1. The Choice 2. Murder, Rape, Pilage, And Burn 3. Reformation 4. Redeem Deny 5. Possession 6. Suicidal Dreams 7. Life And Death 8. Victim Of The Future 9. Tunnel Of Damnation 10. Follower 11. Impending Doom

Paul Speckmann's thrash metal project Abomination was one of those bands that you'd like to appreciate more but simply can't find the music too great to start with. Abomination's sound on their debut release is fairly satisfying with good guitars and Speckmann's rough vocals, but the extremely bare and depressive feel of this music makes it just a bit too difficult to bear with it. Not only that, but the riffs manage to dodge all attempts at memorable hooks, which only ensures that you cannot really recall much about the thing afterwards. Some respect must be certainly given for the band's honest style and dedication to avoid any gimmicks, but if the goal was to catch some long time attention then at least on this debut the outcome was not too successful.

1. Blood For Oil 2. They're Dead 3. Pull The Plug 4. Will They Bleed 5. Industrial Sickness 6. Soldier 7. Kill Or Be Killed 8. Oppression

It seems that somewhere between their first two albums Abomination found the magic to actually create some good music. While the band's debut album certainly left something to be desired, Tragedy Strikes shows vast improvement in all areas. With these tracks the band sound heavier, stronger, and simply more credible by tenfold. The difference between dull and powerful riffs can really be very narrow - while the style of this album is not that much different from its predecessor, the level of power is definitely something else. Suddenly even the lyrics appear perfectly fitting with strong feelings of fear, hate and pain, not just something taken from a thrash metal textbook. A lot of credit must be given to Paul Speckmann's intense vocals on this album; when the man roars into the chorus of Pull The Plug, the hair on your neck stands up. It should be noted that Abomination's output is still essentially very raw and unfriendly, and those looking for a bit more accessible style might not consider this too attractive - but those who give Tragedy Strikes a try may find that it wipes the table with a whole lot of other recordings.

1. Victim Of The Future 2. Social Outcast 3. Rape Of The Grave 4. Possession 5. Doomed By The Living 6. The Truth 7. Over The Edge 8. Reformation 9. Impending Doom 10. Curses Of The Deadly Sin 11. Tunnel Of Damnation 12. Follower

It may be only inevitable that a band's sound would wear off in almost a decade, but it was still something of an unpleasant surprise to find how lacking in content Abomination's Curses Of The Deadly Sin turned out to be. For some reason the band saw it best to abandon all the previous achievements in both production and songwriting areas, and the result is bare and terse to a near hardcore-ish extent, making it virtually impossible to distinguish these songs from each other. Abomination's sound on this album is nearly as dull as on their debut (in fact, a half of these tracks are just re-recorded versions), and it is practically one and the same kind of banging that goes on here, with no slightest variation whatsoever. Maybe Curses Of The Deadly Sin was meant to serve as a reminder that the band were still active, but compared to Tragedy Strikes this thing is almost an equivalent of being dead in the water.

1. Face In The Crowd 2. You Could Be Next 3. Take A Sip Of Power 4. Man Created God 5. Mistaken Reality

The Final War marked the end of the nineties for Abomination, and you can say that the band could have done better than this. The style of this mini album is very similar to Curses Of The Deadly Sin, which is not a great surprise since there was only a short time between these recordings. The most distinctive feature of this release is without a doubt the production that is awfully bass-heavy. With the bass brought way too up front, it is very close to dominating the mix over everything else. Occasionally you cannot even hear the guitar properly except for some undeniably stylish solos. If the bass sound on Overkill's W.F.O. sounded quirky enough to you then this is going to be a tough one to bear. For other than that, pretty much the same points apply to The Final War as the previous release - this album is as raw and unapologetic as it gets, and it really takes an acquired taste to consider it a masterpiece.

1. Evil Liar 2. Sadistic Terror 3. Down By Law 4. Law Of War 5. Accuser 6. The Conviction 7. Screaming For Guilt

Despite having their origins in Germany, Accuser did not play your most stereotypical German thrash metal of the time. While the band's debut release The Conviction consists of energetic and straightforward thrash metal with a fairly dark sound and snarling vocals, it is varied enough to maintain some interest. The music still sounds a bit rough around the edges, especially the vocal delivery is quite nasty at times and can take some time to get used to it. Nevertheless, the band keeps up some respectable speed and the rough delivery sort of matches the intensity of music at this early stage. The Conviction may not be the most refined Accuser release, but it is no less an essential document of the band's style in the beginning.

1. The Persuasion 2. Black Suicide 3. Terroristic Violence 4. Technical Excess 5. F.H.W.C. 6. Ratouli

Experimental Errors is not radically different from Accuser's debut release, but the production is slightly better and also the style is more consistent. Actually this mini album feels even a bit more one-dimensional in comparison to its predecessor, which may explain a few stale moments during the first half of the recording. The band sound more technically proficient, but the material as a whole has less variety than The Conviction. The frantic run of Technical Excess and F.H.W.C. manages to catch some attention despite the rather simple style of these tracks, therefore giving the latter half of this album a fair boost. Even though Experimental Errors was not too bad for another heavy release from Accuser, the content still could have been more memorable.

1. Master Of Disaster 2. Who Pulls The Wire? 3. Elected To Suffer 4. Symbol Of Hate 5. Who Dominates Who? 6. Bastard 7. Called To The Bench

Who Dominates Who represents logical continuation of the style of Accuser's previous release Experimental Errors. The music does not exactly differ too much from your basic thrash metal, but some original technical touches and intense delivery manage to make it pretty satisfying. The band pull some notably fast tracks like Symbol Of Hate which, while not actually too special in themselves, become quite impressive due to their sheer speed alone. On a few tracks the hyperactive, layered drumming draws some serious attention, even resembling the sound of Holy Moses on the classic Finished With The Dogs. While Accuser's output is not nearly as creative, some memorable tracks are created as a result. Still, as a whole this album is a bit tiresome as the music is just not quite strong enough. Who Dominates Who has its moments but does not really compare to the better albums of the time.

1. Double Talk 2. The Freeze 3. Money 4. Flag Waver 5. Why Me 6. Indistinct Articulation 7. Revolution 8. Alcowhore

With little actual differences from the preceding albums, Double Talk is pretty much another typical Accuser release. The production is slightly heavier than before but the general sound is very familiar from the past. It's the same basic thrash metal with some light technical touches, though this time the outcome starts to get a little tedious at some point. It's not like Accuser ever sounded particularly fresh or innovative but on this album the repetitious and occasionally even preachy style starts to get old pretty fast. Despite the effort certainly spent on this album, no tracks are really distinguishable from each other. Somehow the earlier releases had at least some more energetic feel to them. In the series of consistent Accuser albums Double Talk remains faithful to the band's original style but lacks some power of its predecessors.

1. Rotting From Within 2. Repent 3. Get Saved 4. Sacrifice Machine 5. The Living Dead 6. The Drones 7. Judgement Gone Blind 8. Nosferatu 9. Metal Machine Music

Accuser took one more draw in a traditional vein in the form of Repent, an album that proves the band still had some respectable energy left. It is certainly less worn out than Double Talk, also grittier and more focused while sometimes almost monotonic in comparison to Accuser's older releases. Except for one experimental piece (Metal Machine Music) which is just a throwaway, the music is unarguably quite consistent and stylish for what it's worth. It must be emphasized that this album is a notably heavy effort, therefore it is sort of an achievement in itself that the outcome does not collapse under its own load. You must have heard better than this, but considering the band's whole discography Repent is far from the worst of its kind.

1. Goddess 2. Suspended Sentence 3. Freedom Of Speech 4. Motherly Love 5. Respect The Dead 6. Chaos (Lambs To The Slaughter)

For a short period of time Acid Reign were one of the more interesting groups in the British thrash metal genre. Granted, they were not quite as creative and original as Sabbat, for example, but they were enthusiastic enough to stand out of the crowd. The band's debut mini album Moshkinstein is an energetic recording though the lesser quality of the production makes the impression somewhat lacking. The incredibly thin and rough guitar sound in particular tends to distract you from the music a bit too often. This kind of lousy guitar might have felt natural on some punk band's album, but thrash metal standards required something different. The band pumps up the speed in a respectable manner and the songs are not too bad if fairly forgettable, but it's the poor production values that really leave this album behind.

1. You Never Know 2. Reflection Of Truths 3. Insane Ecstasy 4. Humanoia 5. The Fear 6. Blind Aggression 7. Life In Forms 8. All I See 9. Lost In Solitude

Acid Reign's first full-length release The Fear featured notable logical development over the preceding mini album. Even though the musical approach in itself is already more advanced than on Moshkinstein, the improved production alone makes the earlier effort pale in comparison. On this album Acid Reign's song structures became clearly more ambitious than on average, resulting in compositions that you could call even stylish at times. Although a lot of the music is still not too memorable even after several listenings, the overall impression is fairly positive and makes you want to get back to the album every now and then. While The Fear still leaves room for improvement, it shows some serious promise and makes a satisfying piece of old British thrash metal.

