modern leanings clearly predominate making this new effort sounding like a slightly more energetic version of "Reflections". Those who loved the band's later period will definitely be happier; the fans of their realy years will have no choice but to frown here and there...

The Conviction Full-length, 1987
Experimental Errors EP, 1988
Who Dominates Who? Full-length, 1989
Double Talk Full-length, 1991
Repent Full-length, 1992
Confusion/Romance EP, 1994
Reflections Full-length, 1994
Taken by the Throat Full-length, 1995
Agitation Full-length, 2010

Official Site

ACE THE RAVEN (USA)

This is a one-man band, namely Mike "Ace the Raven" Kotarski, who has taken part in other acts before that, including the speed/thrashers from the late-80's Severe Warning. This album offers a wide range of metal styles: power, classic heavy metal, doom, thrash and even death metal. Every song is "decorated" with one style only (with a few exceptions where the combination of several sub-genres might be found either highly entertaining, or downright irritating, depending on the taste) making it almost completely different from the others. Few bands have attempted such risky mixtures, and having in mind that it is only one musician responsible for all that, kudos should be given him for the good job he has done.

Fortress Of Apathy Full-length, 2005

Official Site

ACETIC VOICE (GREECE)

These guys could have easily been worthy rivals to Flames on the Greek metal field, if they had been lucky enough to stay around for longer: excellent speed/thrash in the vein of Destruction, Sacrifice and early Whiplash; fast tempo, sharp guitars and a singer who doesn't stray too far from the vocals used by Tony Portaro on the early Whiplash works. The leads are worth mentioning, too, being quite proficient and maybe a bit more melodic than the ones which used to go with the style.

Behind Bars Demo, 1990

ACETYLENE (USA)

There is a mixture of several vocal styles here: clean, hysterical metalcore-ish, death-metal ones, you name it. If this could be a shortcoming to many, the music is a compensation being well played modern thrash with occasional fast death metal moments.

Elements of Insanity Full-length, 2000
Burning Times EP, 2001

My Space

ACHERON (SLOVAKIA)

Modern 90's thrash metal with elements of crossover, sounding like a thrashy version of Clawfinger's debut album.

Brainstorm Full-length, 1996

Official Site

ACHOKARLOS (SPAIN)

Very good semi-instrumental progressive death/thrash, which stays away from meanigless wankery concentrating on hard-hitting riffs and dynamics. The overall style is not far from the one of the Canadians Electro Quarterstaff, although here we don't have very sudden and very complex time changes and signatures, and the headbangers will be pleased to find a few sections to their liking, too. The compositions are mid to up-tempo, seldom becoming very fast, and there is a slow balladic section on every one, all graced by nice lead guitar work which strongly recalls Steve Vai's style. "Sin Rostro" is probably the only more immediate song, thrashing hard, except in the middle where another fine balladic section awaits you. Brutal death metal growls will welcome you on the furious grinding "Patience" and the more laid-back "Confused", which may "confuse" you a bit, accompanied by pure death metal riffage. After those 2 "unusual" tracks, things get back to normal on the hallucinogenic "Abstract Universe", which keeps the death metal guitars, but adds some twisted technicality, and is very close to being the highlight here, also helped by the expert leads and the jazzy passage ala Cynic and Atheist at the end. "Kutna Hora" features the same vocals, but scores high on speed and technicality, a clear nod to Suffocation. "Kid! Don?t Play With Your Food" is the closer, but it's a bit off-the-track, starting with an overlong balladic intro, before switching on slow-ish complex riffage with funky overtones: a weird and eclectic composition, still on par with the previous elaborate material, and a fitting end to this enjoyable and a bit hard-to-swallow effort.
"Parametric Milk" is less intense with not many nods to death metal, now being well-constructed instrumental progressive thrash. The title-opener is a meandering progressive composition without any hard-hitting moments close to Spastik Inc and the likes, but "El Amanecer De Los Muertos" is already a much edgier number, although the leads dominate over the riffs the whole time, as well as on the following "The Traveller". "El Temazo (The Great Song)" is excellent galloping thrash, and the 2-part "The Silence" is not bad, either, part 1 being a calm ballad, the 2nd one hitting harder with energetic speed/thrashing riffs. "C.A.R. (Criteria Of Acceptance And Rejection)" is another dreamy progressive number, before "Desires" thrashes more intensely still preserving some of the dreamy passages. The remaining tracks are lead-dominated mid to up-tempo, and despite their certain merits may be a bit of an annoyance with the omnipresence of the lead guitars. The closing "The Fly" is an abstract slightly industrialized instrumental closing this effort the way it started. Generally this is not entirely different from the previous album, but while the latter gave a lot of freedom to the sharp riffs to develop, this one sees the guy concentrating on his guitar virtuoso performance sacrificing the other components for the sake of the very well-accentuated leads.

