1. Median 2. No Answers 3. Past And Present 4. The Fence 5. Act Of Jealousy 6. Elm Street 7. Time Has Come 8. Identified 9. Rise Of Baphomet 10. Terror Of Thoughts

During the shift in emphasis from thrash to death metal in the early nineties, Baphomet were one of the better bands to incorporate elements from both genres in their music. While the style of this German band later became more ordinary death oriented, their debut No Answers features some great thrash metal riffs that would put many other bands into shame. The title track, Elm Street and Identified are just some examples of the evil but impressive sound of this album. The guitar is very well done, with highly memorable riffs and stylish solos. The vocals are not really your typical death metal growls but rather hysterical, sarcastic, and plain nasty, sometimes also unintentionally funny, but fit the songs pretty well. I must say I really like some of the feel of this album - it's like a more extreme variation of the traditional thrash metal sound but without losing too much of its familiar base. Whether this was intentional or not, the result is quite convincing and makes No Answers one of the best in its class.

1. We Come To Fight 2. Nuclear Death 3. Knock On Your Door 4. Grave Of The Unknown 5. Possessed Preacher

Standing out as a curious exception in Battlefield's more power metal oriented release history, the band's debut We Come To Fight is a decent but also quite ordinary mini album of German speed/thrash metal. This vintage offering is just slightly atypical because of the female vocals that are still strong enough to meet your expectations about the intensity of this kind of music. It plays rather nicely and all, but the overall impression is somewhat banal and not terribly inspirational. Most songs flow almost exactly in the same tempo with not much practical difference between them, and it is not until the last track Possessed Preacher that there is finally even some brief variation of the theme. We Come To Fight is certainly not too bad for Battlefield's first release, but as it turns out there is no real reason for big praise either.

1. Unity 2. Vile Hypocrisy 3. D.O.S. (Desolation Of Sodom) 4. Tormented 5. Shadow Of Death 6. Blemished Sacrifices 7. Not Even One 8. Extraction From Mortality 9. Stress

One of the few thrash metal bands with strongly religious themes, Believer delivered in quite a typical thrash metal fashion. Extraction From Mortality does not exactly set itself apart from the usual standards of the genre, and while the band's sound is fairly powerful it is difficult to grasp finer details as most tracks are only semi-interesting at best. Although the songs mostly flow without major headaches, the album on the whole sounds somewhat forced and tedious and it probably wouldn't be a great injustice to call it downright dull at times. Here and there you may notice a riff or two worth a second listen but whole memorable songs are not so easily found, not to forget about the one-dimensional shouting that seriously lacks depth. Extraction From Mortality fits into the typical thrash metal formula almost by the book, but the near complete lack of actually noteworthy music does not really help its way any further.

1. Sanity Obscure 2. Wisdom's Call 3. Nonpoint 4. Idols Of Ignorance 5. Stop The Madness 6. Dies Irae (Day Of Wrath) 7. Dust To Dust 8. Like A Song

Sanity Obscure was a proof of Believer's increased maturity after their less impressive debut. The result is slightly more technical but also better composed and more interesting. Unfortunately, the quality of the album as a whole is a bit too uneven. From the title track to Idols Of Ignorance you get a continuous stream of great raging thrashers with catchy riffs and generally a more focused and refined direction than previously. Everything fine and well up to this point, but the second half of the album loses almost all of the momentum built up so far. Dies Irae (Day Of Wrath) is a highly experimental operatic piece that you are guaranteed to either love or hate, and Like A Song is something of a failed attempt at a U2 cover song. That said, the band's growing progressive tendencies are still kept in a good control for the most part, and the outcome is certainly worth hearing. It's just that this album may still leave you slightly disappointed in the end, despite the fact that the first half of it is near excellent.