1. Creative Restraint 2. Joke Chain 3. Thoughtful Sleep 4. You Are Your Enemy 5. Phantasm 6. My Open Mind 7. Codes Of Conformity 8. This Is Serious

With their final album Acid Reign took a step into a more technical direction. Obnoxious is a bit slower but musically more refined effort than the band's early works. There are some noticeably sinister overtones in the music, and with a couple of particularly long, complex tracks the sound of this album is very focused and heavy (excluding the cranky joke track This Is Serious, of course). The added technicality doesn't mean that the songs would have got boring, in fact quite the opposite. Obnoxious has an original, intriguing feel that helps it to carry on through even some less inspired moments during the latter half of the album. The Fear may be faster and more immediately accessible release, but based on its obvious strengths Obnoxious is bound to have some more long-lasting appeal.

1. Choose Live Or Die 2. Scourge Of The Gods 3. Terminator 4. The Madness 5. Why?... Dirty War 6. Never Renounce

Of Brazilian origins, Acid Storm played speed/thrash metal in a fairly typical but energetic vein. Why?... Dirty War manages to capture the authentic sound and feel of the scene at the time although musically it is an ordinary effort with no reason for big praise. Basically Acid Storm end up sounding almost like another run-of-the-mill band in the beginning of their career, with few distinctive features to differentiate them from the horde of other bands from the same period. Admittedly the output is formally adequate and the album plays rather unobtrusively in the background, but if you expect to get anything more out of it then you may be in for a slight disappointment. As the music doesn't really stand out of the crowd in either good or bad, it's just the lack of true character that makes Why?... Dirty War a bit forgettable in the end.

1. Intro (The Beginning) 2. Metal Beasts 3. Hungry For Life 4. Symbiotic Love 5. Last Days Of Paradise 6. Galactic Holocaust 7. Biologic Mechanization 8. Star Host

More ambitious than Acid Storm's debut release, Biotronic Genesis is something of a sci-fi concept album - clearly more diverse than you might expect from a typical release in the genre, although far from the most classic implementations of the style. The music is all quite professional sounding and occasionally even semi-innovative with some additional technical touches and flashes of competence above the average level, therefore it's a slight pity that most of it escapes memory even in the long run. The first couple of tracks are compact enough to leave a mark, but some longer and more complex pieces later on do not quite make the same kind of impression anymore. The album is still worth a listen, though, even if only for the fact that it represents a slight departure from the most standard ways of thrashing out.

1. Beyond 2. The Verdict 3. Exist In Misery 4. For Freedom I Cry 5. Countdown To Terror 6. Denied Right 7. Lethal Idol 8. Nothing Held Sacred 9. Vigilante

Apparently originally recorded already in 1988, this delayed release of Acridity's only full-length album is certainly not too groundbreaking. For Freedom I Cry is somewhat fair thrash metal that stays too much on the generic side. Technically the band sound just as capable as anyone in the scene, but somehow they manage to avoid all attempts to breath some life into their music. The riffs are absolutely bland, which renders this album totally unmemorable. The production lacks heaviness and together with the undeveloped vocals gives the album a slightly thin sound. Maybe it's partially due to the release issues, but in some way For Freedom I Cry seems a bit unfinished. Based on this album only it is hard to really say anything about the actual talent Acridity potentially had.

1. Intro To Corruption 2. Corrupt Minds 3. Slaves Of Sin 4. From The Depths 5. Lifeless Image 6. Crowd Distress 7. Crime For Living 8. Holy Spirit 9. Living In Today 10. Ceremonial Slaughter 11. Warped Illusions 12. Forgotten Faith 13. Victims Of The Holocaust

In the beginning Acrophet were nothing more than a full-fledged speedcore band, which shows on their debut. Corrupt Minds is total speedcore with straightforward, hasty riffs and simple shouts for vocals. At first this album sounded so narrow and one-dimensional to me that it wasn't even funny, though later on I learned to bear with its plain style. Except for the short instrumental Intro To Corruption, the music doesn't really offer too much to catch a hold of, which makes this album sound pretty much the same. Only after careful listening one can pick some characteristics from the songs to help to differentiate them from each other. Although speedcore/hardcore fans may treat Corrupt Minds as a solid offering, I must say this kind of thing is not really my cup of tea.

1. When Time Stands Still 2. Dependency 3. Silent Insanity 4. Legend Has It 5. Dead All Day 6. The American Zone 1990 7. Independence At Its Finest 8. Return To Me Life 9. Innocent Blood 10. Forever The Fall 11. Haunting Once Again

With their second album Acrophet introduced some more diverse elements in their music, which in this case was only a good thing. Faded Glory is mostly standard thrash metal with some speedcore features still left around. The band sound more convincing than before, though despite the added variety and some decent riffs the music is still not too exceptional by any means. On the other hand, even the more hardcore-ish pieces blend smoothly with more advanced tracks (Dead All Day is actually one of the most memorable songs on this album). With a little more evolution and time Acrophet might have been able to create something truly interesting, but as Faded Glory was to remain their last album, this never really happened.

1. Get Out Of My Life 2. Come Before The Storm 3. Boiling Point 4. Sonder Kommando 5. The Forge 6. What Ward R.U.In? 7. Echoes Of The Mind 8. Addictive Friend 9. My Foe 10. Pity Of Man

Of the few Australian thrash metal bands, Addictive appear to have been among the heavier and also better ones. Pity Of Man has a very good, thick and crunchy sound, which suits the band's heavy but rich style very well. The tracks are pretty heavy stompers, not exactly too imaginative but with some nice details appearing throughout. Somehow the band sound a bit more varied than your average thrash metal act although the music is certainly not too experimental or anything. Despite the convincing delivery and very consistent style this album is strained by some dullness in the songs which sound a little too samey. Still, Addictive deserves some respect for putting out a fairly interesting album with Pity Of Man even though the result is not quite there to become really great.

Note: The CD release of this album has different cover art than the original vinyl.

1. Distemper 2. Waiting For Yesterday 3. Kick 'em Hard 4. You're Perfect 5. Towards Extinction 6. Wacked 7. You Never Know 8. Man Made Act Of God 9. Serves You Right 10. Bitch

With their second release Addictive continued almost directly in the style of the band's debut. Supported by some very good and heavy production, Kick 'em Hard maintains the characteristic crunchy sound not unlike Pity Of Man though the music here is generally more varied. At first this album sounds highly promising as Waiting For Yesterday and the title track are some of the fastest and heaviest pieces around. However, the album on the whole is more diverse than the first few tracks and does not fully succeed in sustaining the initial intensity. All tracks still carry the customary, even original Addictive sound, it's just not as consistent as on Pity Of Man though certainly not without its moments either. While not providing anything too remarkable, Kick 'em Hard still has some special appeal that makes it a bit more distinguishable from your average pack.

1. Weird Visions 2. King Of Pain 3. Lost Generation 4. Sacrifice In The Ice 5. Mystical Warfare 6. Fortunetelling 7. Behind The Mirror 8. Sign Of The Time 9. Trouble 10. Invasion 11. Kill The King

Although ADX must be one of the better known French speed/thrash metal bands out there, their recordings in English consist of this one album only. As the band had already released several albums before this, it is no surprise that Weird Visions features very refined if quite conventional speed/thrash metal. The first half of the album is pretty satisfying with some fairly effective riffs, but the second half contains a few tracks that are simply not quite as powerful. Probably a bit more energetic approach might have helped the result as now a couple of songs still carry some more mellow influences from the band's past. Nevertheless, the major instrumental pieces Mystical Warfare and Trouble are particularly stylish and well done. With a little more aggressive feel this album on the whole could have been more memorable, now it's pretty nice but definitely not too remarkable.

1. Funeral Parlor 2. The Day After 3. Tombs Of Forgotten Souls 4. Fundamental Mental Derangement 5. Raping Mother Nature 6. The Damnation Of Humanization 7. Methamphetamine 8. Peace Through Violence 9. Pit Of Ignorance 10. Severance Pay 11. Trying To Be Cool

The band is called Affliction, the album The Damnation Of Humanization, and just by seeing the cover and not hearing a single note beforehand you could already be dead certain that the music is going to be straight-out thrash metal and maybe not too original for such. Indeed, the record starts out pretty flat and boring and doesn't really change its course during the lengthy tracks. To add to the textbook feel, even the lyrics cover seemingly serious topics in quite a stereotypical way. It's only the fastest thrashers like Tombs Of Forgotten Souls and Trying To Be Cool that provide some refreshment among the less distinctive and more tiresome stompers - too bad there's only a couple of these moments on the whole album. Affliction's sound is laudably heavy and technically there is no reason to complain, but with such a generic offering it was clearly too little and too late.