Forget All You Know Full-Length, 2009
Parametric Milk Full-Length, 2009

ACID (BELGIUM)

This band is one of the pioneers of the speed/thrash metal movement, and they should be mentioned right beside Anvil as the very first acts who introduced the more aggressive side of the genre in the distant 1982; ironically, the most speedy track on the band's debut is called "Anvil". Speed metal was literally born with this album: check also out the ferocious opener "Acid", the blitzkrieg proto-thrash bombs "Demon" and "Heaven’s Devil", the hellish closer "Satan", the cool blend of ballad and speed "Woman At Last". The compulsive enthusiastic spirit of the punk movement is all over the album, too, aggravated by the muddy sound quality. The singer is a girl, going under the name Kate, and in this aspect the band are pioneers as well, introducing the female vocals on the metal scene, along with the NWOBHM representatives Girlschool. If Anvil had concentrated on the heavier, pounding side of the genre, these folks had written the rules of speed metal, plain and simple.
The sophomore effort elaborates on the debut, providing better produced speed metal antics, which maybe don't sound as aggressive anymore compared to the fuller-on speed/thrash attacks offered by their American counterparts Metallica, Slayer and Hawaii. Still, this is pretty much one-of-its-kind music in Europe, predating the German scene, which at this time was just slowly waking up. Here the first examples of galloping up-tempo power/speed can be heard, later followed by many American acts: "Maniac", "Luciferia", the proto-thrash killer "Black Car", which may remind you of Anthrax's "Death from Above" from "Fistful of Metal". "America" is 6-min of a constant speedfest, and "No Time" comes as a more aggressive, more proficient Motorhead. "Bottoms Up" is the most brutal track, thrashing no worse than Metallica's "The Four Horsemen". The 3 bonus tracks at the end are first-rate speed metal, a sound which was later heard on Exciter's magnum opus "Violence and Force"; check out the raging "The Day You Die", or the pounding "Exterminator", which could have been an influence on "Pounding Metal" and "Delivering To The Master" from that same Exciter album.
"Engine Beast" is an all-out speed metal effort, with better production qualities, seeing the guys (and a girl) apparently not willing to join the thrash metal scene, which they helped establish, on a full-time basis. There is a lot of headbanging going here, mostly of the galloping speed/semi-thrash type: check out the vigorous anthem "Warriors Of The Dark", "Lost in Hell", "Big Ben". Heads-down speed/thrash can also be heard on the final "Engine Beast" and "Satan s Delivery", evil sinister thrashers, strongly recalling Metallica's "Kill'Em All", rather than their previous output. Two melodic fillers are included, which would make a few heads shaking, but rest assured that they are not much more than the obligatory breaks from the moshing. Having done their job to show to the world that metal also has its more "unpleasant", extreme side, and having seen that their legacy was so well carried by hordes of new acts, the band split up. Neither of the 5 members has ever been spotted after that taking part in any other musical formation, in or outside the metal field.

Acid Full-length, 1982
Maniac Full-length, 1983
Black Car EP, 1984
Engine Beast Full-length, 1985

Fan Site

ACID DEATH (GREECE)

One of the finest Greek metal bands to ever grace the scene; "Pieces of Mankind" is standout progressive thrash with shades of death metal (coming mostly from the vocal department), ranking among the highest achievements of bands like Mekong Delta, Coroner, and Death. The music is very technical, with great time changes, and a really impressive guitar work (great leads and stupendous riffs), twisting and turning quite a lot, but never going into very aggressive or fast grounds. The atmospheric passages, where the guitars take a nice jazz-y overtone, are some of the best ever used on a metal album.
"Random's Manifest" moves almost completely into a death metal territory, but the progressive tendencies of the debut are all intact, making this effort another stellar example of technically-minded metal, this time presented with even more complex, jazz-like song structures, and even more striking guitar work (especially the magnificent melodic leads), bringing it very close to the best from the technical death metal field: Atheist, Death again, Pestilence, Cynic.