1. Renaissance By Death 2. The Invitation 3. Fallen Deceived 4. More Faith Than Me 5. Escaping The Altar 6. Assassins In The Midst 7. Mortal Flesh 8. Stroll Thru A Wicked Age 9. Prophets Of Baal 10. Plead The Blood

Betrayal's Renaissance By Death comes across as highly technical and unorthodox speed/thrash metal with cross-genre influences of mixed quality, comparable to Death Angel's more warped-out moments. Some gothic touches especially in intros are nice, but on the other hand there are a few too many throwaway tracks to go through. Chris Ackerman's bare, barking vocals may initially sound a bit strange but actually they are one of the most consistent elements on the whole album. Most people would probably do fine without giving a second thought for this release if it weren't for one true gem in the crop; Escaping The Altar is an excellent composition in its entirety, combining frantic and totally hilarious thrash bursts with a great dramatic middle part and an amusing moral story. Despite its length of nine minutes this song never gets boring or tedious. Still, except for one absolute highlight and a couple of other satisfactory tracks, Renaissance By Death is quite a peculiar mismash of things and it might have been better in a half of its current length, without all the unnecessary quirks and filler material thrown in.

1. Renouncement 2. The Usurper 3. Carnival Of Madness 4. Ichabod 5. Forest Of Horrors 6. Race Of Hypocrisy 7. As I Turned Away 8. Whispers Of Chaos 9. Strength Of The Innocent 10. Retaliatory Strike 11. Frantic

In retrospective The Passing is a lot more coherent release than Betrayal's debut. The band sound more focused and intense than before, and unlike the previous album there is a consistent style of songwriting audible on every track. It does no harm that this album sports a better and heavier production than Renaissance By Death that sounds rather weak in comparison. While the finished product is not entirely of the most memorable kind, it has a nice feel of uniform quality, and there are some quite fine individual pieces like Renouncement and As I Turned Away on this album. Also noteworthy are the surprisingly dark lyrics despite an obvious religious tint in many of them. For a thrash metal album from the early nineties, The Passing is quite a satisfying release - definitely it is a lot less likely to leave you cringing your teeth in frustration in the same way as Renaissance By Death might do.

1. Fight For Your Land 2. The Real Me 3. Good Bye, Friend 4. The First Desillusion 5. Human Madness 6. 1879 7. Love And Pain 8. The Message 9. Critical Situation 10. Betrayed

Not necessarily a common example of this kind, Betrayed's 1879 Tales Of War turned out to be a thematic album with a twist of its own. The lyrics derive inspiration from the War of the Pacific in South America, with a critical insight into war and politics. Despite not presenting any great innovations over the standard thrash metal antics, the sound of this album is quite fresh and energetic and the production is fully appropriate for the music. The vocals sound somewhat careless in comparison to the band's otherwise tight performance, but this is not entirely a bad thing as they still add to the result in a peculiar way. With a consistent output and some notable ambitions on the instrumental side, 1879 Tales Of War is a neat little package that successfully avoids the most tenuous moments.

Note: The cover layout and colors are different on the original tape and the later CD release.

1. Sex And Death 2. Guilty (Until Proven Innocent) 3. Just Say Yes 4. Beat The System 5. Profits Of Doom 6. Meet Your Maker 7. Harsh Realities 8. Save Us 9. Waiting For Death 10. Living Hell

Bitter End's style has been compared to Megadeth, but even though there are some musical similarities between these bands, Megadeth was notably faster and heavier at that time. In fact, Harsh Realities is neither particularly fast nor heavy, instead the music is quite technical and diverse speed metal. The band were evidently talented and even a bit original, but I don't find their style too appealing. Despite the obvious effort and a fair amount of complexity, most tracks do not really differ from each other and the album on the whole sounds just bland. Just a bit heavier and thrashier approach might have helped things, now Harsh Realities seems more like a clever exercise on technicality than a convincing release.

1. Immortal Aggression 2. State Of Decay 3. Make Love War 4. Corpses 5. Preacher Of Death 6. Trash 7. Another Day To Die 8. Kill The Priest 9. Animal 10. Lord Of The Darkness 11. I Am God 12. Evil Revenge

For those who value rawness and unrest over everything else in thrash metal, Black Shepherd's Immortal Aggression must be a true gem. This Belgian band provide a continuous stream of some of the most disorganized and frenzied music that you can find - indeed, control and precision are not the words here. Then again, you probably cannot call it downright sloppy either, it just sounds as if the band did not exactly spend any great lengths of time on rehearsals before putting out this release. The first couple of tracks can appear such a mess that you don't even know where to start, although the band actually tone it down a bit after that. Regardless, the vocals often sound so amateurish you wouldn't believe, and tracks like I Am God are little short of laughable. If a punk band of the late seventies had tried playing thrash metal, it could have sounded something like this. Immortal Aggression may at first sound rather surprising, then almost funny, but eventually you might consider it just plain stupid.