1. The Calling 2. Agents Of Steel 3. Taken By Force 4. Evil Eye / Evil Minds 5. Bleed For The Godz 6. Children Of The Sun 7. 144,000 Gone 8. Guilty As Charged 9. Back To Reign

Agent Steel were undeniably one of the most classic speed metal acts in the eighties, whether you liked their style or not. Skeptics Apocalypse has a certain raw edge over the band's later recordings, which gives this album some additional boost. The first half is essentially faster and more furious than the second, therefore resulting in something of a dual nature. In addition, the vocals of John Cyriis are pretty much in the love-it-or-hate-it category, with an extremely squeaky tone that you may find either perfectly fitting or downright terrible. Anyhow, Agent Steel's vintage sound remains kind of appealing even today, featuring some great riffs and first class guitar work, and the most unrestricted and ultra-fast tracks like Agents Of Steel and Bleed For The Godz are still second to none in all their rage. Although Skeptics Apocalypse shows its age, it is still a highly noteworthy release in many ways.

1. The Swarm Is Upon Us 2. Mad Locust Rising 3. The Ripper 4. Let It Be Done / The Day At Guyana

Mad Locust Rising feels essentially like an aftertaste of Skeptics Apocalypse. This short mini album is still firmly in the high-speed realm except for a cover version of Judas Priest's The Ripper, and there are no signs of reduced intensity at this stage yet. Excluding the short intro and the cover song, there are only two actual original pieces on this release, but they are almost guaranteed to satisfy anyone who found the fastest tracks of the band's debut album enjoyable enough. For better or worse, the vocals are still bound to divide opinions, but you cannot deny that Agent Steel's sound was easily distinguishable as well as stylish in its own particular way. In this sense Mad Locust Rising just provides more of the same in a tested and tried format.

1. Forsaken Survival 2. Frozen Aggressor 3. Green Goblin 4. One For The Woods 5. Dripping Flesh 6. By The Reaping Hook 7. Demolition 8. Rotten By Torture 9. The Final Massacre

Not sure if it's the production of the original recording or the pressing of this re-issue by Old Metal Records, but the sound quality of Aggression's The Full Treatment leaves a lot to be desired. It's a real shame because this Canadian band surely lived up to their name as far as the sheer energy of music is considered. The whole album is extremely fast, heavy and raw, with little attention been paid to other than nearly mindless thrashing. The sound of The Full Treatment is so brutal and without compromises that it may actually be too much for some listeners - I must admit that at first this album sounded like a total mess to me, too. However, after some careful listening with patience, one cannot help but start to appreciate the undisputed attitude of this music. This recording essentially makes 95% of everything else out there sound like jazz in comparison. I only wish there would be a decent re-release of this album some day, as now the poor sound quality lessens the full impact.

1. Storm Of The Apocalypse 2. First Defiance 3. Execution Of Mankind 4. Mass Manipulation 5. Night Of The Emperor 6. Shadow Of Fear 7. Madness Reigns 8. Deadly Legacy

Agony's The First Defiance, the only release from this Swedish band, starts and ends with some very fast and furious tracks but features also some less frantic material. The main issue with the music is that it's rather generic and unoriginal though this was a common problem with many other bands in the scene as well. The songs are very well done and the production is good and all, it's just that this band pretty much failed to make themselves distinguishable from countless others. Only occasionally do some riffs hint of some genuine ideas but these moments are quite rare after all. The band sound professional and the music is up to any thrash metal standards out there but the neutral, even clinical feel of the music tends to leave the listener pretty bored. As an example of technically well-done thrash metal The First Defiance certainly serves its purpose, but the lack of true character and spirit somewhat weakens the result.

1. Paralytic Disease 2. The Unknown Spell 3. Elemental Decay 4. Voices From Below 5. Bloodfeast 6. Neverending Destiny 7. Prince Of Fire 8. Dark Power 9. The Arrival 10. Brainstorm 11. Bloody Corpse

Agressor's long lasting career in French death metal circles was based on strong thrash metal roots which still prevail on the band's debut album. Neverending Destiny can be best described as an unstoppable riff machine running at ultra-speed. From the very first moments, this album is characterized by amazingly fast but mostly quite distinctive riffs that weave an unsurpassable wall of sound. Complete with your typical but fitting death-ish growls for vocals, these tracks are like one long thrash metal epic divided into shorter sections. At some point it starts to seriously repeat itself, which is kind of unavoidable, but when you evaluate this album as a whole the strengths of the consistent style compensate for the weaknesses. Initially I didn't think too much of Agressor's output, but Neverending Destiny has grown on me over time.

1. Give Up 2. Helluva Noise 3. Another Day 4. White Lies 5. Spit Your Guts 6. Without It 7. Reaper 8. Thank God It's Monday 9. Eat Shit

Together with Stone, Airdash were probably considered a pioneer thrash metal act in Finland. The band's debut album Thank God It's Monday is your typical minor release in every sense - very ordinary, straightforward thrash metal with few highlights. The production is pretty stale and the sound of this album leaves a lot to be desired. Even some better production values wouldn't help the music too much, as with the undeveloped, annoying vocals that border on monotonous, and mostly generic, unmemorable riffs, this thing is far from impressive. A couple of songs like Helluva Noise and Spit Your Guts are not too bad, especially the former may as well be the best track on the whole album. Still, this debut release from Airdash is mostly remarkable only for possible nostalgic reasons, certainly not for the quality of music.

1. If... 2. Youth Hostel 3. Jungle Jim 4. Decent Citizen 5. Vengeance Through Violence (No Bullshit) 6. Trigger Happy 7. Forbidden Thoughts 8. Sleepwalk 9. Thank God It's Monday (live)

With their second release Hospital Hallucinations Take One Airdash improved over their debut just a bit. The music is notably more polished and fluent but rather emotionless speed/thrash metal, this time with some surprisingly classy vocals. The album sounds very consistent but almost completely lacks any memorable individual tracks, which makes it a bit hard to remember anything from this album afterwards. Not only that, but the band sound strangely restrained, which leads to a somewhat generic feel of the music. A little more aggressive approach might have helped the result a bit, now most songs sound more like technical exercises than really enthusiastic thrashers. Nonetheless, this album bears a certain touch of quality on it and the music is quite stylish in its own particular way. It's just that compared to a number of other albums in the scene Hospital Hallucinations Take One is too much on the bland side.

1. Liquid Bliss 2. Hollow Men 3. Savage Ritual 4. So It Goes 5. Soul Of A Renegade 6. Silent Wall 7. Deeper Shades 8. Letter Of Indulgence 9. Choking Child 10. View 11. Take A Look At Me 12. Got No Blues 13. Eat Shit

Airdash really took an ambitious step with their last release. Not nearly as dull as its predecessors, Both Ends Of The Path can be best described as highly technical thrash metal positioned somewhere between Coroner and Death Angel with its style. It's still pretty easy to recognize the band's sound even based on the vocal style alone, but this time the music contains some particularly rich elements and even progressive touches that make it somewhat extraordinary. Tracks like Liquid Bliss and Silent Wall are some prime examples of this captivating style whereas Choking Child proves that Airdash could also put out some highly effective straightforward thrashers when they really wanted. A couple of tracks appear a bit too "high" for my taste, but as a whole the result is surprisingly good. In the end, this is one of those albums that can leave you rather puzzled at first - the best way to get into it is just to give it a few spins one after another until the music either proves itself totally meaningless or suddenly becomes fully understandable in a splendid way. In this case I found the latter option to be closer to the truth.

1. Introduction 2. Go Away 3. Ides Of March 4. The Time Of Judgements 5. Epitaph 6. Adrian's Son 7. Emily 8. O.N.A. 88-10-21 9. Syndroms Of The Cities 10. 46

Certainly not the best known example of Polish thrash metal, Alastor must be among the more obscure bands at least from today's perspective. On the other hand Syndroms Of The Cities doesn't really provide much of reason why the band should have been better recognized anyway. Alastor's sound has some slight technical tendencies, and attempts at creating a characteristic style with some semi-creative touches are obvious, but the result never really takes off. Maybe this is due to quite unmemorable riffs or rather thin vocals, but most songs here simply lack all substance. It goes without saying that the album as a whole does not exactly catch your attention in the long run. While Syndroms Of The Cities is not a complete put-off and has something like a few interesting moments after all, in the end this album tends to disappoint more often than not.

