JONPAUL
Joined: Apr 29, 2010
Posts: 2472
Venice, CA
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 12:37 PM
I know, I know...mega cheesy! But I couldn't resist, especially with all the current and lively discussions of so many of our heydays spent moshing, crunching and shredding through the Thrash classics! Which brings up the point of this thread....what do you consider THE THRASH classics AKA best of the best?
Now, to make things even more geeky, let's limit the parameters a bit. I'm talkin' the stuff that peaked in the eighties/very early nineties that had more of an emphasis on precise rhythmic chugging/shredding and incorporated moshing grooves, with singers that could still be understood (somewhat).
Now, as with any genre defining, there will always be crossovers and exceptions, but essentially, we're sticking to Thrash, which could include Speed Metal and straddle some Hardcore, Doom, Death, etc. Nu Metal doesn't count, nor getting too far into Grindcore or the Scandinavian insanity that seems to prevail these days. What about current bands that sound like the good old Thrash giants? Are there any? Discuss....
For me, there were a few key albums that really defined that period and informed my early playing more than any other:
Metallica: Kill 'Em All (1983)
Metallica: Ride the Lightning (1984)
Metallica: Master of Puppets (1986)
Metallica: And Justice For All (1988)
Anthrax: Fistful of Metal (1984)
Anthrax: Spreading the Disease (1985)
Anthrax: Among the Living (1987)
Slayer: Show No Mercy (1983)
Slayer: Haunting the Chapel (1984)
Slayer: Hell Awaits (1985)
Slayer: Reign in Blood (1986)
Slayer: South of Heaven (1988)
Slayer: Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
Megadeth: Killing is My Business...and Business is Good! (1985)
Megadeth: Peace Sells, But Who's Buying? (1986)
Megadeth: So Far, So Good, So What? (1988)
Exodus: Bonded by Blood (1985)
Exodus: Pleasures of the Flesh (1987)
Exodus: Fabulous Disaster (1988)
Kreator: Pleasure to Kill (1986)
Kreator: Terrible Certainty (1987)
Kreator: Extreme Agression (1989)
S.O.D.: Speak English or Die (1985)
D.R.I.: Crossover (1987)
D.R.I.: Four of a Kind (1988)
D.R.I.: Thrash Zone (1989)
Sacred Reich: Ignorance (1987)
Sacred Reich: Surf Nicaragua (1988)
Sacred Reich: The American Way (1990)
Coroner: Punishment For Decadence (1988)
Coroner: No More Color (1989)
Death: Scream Bloody Gore (1987)
Death: Leprosy (1988)
Death: Spiritual Healing (1990)
Death Angel: The Ultra Violence (1987)
Death Angel: Frolic Through the Park (1988)
Dark Angel: Darkness Descends (1988)
Vio-Lence: Eternal Nightmare (1988)
Vio-Lence: Opressing the Masses (1990)
Obituary: Slowly We Rot (1989)
Obituary: Cause of Death (1990)
Excel: The Joke's On You (1989)
Nuclear Assault: Survive (1988)
Nuclear Assault: Handle With Care (1989)
Overkill: Under the Inluence (1988)
Overkill: Years of Decay (1989)
Voivod: Dimension Hattross (1988)
Voivod: Nothingface (1989)
Atrophy: Socialized Hate (1988)
Atrophy: Violent By Nature (1990)
Defiance: Void Terra Firma (1990)
Pantera: Cowboys From Hell (1990)
Pantera: Vulgar Display of Power (1992)
Pantera: Far Beyond Driven (1994)
Sepultura: Schizophrenia (1987)
Sepultura: Beneath the Remains (1989)
Sepultura: Arise (1991)
Testament: The Legacy (1987)
Testament: The New Order (1988)
Testament: Practice What You Preach (1989)
Morbid Angel: Altars of Madness (1989)
Morbid Angel: Blessed Are the Sick (1991)
Carcass: Reek of Putrefaction (1988)
Carcass: Symphonies of Sickness (1989)
— Insect Surfers
The Tikiyaki Orchestra
The Scimitars
Lords Of Atlantis
Fiberglass Jungle - Surf Radio
Last edited: Oct 10, 2013 15:08:41
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killbabykill34
Joined: Apr 03, 2010
Posts: 3201
Jacksonville, AL
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 12:45 PM
No Sepultura? I was never a huge metal guy. But Chaos AD by Sepultura and Vulgar Display of Power by Pantera had a pretty profound influence on me as a musician.