"Balance of Power" is an explosive gem of intense thrash/death metal ala Massacra and Pestilence. It will sweep you away from the very first track: the raging monster "Apathy Murders Hope", before "Civil War" slows down, adding beautiful lead guitar work to the proceedings, along with fine technical licks. "Death From Above" is heads-down merciless thrash/death, followed by the more controlled, but by no means less appealing "Balance Of Power", which could qualify even for "Testimony of the Ancients". "Twilight Spirits" is technical thrash/death at its best, mixing tempos and moods, topped by outstanding lead guitar work again. The leads remain, while everything else disappears on the very cool peaceful closing instrumental "State Of Paranoia". It's quite a mystery why the band didn't capitalize immediately on the very well shaped sound of this small gem, choosing instead to remain in the underground for another 6 years.

Balance of Power Mini LP, 1992
Pieces of Mankind Full-length, 1998
Random's Manifest Full-length, 2000

Official Site

ACID DRINKERS (POLAND)

One of the longest running bands from the Polish metal scene, Acid Drinkers offer a fusion of thrash, punk and crossover. Their beginnings are thrashier and more interesting, whereas later their style acquires hardcore elements (mainly in the vocal department) and is less thrashy.

Are You Rebel ? Full-length, 1990
Dirty Money, Dirty Tricks Full-length, 1991
Strip Tease Full-length, 1992
Vile Vicious Vision Full-length, 1993
Fishdick Full-length, 1993
Infernal Connection Full-length, 1994
Pump the Plastic Heart EP, 1995
Walkway to Heaven EP, 1996
The State of Mind Report Full-length, 1996
High Proof Cosmic Milk Full-length, 1998
(I Can't Get Now) Satisfaction EP, 1999
Amazing Atomic Activity Full-length, 1999
Broken Head Full-length, 2000
Acidofilia Full-length, 2002
Rock Is Not Enough, Give Me The Metal Full-length, 2004

Official Site

My Space

ACID REIGN (UK)

From the humble, but enthusiastic beginnings on "Moshkinstein", the band managed to develop into one of the more stylish members of the UK metal scene. "The Fear" offers interesting, energetic thrash and stands for the band's finest hour; this is really aggressive stuff (the opener "Reflection Of Truths" and most of the songs), but it has its original deviations: the long, complex "The Fear", the "intense thrash meets crossover" type "Blind Aggression", the wild "Lost In Solitude", mixing heavy, stomping riffs with super-fast ones. It was clear that the guys had more to show, and their potential was yet to be fully displayed, but they went too far on the next release: "Obnoxious" takes a much more experimental direction, with the band's sound becoming decidedly slower, progressive with longer, less catchy, and sometimes hard to follow, songs; still an intriguing listen, but far from an immediate one.

Moshkinstein EP, 1988
The Fear Full-length, 1989
Obnoxious Full-length, 1990
The Worst Of Acid Reign Full-length, 1991

My Space

ACID SPEECH (BRAZIL)

Based on the demo, these guys pull out intense speedy retro thrash akin to early Destruction and Kreator; the vocals go into the K. Weber (Toxic Shock (Germany)) mould. This is five songs of speedy relentless music featuring a cool instrumental ("Into the Depths of a Nightmare") of fast moshing "thrash attack" in the best tradition of the Destruction classic "Thrash Attack", but without the slower opening part of the latter.

Corrosive Riot Demo, 2009
Corrosive Warfare Split, 2009

Official Site

ACID STORM (BRAZIL)

One of the more interesting bands to come out of Brazil; the debut is more straight-forward, typical 80's thrash, but "Biotronic Genesis" is an ambitious and an engaging technical thrash effort. It starts in a straight, uncompromising headbanging fashion with "Biologic Mechanization", which is a great speedy number. The technicality begins with the next track "Biological Holocaust" which is much longer, and uses the same fast-paced base, but the guitars are more technical, and the arrangements more complex. The aggression increases for the next two songs, but the steel technical riffs remain, and the marvellous "Metal Beasts" will remind you of the great Have Mercy with its unique blend of technicality and intensity. The last two songs bring back the long elaborate structures with an increased presence of time-changes, although the intense hard-hitting riffs remain the major driving force here as well.
"No Man's Land" shows the band in good form once again, offering the same potent mix of technical and aggressive riffage, this time even more intense than before, rubbing shoulders with Slayer and Vio-Lence. These three songs could have served as a very good base for a new album, but the band disbanded soon after.

Why?... Dirty War Full-length, 1989
Biotronic Genesis Full-length, 1991
No Man's Land Demo, 1994

My Space

ACRAL NECROSIS (UK)

Excellent speed/black/thrash which could have sounded better if it wasn't for the sudden switches from nice headbanging speed/thrash to furious ultra-fast black metal sections; still the guitar work is quite good, and the guys play with energy and inspiration, providing numerous delights for the thrash fans. The sound quality is very good, and particularly impressive is the 8-min opus "Acral Necrosis" which thrashes non-stop from beginning to end. The rest is by no means less striking, moshing with the same intensity, very seldom posing for at least a mid-paced break. This is good headbanging fun all the way, with sharp riffs, great melodies, and the inevitable blast-beating moments.