1. Intro 2. Chaos Dies 3. One Step Beyond 4. Hate Frenzy 5. Torn Between Two Worlds 6. Destitution 7. Morally Justified 8. Path Of Lies 9. Dealt The Cruel Hand 10. Downward Spiral 11. Twisted Minds 12. Tranquillity

Allegiance's D.e.s.t.i.t.u.t.i.o.n. is a fair slab of vintage thrash metal from Australia. This album got a production of nice quality, heavy and stomping, and generally the band sound fairly good even though the vocals can appear quite pretentious at times. Musically the outcome is not too bad, just quite unsurprising to say the least. While it may be difficult to point out any blatantly copied elements, you cannot avoid a recurring sense of deja vu every now and then. It is not only due to some external influences, but most of these tracks tend to repeat the same kind of formula which effectively contributes to the slightly derivative feel of this album. Allegiance had it technically well done, but that does not quite compensate for some obvious lack of credibility.

1. Intro 2. Immortal Entity 3. Yesterday We Feel 4. Dimagra 5. S.O.Y.F.A.S. 6. And Then The Silence 7. Samba Death 8. Bog Of Horror 9. In My Dreams

Among Italian speed/thrash metal albums, Alligator's Immortal Entity is not the most memorable release. In fact, you could call it quite dull as a whole. Alligator's sound is not exactly weak but not really powerful either, and while these songs probably cause no great distraction, there is not much reason to give the album a second thought after you have been through it a couple of times at least. The music has a fair deal of variety for sure, but it is no great help when you tend to forget most of it with little effort, no matter whether trying hard to concentrate on the thing when it is playing. Immortal Entity contains some very unsurprising basic elements, and without any really original or even moderately appealing details a lot of it is bound to appear just too pointless.

1. Cerebral Implosion 2. Beyond The Reach Of Fate 3. The Cage 4. Decimation 5. Help 6. Lullaby For The Unborn 7. Skeleton's Beach 8. Tarantula 9. Drinking Milk From My Knees 10. Fetching Fear 11. Natural Victims

Cerebral Implosion was obviously something of a turn into right direction for Alligator. While the band's style remains quite similar to their debut release, this second album appears a tad heavier and also stronger when compared to Immortal Entity. The outcome sounds generally more convincing and credible than before, although musical differences are not huge. Despite some advancements, it is still not unreservedly distinctive enough to completely avoid an occasional bored feel. The songs make a consistent bunch, but the quality is nowhere near the top class, and you cannot help wondering what a Beatles cover (Help) is doing here. Maybe just not as striking as one might wish for, at least Cerebral Implosion can be called a fair improvement over its predecessor.

1. Solution 2. Memories Of Me 3. The Final Revelation 4. Epitaph 5. Unknown Entity 6. No More Tomorrow 7. One Below Zero 8. Perish

Based on Unknown Entity, Amnesia had something of a distinctive sound among the other British speed/thrash metal bands. The band's style is something in the Megadeth/Metallica vein though with cleaner vocals and a less heavy production. Despite the overall feel being not too aggressive, this album builds up some decent speed. Occasionally the songs may remind you of Bitter End and Dyoxen with their fairly technical feel though Amnesia are definitely more listenable than either of those bands. However, mostly the songs flow without leaving a mark anywhere, and while The Final Revelation and Perish are a couple of clever tracks they are not quite enough to make the whole album appear impressive. Amnesia's relaxed sound is kind of nice and the band apparently had some style of their own, but as a whole Unknown Entity sounds somewhat bland with only a few slightly interesting moments.

1. Present Tense 2. Imprisoned 3. R.O.T. (Reign Of Terror) 4. Butcher's Block 5. A World To Gain 6. Frigid Bitch 7. Fighting Evil 8. Twisted Cross 9. Annihilation Complete / Disemboweled

Let it be said that while the later recordings of Anacrusis can be pretty unlistenable in the conventional sense, the band's debut album fortunately has a lot more common with the pure thrash metal realm than their later explorations into the progressive swamp. Suffering Hour is a relatively rough dose of thrash with fairly catchy riffs and only some intricate touches hinting at more ambitious developments to come. Actually it is hard to find anything seriously faulty in this album, except maybe a few quirky moments in the vocal department. While Ken Nardi's vocals are more original than the norm, occasionally their balance between rough screams and clean, even melodic bits is not too well adjusted. Regardless, with several hard-hitting pieces like R.O.T. and Twisted Cross this album shows that Anacrusis could have pretty successfully filled a thrash metal niche of their own just by sticking to the style of Suffering Hour, without any urgent need to seek into more complex directions.

1. Into The Dark Past 2. I'll Come Back 3. Legions Of Destruction 4. Gambler 5. Fighter's Return 6. Atomic Roar 7. Victims Of Madness 8. Marching For Revenge

Better not let Angel Dust's reputation as a major power metal act fool you with this one. Done with the original line-up before the band decided to seek less extreme directions, their debut Into The Dark Past is a classic piece of German thrash metal filled with steady high-speed riffs throughout. The consistent speed is really a major aspect of this album - although the riffs are mostly not too distinctive, smashing fast thrashers like I'll Come Back and Legions Of Destruction hardly leave anyone cold. Just listen to Fighter's Return and try to stand still while this whirling wind unavoidably blows your socks off. Granted, as a whole this album is a bit one-dimensional and after the initial impression the overall effect starts to wear out little by little, however, the best moments make you come back to it again and again. While not a perfect album by any means, Into The Dark Past has a lot of special appeal for the fans of old school thrash metal.

1. Anialator 2. Nuclear Destruction 3. Extermination By Dawn 4. Mission Of Death

Pick a random thrash metal band from the eighties underground scene, and you might end up with something like Anialator. This band's debut mini album is short and simple, the production being sufficiently rough around the edges, and you only need a glimpse of the song titles to see what the whole thing is all about. But it is actually not that bad - the band's attack is relentless, and you are easily convinced that they gave it everything, even if it wasn't really much on a global scale. Sometimes it can be refreshing to just abandon all thoughts and let this kind of energetic pack of fury to ravage around you for a moment. One thing you are guaranteed to remember from Anialator's debut is the violent feel of it, and even that is certainly more than in many other occasions.

1. Filicide 2. No Future 3. Fatal Decision 4. Anialator (live) 5. Mission Of Death (live)

Anialator's second mini album marked a slight deviation from the band's original style. Although this release may look very cheap at the first sight, the music is not terribly bad - just so typical and sometimes even bland that it is difficult to miss anything of it afterwards. In essence, the new tracks tend not to appear quite as uncontrolled and wild as earlier, which leads to an impression of more average quality. Something worth a special note is the guitar sound that is a lot more slick and almost surprisingly modern in comparison to the rough sound of the band's debut release. All things considered, these songs play in a fair but quite forgettable manner, and there is really not much reason to dive into the depths of this album in search of a hidden gem, simply because there is none to be found.

1. Chase The Dragon 2. Slaughter 3. Power Is The Path 4. Anihilated II 5. Final Dawn 6. Nightmare 7. Aftermath 8. Seventh Vial

At first it might seem that Anihilated's Created In Hate plays like a blatant Slayer rip-off. But while it may apply to this British group that individuality was probably not their most important asset, the result deserves some credit for having been done in a genre-savvy manner. Actually, ignoring the most obvious similarities to other bands, there are some honest, even sympathetic aspects in Anihilated's music. Based on the sound of this album, one cannot deny that the band certainly gave it all they had. The production is awfully spartan, though, reducing the level of power from its fullest potential. But as far as the music is considered, Created In Hate is something more than just an ugly duckling. Sure, it seriously repeats itself and is not exactly an exercise in originality, but somehow this album catches something essential from the sound and spirit of the thrash metal movement in its most pure form.

1. Desolation 2. Into The Flames Of Armageddon 3. Skinned Alive 4. Lost Souls 5. Lethal Dose 6. No Rest For The Wicked 7. Internal Darkness 8. Legacy Of Hate 9. Enter The Realm 10. Exeunt

Compared to Anihilated's debut, The Ultimate Desecration is fairly well produced and played though still not exactly an example of high originality. Again, the music bears a close resemblance to Slayer and is not too bad, with some decent but mostly unexceptional riffs and some repetitious tracks. While it does have a powerful start, most of the time this album just sounds rather standard on all counts. At times the vocalist's accent somehow irritates me but that's eventually a non-issue. Occasionally the band manage to deliver whole songs of respectable intensity, like Skinned Alive which may well be the best track of the whole thing. Although this album on the whole is not guaranteed to catch any long-time attention, it has some good points that make it a bit more interesting than you might initially expect.

1. Eternal Hatred 2. With My Death 3. Forced Entry 4. Get Off My Back 5. No Pacification

Little did I expect to find anything worth interest from this obscure mini album, but Animosity seem to have got something right in the first place as Get Off My Back sports a fairly intense and even appealing thrash sound. Although one can describe this release as underground street thrash metal pretty much in its most typical form, the band's approach has its wild side with enough catchy riffs to strike a goal. Good, striving vocals add to the strong package that these tracks form. The complete lack of uninspired fillers just makes this album more satisfactory in comparison to some other more stretched attempts out there. For its short length, Get Off My Back gives a surprisingly good run for the money.

