The Thrash Metal Guide

Copyright (c) 2007 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE

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

F.A.L. (ARGENTINA)

Quite good retro thrash of the more melodic variety, in mid to up-tempo picking up more intensity and speed (the instrumental "Represalia") at times. "Bajo El Amparo De La Cruz" is a cool speed/thrash headbanger, recalling the works of their compatriots Lethal.

Bajo El Amparo De La Cruz Demo, 2007

F.C.D.N. TORMENTOR (USA)

Based on the "Demonic" demo, this is really brutal stuff for the time of release: violent thrash/proto-death with short, 1.5-2min tracks. This is very fast and aggressive music, not bad if you're a fan of bands like Napalm Death, Repulsion and the likes, because you will definitely feel the grind-core atmosphere here, although on a musical level this one is way higher.

Demonic Demo, 1986
F.C.D.N. EP, 1991

F.K.Ü. (SWEDEN)

Along with Cranium, this band incorporate the classic, 80's speed/thrash period better than most of their contemporary colleagues. The debut features shorter, more aggressive, but very effective tracks, whereas the second album shows a slightly more technical approach. Both efforts are highly recommended-classic speed/thrash metal can not simply get any better than this.

Metal Moshing Mad Full-length, 1999
Sometimes They Come Back... To Mosh Full-length, 2005

F.T.G. (MALAYSIA)

"After The Promise" is dark, brooding thrash bordering on death metal, not too far from Protector; quite well done with long, thought-out tracks. The debut EP is supported by a very heavy bass-bottom which takes the upper hand, and makes the guitar sound thin; the pace is faster and more intense, and the nods to death metal are fewer ("Fight for Freedom" is the only more brutal, death-laced track). The songs are also long, and the music is dark and brooding, but the worse sound quality makes it a less satisfying listen. A stylish touch is the Oriental guitars on "Kill the Evil". "Behind This Wall" is a heavy semi-ballad with a Metallica-flair (think "One", "Sanitarium"), where even the singer makes an attempt to sing clearly, as opposed to his gruff, death-metal-ish main tone.

Freedom That's Gone EP, 1991
After The Promise Full-length, 1992
Spirit to Rebel Full-length, 1994
To the Front Full-length, 1996
Aku Tak Peduli Full-length, 1998
Made in Malaysia Full-length, 1998
F.T.G. Full-length, 2000
Made in Malaysia Vol.2 Full-length, 2001
Reborn Full-length, 2002
Stop this Madness Full-length, 2003
Kuasa Full-length, 2006

F.U.C.T. (USA)

Heavy thrash/crossover with death metal vocals, which becomes faster at times, accompanied by some very cool solos. The music is not too far from D.R.I.'s later efforts, but there are some longer songs, which excel in heaviness, recalling even the Exhorder debut.

Dimensional Depth Perception Full-Length, 1990

FA-Q (USA)

This album is a one-time collaboration between Gary Meskil, the Pro-Pain singer, and three guys from Overkill, who at that time were taking part in half of the bands around, including their main one. The music is decidedly modern, but not as good as it could be expected having in mind the musicians involved; this is typical modern thrash coming as a cross between 90's Overkill's lesser period, and Machine Head's more laid back style (after "The More Things Change..."). The music lacks an edge, and sometimes goes straight into crossover territory ("Skankly"), or straight into cliched, blatant hard rock ("Are You Satisfied?" (if you are, we're not at all!), "Hey You"). It was good that the guys laid this formation to rest after this only effort.

Each Hit Full-length, 1996

FACE DOWN (SWEDEN)

Based on "The Will To Power", this band is a typical representative of the Swedish wave; modern thrash/death metal ala The Haunted, Construcdead (members of both bands take part in this band), Corporation 187, etc.

Mindfield Full-length, 1995
The Twisted Rule The Wicked Full-length, 1998
The Will To Power Full-length, 2005

FACE DOWN HERO (GERMANY)

This is a side project of two members of the technical thrash metal gods Mind Ashes. The style here is different, being modern groovy thrash with some technical tendencies, calling to mind Nevermore or Scariot on the best moments; not bad, but too far from the high standards set by the father band.
"Where All This Anger Grows" is a worthy follow-up, sounding better than the debut; it thrashes more aggressively (the smashing opener "Bursting Evolution"), but the more derivative, groovy elements are still here, and the rest of the material seldom reaches the intensity of the impressive opener: the up-tempo thrasher "The Pharao" is the exception, and the pounding closer "Three Bullets Ballad", or at least the beginning, since later the song is busy to justify its title that it turns into a tender ballad for a big part, before going up to thrash again near the end. This is not a bad album, but compared to the Mind-Ashes output (their first two albums), it is just decent, to put it mildly.
The third consecutive effort finally paid off: "Of Storytellers and Gunfellas" is the band's finest hour: the guys pay tribute to the 80's Bay Area scene quite often, and this innovation, combined with their already established modern approach, sounds quite appealing. The band waste no time starting the attack from the very beginning, with the brisk thrasher "Disposable Significance", which takes more aggressive dimensions on the following madness "Modern Prophets and Saints". "Deceptive Silence" is totally immersed in modern thrash ala Lyzanxia and the likes, but "A Breathing Plaything" will cause you a headache, with the pounding heavy rhythm section and the speedy riffs. "Grave of an Unknown Soldier" is a nice quiet, lead-driven instrumental, which takes away some of the edge, and the thrashing continues afterwards in a milder manner, with "My Fifteen Minutes" and "Benefactors - Disguised Aggressors". The closer "Erased" is a more ambitious take on the modern/classic formula, mixing slower and faster passages to a fairly cool effect. The balance between the classic and the modern sound is perfectly found on this album in a way not disimilar to the last Squealer release ("The Circle Shuts") and Metallica's "Death Magnetic", with the resemblances with the Americans further aggravated by the rough, James Hetfield-like vocals.

Opinion Converter Full-length, 2007
Where All This Anger Grows Ful-Length, 2008
Of Storytellers and Gunfellas Full-length, 2009

FACE OF AGONY (SLOVAKIA)

Based on "Imitations Of Life", this band play cool thrash metal mixing both modern and classic riffs. This is heavy, crushing music reminding of the Germans Warpath, maybe with a slightly more modern edge. At times the guys exceed in heaviness, bringing their music close to doom metal ("Dreaming", "Story (The Love Song)"); on the opposite side we have "Influence"- a nice fast, 1.5-min headbanger; worth checking out.

Welcome To Our Souls Full-length, 1998
Imitations Of Life Full-length, 1999
The die is cast Full-length, 2005

FACE OF EVIL (SWEDEN)

A very good mix of classic black/thrash is what is on offer here; the music is quite energetic and fast, with touches of death metal; there are some stylish, interesting riffs which create a somewhat sinister atmosphere. These guys will remind you of some more recent bands, like Ravage (Germany), Fastkill (Japan), Sauron (USA), and even Necrodeath.

Face Of Evil Full-length, 2004

FACELIFT (DENMARK)

This is a side project of the members of the death metal outfit Konkhra, assisted by the omnipresent Sharlee D'Angelo (Mercyful Fate, IllWill, Dismember, Arch Enemy, Witchery). Here they try their hands on some cool energetic modern thrash, with heavy, meaty, but also quite dynamic riffs, and an overall approach not miles away from Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes". Ironically, to these ears the best track seems to be "Solitude & Despair", which is a very good doom metal ala Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass, where the vocals (which are quite gruff death metal-ish) take a nice melodic turn. "Guilt Be Thy Name" is not much faster, but is much more experimental, where the guys get carried away, adding some abstract, spacey leads and even funk-ish moments, to the 10-ton hammer riffage.

State Of The Art EP, 1997

FACIAL CLIMAX (AUSTRIA)

Based on "A Face Of Gray Pulchritude", this band play typical modern thrash, trying to find the perfect balance between the energetic, blizkrieg style of Corporation 187 and Hatesphere and the angry approach of Pantera. They find it, on most of the tracks, and the preferences go towards the faster, and more appealing side of the genre, where cool headbangers like "Path Of Anxiety" (this one will surprise you in the beginning, with some smashing blast-beats) and "Time To Judge" belong. There are some occasional touches of gothic ("Deep Silent Water", "Lurch In My Cradle"), and even doom ("Ghosts Gliding", which boasts some great technical riffs in the middle). The closing "Full Of Insanity" is a good attempt at progressive metal ala Opeth, which provides quite a lot, including those wailing clean vocals, which at some point turn into agonizing sinister snarls, and more.

Melancholeric SchizoPhobia Full-length, 2004
A Face Of Gray Pulchritude Full-length, 2008

FACINORA (BRAZIL)

A very good 4-song demo of intense retro thrash; the guys thrash theirs souls out (check out the opening "Empty Illusions" and "The Evil"!), but some tracks ofer the obligatory slower breaks: "War Between Selfish", and there is one mid-tempo stomper: "Despair".

Born in Fear Demo, 2008

FAFF-BEY (FINLAND)

Although almost completely unknown, Faff-Bey are one of the better thrash metal bands from Finland. "Birthday" offers very cool retro thrash in a nice headbanging tempo, but never very fast, with some modern insertions thrown in: "The Alligator", "Dead by Dawn". "A Joker" is a more light-hearted crossover number, and "Birthday" breaks the slight monotony with some great intense riffs near the end. "New Religion" starts quite well with the imposing intro "Man with a Harmonica", taken from the Sergio Leone's monumental western "Once Upon a Time in America", but what follows is a lot inferior, being some melodic, insipid mix of half-thrash, groove, crossover, funk, grunge and ballads- simply awful; a very degrading way to end a career.

S/M Party EP, 1988
Back From The Grave Full-length, 1988
Doesn't Feel Like Laughing... Full-length, 1990
Birthday Full-length, 1991
New Religion Full-length, 1994

FAHRENHEIT 212 (GERMANY)

Based on the debut, these Germans pull out prototypical, playful power/thrash of the modern 90's variety. The music is mid-paced, with slightly one-dimensional tracks, within the 3-4min range, but surprisingly towards the middle the compositions become longer, although nothing really interesting happens, especially on the very boring, uneventful 9-min ballad "Der Name Der Rose". "Die Hymne Der Zeit" contains some interesting heavy riffage, but that's all about it; the rest is not even average.

Der Hexer Full-length, 1995
Kreuzzug der Gefühle Full-length, 1996
Neues vom Hexer Full-length, 2007

FAITH OR FEAR (USA)

Very cool thrash metal from the heydays of the genre. Heavy, crunchy, semi-technical, mostly mid-paced riffs, plus some fast headbangers to spice things up. The style is quite close to early Testament ("Practice What You Preach", in particular), with some very tasteful guitar work, which comes a bit complex at times, but quickly alternates with a more direct headbanging moment. In the second half the album partially loses steam, coming up with some more melodic power/thrashers ("Shadow Knows","Ripoffs"), but the next number: "Time Bomb", compensates with great leads and smashing technical riffage- the highlight here.

Punishment Area Full-length, 1989

FAITHFUL DARKNESS (SWEDEN)

Expect a more melodic, gothic-ornated version of the modern thrash/death metal mixture, originating from the same country. The gruff vocals are fine, but the clean inclusions are simply bad, and this is when the band start sounding like Lacuna Coil, with more balls, of course. It's a pity that brisk thrashers like "Fast I Fall" (can't you fall a bit slower...) and the lively "Alive" (watch out for the nice keyboard decorations here), and especially the explosive death/thrash delight at the end "Fields Of Yesterday", are not that many to oppose to the less impressive, albeit atmospheric Septic Flesh-like gothic/death/thrash blends.