Eternal Nuklear Violation EP, 2007
United In Annihilation Split, 2008

My Space

ACRASSICAUDA (IRAQ)

A 4-song EP of good classic power/thrash with a characteristic dark sound, nicely touching doom ("Garden of Stones") on the slower moments, ornated by good Oriental motives. The guitar work is cool although more speed for the future would be desirable; now this wall of heavy mid-paced riffs may come too tiring on a full-length. Still, kudos should be paid to the guys for trying to play an offically banned in their homeland brand of music, opposing to the pessimistic bleak war atmosphere which has been covering their country for quite a while.

Only the Dead See the End of War EP, 2010

Official Site

ACRID (HOLLAND)

This obscure Dutch outfit offers a more technical twist to the modern Swedish thrash/death metal trend. At their most inspired the guys touch Death: "For the Sake of...": a really nice progressive composition, with a great acoustic interlude and clever technical riffage. "...The Complete" is another Death-influenced composition providing a couple of intriguing sections, combined with cool melodic licks. The progressive motives take more epic, Opetn-esque proportions: "Withered", but here come the more straight thrashers: "The Speaking Eyes", still with a slight technical edge. "Your Burning Silhouette" is a stylish combination of haunting balladic passages and technical, but melodic, riffage.

Amalgamate Full-length, 1999

Official Site

ACRIDITY (USA)

Acridity's only album is ordinary thrash played by-the-book with the uninspired vocals being the major flaw. Apart from the intense, energetic thrashers more ambitious, longer numbers can also be found: "Beyond", and they are a sign that with a bit more imagination this band could really do a good job. The rest comes with a certain doze of decent, but standard riffage, borrowing from Slayer, Torture, Exumer, etc., but some tracks are worth hearing, being cool headbangers: "Lethal Idol", "Vigilante".

For Freedom I Cry Full-length, 1991

ACRIMONIA (POLAND)

Even if Beethoven wanted to be dead, it wouldn't have been possible, with so much interest shown towards his works from all sides of the music spectre. These Poles offer an interesting rendition of his output with the opening "Beethoven Is Dead", which is quite original progressive thrash with references made towards Beethoven's immortal 9th symphony; dark ominous riffs in mid-tempo mix with stylish technical classical-influenced sections. Then more direct thrash follows on "Killers From Evil", which picks some technicality in the lead and bass department in the 2nd half. Afterwards the sound takes a turn from thrash, with the doomy haunting "Story Of Evil". The situation is completely saved by the excellent stomping instrumental "Marrazm", which offers really interesting Oriental tunes, along with creepy technical riffage. "Company" nicely blends doomy funereal moments with more dynamic thrashy sections, although the "battle" is won by the doomy ones. "Spanish Dreams" is another instrumental which, as hinted by the title, is a combination of intense thrashy guitars and cool acoustic flamenco ones. "Fallen" is a worthy closer to this diverse saga bringing back the technical patterns, in mid-tempo, partially ruined by the awful hardcore vocals which fortunately are interrupted by much better female ones that suit better the jumpy, hectic riffs. This is an interesting listen, which could have benefited from more technical prowess; now it often sounds like testing the soil for something bolder to come this way, with less treading in safer doomy/gothic waters...
"Parasite" is another weird effort, this time not messing with any classical composers, but "flirting" quite a bit with jazz, but in a heavy pounding way. The pace is mid the whole time, and this creates a monotony sometimes ""broken" by the odd stylish insertion: the great melodic tune "On High", the nice rock'n roll variation on "Don`t Fuck With Me", the twisted technical abstractism on "Dreams" which is by far the highlight of the album being exemplary progressive/technical thrash with doomy overtones. Ths offering is not better than the follow-up although it's far from a disappointment providing at times dry cold riffage in a way not far from early Meshuggah ("Fallen"), and the female vocal participation, albeit short, is quite good, but the eclectism may come as too much for the more level-headed fans, and the lack of more energy doesn't give the technical moments a big chance to stand out.