1. Meltdown 2. Pig Slaughter 3. Omen Of Fate 4. Into The Ovens 5. Knights Of Old Bridge 6. Eternal War 7. Blessed Death 8. Napalm 9. Kill Or Be Killed

Blessed Death surely were an early starter in the scene, but unlike some other releases of the time their debut Kill Or Be Killed has not aged too gracefully. Whether it is due to the absolutely muddy garage sound that would be already enough to destroy almost any effort, or the totally antiquated style, this album sounds almost like it was recorded in the late seventies rather than in the mid-eighties. The music sounds primitive and slightly disjointed even when taking the age of this release into account. The vocals are mostly tolerable as long as they stay in the medium-to-low range, but the melodramatic screams are something one could easily live without. While this album is not completely without merits, it is difficult to ignore some of its apparent weaknesses.

1. Digital War 2. Pain Killer 3. 10,000 Days (Of Bloodshed) 4. Incoming Wounded 5. Pray For Death 6. Death In The Sky 7. Curse Of Weapons 8. Alien Impregnation 9. Destruction's Eve

While Blessed Death's debut release left something to be desired, the band totally jumped into high gear with Destined For Extinction which is more vicious and energetic by tenfold. The vocals are taken into absolute extreme, which sort of works here as the material is some of the most furious around, too, though some of the screams can still get on your nerves. Tracks like Digital War, Incoming Wounded and Pray For Death are prime examples of this extreme intensity which occasionally borders on ridiculous but also succeeds in making a strong impact, only hindered by the lacking production values (again). From today's perspective Destined For Extinction is a definite improvement over Kill Or Be Killed and actually contains some fine thrash metal.

1. Fallen Walls 2. You Are Nothing 3. Shadows Of The Living 4. Hour Of Pain 5. Black Snow Sky 6. Resurrection Earth 7. Atomic Fear 8. Global Confusion 9. Terminal Rage 10. Born Dead 11. Out Of The Void

Better late than never, Blessed Death's third album is a perfect reminiscence of the past. Released fifteen years after the actual recording took place, Hour Of Pain can be described as a cross between Kill Or Be Killed and Destined For Extinction, owing much of its old-fashioned feel to the band's debut album while still keeping up with a sufficient pace and heaviness. The grand opener Fallen Walls gives way to speed/thrash metal in the most vintage vein - if it is even remotely possible to think of thrash metal bearing a true seventies feel then Blessed Death's style must be the most prominent canditate for that. With very natural sounding instruments and Larry Portelli's versatile vocals, Hour Of Pain is a welcome trip to the original sound of the genre and beyond. It doesn't get much closer to the old days than this.

1. The Sane Asylum 2. Blood Shower 3. Vengeance Is Mine 4. Death Noise 5. Kamakazi 6. Smash The Crystal 7. Vicious Visions 8. Metamorphosis Of A Monster

In the list of old cult bands, Blind Illusion appear to have been one of the most respected. While the band had numerous line-up changes with many well-known musicians over time, their only release The Sane Asylum seems to be much sought after nowadays. Maybe this is more due to the special characteristics of the band than the musical values, as I've never been too impressed by this album. The tracks are highly technical and progressive but the result is anything but focused. Granted, there's some respectable musicianship involved but the approach is way too academic and experimental for my taste. At their best Blind Illusion put out some decent speed metal, at their worst they sound just too disjointed and weird. As a collector's item The Sane Asylum may deserve its status, but calling it a good album would be stretching it a bit.

1. Menacing Thunder 2. Kill For Pleasure 3. Cannibal 4. Vampire 5. Blood Lust 6. Suicidal Mission 7. Venomous Death 8. The Evil 9. Darkside 10. R.I.P.

Together with At War, Blood Feast were probably one of the better known acts on the New Renaissance Records label though maybe not among the best ones. The band's debut Kill For Pleasure is quite a primitive, Slayerish debut of one-dimensional thrash metal with a very thin and messy sound. The music is constantly fast and sounds fairly nasty but it's not exactly original or remarkable in that sense. A notable feature of the early Blood Feast sound was Gary Markovitch's nasty vocals that add to the somewhat wicked feel of the music. However, the production is really of mixed quality and can make this album quite an unpleasant experience. Except for the constant high speed, Kill For Pleasure is quite a forgettable effort on all counts.