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heepeejeep
Joined: Feb 28, 2013
Posts: 350
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 01:10 PM
From your list wich pretty much sum's up, I would say the following album stands out, at least it did for me. I swapped out my entire metal collection in 89-. Never looked back, not even in nostalgia (Motorhead and Ramones covers that area for me.) Actually I do regret spending so much time with this genre while starting up playing a instrument, it gave me a musical attitude and approach to playing I wish I would have got from some other genre, thinking of it today. (Haha, guess I regrett not taking those piano and violin lessons.. )
Metallica: Kill 'Em All (1983)
Metallica: Ride the Lightning (1984)
Metallica: Master of Puppets (1986)
Anthrax: Fistful of Metal (1984)
Anthrax: Spreading the Disease (1985)
Anthrax: Among the Living (1987)
Slayer: Show No Mercy (1983)
Slayer: Haunting the Chapel (1984)
Slayer: Hell Awaits (1985)
Slayer: Reign in Blood (1986)
Slayer: South of Heaven (1988)
Testament: The Legacy (1987)
Testament: The New Order (1988)
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25682
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 02:17 PM
Where is Klas when we need him most?
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 02:58 PM
Your list pretty good JonPaul! But since you're encouraging geekiness, I might draw a line at Death. I think Chuck Schuldiner's Death is most often regarded as the progenitor of Death Metal, but whatever.
The most important albums to me are Metallica's first 3, Slayer's pre-Sesons in the Abyss albums, the early Testament albums (Alex Skolnick was/is a monster shredder.) and a few others scatterd across several bands.
Of the so called "Big Four" I only really highly regard Metallica and Slayer. I could never get into Anthrax for some reason, and can only stomach Megadeth on harvest moons. I think that Metallica's first three albums and Slayer's Reign/South/Hell albums are so far out in front of their contemporaries.
Of current thrash bands, the only ones I can really think of are Futur Skullz, which has Josh Smith (Fucking Champs, Weakling) on guitar, Warbringer, which sound very Slayery, Violator from Brasil, and Toxic Holocaust.
Oh, by the way...
(((((((((((((((((((((SLAYER)))))))))))))))))))))))))))
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
Last edited: Oct 10, 2013 15:17:59
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JONPAUL
Joined: Apr 29, 2010
Posts: 2472
Venice, CA
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 03:06 PM
Yeah, I considered those thoughts regarding Death. The vocals definitely put it more into that category, but some of the slower sludgy sections are just classic Thrash! Darkness Descends is probably even more on the cusp due to the speed, but it falls in there too, IMHO. Oh, that reminds me of another I need to add!...And, isn't it amazing to think that Show No Mercy came out in 1983???!!! Crazy!
— Insect Surfers
The Tikiyaki Orchestra
The Scimitars
Lords Of Atlantis
Fiberglass Jungle - Surf Radio
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25682
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Oct 10 2013 09:56 PM
Prong?
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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JONPAUL
Joined: Apr 29, 2010
Posts: 2472
Venice, CA
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Posted on Oct 11 2013 01:18 AM
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clepak
Joined: Jun 11, 2006
Posts: 551
Liege (Belgium)
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Posted on Oct 11 2013 08:58 AM
Sepultura - Chaos AD
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Cannibal Corpse - Galery of Suicide
— Monkey Ju
Pirato Ketchup
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CaptainSensible
Joined: Nov 08, 2006
Posts: 650
Leesburg, VA
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Posted on Oct 11 2013 11:11 PM
How about some latter day Exploited? More punk than metal, but Id still consider them thrash. Like "The Massacre" (1990) and "Beat The Bastards" (1996) albums.
— Sean
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morphball
Joined: Dec 23, 2008
Posts: 3324
Pittsboro, NC
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Posted on Oct 12 2013 11:31 AM
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Oct 12 2013 12:27 PM
Thanks to this thread, I've been digging into Kreator's Extreme Aggression and Testament's The Legacy albums. Both are righteous monuments of thrash goodness!!
I've also been checking out Warbringer and Toxic Holocaust. Both bands deliver the goods!
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
Last edited: Oct 12, 2013 12:29:22
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Ariel
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 1556
Israel
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Posted on Oct 12 2013 02:04 PM
Has this one been mentioned yet?
Can you guess the surf connection?

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HallmarkSweptWinger
Joined: Jul 27, 2006
Posts: 1284
Berlinesia, Germanifornia
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Posted on Oct 12 2013 03:13 PM
morphball wrote:
I can't say it's strict "thrash", but what a metal classic:

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales (Full Album)
Haha! Celtc Frost! Yes, yes, I watched them live in those early days. Not as good musicians like other bands in those days like Kreator for example. But Celtic Frost had a lot of humor. Of course not official funny but we all loved them for their trash appeal! The first Hellhammer album was also a cult album.
All the albums JonPaul listed: Yes, You mentioned them all. (Funny, yesterday I found an old tape in the cellar for my car with death Angels "Frolic.." on the A-side and Dark Angel s "Darkness Descends" on the b-side 
I thought about another alltime fave album of mine: It is Attitude Adjustment`s "American Paranoia". Anybody know this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1irKKNjxMw
...but yes, it is not the category like other stuff... not Thrash Metal...
You know the german band Tankard?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wihvpom11zI
...ah, there are so much old funny bands.....
and there is another thread needed for stuff like Attitude Adjustment, Adrenalin OD, for HC Punk and similar...
— Twang cheers!