1. Crystal Ann 2. Alison Hell 3. W.T.Y.D. 4. Wicked Mystic 5. Burns Like A Buzzsaw Blade 6. Word Salad 7. Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II 8. Ligeia 9. Human Insecticide

No matter what you think about Annihilator's later albums, the debut of this Canadian band is a true thrash metal classic. When the beautiful, haunting guitar intro has finished and Alison Hell, one of the 10 best thrashers ever starts off, you know you're sold. Everything is perfect on this album; clear production, great musicianship, and Randy Rampage's growling vocals that add immensely to the overall heaviness of the whole thing. The riffs and solos are particularly impressive as here Jeff Waters presented some of the most original and imaginative guitar work in the genre in those days. Even today every song still sounds so fresh and intense that one can easily sense the great energy involved in the making of this record. I cannot praise this masterpiece enough - hear it for yourself if you don't already have it.

1. The Fun Palace 2. Road To Ruin 3. Sixes And Sevens 4. Stonewall 5. Never, Neverland 6. Imperiled Eyes 7. Kraf Dinner 8. Phantasmagoria 9. Reduced To Ash 10. I Am In Command

By their second release Annihilator had clearly started to lose some steam. With Never, Neverland the band took a slightly cleaner and more melodic approach in their music than before. With the unfortunate departure of Randy Rampage, an important element of heaviness had been lost, and although Coburn Pharr was not a bad singer his voice just doesn't cut it for me. On the other hand, many of the new songs on this album were apparently written to be better suited for Pharr's style. Then again, this album is a mixture of new and old material, some even preceding Alice In Hell, and the combination doesn't work without problems. The quality of the songs is a bit uneven especially on the second half; Kraf Dinner must be the stupidest joke track, and Phantasmagoria feels totally out of place on this album. Nonetheless, the better tracks are truly excellent, and despite some faults Never, Neverland is still quite a fine release - much unlike its overly commercial successor where the band really dropped the ball.

1. Bloodbath 2. Back To The Palace 3. Punctured 4. Criteria For A Black Widow 5. Schizos (Are Never Alone) Part III 6. Nothing Left 7. Loving The Sinner 8. Double Dare 9. Sonic Homicide 10. Mending

With the near complete Alice In Hell line-up back together, Criteria For A Black Widow was something of a comeback release for Annihilator and a strong return to thrash metal after a few mixed-up speed/heavy metal albums. Simply put, everything goes in pairs: Bloodbath and Back To The Palace are awesome thrashers (even though the latter heavily borrows some old riffs), Nothing Left and Loving The Sinner are somewhat more typical but still good, and Schizos (Are Never Alone) Part III and Mending are fine instrumentals. On the weaker side, Punctured is a terrible groovy non-thrash attempt, and the title track is mostly in the same vein and sounds really awkward. Double Dare is plain dull and dumb whereas Sonic Homicide (where the old demo riff of Powerdrain ended up into) would be great if it weren't for the totally annoying distorted vocals that effectively ruin the song. While the sum of everything is at least carefully positive and it was certainly nice to hear Randy Rampage on vocals again, in the end this album is an awfully big waste of potential. Consider that the result is still closer to Annihilator's original glory than a few releases before and after this one, and it might just suffice.

1. Black Sands Of Time 2. Dead Priest 3. Lies After Death 4. Good Day To Die 5. Live In Fear 6. Cracking Skulls

Heavy and catchy speed/thrash metal is never something to be shunned, and that's where Antagonist's self-titled release makes a favorable impression. From the very first track onwards it is clear that this band knew how to write a memorable riff - a skill that many other performers effectively lacked. Most tracks on this album are simply quite tasty and intense pieces with a tendency to stick to your head only after a couple of listens. Apart from Live In Fear that occasionally tends to resemble Megadeth's Wake Up Dead, the music is semi-original enough to guarantee that any interest in this album should not fade too soon. Actually, for the most part Antagonist's output is well above the average offering in these circles. Based on its musical merits, this album would have deserved to become known a lot better instead of falling into obscurity.

1. Deathrider 2. Metal Thrashing Mad 3. I'm Eighteen 4. Panic 5. Subjugator 6. Soldiers Of Metal 7. Death From Above 8. Anthrax 9. Across The River 10. Howling Furies

For one of the best known and most creative thrash metal bands of the eighties, the beginnings of Anthrax were fairly humble. Unlike Metallica or Slayer who expressed great divergence right from the start, the early Anthrax sounded more like a souped-up mixture of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. In other words, Fistful Of Metal sounds really old with its plentiful, harmonic guitar solos and stereotypical heavy metal vocals, making this album almost closer to conventional metal than thrash. Some tracks are reasonably fast but except for the nostalgic Metal Thrashing Mad the material is mostly unimpressive - clearly the band had not found their innovative style yet. This is not to say that the result wouldn't be worth a listen, it just has little value compared to the classic Anthrax albums that would follow.

1. A.I.R. 2. Lone Justice 3. Madhouse 4. S.S.C. / Stand Or Fall 5. The Enemy 6. Aftershock 7. Armed And Dangerous 8. Medusa 9. Gung-Ho

Spreading The Disease really got Anthrax going and opened their path to thrash metal stardom. This was the first full-length album to feature Joe Belladonna who was one of the most distinctive singers in the genre at that time, mainly because he really sang in a rather melodic style which was quite exceptional and really made Anthrax stand out from the rest. Belladonna's voice is particularly emphasized on Spreading The Disease where many songs are still notably melodic and not yet very heavy although they are generally faster than on the debut release. It was clear that the band had started to develop their style into something unique. My minor nitpick about this album is its "airhead" feel which of course is not necessarily a bad thing - one could say that this is actually one of the more positive speed/thrash metal albums out there.

1. Among The Living 2. Caught In A Mosh 3. I Am The Law 4. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.) 5. A Skeleton In The Closet 6. Indians 7. One World 8. A.D.I. / Horror Of It All 9. Imitation Of Life

With Among The Living Anthrax got heavier and less melodic while still preserving a certain cartoony feel. Many people seem to consider this album one of their best but I'm not totally impressed by it. The problem with Among The Living is that the quality of music is fairly uneven. While the terrific Caught In A Mosh could be the theme song of the whole genre, and N.F.L. and A Skeleton In The Closet are excellent, dynamic tracks, the well known "hit" singles I Am The Law and Indians are rather average at best. Especially the second half of the album tends to drag a bit although the hardcore-ish Imitation Of Life is quite funny. No matter what, this is still a good Anthrax album but not what I would call their best.

1. Be All, End All 2. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind 3. Make Me Laugh 4. Antisocial 5. Who Cares Wins 6. Now It's Dark 7. Schism 8. Misery Loves Company 9. 13 10. Finale

Mixing the melodic approach of Spreading The Disease and the thrashiness of Among The Living, State Of Euphoria is a perfection of the creative and original style that Anthrax had been developing. This album sounds lightsome and serious at the same time and it still sounds remarkably different than most other thrash metal albums around. The production is very neutral and helps to observe all the wonderful details in the music. As for vocals, Belladonna's voice blends very smoothly with the hard-hitting music, maybe better than on any other Anthrax release. Most important of all, the songs are simply stupendous pieces of extremely refined, intelligent thrash metal. Even the cover song Antisocial fits the overall style nicely and 13 may be the only good joke track I've ever heard. This album makes a great demonstration of the absolutely distinctive style of Anthrax.

1. Time 2. Blood 3. Keep It In The Family 4. In My World 5. Gridlock 6. Intro To Reality 7. Belly Of The Beast 8. Got The Time 9. H8 Red 10. One Man Stands 11. Discharge

The album that ended the classic period of Anthrax is very different from what the band had done before. The characteristic humor that was so apparent on the earlier releases is nowhere to be found on Persistence Of Time, and the general tone is very serious, dark and gloomy. The change in the overall feel is even more drastic when compared to State Of Euphoria which was also a great album but in a totally different way. These songs are long, monstrous riff-fests that miraculously avoid any dullness and remain interesting, thanks to the unique style and clever songwriting. In a way, Persistence Of Time may be the strongest and most consistent Anthrax album ever. Sadly, it was also the last one before Joe Belladonna's departure and the band's change of style to sound more "modern".