Parasite Full-length, 2005
Beethoven is Dead Full-Length, 2007

Official Site

ACRIMONY (POLAND)

So there were other, more technical acts in Poland than Turbo and Wolf Spider; one just has to dig deeper there to find them. This is a real gem which could have fitted perfectly into the wave of progressive/technical thrash metal acts from Germany from the same time. This is really technical and complex stuff, which comes close to Mekong Delta and Target on quite a few moments. As you can imagine, this is not aggressive music, although the riffs are quite sharp, and the tempos jump from one to another all the time. There are, of course, numerous abstract and illogical at first listen tunes, but even they are quite captivating and interesting. Even the tracks which were meant as more immediate ones, are full of complex riffage: the 3-min technical thrash shredding masterpiece "What's That Light", or the brilliant semi-balladic piece "Y.R.U.B.Z.". This album, along with the other 90's one-album-wonder from Poland: Astharoth's "Gloomy Experiments", is one of the finest moments of the whole 90's metal scene.

In Unknown Direction Full-length, 1992

ACRITER (CZECH)

Thrash metal with a somewhat pagan atmosphere calling to mind Bifrost; these guys have the detrimental tendency to change the vocal styles every few seconds: you can hear Rob Halford-like screeches, awful synthesized shouts, death metal growls and, of course, clean ones. The music is mostly mid-paced with slower epic moments ("Thanalogia de Amor").

Horror Mortis EP, 2004

Official Site

ACRITUD (CHILE)

Quite good melodic, keyboard-driven thrash/death metal which is long on both atmosphere and musicianship; although the music is generally not very technical, some moments are really worth checking out by the technical lovers: "Desolacion", which also scores high in the lead department; quite high, actually. The pace is quite energetic, seldom adhering to blast-beating parts. As a matter of fact, often will the approach remind you of the Brits Bal-Sagoth. "Extinguio La Acritud" is a really cool semi-ballad with clean vocals, and the closer "La Cupula" is an awesome progressive number, boasting compelling operatic sections, among the whirlwind of moods and tempo changes.

La Cupula Full-length, 2008

Official Site

ACROPHET (USA)

Thrash metal delivered with a hardcore speed and intensity; the debut is more hardcore-influenced, good stuff and fast with really intense, aggressive tracks: "Slaves of Sin", "Crowd Mistress". The approach is slightly one-dimensional, but the energy put into the recording makes up for this. "Ceremonial Slaughter" is a glorious speed/thrasher, suggesting at better things to come.
"Faded Glory" moves into full-fledged thrash, retaining the aggressive delivery from the debut mixing the all-out speedy sections with slower galloping ones ("Silent Insanity", "Haunting Once Again"). These guys were definitely going somewhere, but they split-up soon after the release of their sophomore album.

Corrupt Minds Full-length, 1988
Faded Glory Full-length, 1990

My Space

ACROSTIC (CHILE)

Classic 80's thrash sounding like a cross between mid-80's Slayer and mid-period Sepultura.

Kids Playing Thrash Full-length, 2005

Official Site

ACT (ROMANIA)

Melodic groovy post-thrash: Rage Against the Machine on testosterones; enough said...

Exact EP, 2008

ACT OF FATE (GERMANY)

Based on the full-length, this band plays pretty decent retro thrash mixing the pace sounding energetic as a whole, especially on jollier takes on the good old thrash/crossover like "Cold Emotions". The singer is the prototypical death metal growler, and he suits best the steam-rolling smasher ala Bolt Thrower in the middle "Blinded By...", which is the only more death metal-laced track on the album. "Starvation" is another heavy killer with a speedy twist at the end, and generally the 2nd half is less dynamic livened up by the closing "Dream Destroyer" which again inserts steamy heavy riffage at some point.

Soul Puzzlement EP, 1998
Despise The Light Full-length, 1999

ACTION TOM BASS BAND (GERMANY)

Based on the "Fresh Flesh for Dürüm of Death" demo, this band plays heavy mostly mid-tempo thrash of the less serious hardcore-ish type. The guitar work is heavy, touching epic/doom at times, but tracks from the other extreme can also be found: the brutal fast bomb "UR Sick". The singer is a typical death metal growler of the more intelligible variety: think Don Cochino (Pungent Stench).

Sick Ass Fuck Demo, 2006
Fresh Flesh for Dürüm of Death Demo, 2007

Official Site

ACTING OUT (FRANCE)

These are the same guys who under the name Brain Decay have left a few demos and one good full-length release three years ago. The excellent thrashy death metal they used to play earlier, is almost completely gone on this EP; the modern industrial tendencies have been considerably increased, and now the sound is even closer to Prong, but whereas the Americans exceed in originality, this band produce at times something a bit more than just plain noise. Thrash metal is still present, but it's mixed with a big amount of hardcore, and the combination in this case is not on the positive side. In view of the 90's trends, this is a well-fitting album into the overall picture, but these guys have proved that they could do a lot better than that.

Disorder in space & time EP, 1996