In Shadows Lies Utopia Full-length, 2008

FALL (USA)

Based on "Fierce Cries of The Manic", these guys play quite cool death/thrash of the old school, with a nice technical edge. The music switches from more intense to more laid-back passages, keeping the technical chaotic play for most of the time. The songs are generally short, and the frantic complex riffage makes them quite an intense and interesting liten. The pace is not very fast, but there are the exceptions, like "Cleansing", which is a nice mix between furious blast-beats with a black metal shade, and technical guitars ala Morbid Angel. The music is related to the Americans, but a closer soudalike would be mid-period Carcass, including the vocal duels, so typical for the early works of the Brits. "Embodied" is a fine exercise on twisted technicality, hard to swallow, but intriguing all the way, despite tha lack of any more up-tempo moments. These up-tempo moments come aplenty on the following "Revenge is a Color", which is much faster and more aggressive- full-fledged death metal. "Recreational Homicide" is a very odd, orchestral ambient instrumental composition, lasting for more nearly 6-min. After that the band turn to pure death metal, reducing the technical performance for the sake of brutal bashing, which doesn't leave a very positive impression compared to the 1st half, although the final "Reawakened" tries to make up with a handful of stylish riffs.

Vigorous Repercussions From The Appalled Full-length, 1996
Fierce Cries of The Manic Full-length, 1998
This Brutal EP EP, 2000
This Brutal Reality Full-length, 2005

FALLACY (PORTUGAL)

Dark, brooding thrash with an almost gothic atmosphere. The songs are longer, but one-dimensional and flow in the same vein with some occasional up-tempo moments here and there; still the overall impression is definitely on the positive side. The song "Halloween" is a nice take on the tune from the cult horror film, here turned into a good thrasher. The overall style actually bears resemblance to the Germans Darkness. Too bad these guys were never heard of again.

Martirios EP, 2000

FALLEN ANGEL (SWEDEN)

Apparently apart from Hexenhaus, there were other quality thrash bands from Sweden around the same time. Fallen Angel's style is more standard, but it has its hooks and twists. The music has something in common with the Bay Area scene (Metallica, Testament), but it also resembles the Swiss Apocalypse (and especially their sophomore release), and early Megadeth. The singer has a cool, semi-clean voice, which doesn't change the tone too much, but fits the music very well. The album begins with a couple of heavy, intense thrashers, with no much speed present, but quite good. It's the 3rd song: "Spectacle Of Fear", which starts thrashing fast and hard, but this is apparently not the band's preferred dimension, as "Faith Fails" returns to the slower formula, even introducing some baladic passages in the beginning. All of a sudden comes "Injection-Overdose": a ball of fury, with steel crushing riffs: a sure-handed thrashterpiece. The following "At Night" is the only failure here- a melodic power/thrash metal piece. Afterwards the band mix faster with slower tracks, closing with the excellent Testament-like "Visions Of Terror". If Hexenhaus are the gods of Swedish thrash metal, Fallen Angel are not too far behind.

Trapped In Syberia EP, 1990
Faith Fails Full-length, 1992

FALLEN ANGELS (USA)

Quite good 80's speed/thrash, with gruff sinister vocals, being just on the edge to tumble into death metal. The music is not straight thrash, though, and has its death metal elements, boasting both more Bay-Area-based numbers ("Rise from Ashes") and some more intense nods to acts like Demolition Hammer and Massacra ("Cerebral Infection"). "Looking Over The Walls Of Despair" is a sylish and slower attempt at more technical play, with some faster "ornaments", a track which strangely reminds me of the Dutch Asphyx. "Slaves In Words" follows, ab ndoning the technicality, but remaining in the mid-paced sector for most of the time. The thrash moshing returns with "The Essence Of Violence", and the intensity reaches new heights on the proto-death shredder "Cries Of The Dying". "Silent City" could grace any of the mid-period Death albums, and is a solid speedy smasher, providing some cool lead guitar performance as well. The closer "Massacred By Madness" thrashes with full force for about 6.30-min, exiting quite well with a Death-like technical twist, much slower, but truly satisfying.

Rise From Ashes Full-length, 2008

FALLEN FUCKIN' ANGELS (ITALY)

Light-hearted speed metal with slight touches of thrash similar to 80's Exciter with a certain Motorhead flavour added,too. Although some thrash metal fans might find it too soft fot their taste, this is not a bad stuff.

Metal Against MTV EP, 2003
Fat Totalitarian Metal Full-length, 2005
Raise An Earthquake/Bombman EP, 2006

FALLING TO PIECES (USA)

Typical modern thrash/death metal, which apart from the few obligatory groovy sections, sets the scene for some intense headbanging as well ("Shades of Grey"), sometimes even going over the top ("Bleeding the Surface"), with some more aggressive and faster riffage.

The EP to Kill By EP, 2004
Left to Rust Full-length, 2007

FALLOUT (CHILE)

This is the Chilean answer to Metallica. The style is a direct impersonation of Metallica's more technical, heavier period ("Master Of Puppets","...And Justice For All"). Everything sounds close to the mighty Americans- from the guitar work to the heavy bass section, to the long technical numbers.

Demo 2 Demo, 1989
Factory Tapes Demo, 1989

FALSE HOPE (USA)

Thrash/crossover which at times sounds quite thrashy and aggressive ("Not Your Day"), at times heavy and doomy ("Carrions Keep"), and at times more melodic and punk-ish ("Agony or Defeat").

Cease to Exist Demo, 1987
Guilty Of Everything Demo, 1989

FALSE LIBERTY (USA)

Furious thrash/crossover which surprisingly sounds close to S.O.D.'s "Speak English or Die". Perhaps this band's sense of humour is not as clearly expressed, and their infatuation with speed is bigger, but the approach is pretty similar with the tracks seldom exceeding the 2-min range. The difference is in the vocal department mostly; here we have hoarse, hardcore-ish vocals which fit the music quite well.

Silence Is Consent Full-Length, 1986

FALSE MODULATION (USA)

Based on the "If I Shall Die" demo, this is aggressive thrash reminiscent of Devastation's "Signs of Life", or the Sacred Reich debut. Sometimes the music acquires some proto-death character ("Self-Destructive Humanity"). Some of the songs are long (5-6min), but there is nothing too interesting, or technical there, except for a few attempts on bass.

If I Shall Die Demo, 1989
Infectious Blood Demo, 1990
Inexplicable Consciousness Demo, 1991

FALSE PROPHET (USA)

First demo: good aggressive thrash, badly produced; second demo: great aggressive thrash with a better production preceding Demolition Hammer's similar sound. The second one hits you like a steam roller rolling down a slope- really brutal! Quite often actually the sound jumps into the death metal camp, drawing comparisons with Obituary's "Slowly We Rot"; a truly memorable piece of metal.

Sign of the Cross Demo, 1989
The Second Death Demo, 1991

FANATICAL VIEWS (CANADA)

Thrash/crossover of the more melodic type, along the lines of Lawnmower Deth; this is quite enjoyable, actually, with memorable melodies and hooks.

Ecologic Disaster Single, 1989

FANTASMAGORIA (SWEDEN)

I am sure quite a few of you would be surprised to find out that this is a side-project of the Morgana Lefay guys, who here play nothing more than the fashionable groovy thrash of the time. The high level of musicianship of the other band is nowhere to be heard, and this music is simply boring and unoriginal (except for some excellent melodic leads ("From Dawn 'Til Death", which sound surreal on the unimpressive background), sounding like a washed-down copy of mid-period Machine Head.

Fuck You All Full-length, 1998

FANTOM (HUNGARY)

Based on the demo, this band could rank right beside Tormentor as one of the first extreme bands from the Hungarian metal scene. Their style is an evil, sinister mix between early Bathory and Hellhammer, with some more brutal parts recalling their Brazilian counterparts Sarcofago, Sextrash, Vulcano.

Lucifer jelenj meg ! Demo, 1987
Próbafelvételek 1987-1988 Best of/Compilation, 2004
Fantomania Split, 2007

FANTOM WARRIOR (USA)

Good thrash with some intense hard core-ish elements; the majority of the songs are of the aggressive variety, but there are a few places where the band slow down which are more melodic, going towards classic heavy metal.

Fantasy or Reality Full-length, 1987

Vibrations of Doom

FARSCAPE (BRAZIL)

A retro thrash metal band who, like Bywar, Executer and Violator, look for inspiration at the German thrash heritage. The style is not distant from the other three mentioned bands- thrash metal along the lines of Sodom, Kreator and Destruction, done with style.

Demon's Massacre Full-length, 2003
Killers On The Loose Full-length, 2006

FASTKILL (JAPAN)

This is fast aggressive thrash metal at its classic best; imagine Destruction, Necrodeath, and the Swedes Hypnosia, but played faster. This is beautifully crazy, ridiculously fast, but never crossing the border towards death metal. Ritual Carnage have to be cautious with bands like these around.
"Nuclear Thrashing Attack" is a brilliant follow-up to the striking debut; it offers the same frenzied high-speed thrash, but this is exactly what everyone expected. The intro "Nuclear Devastation" is a bit misleading, as it is heavy and mid-tempo, but when the next number ("Bloodbath") starts, you know you haven't been betrayed. Still, there are some up-tempo tracks: "Kill And Possess", where the guys slow down, but only a little. With Ritual Carnage apparently not active anymore (what a loss!), this band seem like one of the main pretenders for the thrash metal throne in Japan.

Infernal Thrashing Holocaust Full-length, 2004
Nuclear Thrashing Attack Full-Length, 2007

FATAL (USA, Florida)

A 3-song demo of very cool brisk retro thrash in up-tempo, staying close to the Bay-Area patterns; the guys do a good job mixing the direct thrashing with some nice melodic hooks ("Born 2 Thrash"). "Sacrificed In Vain" is heavier, with a slight technical edge; "The Call Of War" slows down, but retains the technical guitars, mixing them with heavy stomping riffage, and a great melodic lead guitar tune near the end.

Born 2 Thrash Demo, 2008

FATAL (USA, Michigan)

Fatal are a thrash/death metal band whose only three song EP mixes both styles, with shades of early Kreator sneaking through.

A Somber Evocation of Nihilism EP, 1991

FATAL AGGRESSION (USA)

Based on the "Nation of Chaos" demo, this is glorious speed/thrash which combines the speedy aesthetics of the Angel Dust debut with the Bay Area style (think Exodus, Testament). There are some cool technical riffs (those from "The Maze" will definitely remind you of Testament's "Burnt Offerings") present here, too, and the singer is a find, with a great voice recalling Dave Mustaine, but meaner and more aggressive.
"Disrespect" reduces the speed to a considerable extent (actually there is only one more up-tempo track here: the album opener "Pitch Black") , and concentrates on heavy smashing riffs along the lines of Exhorder's "The Law" and Cyclone Temple's "I Hate Therefore I Am". Some modern elements (including even rap-styled vocals on "The World Within") have come to replace the more technical ones which were quite common on the demo, and at times the sound exceeds in heaviness, reaching for doom metal ("Careless Existence", "Blown Away"- which is a semi-ballad). Although this is not bad at all, the band's early works were much superior from a classic point of view.

Justice Is Blind Demo, 1988
Termination of Life Demo, 1990
Nation of Chaos Demo, 1991
Meet the Street Demo, 1992
Disrespect Full-length, 1995
Organized Confusion Full-length, 1998

FATAL ARRAY (AUSTRALIA)

One of the gems of the Australian thrash metal scene; a brilliant work reminiscent of Deus Vult's "Soul Assault" and Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil", with great both heavy and speedy, technical guitars. This is probably the best thrash effort from Australia after Bezerker's "Lost"; there is some similarity between the two albums, both music and vocal-wise; Bezerker are the more technical and faster band, whereas this one are champions of memorable, melodic guitar hooks.

Fatal Array Full-length, 1993

FATAL EMBRACE (GERMANY)

One of the better bands from the German thrash metal wave of the late 90's; old school thrash with nods to both sides of the ocean; the debut is quite fast, with nods to Slayer (both their early, and late 80's period), but finished with a cover of Exodus' "Bonded by Blood", although there is hardly Bay-Area influence on it. "Legions Of Armageddon" retains the Slayer influences, but the sound is more aggressive, bordering on death metal. The vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, having a strong hardcore blend. "Dark Pounding Steel" follows on the steps of its predecessor, being another very well executed intense classic thrash, this time with less takes on death metal.