Ralf Kilauea
www.kilaueas.de
https://kilaueas.bandcamp.com/album/touch-my-alien
Last edited: Oct 12, 2013 15:14:54
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morphball
Joined: Dec 23, 2008
Posts: 3324
Pittsboro, NC
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Posted on Oct 14 2013 08:16 AM
Right on, Ralf! They got even funnier during their late-80's hair phase which Tom Warrior still laments to this day (good article here, and the comments are priceless- it's like being back in the 80's again). I spent way too time listening to a borrowed copy of that Hellhammer album, in particular the "Triumph of Death" track (it was pretty brutal, but more importantly, it annoyed my family.)
— Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio
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ArabSpringReverb
Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
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Posted on Oct 14 2013 03:25 PM
I first heard the term 'thrash' used to describe fast hardcore punk bands in the very early 80s..before these metal bands ...stuff like
Jerry's Kids from Boston
DRI from Houston/SF
The Offenders from San Antonio
even Middle Class from Orange County
even the MISFITS got in on it on the EARTH AD/Wolfsblood LP
its a drum thing mostly,they upped the tempos radically for better or worse...I really liked when the punk bands started using metal influences(like Agnostic Front or Murphys Law) but not so much when the metal bands tried to punk it up (like ANTHRAX)...they were going the same direction but from different places.The metal bands always seemed a little stiff or choppy to me
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stratomatic
Joined: Jan 11, 2012
Posts: 114
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Posted on Oct 14 2013 03:58 PM
Id like to add suicidal tendencies and the lesser known cryptic slaughter to that list
ArabSpringReverb wrote:
I first heard the term 'thrash' used to describe fast hardcore punk bands in the very early 80s..before these metal bands ...stuff like
Jerry's Kids from Boston
DRI from Houston/SF
The Offenders from San Antonio
even Middle Class from Orange County
even the MISFITS got in on it on the EARTH AD/Wolfsblood LP
its a drum thing mostly,they upped the tempos radically for better or worse...I really liked when the punk bands started using metal influences(like Agnostic Front or Murphys Law) but not so much when the metal bands tried to punk it up (like ANTHRAX)...they were going the same direction but from different places.The metal bands always seemed a little stiff or choppy to me
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kick_the_reverb
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 1338
Escondido, CA
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Posted on Oct 14 2013 04:47 PM
Righteous list Jonpaul, and Ralf, of course Tankard, one of my favorite nonsense crossover-thrash bands. Surprisingly most of their lyrics included references to beer 
Cryptic Slaughter had some charm IMO, so good one Stratomatic, and good call on Sodom, Ariel!
BTW, I see your point JP about not getting too much into GrindCore, but you just had to put Carcass there...slippery slope as Napalm Death early albums might be somewhat related, but they do have more of a punk influence than the chunky detuned riffs of Carcass.
Sadus?
Ran
— The Scimitars
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ArabSpringReverb
Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
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Posted on Oct 14 2013 05:03 PM
Yeah I loved the Sui's early stuff when they were punk ..when Louie was on bass.They definitely had the slow mosh verse /thrash chorus thing from the start .that first LP on Frontier was a monumental success and i made all my punker friends listen to it..it was kinda what I had been waiting for..hot leads in punk music.Compare that to Social D's Mommy's Little Monster which came out about the same time;totally different sound (the leads are almost southern rockish).ST blended metal influences blatantly and very well...and they had the memorable songs.
If you can find it,Mike Muir's 'Welcome To Venice' compilation is fantastic..half a dozen thrash/punk metal bands ( Excel ,Beowulf)grinding it out and ST doing War In My Head,good stuff.This was version 3 or 4 of S.T. and came out just before Join the Army...they were well on their way to being a full on metal band by then,not much punk left because Mike M was the only original member by then.I met them on their first tour (couldnt play in LA back then) they were pretty cool without all the gangstas ruining the scene.
Bands I thought were too metal back then sound really punk now .
I also loved Poison Idea from Portland who had tons of metal guitar in their punk /thrash and the mighty Raw Power from Italy..they put metal in the punk and it worked well..compare that to SSD from Boston;the metal addition killed them.For a while it seemed like every other punk band was adding a second (lead) guitarist...sometimes it worked sometimes not.
I learned to play guitar from listening to these bands and played thrash punk for many years before trying surf..it sure helped the right hand!
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kick_the_reverb
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 1338
Escondido, CA
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Posted on Oct 15 2013 12:42 AM
Oh, forgot to add M.O.D - USA for M.O.D and Surfin' M.O.D/Gross Misconduct (two totally different line ups, similar to what ST went through).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9EzwgDCn4k
Another nonesense/parody band I liked was Lawnmower Deth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBKWUkMEMto
Some of the more Hardcore/Crossover bands that led me up to the more "proper" Thrash metal were:
Agnostic Front
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMzhkoRZskA
Broken Bones from "Decapitated" to more metallic stuff like "F.O.A.D":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89QvaK9Zffc
Crumbsuckers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp9HOqCvFjU
Chaos UK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3frk_zuMqM
— The Scimitars
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