1. Symphony Of Death 2. Within His Power... 3. Act Of Violence 4. Melancholia 5. 3rd Time In Greenland 6. Rosemachine 7. Grandiloguent Passaway 8. Subordinated People 9. Spaced Out

Antidote's concept of thrash metal was slightly more fresh sounding than your average offering. The band's debut The Truth is a fairly pleasant experience full of brisk and varied thrash metal with unpolished guitars and vocals. Though the music carries echoes of older bands, Antidote had something of their own sound after all. While some tracks on this album appear a bit disjointed at first, the songwriting on the whole is fairly consistent and results in a couple of notably powerful tracks. Especially the opening piece Symphony Of Death is just a perfect example of the general style of this album, with some particularly unruly feel. Maybe Antidote were not too original in the first place and some parts of this album could have been more focused, however, The Truth should not be passed over too hastily.

1. Overture 2. Thrash 3. Antitese 4. Exile To Death 5. Atlantis 6. Am I Dying? 7. The Last Battle 8. Walking To... 9. The Infinity

If you happen to be looking for typical thrash metal with very little variation and no experimental bits of any kind, Antitese is almost guaranteed to be a fitting choice for that purpose. The band's debut album could be considered almost stereotypical in the genre if it weren't for some notably harsh grunts for vocals. This is a slight pity, as Antitese seem to have had potential to give listeners a good run for their money - in practice this promise is just left short of being truly fulfilled. Instead of really letting it loose, the band stick to a tested and tried formula that holds water to some extent but does not make any notable impression in the long run. This album is not terribly bad for a debut release, but undeniably it is too one-dimensional and uninspiring, resembling more a routine-like piece of work than an enthusiastic recording.

1. Rise To Offend 2. Lie Through Your Teeth 3. Vengeance Of The Sword 4. Life After Death 5. Time To Die 6. Argue With A Sick Mind 7. Maggot Infestation 8. Neckbreaker 9. Arsenic & Cyanide 10. Fight For Your Life 11. Shark Attack 12. Anvil Bitch

It must be first said that Anvil Bitch got the cheapest production for their debut. The sound is really not that great, somewhat similar to Indestroy's first release on the same label. That aside, Rise To Offend is moderately interesting. The opening title track is unarguably quite effective and nasty but the rest of the material is not too memorable. The band were fairly energetic but totally lacking in the originality department. Except for the already mentioned title track and the amusingly stupid Maggot Infestation, these tracks don't do much for me. The album does get some additional kicks from the vocals that vary between medium and high range but other than that, Anvil Bitch provided just another typical example of the numerous short-lived thrash metal acts of the eighties.

1. Digital Life 2. A Tale Of A Nightmare 3. Crash! 4. F**k Off And Die 5. The Night Before 6. Apocalypse 7. Back To The Fire 8. Dark Sword 9. Cemetery

Among the few Swiss speed/thrash metal bands, Apocalypse had a definite style of their own. The self-titled debut catches your attention with its fresh and fairly intense sound and some notably melodic touches. The latter feature in particular gives the music of Apocalypse some original feel even though the band still manage to demonstrate some respectable energy throughout. The vocals vary seamlessly between rather melodic and more rough. Although the album on the whole is not quite equally strong, songs like Digital Life, the title track, and Cemetery appear quite impressive almost immediately. The band's more ambitious approach is made even more apparent by the inclusion of two instrumental tracks which complement the general mood of this album very well. All things considered, Apocalypse made quite a fine debut with this one.

1. House Of Confusion 2. Slay For Play 3. Division 4. Unwanted 5. Extreme Sensation 6. Faithless 7. Reason To Live 8. Shoot You Down 9. Bad Breath

Several years after their debut, Apocalypse returned with their second and final album. Faithless is notably heavier and grittier than its predecessor though it also lacks some of the band's original fresh sound. The first few moments actually appear different enough from the earlier style to make one worried about it, but the album soon picks up some comfortable speed. The only bigger complaint with this one must be that while it definitely sounds more mature and features some first class riff work, there are no such highlights as on the debut album and in comparison the result is not quite as striking. The best tracks are the fastest and most straightforward thrashers like Division, Reason To Live, and Bad Breath, whereas the rest takes more time to grow on you. This is not to say that Faithless wouldn't be a good album in its class, in fact quite the opposite - with their two releases Apocalypse proved to be near the top level of the thrash metal scene in Europe.

1. Apocalyptic Serenade 2. Fraud In The Name Of God 3. Oneiric Storm 4. Banished From Sanity 5. The Sullen Dream 6. Deceased In Funeral 7. Malignant Beauty 8. The Great Apostasy 9. At The End Of The New Testament 10. Addicted's Tribulations a) Drop b) White Queen c) Last Flight 11. The Night

One could say that Apostasy proved their worth already with one full-length album. Sunset Of The End does not resort to the easiest solutions as far as songwriting goes. With no exceptions, the vocal tracks are lengthy and intriguing affairs, fortunately equipped with enough drive to get the point through while effectively avoiding dull moments. The reaping guitar sound is near perfect for this kind of music, although the production as a whole has a sufficient rough edge to it. In addition to the consistent strong delivery, the band's musical ambitions show in a form of several stylish instrumentals that give this album a nice touch of class. It might be too far-fetched to call Sunset Of The End a real masterpiece, but it certainly gives an average listener a lot more value than you can expect from a whole lot of other, more stereotypical and dumbed-down offerings.

1. Fallout 2. Blood Thirsty 3. Straight Jacket 4. Simply Deranged 5. (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone 6. Fear For Your Life 7. Killing The Innocent

People who tend to enjoy the most vintage sounding speed/thrash metal releases of the eighties can probably find Aragon's self-titled debut album quite satisfying as far as formal requirements go, since this must be one of the more old-fashioned examples of the genre indeed. The band sound enthusiastic enough to make an energetic impression right away, but this is not necessarily of persistent quality as the music tends to slip through with no major impact. It is actually a slight pity that the songs are so predictable and, in all honesty, rather forgettable, as with some more creativity this album might have been a lot more remarkable slab of old school mentality. Now the lack of truly distinctive characteristics does nothing to raise the bar above the semi-standard level that is quite crowded with a multitude of other albums of the same kind already.

1. Stormmaster 2. Jackal 3. Prostitute 4. Ku-Klux-Klan 5. Manhunt 6. No! (Go And Kill) 7. R.A.F. Squadron 311 8. Thrash The Trash

With such a blatantly obvious title like Thrash!, it would be difficult to be mistaken about the content of this album in the first place. While it is Arakain's only full-length release sung in English in their long career, the band's Czech origins are not too evident at all. The sound is rich and heavy with a definite vintage feel of the eighties, something that had already become very out-dated at the time of the original release. Even though the style of songwriting is by no means unexceptional for its kind, the outcome is fairly memorable and smooth. Except for the longest track Prostitute which drags a tad too much, the songs are rather vivid and easy on ears. Sometimes the vocal tone may remind you of Artillery, which just shows that Arakain's roots were deep in the original speed/thrash metal scene. Thrash! is an album done in a totally genre-savvy manner, producing fairly satisfying results.

1. Judge And Jury 2. Suicide Commercially 3. Guilty Of No Crime 4. No Second Chance 5. Racist Nation 6. Deadline 7. Nightmare Vision 8. Choose Your Weapons 9. Darkened Reality

With very little expectations towards this album in advance, it was nice to find that Arbitrater were apparently in a competent mood when Darkened Reality was recorded. The band's music is solid British speed/thrash metal, mostly of stomping variety. This album features a great dark sound and generally very tasty riffwork, guitars sticking to a specific kind of low crunch that is almost guaranteed to hit the spot most of the time. While it is musically not an extraordinary effort by any means, the sound and feel of these songs is more often than not reminiscent of Cyclone's Inferior To None, with the same kind of dark quality all over them. Darkened Reality is one of those seemingly subdued releases that grow on you slowly but surely - it is not likely to make a quick impression right at the first sight, but you can bet there's more to it than meets the eye.

1. Beyond The Great Divide 2. The Value Of Your Soul 3. Message To No One 4. Snuff 5. Sneak Attack 6. A Valediction / Forbidden Mourning 7. Compulsion To Kill 8. Fraud

For such an obscure group, Archaic Torse were able to create a surprisingly interesting album. The band's style on Sneak Attack is somewhat similar to their German labelmates Assorted Heap (especially compared to their debut The Experience Of Horror), very dark and heavy, but Archaic Torse have a slightly more impetuous feel in their music. The opener Beyond The Great Divide truly rips with its breakneck speed and punishing feel, and if the whole album was in the same class then we would be talking about a minor masterpiece here. Now most other tracks follow more ordinary directions and sound more basic though they still fit the general mood of this album in a consistent way. Although Sneak Attack could have used some more innovative touches, it shows serious promise for a debut release and proves that Archaic Torse were a band with something to give - too bad they never got further than this.