The Ultimate Aggression Full-length, 1999
Legions Of Armageddon Full-length, 2002
Dark Pounding Steel Full-length, 2006

FATAL ENRRGY (UKRAINE)

Based on "Paradoxes of Times": these guys pull out quite cool speed/thrash of the old school, mixing fast-paced songs with some slower, jumpy semi-technical ones. Both work well, as a slight preference could be given to the faster material, especially on the intense thrasher "Prorok", or the speed/thrash monster "Gladiator". The singer provides semi-clean, melodic tember, but he is not good handling the higher tones, and often ends up stifled by the forceful guitars and pounding bass.

Mir Straha Full-length, 2002
Paradoxes of Times Full-length, 2003
Mankind Enemy EP, 2006

FATAL INFLUENCE (USA)

A very nice piece of Bay Area thrash calling to mind Metallica and Testament, finished with a nice cover of Megadeth's "Hook In Mouth".

World unbalanced EP, 1998

FATAL INJURY (SPAIN)

A blend of modern and classic thrash with a gothic atmosphere, which on the slower songs sounds quite close to the Finns Sentenced (think "Amok"), but intense headbangers like "Don't Do Anything For Me" dissipate the slightly monotonous feeling of the album in an impressive manner. "No Stronger Than Reality" goes over the edge, with the introduction of some unnecessary blast-beats, followed in its turn by the very good quiet and peaceful acoustic instrumental "A Piece Of US", graced by magnificent lead guitar, but on the next two songs the more aggressive death metal sound remains, as well as the impressive leads. This is an uneven effort, but has its moments.

Fatal Injury Full-Length, 2007

FATAL OPERA (USA)

This band was formed by Gary Samuelson (R.I.P.) after his departure from Megadeth. The style is complex, but often intriguing progressive power metal with shades of thrash, especially on the good debut; it's those shades actually which produce the finest songs on those two albums: "Dead by 1998", "Devil Monkey's", "Evil Tears", "Kill'Em". The music is quite quirky, with cool leads and frequently changing riffs, and is closer to early Psychotic Waltz, Spastic Ink, and Juggernaut, rather than Megadeth.

Fatal Opera Full-length, 1995
The Eleventh Hour Full-length, 1997

FATAL SIN (USA)

A cool 3-song demo which combines aggressive Slayer-esque thrash with some more quiet, semi-balladic moments. The bonus track: "Episode" is a stunning turn to technical thrash metal, with great twisted riffs ala Target and Realm, and more aggressive, close to death metal, vocals. Apparently it was recorded at some later stage of the band's career, a sign for much bigger things in the makings, which, unfortunately, never materialised.

Fatal Sin Demo, 1989

FATAL TERROR (USA)

A 3-track demo of vicious, aggressive mixture of thrash, speed, proto-death, and hardcore which must have been an obvious influence on the more extreme metal genres: death, grindcore. Despite the bad sound quality and the not very high level of musicianship, this rare item is worth tracking down, especially by those who want to trace the roots of their favourite music down to the very beginning.

Demo Demo, 1985

FATAL VIOLENCE (USA)

The band's style is quite close to the Savatage debut album. There is, of course, a slight doze of thrash thrown in here- enough to secure this band a place on this site. The final mixture is similar to the style displayed on the first two Exciter albums. The singer resembles John Oliva, except in the cases when he goes for some high-pitched screams.

Demo Demo, 1986

FATALITY (IRELAND)

Very good retro thrash with a nice technical edge, strongly recalling early Megadeth; "Terminal Aggression" is an awesome opener, although there is nothing too aggressive on offer. "Bring Back the Days" is a total nod to Megadeth (think "Peace Sells...", above all), including the vocals. "Almost Broke" speeds up again, with very good up-tempo riffs. "Gritface" follows a similar pattern, but the guitar work is more melodic, offering some nice leads. "Shock Treatment" is an excellent up-tempo technical thrasher, with sharp riffs and a playful mid-section. The next two songs are in the same vein, energetic numbers with very good guitar work, but the closer is a pure classic heavy metal hymn: "Are you Ready to Rock" (well, not exactly), which is slightly off context, but the ending moments are sheer speed/thrashing madness, compensating for the very soft nature of the first part.

Metal As Hell!: Chapter I Full-length, 2008

FATALITY (SERBIA)

A 4-track demo of cool retro power/thrash, more on the melodic side, mid-paced to up-tempo, featuring some more intense riffage (the galloping "Your Worthless Power", and the energetic thrasher "Othello Poem").

Dredge Metal EP, 2007

FAUSTUS (USA)

Faustus is another band where Curran Murphy (Annihilator, Nevermore, Shatter Messiah) displays his talents. The style doesn't remind any of those bands opting for heavy, modern, semi-technical thrash. This is not bad at all, actually, and although you might not be able to headbang to it a lot, if you enjoy stomping, crushing riffs with a certain technical edge (check out "Erosion"), you won't be disappointed. "Poisoned Minds" is a very good attempt at progressive thrash, closing on 8.5min, containing quite a few interesting moments, including some higher-pitched Rob Halford-like screams near the end (the basic vocals are semi-clean, mid-ranged ones resembling Joe Comeau (Liege Lord, Overkill, Annihilator). The song which follows, is truly a revelation: "The Hell We Make", which greatly speeds up, and sounds close to something Nevermore could have written. The next two songs slow down again, but increase the technicality, resulting in some truly inspired sections where Murphy fully shows what he is capable of. "Join Hands", the album closer, is a joke, reminding of the Mordred experiments in the funk/thrash area. If there had been more time spent on this project, Faustus could have turned into one of the major forces on the contemporary metal scene.

...And Still We Suffer Full-length, 1996

FEAR ABSOLUTE (CANADA)

Technical thrash/death metal which features quite a few guitar virtuoso parts and could pass for a Shrapnel record, if it wasn't for its aggressive nature. The music reminds of Chemical Breath and later period Death, but often moves into more brutal death metal territory. The blast beats are quite annoying, because at times they break an otherwise nice technical passage. The vocals are brutal, low-tuned death metal ones. The songs are long, the shortest being 6-min, and are quite complex, with many tempo and time changes. The guys mess it up a bit with the very long, 13-min "The One You Hate", which is also very mild, with more melodic guitars, and could even pass for a ballad on many sections. The band are best mixing nice technical riffs with more atmospheric, lighter melodies, without any more aggressive, brutal passages: "All That I Had", "Forgotten". "Absolution"- the other monstrous song (11-min), is a better offering, with more intense riffage, still slow-ish, but genuinely atmospheric and creepy.

Apprehension Full-length, 2003

FEAR OF FOURS (ITALY)

This is another band, where the Eldritch singer Terence Holler displays his talents. The style here is progressive heavy/thrash, recalling Eldritch at times, but missing the straight-out thrashers which used to make that band's works so memorable. The music here is mid-paced, with quite a few hard-hitting moments ("Edge of Insanity", "Blind"), although the guitars have this abrasive sound, which might annoy some. There are 3 tender ballads, which are a bit too much for such a work, recalling the Eldritch efforts in the field, and "Carved" and "Of the Things That Have Yet to Come" are ambitious takes on progressive metal, very similar to Opeth. "The Days of Betrayal" is almost as equally as complex as those two, but the riffs hit hard with full force, producing the highlight of the album: a nice progressive thrasher, with a bit overlong quiet interlude. If Eldritch do not rise up soon (their last offering "Blackenday" was not that great), Holler might be better off staying with this act, whose first effort is quite promising.

Never Heaven Full-length, 2007

FEAR OF GOD (USA)

This is the band where Dawn Crosby (R.I.P.) found shelter after her previous band- Detente, split up. "Within The Veil" is dark, hypnotic thrash with a unique sound of its own bordering on doom metal at times- a really original album. You won't hear the infamous Crosby screams from the Detente album: she uses a very declamatory style, not involving too much singing, but creates a genuine sinister atmosphere, fitting perfectly to the dark, brooding delivery. "Drift" is a masterpiece of haunting, gothic thrash, mixing the heavy riffs with superb atmospheric passages. Even the shorter, more immediate thrashers ("All That Remains") are decorated with those elements. "Betrayed" is a great mixture of doom and thrash. "Red To Grey" is not too far behind, and could be considered the better song, by those who like their thrash spiced with some brilliant balladic sections. "White Door" is the only pure doom number here, again coming with some balladic moments. "Love's Death" also smells doom most of the time, but the riffs there are quite sharp and stomping, and there are no shades of ballads. "Wasted Time" develops like a ballad, until suddenly changes into great up-tempo thrash: a great track, despite the slightly underwhelming laid-back ending. This is a one-of-a-kind album, which has definitely had its influence on many future gothic/doom, industrial and thrash metal acts.
Although "Toxic Voodoo" is not as bad as some reviews on the Net suggest, it's certainly less impressive than the debut, featuring a more conventional, modern thrash sound with heavy, death metal-ish sections. The bass work has been emphasized on, and the bass will literally blow your speakers. The previous album did not contain a song with the album title, but here comes "Beyond the Veil" to open this one, with smashing heavy riffs, not too far from early Celtic Frost, who are an apparent influence on at least half of the album. Crosby brings some of her more intense vocals from the Detente period, which work great. "Cloud Chamber" is another very heavy track, graced by some crushing death metal-like riffs, and some jumpy, semi-technical parts. "Burnt" is an awesome thrasher recalling the debut, with a more aggressive death metal approach. "Feed Time" follows in the same vein, but the heavy Celtic Frost riffage sneaks in at some stage. In the second half the songs become longer, and the doomy moments, so common for the debut, settle in on some, nicely mixed with the faster sections, some of which are true headbangers ("Santismo"), and produce at least one genuine doom metal hymn: "U.V.". The closing "Worms" develops in a playful, crossover fashion, until the final part, which is mighty, crushing doom at its most shining best; those heavy guitars might make you want to hear this last part over and over (the doom metal fans I mean, of course).
"Killing the Pain" contains 3 songs which sound like leftovers from the previous album. These ones sound even better: the hypnotic dark thrasher "Killing the Pain"' the energetic up-tempo "Infrablack", and the awesome doom number of the more melodic type "Mourning Light". The untimely death of Crosby (reportedly caused by excessive drinking) put an end to this great band, who could have left a bigger legacy to the metal fans.

Within the Veil Full-length, 1991
Toxic Voodoo Full-length, 1994
Killing the Pain EP, 1995

FEAR THY NAME (PORTUGAL)

Based on the "I - The Awakening" demo, these guys pull out atmospheric, melodic black/thrash; good, feelgood, mid-paced stuff, with gruff death metal-ish vocals. The music has numerous cool melodic hooks, surrounded by two excellent short orchestral instrumentals, serving as an intro and an outro.

I - The Awakening Demo, 2002
Isolation (promo) Demo, 2005
Riding the Chariots of War Demo, 2005

FEAR TRADERS (ITALY)

A very promising debut from these Italians who mix power, thrash and doom (the hidden track). The first half is a mixture of power and thrash metal recalling Morgana Lefay at times, but on the second half the band pull out some excellent technical thrash ala Megadeth where even the vocals change into a Dave Mustaine-mode to better suit the music. Apparently these guys are still looking for their own identity, and with more focus on their technical side next time, things would be really good.

Obsession Full-length, 2005

FEDHJA (FRANCE)

Melodic modern thrash, with moments of Pro-Pain-like hardcore; the music is quite intense and energetic, with up-tempos aplenty, and a couple of metalcore breaks. The guitars are sharp, and the singer is very angry, unleashing a brutal low-tuned semi-shout.

La Fin D'une Ère EP, 2008

FEKETE SEREG (HUNGARY)

Based on "Végvári Õrtüzek", the band's sound is not too far from the one of other Hungarian bands- Moby Dick and Akela. In other words, this is heavy power/thrash, slow to mid-paced. The music is at times one-dimensional and plodding, and to listen through the whole album at once might be a hardship to some.

Elsõ Hadjárat Full-length, 1999
Halott Vidék, Mit Jártam Full-length, 2001
Végvári Õrtüzek Full-length, 2003
Gyújts Sötétséget Full-length, 2006

FELINE MELINDA (ITALY)

Based on the debut: this Italian trio pulls out melodic power/speed/thrash recalling their American counterparts from around the same time. The guys really deliver when they switch onto full speed ahead ("Easy Blood", "Feline Melinda", the intense Angel Dust-esque speed/thrasher "Metal Ladies", the explosive short killer "You’re A Witch"). Their more tender side is sincerely heavy metal ("If You Need Me"), but watch out for the closing 1-min instrumental, which is a very cool accordion tune taken from the Russian foklore heritage.