1. Face Fate 2. Blood Lust 3. R.I.P. 4. Vampire

With only the title track being a new song and the rest three taken from the debut album, Face Fate is not exactly significant as an individual release. The band re-recorded the old tracks for this mini album, though, and with some slightly better production values and a tighter sound the result is something of an improvement over Kill For Pleasure. For example, the new version of Blood Lust benefits greatly from the more refined execution which actually makes it one of Blood Feast's best songs ever. The music on the whole is still not particularly noteworthy and the vocals are, if possible, even more over-the-top than before, but at least Face Fate manages to have some raw appeal of its own.

1. The Last Remains 2. Hunted, Stalked & Slain 3. Chopping Block Blues 4. Hitler Painted Roses 5. Dropping Like Flies 6. Born Innocent 7. Turn To Dust 8. The Chemically Imbalanced 9. Spasmodic 10. Remnants

Compared to the early Blood Feast albums, Chopping Block Blues sounds almost drastically different. The production is much heavier and gives the music some totally new dimensions. More importantly, the songs are not such simplistic splashes anymore but instead there's a new sense of conviction in them. One of the bigger changes is the vocals that are now lower, effective shouts in a style that I really prefer over the exaggerated nasty whining that prevails on the band's earlier releases. The band sound clearly more mature and convincing, yet without losing any of their speed or aggression. Despite some more controlled presentation on Chopping Block Blues, Blood Feast remained about as fast and extreme as ever.

1. Happily Married 2. Son Of Sam 3. Live To Kill 4. Good Hearted Man 5. Treatment Of Death 6. Death By A Clothes Hanger 7. Belligerent Youth 8. Harrassment By Farm Animals 9. First To Die 10. Sike-O-Path 11. Testing My Doorknob

Although Bloodcum's Death By A Clothes Hanger is a seemingly standard package of street-level thrash metal of the most compact kind, there is some genuine value in it after all. The album has a fresh 'live' sound that fits the songs very well without appearing downright sloppy - the impression is definitely not the most refined around, but after a while you'll hardly mind anymore. In other words, if Slayer had recorded their albums with a lesser focus and a shoestring budget, the result might have sounded similar to this. It is still a nice demonstration of pure high-speed frenzy, and tracks like Son Of Sam and Live To Kill are pretty cool pieces no matter what, short but vivid bursts of nasty spirit. Probably it's not exactly high production values that this release is best remembered for, but then again, the result is more than funny enough to justify its existence.

1. Terminal Velocity 2. City Of The Forgotten 3. C.T.R. 4. Semper Fi / Guilty As Sin

In all fairness, Bloodlust's Terminal Velocity is very much like your basic example of old speed/thrash metal, somewhat effective with its plain energy and typical raw sound. Bloodlust's style is pretty banal though, even clumsy at times, and except for a couple of short moments during the latter half of this mini album you are not likely to remember too much about the whole thing even after giving it several spins. Let it be said that really bad this is not, just too ordinary and unsurprising. In the big scene of thrash metal, albums like Terminal Velocity have more collector's value than actual importance to the genre.

1. God Hates It 2. Coming Again 3. Kids Of God 4. Nightmare 5. Descent 6. Choose 7. God's Love And Rage 8. Fire 9. Ultra 10. Defy

Bloody Cross were surely not the most notable performer of their kind, but as usual the band's offering comes across at least fairly acceptable even though it is left short of being truly satisfactory. A staple of German speed/thrash metal with a certain rough edge and all but subtle religious lyrics, Coming Again has basically everything that is deemed necessary in this class, but something in the whole thing still leaves me pretty cold. Maybe it's just the fact that this music goes only so far without actually reaching its mark. Despite the band pushing a dedicated message, the album feels somewhat pointless, not to mention goofy at times, and the songs don't really feature anything that would help to distinguish them from all the other contenders' efforts in a notably positive way. Bloody Cross just seem to have been one of those groups who were bound to stay below the fine line between obscurity and recognition.