1. Intro: The Ultimate Entrance 2. Pesticide 3. Something In The Dark 4. Perforation 5. Chemical Snot 6. Prevailing Sickness 7. R.I.P. 8. Heathenism In Penitentiary 9. Window To Unknown 10. Foul Vigour 11. Inter Arma

A.R.G. (short for Ancient Rotten Graveguards) played some of the most vicious thrash metal in the Finnish scene, which is evident already on their debut. After a short ethereal intro, Entrance provides extremely intense music with some fine, even innovative riffs and a lot of right attitude. A.R.G.'s style was actually quite similar to many typical German bands of the time, but their music has some more thought and stylish touches which make it rise above the level of random noise. Despite the somewhat limited range of this kind of music, the songs on this album rarely get dull, which is made possible by the immense amount of energy and enough of small variations in them. Although Entrance on the whole starts to sound a bit samey at some point, the result is no doubt on the positive side.

1. Intro: Last Dawn Of Humanity 2. Died For What 3. In The Depths Of Sanity 4. Adoration Of The Kings 5. Happy Times 6. Misfortune Along My Side (Rip II) 7. Hey Hey My My 8. Back To Life 9. One World Without The End / Descent From The Heaven 10. Straybullet

The second album of A.R.G. was no less intense than the band's debut while it introduced some small but important refinements in the overall sound. One World Without The End is an album full of grim, furious thrash metal with a razor sharp guitar sound and unrestricted roaring vocals. The sound of this mayhem is made even more effective by the occasional use of subtle, classy piano and guitar instrumental parts. This album really works best when listened through as a whole, as the individual tracks do not sound that impressive when taken out of the album context. It must be said that the first half appears better than the second due to the music getting a bit stale near the end, but this does not negate the fact that One World Without The End features some particularly powerful and fierce music.

1. Time Has Come 2. The Almighty 3. Show Your Hate 4. King Their Name Is Slayer 5. Out Of The Sky 6. Into The Universe 7. The Eternal War 8. Fear Of Tomorrow 9. Deeds Of Darkness

Artillery were a band with a certain special status due to their pioneer position in the European speed/thrash metal scene. The debut album of this Danish group, Fear Of Tomorrow, has a little rough sound when compared to the band's later releases, but it is already a solid representation of their customary style. One of the most distinguishable features in the typical Artillery sound was the dramatic, relatively high-pitched vocals of Flemming Ronsdorf who was not quite your stereotypical shouter. On this debut release the music is already quite intense, even somewhat original though also slightly unrefined and a little tedious at times. The massive, rolling Out Of The Sky is probably the most coherent track on this album though the rest of the material has its moments, too. As a whole, Fear Of Tomorrow was a fair though admittedly also a bit undeveloped start for the band.

1. The Challenge 2. In The Trash 3. Terror Squad 4. Let There Be Sin 5. Hunger And Greed 6. Therapy 7. At War With Science 8. Decapitation Of Deviants

In Artillery's discography Terror Squad marks a certain improvement over the debut. The sound of this second release is clearly tighter and more refined than on its predecessor even though the overall style is not drastically different. The ultra-heavy The Challenge opens the album with a blast and is easily one of Artillery's best tracks ever. However, while there are some good moments later on as well, this album on the whole is not as impressive as one might expect based on the strong start alone. This is mainly due to the fact that the songwriting is not quite on the same level with the musicianship and production values. As a result, most tracks are only slightly better than average. Terror Squad is still unarguably Artillery's best album from the classic period but not really close to the true classics of the genre.

1. 7:00 From Tashkent 2. Khomaniac 3. Beneath The Clay (R.I.P.) 4. By Inheritance 5. Bombfood 6. Don't Believe 7. Life In Bondage 8. Equal At First 9. Razamanaz 10. Back In The Trash

Artillery's last album before a long break was admittedly their most polished release up to that point, without being overproduced or anything. By Inheritance is more melodic than the band's past releases but mostly it's still the same heavy Artillery that we are talking about here. Some more mellow elements are apparent in songs like Bombfood and Don't Believe though they are handled pretty well. Musically the result is quite consistent and heavy even though not as intense as on the earlier albums. On the Nazareth cover Razamanaz the band even manage to sound like Led Zeppelin, which is quite amusing. All in all, By Inheritance remains a professional piece of work though unavoidably a bit different from Artillery's original style.

1. Cybermind 2. How Do You Feel 3. Out Of The Trash 4. Final Show 5. WWW 6. Violent Breed 7. Theatrical Exposure 8. B.A.C.K. 9. The Cure 10. Paparazzi

B.A.C.K. is seemingly just another example of a classic band producing a comeback album after years of inactivity. Technically it is almost surprisingly similar to the old Artillery although at times Flemming Ronsdorf's voice sounds somewhat worn-out when compared to the past. The album starts and ends with some rather effective thrashers but between those the quality varies a bit, and some of the more tedious pieces like Final Show are quite annoying. That and the unmistakable feel of cheesiness that keeps popping up every now and then despite some unarguably catchy riffs. Production-wise this album is actually slightly heavier than By Inheritance but then again, the older release also lacks some of the modern artifacts found in the sound and style of this one. B.A.C.K. is definitely not the worst example of kicking at a dead horse, but there are hardly any qualities in it to rise above Artillery's older works.

1. Despot Of Evil 2. Transgression 3. Superior War 4. Stryges Infesting The Tombs 5. Thee Awakening 6. Ceremonial Death 7. Visitors From Beyhonde The Grave 8. From Beyhonde The Outer Dark 9. Dreadnought Of Twylyght 10. What's Your Pleasure Sir?

Asmodis may not have been a band of major importance in the pool of German speed/thrash metal, as it's probably not that many who noticed Fahr Zur Holle Pfleischmutze at the time of its release. This album starts off sounding somewhat aimless at first, but after a couple of tracks a development towards a steady high speed tempo becomes evident. The band had some obvious technical tendencies although for the most part these are kept in a pretty good control. The music is still definitely not the most straightforward of its kind, though. Mostly it consists of reasonably fast and compact tracks that are left just a bit short of satisfactory due to their generally non-distinctive riffs, whereas the longest tracks like Thee Awakening and Dreadnought Of Twylyght seem to go practically nowhere and therefore appear somewhat tedious in the end. You can tell that Asmodis were not really bad, just too late and not focused enough to make a real difference anymore.

1. Capital Punishment 2. Violence First 3. Slice Of Death 4. Health For Sale 5. Paranoia Time 6. The One Who Minds The Worm 7. One Big Family 8. Where Shadows Are Dark 9. Mr. Pain 10. No Thanks

In retrospective, one cannot help but wonder if there was a valid reason for only a few thrash metal bands becoming so well-known and the rest fading into obscurity in no time. After all, maybe it was not about promotion and/or luck as many like to claim, but simply the fact that some bands were genuinely good and talented and the others weren't. Asphyxia certainly fit to the latter category of those bands that few people should miss. Exit : Reality is about as derivative as a thrash metal album can get. The bland riffs wouldn't deserve any attention even on a bigger band's release, let alone a minor debut album of this kind. Maybe the songs wouldn't sound so bad if it weren't for the particularly terrible, sore vocals. This is the album to play during a hangover if you want to increase your headache tenfold. Exit : Reality simply belongs to the category where the best thing about the album is the cover artwork.

1. Forbidden Reality 2. Nemesis 3. Fight (To Stop The Tyranny) 4. The Last Man 5. Assassin 6. Holy Terror 7. Bullets 8. Speed Of Light

Assassin appear to have been a less known band in the German thrash metal scene though they made a couple of slightly interesting albums. The Upcoming Terror is rather straightforward thrashing that doesn't exactly differ from the standards of the time. The guitar is actually pretty well done and gives some original touches to this album. On the downside, the vocals are quite rough even on your average thrash metal scale though they are not bad enough to distract you from the music. Still, the songwriting is average at best and although the band's delivery is quite energetic throughout, this album as a whole lacks some long-lasting appeal. Pretty basic stuff, can't say much more about it.

1. Abstract War 2. AGD 3. A Message To Survive 4. Pipeline 5. Resolution 588 6. Junk Food 7. Interstellar Experience 8. Baka

Interstellar Experience sounds immediately noisier and more raw than Assassin's debut. While the band do deliver the goods with some respectable intensity and speed, most songs on this album are quite chaotic and disjointed, which makes it difficult to really enjoy the music. The screeching vocals are actually some of the worst I've heard though they just sort of complement the mismash of sound that the band put out on this album. The opening track Abstract War is about the only one where the rampant execution sort of works, but the rest is less than average on all counts. Although The Upcoming Terror was not a great album, it is still the better of these two Assassin releases and even quite listenable when compared to the messy sound of Interstellar Experience.