The Felines Await You Full-length, 1988
Living In Europe EP, 1995
Feline Melinda Full-length, 2004
Morning Dew Full-length, 2008

FENTANYL (HOLLAND)

For some reason this band remind me of Voodoocult mainly because of the declamatory vocals- something which is hard to be called singing. The music is quite good, with a slightly industrial touch, not too far from Skrew or Malhavoc (but less industrial-tinged), or the second Voodoocult album.

Feeble Existence Full-length, 2006

FERAT (CZECH)

The debut is a fine slab of classic thrash similar to their compatriots Kryptor, or late 80's Kreator: great aggressive music with frequent technical hooks, spiced with some jollier speed/power metal tracks ("Rainhold"). Five years later the order of the day is average modern thrash metal.

Rainhold Full-length, 1993
Ferat Full-length, 1998

FESTER (USA)

This band is a side project for the members of Nasty Savage, minus Nasty Ronnie. Based on the demo, the guys have done a fairly good job here, as it takes the place between "Indulgence" and "Penetration Point": it's more complex than the first, but is still too far from the technical brilliance of the second one. There are enough sharp headbanging riffs to enjoy, as well as several which would require a more careful listen. "Slay Ride/Binge and Purge" is an ambitious 10-min track, quite heavy and interesting, without being too technical or twisted.

The Other Side of the Ice Demo, 1988
The Plot Sickens EP, 1990

FESTERING SORE (USA)

Easily one of the best thrash metal albums of recent years, this album will be pure delight for 80's thrash metal fans. It has everything which made the 80's scene so unforgettable: black-tinged guitars ala early Bathory and Venom, Bay Area riff-fest in the tradition of Violence and Exodus, vicious speedy guitars in the Destruction and Exumer vein, even some more technical attempts bringing to mind Kreator's "Coma of Souls". A mandatory release which hopefully will not be left without a follow-up.

Chlorine for the Gene Pool Full-length, 2000

FICTIONAL PRISON (USA)

First class technical/progressive power/thrash not too far from another one-album wonder: Catharsis; this band's music is more edgy and aggressive, and at times it will also remind you of Sanctuary and Nevermore, mainly based on the excellent Warrel Dane-like vocals. This is really worth your attention, with the many things happening throughout the album. Too bad acts like this stayed around for just one solitary effort .

Dreamkiller Full-length, 1997

FIERCE (FINLAND)

Based on the "Back For More" EP, this band play very good Germanic speed/thrash in the best tradition of early Angel Dust, with the only complaint coming from the average angry vocals. There are some stomping moments with a modern taste thrown in, but they are hardly a distraction, and serve well to bring some variation. The guys unleash furious thrash bombs in the face of "Lawmaker" and "Defy The Divine", and slow down, but just a bit for "Rotten Domain", which also shows their melodic side. Two more fast-paced speed/thrashers follow suit, warming up the scene quite well for the eventual full-length.

Where The Flames Prey EP, 2007
Back For More EP, 2008

FIERCE CONVICTION (SWEDEN)

Based on the debut, the band's style is mostly power metal with elements of thrash. Good stuff, but there are some cheesy moments ("Tell Me Who Do You Think You Are"), ballads ("The Ballad Of Tinuviel") and the last song is a direct take on the Candlemass epic doom sound ("Visions From An Ancient Time").

The Requiem Of A Mourner Full-length, 1998
Decline / Rebirth Full-length, 1999

FIFTH CRIPPLES BAND (BULGARIA)

Bulgarian thrash metal bands are a rarity, but it's worth looking deeper there especially after the music is as good as in this case. A nice slab of 80's energetic (but not very aggressive) thrash metal with bass-dominated sound and death-ish vocals. The overall sound is not too far from Sepultura's "Arise", with touches of Slayer and Evildead in the more intense sections ("Swarm in Heaven", "Tired of Life"). The music is fast-paced, with a strong bass-bottom and a slightly thin guitar sound. The guys are not strangers to some interesting technical play: the excellent instrumental "Executor", although it's a solitary experiment. "Mortal Life" is misplaced, being much slower, with some plodding, repetitive riffs. The vocals are a mix of more death metal-styled ones and Max Cavalera.

When if not now? Who if not me? Full-length, 1992

FIFTY LASHES (USA)

Based on the first demo, this is melodic thrash/crossover with a slight traditional metal shade ("Final Darkness"). The music is not very thrashy, and "Thrashophobia" doesn't deserve its title, being the softest song here. Reportedly on later works the guys have hardened the course.

Demo Demo 1988
Pain Demo 1990
Harder Full-length, 1994
Power Hitter Full-length, 1996

FIGHT (USA)

Rob Halford exited Judas Priest, after the climactic "Painkiller", apparently not willing to mess this masterpiece up with anything else, to explore new metal territories, and Fight is the product of that decision. He is assisted by the drum machine Scott Travis, who took part in "Painkiller", and earlier had been a full-time member of the Shrapnel heroes Racer X. If those who expected that Halford would bring back the vintage Judas sound from the early-mid 80's, would be in for a shock, after hearing the opening riffs of "Into The Pit", which scream modern thrash even louder than Pantera and Exhorder. Halford delivers his hellish high vocals, not too far from the ones he unleashed on "Painkiller". The explosive opener doesn't really set the tone for the whole album, and later on we have the mid-paced thrashing "Nailed To The Gun", the melodic heavy power/thrash piece "Life In Black", the stomping "Immortal Sin", after which the listener, already warmed up for some cool headbanging modern thrash with the first track, might start showing signs of nervousness. "War Of Words" may stir his mood a bit, being a more aggressive number, but not fast and aggressive enough to make him jump around. If "Laid To Rest" doesn't make him turn the player off, with its slow hypnotic, doomy guitars, the next "For All Eternity" definitely will: a tender, albeit very good ballad, which Judas are yet to produce. "Little Crazy" is heavy/power metal, no ties to thrash, and right after it the real attack begins (too late, some may say), with the mid-paced crushing "Contortion", the openly brutal "Kill It" and the less intense, but equally as vicious (no pun intended) "Vicious". "Reality, A New Beginning" is a great closer: slow, enchanting power/thrash, with superb vocals, the best ones on the album (well, the ones on the ballad are not too far behind, to be honest).
Halford mixed most of the songs from the debut on "Mutations", producing a worthy, but not really great, industrialized work, before coming up with a new full-length, hopefully developing this undustrial direction. But no: "A Small Deadly Space" preserves the heaviness, but the music has lost speed considerably, going deeper into modern metal, acquiring a somewhat alternative sound. Thrash is almost nowhere to be found, except on isolated sections from separate songs, and even shades of grunge (hello, Nirvana!) can be clearly heard. Halford sounds very restrained, acquiring some mid-ranged vocals, with very few deviations, if any. Having seen that he was going nowhere with this band, Halford put an end to Fight.

War Of Words Full-length, 1993
Mutations EP, 1994
A Small Deadly Space Full-length, 1995

FIJI (DENMARK)

An avantgarde form of the 90's post-thrash, with quite a few non-standard decisions, some choppy rhythms, heavy guitars, but the music very seldom speeds up, except on the cool progressive track "Turn The Tide". There is some intriguing guitar work at play ("Exposed"), but it soon gets lost in the majority of more ordinary groovy riffs.

Long Shadows on a Long Day EP, 2005

FILII NEGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM (PORTUGAL)

Cool black/thrash metal with a playful, classic heavy metal attitude and some slow, doomy songs; reminds me of Bewitched in the more up-tempo sections.

A Era Do Abutre EP, 1995
A Queda...Sodoma Em Ascenção EP, 2002
Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator Full-length, 2005

FINAL ASSAULT (USA)

Based on the "First Warning" demo, this band play decent speed/thrash metal along the lines of the Blessed Death debut and Destructor.

First Warning Demo, 1985
Final Assault / Messenger of God Single, 1987
The Second Coming Demo, 1988

FINAL BREATH (GERMANY)

Classic thrash metal with a modern production and nods to death metal; the band's debut sticks more faithfully to the 80's scene than the other albums, and is an all-out thrashing assault, quite close to their contemporaries Hypnosia from Sweden. "Rat Race" brings forward some melodic death metal of the Swedish school, but the classic thrash riffs take the upper hand later on, and stay firm till the very end. "Killing Machines" comes again with some death metal thrown in, and is a great death/thrasher with an At The Gates-shade.
"Mind Explosion" is where actually the band really shine: it starts in an uncompromising fashion, with the explosive thrashing madness "Under Pressure", but it's with the following "Mind Explosion" that the real tour de force begins. There follows a string of longer, complex technical thrashers, where speed is not the order of the day anymore, and every track is a great combination of smashing technical riffage and some up-tempo, more sraight sections: check out every song, but the best example of the description above, would be the superb "Break Down", which provides some genuine headbanging moments, among the heavy, complex delivery. "Nondescript" comes forward, with another slab of At the Gates-like riffage, a tendency later also heard on the shorter "To Live and to Die", and partially on the closing "Careless".
"Let Me Be Your Tank" safely returns to the more immediate, straight formula from the debut; apparently one album of such a calibre was enough for the guys for the time being. This offering is by no means bad; it is a non-stop headbanging riff-fest, this time featuring some not all-out speed songs, but also some mid-paced numbers ("Coma Divine"), which are graced by quite stylish semi-technical guitar work. "Empty Eyes" reminds of the previous work, with some genuine technical moments, which also stay around for "Eyes of Horror", partially. "Let Me Be Your Tank" deserves its title, providing a mid-paced heavy, tank-like approach, which wouls stand proud even on an Amon Amarth, or a Bolt Thrower album.
The debut EP shows the band sticking more to the death metal formula, coming with a sound quite close to the Swedish school, but more interesting, with nice melodic guitars, and some occasional technical licks. The music is surprisingly restrained, with no fast sections, just a few up-tempo ones; the rhythm guitar is all over the place, leaving no much room for the leads, but it does s fine job, giving the music a genuine atmospheric colour.

End Of It All EP, 1997
Flash Burnt Crucifixes Full-length, 2000
Mind Explosion Full-length, 2002
Let Me Be Your Tank Full-length, 2004

FINAL PRAYER (USA)

An obscure thrash piece comes out your way, provided by these guys, who specialize in intense heavy, but also quite energetic thrash, with a couple of death metal leanings, mostly in the blast-beat section. The music takes a slower, almost doomy edge sometimes, but there is no speed lost, especially on death-laced numbers, like "Pandemic and "2Faced".

Human Atrocity Full-length, 1996

FINAL PROPHECY (USA)

Based on the demo, this band come up with cool heavy, somewhat technical, bass-driven thrash reminiscent of the Brits Acid Reign's early period. To keep their music from sounding monotonous, the guys speed up at times, or slow down to doom-metal dimensions (both deviations can be heard on "He Set His Captives Free"). "Where Pain Never Dwells" starts as a ballad, but develops into a powerful thrasher later.

He Set the Captives Free Demo, 1990
Rude Awakening Full-length, 1991

FINAL THRASH (ITALY)

In spite of the name, the band are not pure thrash, be it a final one: they're a mix of black and thrash with a dual vocal attack, one in the death, the other in the black metal camp. The music is quite cool being in the mid-paced range. The guys like covering different veterans from the metal scene -Burzum, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, etc.

Time to die Full-length, 2003
No Way Out Full-length, 2006

FINGERNAILS (ITALY)

Melodic speed/thrash metal influenced by Motorhead and Exciter.

Fingernails Full-length, 1988

FIRE FOR EFFECT (USA)

Based on "Inner Dimensional Chaos", these guys come up with a fairly interesting style: the dominating sound is crushingly heavy, a mixture between Slayer's late 80's period in the best moments, and the groovy heritage of Pantera and Machine Head from the 90's, spiced with some slight hardcore aesthetics ala early Pro-Pain, an impression which is further aggravated by the similarity in the vocal styles. With 15 tracks included in this album, one could easily find some waste, like the nu metal-ish "Fatal Hesitation", for example, or the semi-acoustic "Burial to Shroud".