1. Scientific Lie 2. Mind Bitch 3. Death Patrol 4. Brain Manipulation 5. Silent Scream 6. Victim 7. Saddam Satan 8. War In The Nursery 9. Bang Your Head And Dive

Another little known band in the German scene, Brainless sound so typical for their time that it's not too easy to find any really distinguishable features from this music. Brainless World is rather consistent and focused for a minor thrash metal album but most of the time also quite dull and unimaginative. In a way this is just another example of decent production values and adequate technical abilities while the actual content never really catches on. Despite a few good moments on the lead guitar, the riffs here are mostly quite unremarkable and the songs in general do not provide much highlights to talk about. For completionists Brainless World probably fits the bill as well as any other, but better not expect anything truly noteworthy from this one.

1. IX 2. Desert! 3. Ilona The Very Best 4. Misogynists 5. Heaven's Jail 6. Rob "Klister" 7. The Derby 8. No-Way 9. The Vision Never Fades

From their early days with a more Motorhead/Venom-like sound, Bulldozer had a long presence in the Italian metal scene. On IX some of the old influences are still audible, but as a whole this album is already a sufficient package of some rough thrash metal. Today Bulldozer's sound is really more nostalgic than exactly effective, but this just applies to many other old releases as well. With some less serious overtones, many tracks are rather cheerful, some even a bit silly, and they provide enough amusement even just briefly. Maybe the best track on the whole album, Misogynists is a great piece of thrash. It's true that in the long run this album may get somewhat tiresome, which is just due to Bulldozer's mostly simple style. In comparison to your average thrash metal album, IX may be something of an acquired taste though it is not too difficult to learn to appreciate its straightforward nature.

1. Overture / Neurodeliri 2. Minkions 3. We Are ... Italian 4. Art Of Deception 5. Ilona Has Been Elected 6. Impotence 7. Mors Tua Vita Mea 8. Willful Death / You'll Be Recalled

Probably Bulldozer's most advanced release ever, Neurodeliri opens with a dramatic organ intro that quickly evolves into the massive title track. Although this album still features the band's familiar characteristics, the result is considerably more focused and intensive than on IX. Despite some more serious touches, the music on the whole is strangely uplifting with all its crude charm. Highlights include the title track and Art Of Deception, not to forget about Ilona Has Been Elected which appears to be another amusing song about the band's favorite Ilona Staller. It is still somewhat rough around the edges and I'm certain there are people who may not be able to take Bulldozer's sound, however, all the pieces fit together quite nicely here and I cannot help but really like some of this album. It seems that with Neurodeliri Bulldozer finally refined their style to the maximum effect.

1. Kick Your Dirt 2. Leatherface 3. Prisoner Of War 4. Snow Death 5. Power Of Death 6. Beware The Axe 7. Desecration 8. Slaughterhouse Grizzle 9. Black Blasphemy 10. Graphic Violence 11. Pure Fuckin' Death

There is a strong feel of sticking to absolute core values on Burnt Offering's debut album. The sound is harsh and unpolished, guitar solos are ascetic at best, and the near total lack of technical finesse is self-evident. But you know, in the end it works to some extent, some of the time. With a couple of exceptions, most tracks last no longer than three minutes which leads to a certain lack of continuity, not to mention kind of a rushed feel in the band's performance every now and then. When Burnt Offering do stay within reasonable speed limits, they prove themselves capable of handling heavy basic riffing in a fairly convincing way, and the band's blunt and honest output does have its good points no matter how few. There is some moderate appeal to be found here, but it may require that you survive through the most chaotic rhythms featured on this album to really appreciate it.

1. Hell Is Yours 2. Thou Shall Not Kill 3. With All The Blood 4. Nailed 5. Walk Of The Dead 6. Black Metal 7. The One 8. Mother's Shallow Grave 9. Time To Close Your Eyes 10. Snow Deadlier 11. Burnt Offering

Released a little short of ten years after the band's debut album, Burnt Offering's Walk Of The Dead carries the rough and unforgiving tone of its predecessor almost unchanged. Most notably, the sound quality is better than in the late eighties, which adds to the more controlled feel of the music this time. Nearly one hour in length, this album is still a heavy and forceful experience like no other. It is essentially a hammering thrash metal attack with overwhelming primal power, and if anything, the vocalist deserves a medal for his relentless efforts. At some point this kind of strict adherence to bare-bones rules inevitably starts to get old, but you cannot deny that this album makes a perfect example for those people who don't know what 'integrity' means. While Walk Of The Dead is still hardly something that a casual listener would be comfortable with, it is at least a bit more accessible than the band's first release and may turn out as a pleasant small surprise to those who care to really dig into it.