1. Unexpiated Bloodshed 2. Experience Of Horror 3. Remembrance Of Tomorrow 4. In Vain 5. Sold Out Souls 6. Trick To Your Mind 7. Terrorized Brains 8. Grave New World 9. Frisia Non Cantat

Although Assorted Heap were a late starter in the German thrash metal scene, their debut album is very faithful to the traditional high-speed antics. The Experience Of Horror is very fast and heavy but also rather one-dimensional and not too memorable. Except for a couple of short moments, there's not too much attempt at more original expression other than straightforward pounding which of course is fairly intense in itself. A special mention must be given for the raging title track which is a serious take on real-life horrors, as well as a couple of other crushing pieces in the middle. On the whole this one doesn't contain too many distinctive tracks, which just makes it sound a bit dull at times. Sometimes even a basic approach like here can work well enough when the band have the right attitude, though, and Assorted Heap were by no means weak in their delivery.

1. Coloured Eyes 2. Holy Ground 3. What I Confess 4. Nice To Beat You 5. Mindwaves 6. Dealing With Dilemma 7. Cardinal Sin 8. Hardcore Incorrigible 9. Artificial Intelligence

With their second album Assorted Heap created something of a minor masterpiece. While The Experience Of Horror was a bit simple and rough around the edges, Mindwaves shows some great progress in the band's style. Better produced than the debut, Mindwaves sports a thick and heavy sound. Musically the development between the two releases is quite evident almost immediately - while the songs still remain fast and heavy stompers, they have more hooks and memorable riffs than ever. In addition to such great thrashers as Coloured Eyes and Nice To Beat You, the massive What I Confess has almost a gothic feel to it. Qualitywise, the difference to the band's debut is simply drastic. One might say that Assorted Heap basically just recycled all the most familiar elements of the genre, but rarely it has been done as effectively as here. With its marvellous dark atmosphere, Mindwaves is nothing short of outstanding.

1. Gloomy Experiments 2. Speed Of Light 3. Obsession 4. Tool Of Crime 5. Amnesia 6. Mirror's World 7. Good Night My Dear 8. Isomnia 9. My Difference

Based on casual listening only it would be easy to label Astharoth's sound as Kreator impersonation, but there's actually more to it. While Gloomy Experiments is not a vastly original piece of work, some aspects make it surprisingly listenable. The guitars sound a bit hollow but overall the band make a convincing appearance. Besides their heavy accent, the vocals have a hilarious moaning tone in them, which somehow fits the slightly unserious feel of this album perfectly, unintentional or not. Although most tracks may not be too memorable, some riffs are quite nice and show hints of genuine ideas. Maybe it's due to the honest, straightforward nature of this album or the fact that Astharoth had something of their own sound after all, but to me Gloomy Experiments is more fun than some of the more established classics of the same style.

1. Ordered To Kill 2. Dawn Of Death 3. Capitulation 4. Rapechase 5. The Hammer 6. Mortally Wounded 7. Ilsa (She-Wolf Of The S.S.) 8. Eat Lead

At War were probably among the better known underground bands in the eighties, playing "war metal" in a very Motorhead-ish vein (they even did a cover version of The Hammer). Ordered To Kill is not exactly the thrashiest effort out there, but it is quite a listenable release anyway. Technically there are some minor quirks as the disc sounds like a direct transfer from vinyl to CD with its dark sound and occasional small cracks. On the other hand this just adds to the dated feel of this album. Although there are no real faults in At War's music on the whole, it is undeniably a bit too simple and dull for my taste.

1. F.Y.I. 2. Conscientious Object 3. Creed Of The Sniper 4. Covert Sins 5. Crush Your Life 6. Gutless Sympathizer 7. Church And State 8. Felon's Guilt 9. Thinkin' 10. The Example

Not only does this album actually have a decent production when compared to its predecessor, Retaliatory Strike is both faster and crunchier than At War's debut. This time the material is fairly thrashy enough, and tracks like Creed Of The Sniper and Gutless Sympathizer are, in fact, quite good and memorable pieces. The band's delivery and style had improved since their debut album though the music still sounds somewhat dry and unexciting for the most part. Although in the end Retaliatory Strike certainly sounds better than Ordered To Kill and it can be listened through without much trouble, At War would have needed something more to really hit the mark.

1. Welcome 2. Born To Kill 3. Self Preservation 4. Breath Of War 5. I'll Never Change 6. You're Last 7. I Love You 8. In The Name Of The Faith 9. Killing Machine 10. Wait For Death 11. Land Without Future

If you had to describe a nightmare of getting drowned in a sea of formally correct but completely forgettable thrash metal albums, it could be filled with releases like Atomic's Breakpoint. This slab of Czech thrash metal sounds almost passable at first, but before soon the generic nature of this thing becomes just too obvious. Simply stated, the music here is very ordinary with nothing novel or really memorable in it, and the album plays almost like a zillion others. If you had not heard a single release of this kind in ten years or so, this one might actually appear remotely interesting, but that is hardly the case. Occasionally Atomic's style happens to bear a slight resemblance to Accuser, with strained vocals and all, which may be the only trivia item worth a mention. Breakpoint is not a totally lost cause, but it is very short of being virtually indistinguishable from the mass.

1. Chemical Dependency 2. Killing Machine 3. Matter Of Attitude 4. Preacher, Preacher 5. Beer Bong 6. Socialized Hate 7. Best Defense 8. Product Of The Past 9. Rest In Pieces 10. Urban Decay

Atrophy were one of the countless bands that surfaced during the great thrash metal explosion in the late eighties. On their debut the band played fast and straightforward but rather formulaic thrash. Chemical Dependency starts the album with a blast but the rest of the songs are mostly unmemorable stuff. Preacher, Preacher and the title song are mildly interesting but the idiotic Beer Bong would have been better left unrecorded. I sort of like the vocalist's low snarling that helps to create something of an original sound for the band, though. Although the result works fairly well enough to avoid total dullness, musically there's not too much to write home about this album.

1. Puppies And Friends 2. Violent By Nature 3. In Their Eyes 4. Too Late To Change 5. Slipped Through The Cracks 6. Forgotten But Not Gone 7. Process Of Elimination 8. Right To Die 9. Things Change

With their second release Atrophy added some variety to their textbook thrash metal, but the result is still not too impressive. Actually it got worse; the vocals sound more strained than on Socialized Hate, to the extent of being downright irritating, and the added complexity just takes away from the straightforward pounding that at least made the debut release tolerable. Now I'm actually having problems in staying awake while listening to this album. Even though there's still a fair amount of energy involved, most of the stuff is just so uninspiring and dull that it's not even funny. I guess this is one of those true collector's items only.

1. Dying Smashed 2. Marching Over Blood 3. Lost Time 4. No Life Till Madness 5. Children's Assassins 6. Flesh Maniac 7. Samurai

The style of Attomica's debut is not that much different from average thrash metal in Brazil or worldwide, but the band deliver the goods with some respectable intensity. Especially the ravenous vocals give the music an additional wicked touch although the whole band's output is something not to forget about. The tracks are lengthy thrash metal attacks that are consistently powerful but tend to get rather tedious in the long run. One cannot help but wish for some more memorable riffs here and there, now most songs end up following the same style that in all honesty gets quite repetitive. Apparently the band had some musical ambitions to prove, but a bit more compact approach might have actually been a better choice here. While the presentation is more than convincing enough, musically this album is somewhat lacking, which makes the effort almost too typical for its time.

1. Atomic Death 2. Short Dreams 3. Highway 401 4. Rabies 5. Limits Of Insanity 6. Knight Riders 7. Evil Scars 8. W.D.

Attomica's second release does not initially seem to fare too well in comparison to the band's other efforts. Indeed, Limits Of Insanity may feel more generic and downright emotionless when compared to the band's debut album, which is largely due to the fact that the music tends to lack the same kind of devoted energy that was earlier still quite evident. With a lot weaker, rather high-pitched vocals and slightly more routine-like playing, the sound of these songs is almost too clean and not very energetic. Attomica would have needed to put some more work into it to make this recording memorable, but as of now, nothing of it really sticks. In its final form Limits Of Insanity is just too typical, even dull for such an average album of this kind.

1. Ways Of Death 2. The Chainsaw 3. Deathraiser 4. Violence And Terror 5. Blood 6. From Beyond 7. Forbidden Hate

Disturbing The Noise must be one of the most forceful sounding albums I've heard in some time. Although the general style is not too exceptional, Attomica's powerful delivery makes these tracks appear considerably better than it might be the case with some less intense performance. With strong vocals and good production, the effect is quite energetic and refreshing in all its plain fury. The lyrics are terribly stereotypical and dumb even for standard thrash metal, though, filled with cheap violence and references to horror movies, but probably the lyrical content never was the high point of Attomica's music anyway. One could say that Disturbing The Noise is something of a victory of presentation over content - in comparison to many other releases out there this album is bound to appear somewhat formulaic at times, but it actually sounds better than one might expect.