Fire for Effect Full-length, 2005
Inner Dimensional Chaos Full-length, 2007

FIREIGN (CANADA)

Modern speed/power/thrash with a black-ish singer; not too far from Children Of Bodom and the likes, but with a more thrashy edge. The guitar work is melodic, without too much sharpness, and often does the sound move close to the modern speed/power metal trends ("The Legend of Crusher", "Death From the Forest"), but this makes intense thrashing pieces like "Deadtime" and "Iron Stake" more than welcome, when they come. "What Lies Within Us" is a peaceful acoustic instrumental, closing this album, which could have been closer involved with thrash.

Valley of Unrest Full-length, 2002

FIRST AID (GERMANY)

Based on "Infection", these guys pull out fairly enjoyable, light-hearted speed/thrash metal, not too far from the Heathen debut, with cool melodic, albeit slightly undeveloped vocals. "Haunting Solution" is a sure-handed fast-paced opener, whereas "Quite Alone" adds some slower touches, along with another portion of speedy guitars and one melodic middle section. "Witchery Of Fire" is an excellent varied track, clinging towards mid-paced power/thrash more, still thrashing intensely wherever needed. "Hospital Brutality" accelerates again, but "Raped" kills the inertia, sticking to softer, more power metal-oriented approach. "Face To The Wall" thrashes with conviction, influencing "Poser Hunt" which, despite the melodic, even balladic parts present, is another sure pick for the headbangers. "Mask Of Metal" is enjoyable, more laid-back speed/thrash, but more aggression comes with "The World's New Chapter", which is the final outburst, before the coming of the closing instrumental "Fire Power", which focuses on melodic lead guitar work. Nevertheless, this album leaves quite a positive impression, considering the fact that it comes from a very obscure band, and will satisfy both the more hard-boiled thrash fans and the less radical lovers of the power/thrash metal hybrids.

Prisoner of Hell Full-length, 2003
Infection Full-length, 2007

FIRST BLOOD (UK)

Based on the "Nameless Fear" demo: the music is good, early Destruction-influenced thrash (think "Sentence of Death"), straight-forward and enjoyable, but there are two things which ruin the impression: the bad hardcore-ish vocals sounding like Simon Cobb from their compatriots Anihilated, and the bad joke song at the end: "Toilet Song" (what can you expect from such a title?).

Nameless Fear Demo, 1988
Silent Summoner Demo, 1989

FIRST STRIKE (USA)

Very good power/thrash which will bring you back to the glorious 80's, and more particualrly the American scene- think early Helstar, Aftermath, Meliah Rage, Savage Grace, etc. The music is mid-tempo, with memorable choruses, good clean, semi-high vocals, cool solos, and more. Some tracks carry the playful rock-ish attitude: "The Agony", but rest assured that this is nothing like Guns'n Roses or Ratt.

Agony Pit Demo, 2006

FISCHEL'S BEAST (USA)

Barry Fischel from the legendary speed/thrashers from the 80's Sentinel Beast has decided to form another "beast", but under his own name this time. The music here is quite similar to the one displayed on the only Sentinel Beast album, but while Debbie Gunn was a great addition to the energetic music on the latter, here the singer is not that impressive, singing in a clean, unemotional tember, without changing the pitch a lot. The tracks are long, and some of them are moderately complex and intriguing. The change from speedy to slower, almost doomy at times parts, is done proficiently, with concentration on speed. Mentioning speed, it is speed metal which takes the upper hand most of the time, and as such this short effort is really engaging, coming quite close music-wise to the last couple of Exciter albums. "The Phoenix" is worth mentioning, with its interesting Oriental lead guitar variations, as well as the excellent speed/thrasher "One Man's Cry", which after the clumsy shaky start gains inertia, and contains a virtuoso guitar passage in the second half, where the music could easily pass for quite progressive stuff, and is not bad, although the intensity drops there considerably. "Fate Of Kings" is the definitive speed metal masterpiece, again with some technical pretensions, substituting for the stormy riffs in the middle. "Where Am I" is doom/power metal for the bigger part, but some more aggressive speedy riffage can be heard as well. This is so expertly done that the only logical next step would be a very good full-length, with those five songs here serving as a very strong base.

Demo Demo, 2008

FISSION (SWEDEN)

Vintersorg (Vintersorg, Borknagar) has apparently gotten tired with the black metal circle, and this is his attempt to make a name for himself as a thrash metal performer. Well, he does a pretty decent job, mixing the thrash metal base with some complex arrangements which remind of his own band, plus some atmospheric folk/pagan passages which, combined with the sharp thrashy riffs, make up for quite an engaging listen. His modern death metal vocals are mixed with the clean ones which he had already mastered so well. There is a room for improvement, like, for example, the black metal sections which could be left out for the future, in case of Vintersorg gathers enough courage to venture into thrash metal territory again.

Crater Full-length, 2004

FLAGELADÖR (BRAZIL)

A promising speed/thrash metal band with very good fast riffs and nice solo work, and rough, death/black metal-ish vocals which at times scream sky-high. There are moments when the style slightly reminds of early Helloween, mixed with the early efforts of Destruction. Near the middle the album loses steam, featuring some slower and slightly unfocused tracks, and only partially captures the high-speed aesthetics of the first half later on, maybe because of the inclusion of another more melodic number: the Motorhead-influenced "A Noite do Seifador". The sound is a bit hollow, though. The guys do a cover version of Slayer's "Evil Has No Boundaries", although the music has little to do with this band.

A Noite Do Ceifador Full-length, 2006

FLAGELLATOR (USA)

If you manage to ignore the hysterical black metal screeches, you'll come up with some cool old school thrash which will remind you of Celtic Frost, Bathory, Sodom, etc.

Channeling the Acheron Full-length, 2003

FLAMMA IGNIS (SPAIN)

This is modern thrash, mid-paced and generally not very hard-hitting, ornated by some progressive deviations. The music too often strays into balladic waters, which is compensated by the odd heavy doomy section ("Armagedon"), which in its turn comes accompanied by the brutal death metal growl. The compositions are quite long, the last one alone being more than 15-min long, but there is not much happening, just more edgy riffs taking turns with sprawling one-dimensional balladic passages.

La Muerte ha Salido de Cacería Full-length, 2007

FLAME (FINLAND)

This band was founded by Blackspirit666 and Infernus: one of the most hard-working members on the Finnish underground, also members of the black metallers Barathrum and another similarly styled act: Urn. What we have here is very well executed old school thrash metal along the lines of early Destruction and Exumer's "Possessed by Fire". The music is faster, and will also remind you of the Japanese Fastkill. This is great thrash riffest, with some touches of the Scandinavian black metal scene still present, but not to an annoying extent. The production is raw, recalling the good old days.

Into The Age Of Fire Full-length, 2005

FLAMES (GREECE)

The most celebrated Greek metal band; the first two albums are possibly the band's finest hour, with a style which is not too far from Venom and the Germans Backwater. On later works the music becomes much more aggresive and heavier moving towards the German scene, and more particularly Kreator, with touches of death metal on their 90's releases ("In Agony Rise", in particular). "Nommen Illi Mors" is worth mentioning from their later efforts, with its hard-hitting sound and excellent, fast-paced songs, sounding like a very capable continuation of Kreator's 'Extreme Aggression".

Made In Hell Full-length, 1985
Merciless Slaughter Full-length, 1986
Summon the Dead Full-length, 1988
Last Prophecy Full-length, 1989
Nommen Illi Mors Full-length, 1992
In Agony Rise Full-length, 1996

FLAMES OF HELL (ICELAND)

Iceland has also given its share of thrash metal to the music scene in the form of this band who play cool, minimalistic thrash along the lines of Venom with some slow, doomy riffs ala Celtic Frost added for good measure, topped up by some really weird vocals; pretty basic, but interesting.

Fire and Steel Full-length, 1987

Vibrations of Doom

FLAMING ANGER (GERMANY)

The band's first two demos are phenomenal technical thrash (in 1988 even Coroner were still quite conventional), and the fact that they remained unsigned, is one of the biggest mysteries of the metal undeground. The first demo contains the more aggressive, and faster material, and will stun you with its steel technical riffage, and a very high level of musicianship. The singer has a cool, mid-paced, melodic tember, if we exclude his attempts to scream like a banshee. The demo would probably leave you asking for more, sice it's only 4 songs (the first one doesn't count, being a very short intro).
If you want to satisfy your hunger for more of the same, "Humaniced" might surprise you; here the intensity is more controlled, and the speed has been reduced, replaced by a stronger bass work, and more complex song-structures. The guitar sound is heavier, pounding, and despite some up-tempo sections thrown in, the final result is not as good. The new singer has a more trained voice, but lacks emotion and variety. "Interior" is a marvellous technical instrumental, showing a nice interplay between the roaring bass and the sharp energetic riffs, and is the finest track here.
The band's persistence finally paid off six years later, but their full-length is just a pale shadow of the exuberant style displayed earlier. The music is still quite technical, but is much more melodic, with only occasional hints of thrash.

Fall of Pnom Penh Demo, 1988
Humaniced Demo, 1991
Biosphere II Full-length, 1997

FLASHOVER (BRAZIL)

There has been a flood of thrash metal bands from Brazil in the past few years. Flashover are one of the better ones, with their aggressive old school sound reminding of No Return's "Contamination Rises". The Brazilians' style is a tad less aggressive featuring some playful, semi-joke songs ("Die Die"), but when they thrash, they take no prisoners: the smashing opener "Land of Cannibals", the aggressive Slayer-esque "Dogs Of War", the speed killer "Wrong Place...Wrong Time" (all songs from "Land of Cannibals").
"Superior" is not exactly superior to many of the more recent thrash releases, but is a fairly worthy slab of aggressive, energetic thrash, with some occasional death metal leanings. The end is preserved for the heavy/power metal hymn "Underground", and the Accept cover of "Balls to the Wall".

Infamous Country Full-length, 2001
Land of Cannibals Full-length, 2003
Superior Ful-Length, 2008

FLEGMA (SWEDEN)

A thrash/crossover act from Sweden similar to their American counterparts, but with a more aggressive, sometimes bordering on death metal riffing, plus the typical for the time dragging, groovy moments, and some melodic nods to Motorhead ("Skullfuck").

Eine Kleine Schlachtmusik EP, 1990
Blind Acceptance Full-length, 1992
Flesh To Dust Full-length, 1994

FLESH (SWEDEN)

This young Swedish outfit pull out a blend of thrash and death metal, which is not too far from the Gothenburg school, but often adheres to borrowings from the classic period. As a result this album is fairly satisfying, providing fast-paced (predominantly), at times quite technical, stuff. The guys mix furious blasting pieces ("Feast On The Soul") with some genuinely atmospheric, slower ones ("Fuck The Romantic,..."), which are served with cool technical guitars, and are arguably the better side of the band. "Sadistic Penetration" is a nice mid-paced number, with a very cool galloping speed/thrashy break in the middle. The last song ("Worship The Soul of Disgust") is again from the slower, atmospheric type, finished with an excerpt from a popular Russian song.

Worship The Soul of Disgust Full-Length, 2008

FLESH DIVINE (FRANCE)

Death/thrash (more on the death metal side) metal, with nods to both the modern and the classic school.

Necropolis Full-length, 2003

FLESH MADE SIN (HOLLAND)

First-rate classic aggressive thrash metal which recalls some of the biggest names from the 80's scene: Slayer, Devastation, Destruction, Kreator, to name a few. The music is fast-paced most of the time, with some nice technical touches whcih brings to mind another great band of recent times (not active anymore): Hypnosia. This band is a fine addition to the thrash metal renaissance of recent years.

Masterwork In Blood EP, 2002
Dawn of the Stillborn Full-length, 2004

FLOTSAM & JETSAM (USA)

A standout speed/power/thrash metal band who came out of the underground after their bassist Jason Newsted joined Metallica. Their first two efforts are a must for every self respected metal fan- speed/thrash at its very best topped up by the magnificent high vocals of Eric "A.K." Knutson- one of the most distinctive singers on the thrash metal arena. The band needed one more album to shoot all competition at close range, but the third release was a bit disappointing with its more mellow sound and somewhat more experimental approach. The 90's saw a new band with a modern, heavy, much less thrashy sound. "Dreams Of Death" is a marvellous return to the thrashy days with a more aggressive delivery, and a better song writing. Alas, the band split soon after that.

Doomsday for the Deceiver Full-length, 1986
No Place for Disgrace Full-length, 1988
When The Storm Comes Down Full-length, 1990
Never to reveal EP, 1992
Cuatro Full-length, 1992
Drift Full-length, 1995
High Full-length, 1997
Unnatural Selection Full-length, 1999
My God Full-length, 2001
Dreams of Death Full-length, 2005

FLY MACHINE (USA)

This very cool band are the contination of the progressive doomsters Confessor. Here the music has fewer shades of doom, and is more dynamic and thrashy, although in terms of complexity it is by no means easier to swallow, and at least to these ears recalls mid-period Prong ("Beg to Differ", "Prove You Wrong") quite a bit in the 1st half, rather than Confessor. The sound is decidely modern, and the guitars twist and turn the whole time, which make the songs not very easy to follow, but their length seldom exceeds 5-min, so by the time you lose the plot of what you're listening, the next song will come to save you. Some tracks are "excursions" outside the progressive thrash spectre: the slower, doomy, and more conventional "Take You On", others are cool crushing doomy technical thrashers: "Mover", "Victimize"- fairly unique numbers, since the slow-ish tempo is created by heavy guitars, which suddenly come up with a more dynamic section, with the drums staying in the slow field, as though begging the guitars to return to the slower pattern, which happens a few seconds later. Alas, the guys were just entertaining themselves, while waiting for the right time for a new Confessor album (which came 8 long years later), with no intentions to give this band more life.

Fly Machine Full-Length, 1997

FOETUR (FRANCE)

Quite cool thrash/death hybrid typical for the French metal scene during the late 80's-early 90's. The style is technical at times recalling Massacra, with some atmospheric passages ala Misanthrope. There are also some nice female vocals involved as well as some gothic elements; a worthy addition to the late 90's French metal field.

Disfigured Inhuman Barbak Full-length, 1999

FOG OF WAR (USA)

Based on the EP, this band offer very good, energetic thrash along the lines of Tankard, early Whiplash and Hellbastard's "Natural Order". The vocals are in the hardcore camp, and will remind you of Tommy Victor from Prong.

Metal Will Fuck You In Hell Demo, 2005
M.C.T. E.P. EP, 2006

FOR HER ICON (FINLAND)

Prototypical modern thrash, with hysterical hardcore vocals, and very good melodic female vocals, which this below average music simply doesn't deserve; it doesn't even have an edge, or speed, to keep you entertained. The other clean vocals- the male ones, are nothing special.

The Life Once Lost Demo, 2007

FOR YOUR SINS (UK)

Modern groovy thrash, which surprisingly livens up with stylish guitar decisions ("Buried"), but the dominating sound is mid-paced with slightly monotonous not very hard riffage, which remains edgeless even for the more up-tempo material ("Armed Aggression").

The Aftermath of the Massacre EP, 2007

FORBIDDEN (USA)

One of the greatest representatives of the Bay Area fraternity; "Forbidden Evil" is a phenomenal debut, followed by the technical thrash masterpiece "Twisted Into Form". Whether this was the peak of the band's creative powers, is debatable, but they have voted to join the growing modern thrash movement, and "Distortion" is one of the better achievements of the genre in the 90's, but having little to do with the band's past. "Green" moved further into modern metal losing whatever remnants were left there from their 80's period, and is the band's only actual failure.

Forbidden Evil Full-length, 1988
Twisted Into Form Full-length, 1990
Distortion Full-length, 1994
Green Full-length, 1997

FORBIDDEN TRUTH (BANGLADESH)

Melodic modern power/thrash metal with a dark, gothic atmosphere, sparce use of female vocals (the main ones are death metal-ish), mid-paced and slightly monotonous.

Demo Demo, 2004

FORCA MACABRA (FINLAND)

Don't get misled by the band name and the album title: these guys are from Finland, and have nothing to do with Spain or South America. This project involves several members of the retro thrashers Jumalation (also Finland), who here enjoy themselves playing less serious, and not as good, thrashy crossover, not too far from the early works of the Brazilians Ratos de Porao; these guys vary things more, adding short, punk-ish, but also brutal grinding pieces, plus the odd heavy, slower, steam-rolling crusher ("Bitchfucker"). Still, this is not bad, and the sheer speed and energy behind the music will keep you headbanging the whole time.

Caveira Da Forca Full-Length, 2002

FORCE FED HATE

Thrashy hardcore, heavy and mid-tempo, but not stale, with some more playful moments added, as well as more aggressive thrashy ones. The complaint comes from the clumsy groovy sections, which can be heard on a couple of songs.

Send Them Back Full-Length, 2009

FORCED ENTRY (USA)

A little known, but a worthy addition to the thrash metal gerne trio; their debut is unpolished, but inspired technical thrash, with very good bass work, jumpy hectic guitars, and quite a few straight headbanging moments. The overall approach may remind you of early Megadeth on the more dynamic moments, although the music here is way better than the one on "Killing is My Business, ...", but needs more to reach the brilliance of "Peace Sells, But...". The tempo is mid most of the time, and the riffs swirl often, being quite pounding at the same time. The technicality at times gets too complex, maybe to the point of showing-off ("Foreign Policy"), but the sharp riffage and the cool short technical leads are very capable complements. Near the end the style wears off a bit, since the approach to song-writing is samey: heavy punishing rhythms, technical swirling riffs, and the obligatory one or two direct thrash passages. Finally on the last track "Unrest They Find" the guys speed up nicely, producing intense head-banging moments.

"As Above, So Below" is no different from its predecessor, although the fast sections are more, but there is a lot of chugga-chugga riffage, which takes away from the melody considerably (not that there has been a lot of it on the band's works, but still...). Some really complex thrash can be heard on "Macrocosm Microcosm" and "The Unextinguishable", again from the very heavy pounding type. There is some space for sentimentality left, with the cool heavy ballad "Never A Know But The No", which is a really fine combination of melodic leads and crushing guitars. Again the head-banging is left for the end, in the form of the short explosive "We're Dicks", and the softer, but quite energetic "Thunderhead", which precede the almost progressive thrash closer "When One Becomes Two", which crosses the staple heavy technicality with some really nice quiet interludes, accompanied by a more melodic vocal delivery. Although to some ears this might sound like too one-dimensional and not really striking, not many were the acts in those times, and even nowadays, who could produce such a seismic heavy, and at the same time very technical, sound.

Uncertain Future Full-length, 1989
As Above, So Below Full-length, 1991
The Shore EP, 1995

FORCE FEEDBACK (HUNGARY)

A 4-song demo of very good mid-tempo modern/classic thrash, reminiscent of 90's Megadeth and more recent Annihilator; the guitar work is melodic, but is quite interesting, finding the perfect balance between melodic and more aggressive riffage. The guys nicely mix slower, heavy sections with more energetic ones, making all the tracks sound quite similar to each other, but this is hardly a complaint, as the music is really good.

Wonderful World Demo, 2004

FORCE OF DARKNESS (CHILE)

Retro thrash in the vein of Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, touches of Slayer as well, with some black metal thrown in for good measure. This is a live recording, so don't expect a very high sound quality. The problem is that often do the guys adhere to pure brutal bashing, which is not a very nice contrast on the more stylish moments, which is particularly striking on the longer compositions, where some more complex sections are suddenly "broken" by a "flood" of aggressive, discordant riffs. The last track is a cover of the Running Wild's early hit "Soldiers of Hell".

Force Of Darkness Full-length, 2006

FORCES@WORK (GERMANY)

This is the new band of Andreas Lohse- the singer of the progressive thrash masters Lost Century. Based on the "Reverse Feng-Shui Audio Guide" demo, the name of the game is also progressive thrash, and also of a fairly high quality. The music is less aggressive, but the guitars are more technical and choppy, and the song-structures are more complex, vortex-like, and you might get lost on the longer ones, although you would hardly be bothered about that, as the great technical riffs will keep you very entertained the whole time. This is not a very abstract stuff; you will hear moments from early Psychotic Waltz, Mekong Delta, Spiral Architect, as well as some riffs ala Jeff Waters. Near the end the guys drop the ball, though: with the groovy and slightly misplaced "Thrown Free on Impact", which has little to do with the technical style of the rest, and the popp-y progressive metal number "Code of Secrets" which lacks any hard-hitting riffs, and obviously "courts" acts like late period Sieges Even, Porcupine Tree, among others.
"Coldheart Canyon" is more power metal-based, still with a strong technical edge, but the music has very few ties to thrash. "Forcilized" clings between power and thrash metal, but contains at least one great smashing technical thrasher: "Husk of the Withered Moth".

Coldheart Canyon Demo, 2003
Forcilized Demo, 2004
Reverse Feng-Shui Audio Guide Demo, 2006

FORGOTTEN CHAOS (SWITZERLAND)

This is mostly modern black metal in the Darkthrone-vein spiced up with some thrash metal riffing, and some more quiet moments reminding of the viking/black style of Enslaved.

Victorious Among The Damned Full-length, 2006

FORGOTTEN HORROR (FINLAND)

Cool speed/thrash with a black-ish edge reminiscent of Alastor from Portugal; the Finns' music is more aggressive, with some occasional blast-beats thrown in, and more vicious, harsher vocals.

Demo Demo, 2007

FORM (HOLLAND)

The debut is fabulous power/thrash similar to 80's Flotsam & Jetsam (think "No Place For Disgrace"), with a more technical edge. Some tracks will simply sweep you away with their furious riffs: "Example", "In Honour Of...". Some are slower, but very interesting pieces, with good tempo changes and technical guitars: "Several Ways". The sound is firmly classic, with some rare modern "updates": the heavy, doomy "Beg". "Unwillingly" is a masterpiece of technical thrash, featuring also some great leads and a magnificent atmosperic acoustic break near the end (the acoustic guitar performance there is simply breathtaking). The bass work is really impressive, but not of the Jason Newsted, omnipresent variety, but more along the lines of the "not very regular, but highly effective decorations" ala Steve Digiorgio. The singer is clearly a find, with his very powerful, clean voice not too far from Eric AK (Flotsam & Jetsam again). The band have decided to turn to modern thrash with their sophomore effort at the time when classic thrash was coming back with full force; a strange decision and... the wrong one.

I Choose My Own Full-length, 1995
Shock Corridor Full-length, 2000

FORMICIDE (USA)

A fine thrash metal band from the heydays of the genre who never managed it outside the underground status which is a shame because their music was very competent, with great energetic riffs, calling to mind early Megadeth and Exodus.

Demo I Demo, 1987
Demo II Demo, 1988
Demo III Demo, 1989
Formicide Best of/Compilation, 2006

FORTÉ (USA)

One of the true greats of thrash metal of the 90's; the debut is a marvellous piece of classic Bay Area thrash, with moments from the American power metal scene- a summary of what has been going on in the American metal world during the 80's. "Coming of the Storm" is a nice speed/thrasher, reminding me of the Metallica cover of Diamond Head's "The Prince", with its light-hearted, but fast riffs. Later the course hardens, with aggressive thrashers like "Mein Madness" and "The Inner Circle". The leads remain of the more melodic type, suiting quite well the constantly fast-paced music, which slows down only on the closer- "The Promise", which is a very cool heavy ballad. The vocals are good, high most of the time, but never reach the intolerable notes.
"Division" comes with a more modern and aggressive sound. The guitars thrash really aggressively, no traces of speed or power metal here, and the pace is slower, which could be considered a stepdown from the debut; it's not until the 6th song when some faster riffs could be heard. The second half is the more varied, and the better one. There is one very cool bass instrumental, one excellent acoustic ballad, and a good cover version of one of the first speed/thrashers: Accept's "Fast As A Shark". The new singer is much less impressive, with an angrier, more aggressive style, not too far from Phil Anselmo.
"Destructive" opens with an awesome aggressive thrasher- "Barcode"; later the aggression remains, but modern groovy elements show up ("Deviate", "Destructive"). As a result we have a hesitation between classic and modern thrash, but a considerable part of the speed from the debut has come back ("The Hard way", "Heal Me"), and this album still delivers the goods, despite the presence of two ballads.
"Rise Above" starts in the same way as the previous one, with a great speed/thrasher: "Man Against Machine", followed by another two in the same vein. It looked as though the guys have gotten ridden of the groovy elements, but come "Ninety-Nine" and "Burn", which remind of the 90's once again, but only for a while. "Destructor" thrashes with full force, and just when you think that this time the band have forgotten to include the obligatory ballad, comes the last song: "Until The End of Time", a tender piece, another proof that there has hardly been a thrash metal act, before or after, who could do better ballads than those guys (did someone say "Testament"?).

Stranger Than Fiction Full-length, 1992
Division Full-length, 1994
Destructive Full-length, 1997
Rise Above Full-length, 1999

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (USA)

There are different vocal styles presented here; these are probably songs which had been recorded at different stages of the band's short career. The main ones are very close to Steve Souza from Exodus, some are annoying hardcore shouts, which also have the detrimental tendency to high-pitch scream at the most inappropriate time, and some rough, death-ish ones. The tracks are quite short, no longer than 2.5-min, but the music is solid thrash, with no shades of hardcore whatsoever. I know you think of Hirax almost at once, but the tempo here is slower, heavier, and these guys do a better job in the guitar department, without ignoring the speed completely (check out the smashing number "Reincarnation").

14:56 EP, 1987

FOUNDRE (USA)

Power/thrash of the less heavy type, with some playful rock-ish numbers included ("Black as Night") and a ballad (the album closer "Peace and Tranquillity", which very well deserves its title); there is also a semi-ballad: "Who's To Blame?". The sound hesitates between the classic and the modern one, but more often stays closer to the modern one, and very often recalls Skid Row's "Slave to the Grind". "Love, Lust, Rape" is almost doom/gothic metal and would even please fans of Type-O-Negative.

Dross Full-length, 2006

FOUR QUESTION MARKS (FRANCE)

Based on "Titan": dry mechanical quite technical modern thrash, which sits somewhere on the road from Meshuggah to Fear Factory. The arrangements are somewhat chaotic, but still deliver the goods here and there: the frantic jumpy "Pain Algebra", the creepy industrial madness "Cyclopean Dementia", but some dragging groovy compositions are also around to keep the balance: "Solid", "Tracheotomy".

Aleph Full-length, 2005
Titan Full-length, 2008

FOURTH REICH (SWITZERLAND)

Raw, primitive black/thrash with horrifying vocals which mixes Hellhammer with early Messiah; high level of musicianship is totally out of the question. "Kill" is an early exercise in death metal, and is quite an achievement in itself. This is brutal, chaotic music which at times has this genuine dark gothic shade, which later found its full transformation on the band's future efforts, but under the name of Alastis.

Fatidical Date Demo, 1989

FR8 (UK)

Modern thrash with all the typical gimmicks for the genre: angry hardcore basic vocals, occasional semi-clean ones, fast tempos and groovy sections. These guys manage to come up with some cool headbanging riffs, and on those moments they come quite close to Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes" ("Pill", "Twisted").

In Cold Blood EP, 2005

FRAGILE NOVA (RUSSIA)

Modern death/thrash of the widely spread Swedish type; brisk, energetic, with some cool riffage, but overall nothing really impressive: for fans of mid-period In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Corporation 187, and the likes.

One Day Beyond Full-length, 2008

FRATRICIDE (CANADA)

Based on the 1986 split, this band offer fast, aggressive thrash/crossover along the lines of Cryptic Slaughter and Beyond Possession.

Neuroot/Fratricide Split album, 1986
Fratricide/Mission Of Christ Split album, 1987
Fratricide Single, 1990

FREAK SEED (USA)

The band's full-length debut introduces a pretty common for that time modern thrash reminiscent of Metallica's Black Album, 90's Flotsam & Jetsam and the Overkill works from around the same period. The music lacks a punch most of the time, featuring some semi-ballads ("Ragtime"), an awful alternative rock-ish piece ("Mummery Vagary"), and a lot of groove.

Grout Demo, 1996
Ignition Full-Length, 1998

FREDRIK THORDENDAL'S SPECIAL DEFECTS (SWEDEN)

As you have already guessed by the band name, this is a side project of the Meshuggah guitar player Fredrik Thordendal, assisted by his colleague Tomas Haake from the same band, as well as by guest musicians who play on a church organ, saxophone, yidaki (what's that!?), etc. This is a very off-beat stuff, which uses the mid-period Meshuggah (think "Chaosphere") style as a base, but there is so much more to hear, that I'll just stop here with the review to not get confused. This is mostly instrumental music, with some whispered declamatory voices included, as well as some sinister, black-ish vicious snarls quite close to O.L.D. There is a strong presence of industrial, too, and Thordendal is simply amazing with his guitar exploits leading the pack. There is nothing aggressive here, this is mid-tempo stuff, with numerous slower, surreal sections where various instruments shake hands, and make things really interesting (or irritating for the more straight metal fans). There is a lot of thrash here, but the pure atmospheric or industrial tracks take at least one-third of the whole album. The compositions are quite short, most of them 1.5-2min long, and as separate pieces do not make much sense, and the album works as one inseparable whole- a very original take on modern industrial thrash.

Sol Niger Within Full-length, 1997

FREEVIL (SWEDEN)

The allusions to the Judas Priest's great speedy hymn made with the album-title, are very well-grounded. Freevil were formed after another Swedish band split-up: Denata. The guys are doing a better job here; they preserve the more straight approach of the previous band, but enrich the music with some genuine technical moments, and cool lead guitar, and as a result some of the songs are much longer than the 2-3min ones on the Denata albums. The style is still more modern sounding, and the vocals are more vicious, clinging to the black metal side, but the smart use of keyboards, the variation of the pace, and the excellent guitar work make this album a really commendable debut.

Freevil Burning Full-length, 2007

FRIGHTMARE (USA)

This is another project of Maniac Neil- a famous figure in the death/grind circles who is responsible for some of the most brutal and uncompromising acts on the metal scene (Maniac Killer, Lord Gore, Blood Freak). With Frightmare he apparently shows willingness to "court" other metal styles, with emphasis on thrash. Although some of the fans might be pulled back by the brutal, low death-growls of the singer and some blast-beats, they would be definitely won in the long run, because this is very enjoyable thrash metal spiced up with some classic heavy metal, death metal, and even punk moments; thrash/gore-fest, to sum it up.

Midnight Murder Mania Full-length, 2003
Bringing Back the Bloodshed Full-length, 2006

FROM BEYOND (BELGIUM)

The EP offers first class thrash metal. The influences vary quite a bit: early Sadus, Necrodeath, Kreator; very fast, and occasionally technical music; 4 songs (the 5th one is a short acoustic epilogue) of explosive old school thrash. Their full-length is one of the most eagerly awaited releases at present.

"All Thrash Breaks Loose" finally saw the light of day, although 4 years are too big a "luxury" to be afforded by a not very well established on the metal map band. Never mind that, since the album simply crushes, as expected, fulfilling all the promises, and even more. "Cyber Eater" has a slightly unnerving title, but this is not some modern industrial stuff- this is great headbanging retro thrash, with a technical twist. "The Chaos Spheres" is a blistering blend of aggressive proto-death blasts and technical riffs. The band's infatuation with speed carries on unabated on "Metal Commando", which again adheres to some blasts, but in a very cool way. "My Own World" is a mighty fast-paced thrasher, again with a nice technical edge, followed by the even more aggressive and faster "The Need To Kill". The short, 1.5-min instrumental "Doom" delivers exactly what the title suggests: slow, atmospheric doom. "The Wrath Of The Predator" is another stylish mix of aggression and technicality, this time concentrating on the leads, and virtually closes the album, which is full of short acoustic, peaceful outros/intros/epilogues/interludes; not too bad, but their number is too big. Actually there are 8 actual songs here, which still are more than enough to satisfy even the most pretentious thrash fans.

Thrashin' Machine EP, 2003
All Thrash Breaks Loose Full-length, 2007

FRONT (RUSSIA)

This is the band who put thrash metal on the Russian music map way back in 1986. The demo is a raw, heavy mixture of early speed/thrash (not much) and some classic heavy metal riffs; the final result is not bad at all, although the thrashiness is not that much, with only one full-blooded , but excellent speed/thrasher: "Heavy Metal" (it goes well beyond what the title suggests), and partially the up-tempo "Metalizacia". Later on the albums the band moved towards a brutal, proto-death sound.

Metallizacija Demo, 1986
Der Wasser Der Koln Full-length, 1990
Mortal Surgery Full-length, 1992

FRONT BEAST (GERMANY)

Classic black-ish thrash with some more conventional heavy metal tunes reminiscent of Venom, Bathory and the Japanese acts Abigail and Sabbat; the vocals are quite similar to Burzum, but the music is firmly in the thrash metal camp; simple, but entertaining.

Ars Satanic ex Tempus EP, 2005
Black Spells of the Damned Full-length, 2006
Cursed Lake EP, 2007

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY (USA)

Some of you might be surprised to find this band on the pages of this website, but those who are familar with the band, know that these techno-industrial pioneers had a short spell with metal on this album, and have done a great job, playing some very intense thrash, of course with some industrial elements, but much fewer than on their other efforts. Like with every industrial metal work, there is no much aggression or speed involved; this is mid to up-tempo music, with mighty razor sharp riffs which will cut you like a knife. There is a very good attempt at "rap meets thrash": "Victim of a Criminal", which is even better than the Anthrax's "Bring The Noise". Those who like industrial metal, might want to check out the follow-up to this album: "Hard Wired" (1995), which is not thrash, but some hard-hitting riffs can still be heard, as well as some haunting atmospheric orchestral passages which are truly one-of-a-kind.

Millennium Full-Length, 1993

FROZEN DOBERMAN (AUSTRALIA)

Based on "Bonsai", the style is a mixed bag: the best moments include some hard-hitting thrash in the Anthrax-mould, but there are more melodic post-thrash tracks, again reminding of Anthrax, but their 90's, much less impressive period. The overall effect is probably on the dull side.

Dying Phase EP, 1991
Bonsai Full-length, 1994

FROZEN GLARE (GREECE)

Based on the "Bewitched Lost Souls" 3-song demo, these guys pull out an intriguing mix of black, thrash and death metal, recalling early Rotting Christ, but the music on offer here is more varied, with numerous quiet, orchestral/acoustic passages, and gothic tunes, but when the band decide to thrash, they show no mercy, like on the direct "Bewitched Lost Souls", which again comes with a cool orchestral outro.

In Limitless Hate Demo, 2002
In Death We Trust Demo, 2002
A Life of Inanimation Demo, 2003
Shrine of Failure Demo, 2004
Bewitched Lost Souls Demo, 2005
Shining Comes Benighted EP, 2006
And The Six Wolves Ate Mankind Split, 2007

FROZEN ROCK (RUSSIA)

Based on the 2nd demo, these Russians play vicious black/thrash, reminiscent of more recent Absu, and Impaled Nazarene when they lose it. There also shades of viking/epic, not far from mid-period Bathory ("Valhalla Across The Bay", which title is more than a reference to Bathory's magnum opus "One Rode to Asa Bay").

Freezing Fire Of Northland Demo, 2007
Metalheading Northwards: Icy Depths Of Burning Hell Demo, 2008

FRUSTHATRED (HOLLAND)

Based on "Full Head-On Damage", this is groovy thrash which was quite typical for the 90's mostly. The style is not too far from Machine Head or Pantera. Nothing surprising here, even the vocals take turns between the traditional for this style angrier, and clean ones.

Undertone Full-length, 1998
Full Head-on Damage Full-length, 2004

FUCK OFF (SPAIN)

This band, along with Legion, started the thrash metal movement in Spain. Although the band name might pull back the more pretentious (and it definitely doesn't serve the band right) part of the metal fanbase, the music makes up many times for it. The band's debut is rawer, with early Slayer being an obvious influence. It starts in a more controlled, but energetic speed metal manner ala Exciter, before switching onto full-blooded thrash with "Maniac" and "The Last Flight". "Awaiting your Death" is a light-hearted crossover joke, which influences the following thrash/crossover piece "Blood in the Night"; there's no way you won't start singing the infectious chorus on this one. The more aggressive thrashy patterns return on "Another Sacrifice", but the sound lets loose towards some heavy metal waters with "Sueño Maldito". "Born to Die" is exemplary speed/thrash, paving the way for the coming of the Slayer cover of "Black Magic", quite well done, furious and merciless, with the vocals failing to produce the vicious screams of Tom Araya.
"Hell On Earth" thrashes with no mercy from the get-go, with "Witch (Hell Below the Belly)", and later on it only gets more aggressive, as well as more technical. Some crossover motives can be caught, but here are way more aggressive: "Midnight Confession". "Whom You Never to Say His Name" is an unforgettable small thrashing bomb, not least because of the catchy memorable vocal delivery. No such catchiness on the next fierce thrasher "Don't You Have Fear", but it comes aplenty on the more speed metal-based "Hell on Earth", an obvious influence on the future speed/power metal wave of the 90's. Finally something slower: the heavy mid-paced "In Your Grave", which serves as a break for the guys to recover their energy for the great final 10-min instrumental "Cyclone" which, apart from the furious speed/thrash, comes with quiet sections, very strong bass performance, stomping heavy riffage, and even some melodic deviations ala Iron Maiden. Arguably the finest Spanish thrash metal act, this band left a big trace on the scene with these two landmark efforts, which wide appeal has made them favourites to many fans, and not only in their homeland.

Another Sacrifice Full-length, 1988
Hell On Earth Full-length, 1990

Vibrations of Doom

FUELBLOODED (HOLLAND)

Your average modern thrash/death metal band; the music is energetic and brisk, but is too ordinary, and has been heard so many times before and after, that there's almost nothing more to add; maybe the duel between the gruff, death-ish vocals, and the mid-ranged clean ones, which is not very common.

Inflict The Inevitable Full-length, 2006

FUELED BY FIRE (USA)

Excellent speed/thrash which sounds similar to some contemporary Brazilian bands like Executer, Bywar and Blasthrash; in other words, Germanic thrash of the new millennium. The first song says it all: "Thrash Is Back"- a great speedy thrasher, followed by a couple of similarly styled songs, until "Betrayal", which is mid-paced, and betrays (no pun intended) the basic much more aggressive sound, with a certain power metal flavour, graced by good melodic guitars. If this track has shaken your confidence in the band's thrashy skills, here comes "Massive Execution": 3-min of pure thrash aggression in the vein of early Destruction, and the excellent, but more melodic instrumental "Metal Forever". "Command Of The Beast" closes this fine debut, combining the predominant speedy patterns with some stomping, heavy riffs.

Spread The Fire!!! Full-length, 2006

FUELED BY HATE (USA)

Old school death mixed with old school thrash metal; works fine all the time with heavy, crushing riffs and mid-paced to slow tracks, and I guess that's the reason why quite a few times the music reminds me of bands from the death/doom metal sector: Beyond Belief, to name one, or Six Feet Under's "Haunted", with a thrashy edge. Still, when the guys pick up speed, they can make quite a few heads bang with full force: "Killing Spree", "Fueled by Hate". Some clever, semi-technical riffs can also be heard: "Valkyria", but sparingly. This is diverse, worth tracking down, stuff.

Filled with Rage Full-length, 2002

FULCRUM CREAK (FINLAND)

Based on the split with Incriminited, these guys play choppy, heavy thrash/death, with a lot of groove, and an interesting, and not annoying mixture of clean and brutal vocals. The music is nothing much to write about: mid-paced, repetitive stuff, with no highlights whatsoever. "Flabbergasting Eggbeater" is the odd chaotic, energetic number, and "Manual Churnkneader" is a cool alternative semi-ballad.

Conquer Me/Sight Of Aggression Single, 1996
Incriminated/Fulcrum Creak Split, 1998

FULL CIRCLE (USA, Kentucky)

90's groovy thrash with a playful attitude, not bad, recalling Prong's "Cleansing", with heavy, sharp riffs, quite memorable, despite its not very original nature. "Coal Black Eyes" is a very cool semi-ballad, where the hardcore vocals melt to some really impressive clean ones. The tempo is mostly mid-paced, and doesn't develop beyond this border. "Why Can't You" is a stunning progressive modern thrasher, lasting for more than 10-min, featuring some very heavy doomy sections which, despite their one-dimensional nature, are quite appealing, combined with the more energetic passages.

Negative Full-length, 1995

FULL CIRCLE (USA, Texas)

Phil Anselmo has moved to a classic thrash act; ha ha- not exactly, but the singer follows very closely Phil's singing style, which contrasts well on the hard-hitting retro thrash which these guys offer. This is heavy mid to up-tempo thrash, which comes as a mix of the Exhorder and Evildead's "The Underworld", but offering better lead guitar work than both. After the two straight intense headbangers, the band tries to show their more ambitious side, with longer, more complex songs, and admirably succeed to produce some high-octane technical thrash: the chaotic in the beginning "Cancer", the multi-layered "If I Had One Neck To Break", which ends with a nice instrumental energetic technical section.

Suck up to My Neck EP, 2002

FULLTRAP (JAPAN)

Based on the debut, this is modern thrash with shades of groove, which at times is surprisingly impressive (the fine instrumental opener "Triple Mosh Point"), and occasionally the speed is quite high ("All As It's"), and the guitar work brings forth some nice melodic hooks, both in the lead and the riff department, but the few derivative and generic moments are also here... Actually, the overall style is not too far from Anthrax's "We've Come For You All", but this is a more thrashy, and a better effort.

Fulltrap Full-length, 2002
Heartbeating Full-length, 2003

FUNERAL BITCH (USA)

This is one of the first bands founded by the omnipresent Paul Speckmann, this time with the help of the Znowhite guitar player Alex Olvera. Based on the two 1987 demos, this band have played a major role in the formation of the death metal genre; their style is brutal, fast death/thrash with short 1.5-2 min tracks, and Speckman's vocals being higher-pitched, sinister snarls, different from the ones he later used on his other projects. Later he changed the band's name into Master where the transition into full-fledged death metal was complete.

Demo 1 Demo, 1985
Demo 2 Demo, 1987
Funeral Bitch Demo, 1987
Nuke'em Demo, 1988

FUNERAL MARCH (SLOVENIA)

Quite good thrash/death metal recalling the French Massacra; there is some nice technical guitar work present here, and the band definitely have a taste for good melodies (check out "Chernobil"- the Russian fanbase will surely recognize the theme there), but they don't forget to be quite brutal, too ("Brutal Madness"). These guys also have the knack of putting quite a few riffs into short 2-min tracks making them an intense, but satisfying listen. Even the harsh vocals ala Janne "Demonos" Sova (Barathrum) fit quite nicely. This album is another reminder that there is much to look for in places which are not a very hot place for metal.

Invite To Die!? Full-length, 1992

FUNERAL NATION (USA)

Excellent death/thrash metal influenced by Slayer and Rigor Mortis; "After The Battle" is a very good debut, with simplistic, but very effective guitar work, with a unique dark edge, and cool Tom G. Warrior-like vocals. Despite the intense, fast tempo, the music is long on atmosphere, helped by the nice melodic hooks and the short, but meaningful leads. The songs flow nicely, sometimes sounding closer to death metal ("The Dark"), sometimes surprisingly melodic, with a crossover flair (the instrumental "Reign of Death"), sometimes first-rate thrashing pieces ("In Silence"), and occasionally even technical ("Eternal Promises").
"The Benediction" is full-blooded thrash most of the time, with a more ordinary guitar work, softer, even with some cool attempts at a more balladic song-writing: "Encased in Glass", and some more ambitious, longer compositions ("The Apocalypse"). The pace is still quite energetic, with the aggressive closer "Maniac" smelling death metal on the most intense parts.

Reign of Death EP, 1991
After the Battle Full-length, 1991
The Benediction Demo, 1992

FUNERARY PIT (AUSTRALIA)

Like with most of the extreme contemporary metal acts from Australia, there are always members of Destroyer 666 involved, two of them in this case; and not surprisingly, the style is a mixture of black, death and thrash metal, not miles away from the early Destroyer 666 efforts; maybe on this EP the music is faster and more brutal, and more black metal-tinged.

Winds of Hell EP, 2006

FUNEROT (USA)

Crossover/thrash with short, direct tracks and an overall style close to Cryptic Slaughter or Ludichrist; the downpoint is that the sound is on the melodic, softer side without the intensity which used to go with this style in the 80's.

Invasion from the Death Dimension Full-length, 2006

FURIOUS BARKING (ITALY)

Punk/hardcore with two great technical thrashers at the end- the EP; it's definitely a mixed bag, making you ask yourself what these thrashers are doing in an otherwise completely non-thrash album. "Theory of Diversity", recorded in the distant 1992, and released just recently, is excellent aggressive old school thrash, quite close to Torture's "Storm Alert", both music and vocal-wise. The opener "Decompression State" is direct intense thrash, but "Always From Inside" slows down, bringing some cool technical riffs. Later on there is not much technicality present, but the pace is energetic, spiced by good heavy, slower sections. "Every Indetermination Is Complete" shows some more technical riffage again, and is actually a very good technical thrasher of the stomping variety, switching onto all-out speed near the end, a tendency which is gracefully continued by the furious follower "Homo Superior", which also comes technically decorated. Just a year after the not very convincing EP, these guys managed to release a great album of uncompromising old school thrash.

De Industrialized EP, 1991
Theory of Diversity Full-length, 1992 (but released in 2008)

FURIOUS TRAUMA (DENMARK)

Based on "Eclipse", the style is a combination of modern thrash, classic thrash and even some death metal. The classic songs work best, but the rest is not bad either, if we exclude the angry vocals which are slightly irritating. The debut is a cool slab of headbanging old school thrash, moshing somewhere between Slayer and Exodus. Some nods to the modern tendencies are inevitable ("Adult Lust", the Black Album-influenced "In Your Dreams"), but they are done with taste. Insertions like the merry crossover smashing instrumental "Ridin' With Sioux" only make things more attractive, contrasting nicely on the more aggressive material.
"Strange Ways" is truly a revelation, coming after the slightly modernized "Eclipse", and serves 6 tracks of heads-down retro 80's thrash, which apart from the straight headbangers ("Chaos Within", "Born Of The Flag"), contains a very cool ballad ("My Dying Time") with a Metallica-shade, heavy mid-paced stompers ("Way To Perfection"), and one excellent longer more technical composition ("The Challenge") in the best tradition of late 80's Metallica.

Primal Touch Full-length, 1993
Eclipse Full-length, 1995
Strange Ways EP, 1996
Roll The Dice Full-length, 1999

FURY (AUSTRALIA)

Based on "Slavekind", this is good, fast thrash of the Bay Area school with two different vocal styles: one of the angry, modern type and the other one clean. There is a certain doze of death metal, too, which adds up to the aggressive character of this album.

Fury Full-length, 1997
Stigmatized EP, 2000
Slavekind Full-length, 2001
Forbidden Art Full-length, 2005
Blood, Sweat and Iron EP, 2005

FUHRER (USA)

A 4-track demo of cool energetic thrash owing much to Slayer's "Hell Awaits" and the Dark Angel debut with slightly indifferent, declamatory vocals and impromptu, Kerry King-like solos. "Kill Me if You Can" is a nice aggressive thrasher, whereas "Berserker Fury" is a fabulous speed number which could fit fine even on the Angel Dust debut, or early Helloween.

Demo Demo, 1986

Copyright (c) 2007 THE THRASH METAL GUIDE