1. Zombie Attack 2. Acid Death 3. Mercenary 4. Maniac Forces 5. Alcohol 6. (Empty) Tankard 7. Thrash 'Till Death 8. Chains 9. Poison 10. Screamin' Victims

Tankard are probably the most consistent thrash metal band from Germany ever. Their debut release Zombie Attack introduced the band's simple but fairly effective formula that has remained pretty much unchanged ever since - lighthearted and rolling, fast thrash metal with most of the lyrics revolving around alcohol and moshing. In Tankard's gears there are really only two positions, full speed and stop. At this early stage the band's sound was only slightly rough, the album mostly sounds like all the later releases. Granted, the tracks are a little samey and all, but that aside, Zombie Attack is as good or bad as almost any other Tankard album out there.

1. Intro 2. Total Addiction 3. Tantrum 4. Don't Panic 5. Puke 6. For A Thousand Beers 7. Chemical Invasion 8. Farewell To A Slut 9. Traitor 10. Alcohol

Chemical Invasion continued directly in Tankard's traditional style of easy-going thrash metal which was established on Zombie Attack. From the first few notes you know what to expect, the only exception from the formula being the instrumental For A Thousand Beers (but of course!). Despite the somewhat formulaic music Tankard put out, one cannot help but sort of admire the accuracy and speed at which the band play through all their mosh pieces. However, in the end most tracks sound quite the same, which applies to the whole album as well. In this sense Chemical Invasion is eventually just another typical Tankard album.

1. Intro 2. Commandments 3. Shit-Faced 4. TV Hero 5. F.U.N. 6. Try Again 7. The Morning After 8. Desperation 9. Feed The Lohocla 10. Help Yourself 11. Mon Cheri 12. Outro

At first The Morning After could be taken as just a stereotypical Tankard release, but there's actually something more to it. Though variety does not really belong to Tankard's style, some songs on this album are actually distinguishable from the others even slightly. The general feel of these songs is particularly uplifting and refreshing and although the band occasionally touch also some more serious issues, mostly the music is best suited to create a cheerful atmosphere. Without a doubt the most memorable tracks are the cover song Try Again and the rattling Mon Cheri, a love song in 44 seconds that just got to be heard to believe it. Even though The Morning After is not radically different from Tankard's other releases, some nice touches help it to become a little bit more distinctive from the rest.

1. Alien 2. 666 Packs 3. Live To Dive 4. Remedy 5. (Empty) Tankard

Alien is like a compact prototype of every other Tankard release out there. Every song on this mini album is about drinking or thrashing or both, and they are played at the constant breakneck speed so characteristic for Tankard. Nothing wrong with that, really, but at this point the novelty of this style has worn off a long time ago. All tracks are quite joyful and (Empty) Tankard is an example of true ultraspeed, but it would be hard to identify most of the songs if heard out of the album context. Briefly put, Alien is a stereotypical Tankard album in every sense, just a bit shorter than usually.

1. Open All Night 2. We Are Us 3. Dancing On Our Grave 4. Mechanical Man 5. Beermuda 6. The Meaning Of Life 7. Space Beer 8. Always Them 9. Wheel Of Rebirth 10. Barfly 11. Wonderful Life

The bad thing about Tankard's music is that in general it sounds good only in small portions. A full album of the same can be a bit tiresome experience as it's the case with The Meaning Of Life. Most tracks on this album basically sound like only slightly different versions of the same song played at the same tempo over and over again. Granted, they are full of the same lighthearted attitude as always in Tankard's music, which is definitely a good thing, it just starts to get old at some point. In the end The Meaning Of Life is probably something that works best when played in the background but not really payed any close attention to.

1. Jurisdiction 2. Broken Image 3. Mindwild 4. Ugly Beauty 5. Centerfold 6. Behind The Back 7. Stone Cold Sober 8. Blood, Guts & Rock 'n' Roll 9. Lost And Found (Tantrum Part 2) 10. Sleeping With The Past 11. Freibier 12. Of Strange People Talking Under Arabian Skies

In a way Stone Cold Sober is a summary of all the past Tankard releases. One can immediately recognize the customary sound of the band that has been refined to the top over the years. Although the tracks on this album could be from almost any previous release as well, by varying the riffs and minor details even slightly the band give the whole album a typical but still somewhat unique feel. The only more experimental track is the ending instrumental Of Strange People Talking Under Arabian Skies which must be one of Tankard's most original pieces ever. Stone Cold Sober is just how this band prefer to make it - solid thrash metal in Tankard's way.

1. Death Penalty 2. R.T.V. 3. Betrayed 4. Nation Over Nation 5. Days Of The Gun 6. Cities In Flames 7. Up From Zero 8. Two-Faced 9. Ich Brauch Meinen Suff 10. Cyberworld 11. Mainhattan 12. Jimmy B. Bad

While Two-Faced initially seems to carry many of Tankard's trademark characteristics, it is also slightly different from all the previous releases. The feel of this one is notably more serious and angry than before, and there is more variety and tempo changes than you might expect from a typical Tankard album. The sharp guitar sound is still something one can recognize almost instantly, and many tracks are similar to what the band had done before. Some lack of the usual happy spirit that is so evident on the earlier releases makes this music sound somewhat more average and not so uplifting although by no means really bad either. Also, while the more varied tracks have their moments, too, this album clearly proves that constantly fast thrashers are what Tankard does best, formulaic or not. Some deviation from traditions put aside, Two-Faced is still a fair pick for anyone who enjoys Tankard's style.

1. Grave New World 2. Minds On The Moon 3. The Story Of Mr. Cruel 4. Close Encounter 5. Poshor Golovar 6. Mess In The West 7. Atomic Twilight 8. Fuck Christmas 9. Positive 10. Hope?

Where Tankard touched some serious grounds with Two-Faced, the follow-up album The Tankard strives towards notably more familiar and lightsome directions. In fact, this release may be one of Tankard's lightest productions - by all means, heavy this is not. With a couple of exceptions, the music has a particularly happy sound despite some serious lyrics still occasionally appearing, and it seems as if the band had slowed down a little bit for this record. As a whole it's pretty harmless stuff, not exactly a collection of classic material although many tracks here are perhaps more memorable than on an average Tankard album. Some good, uplifting hollers like Minds On The Moon and Fuck Christmas sound particularly relaxed and play in an enjoyable manner. All right, so it is somewhat inconsistent here and there, but some variation at times is only a good thing for this band.

1. Serial Killer 2. http://www.Planet-Suicide.com 3. Hard Rock Dinosaur 4. Queen Of Hearts 5. U-R-B 6. Mr. Superlover 7. Tankard Roach Motel 8. Another Perfect Day 9. Death By Whips 10. Away! 11. Face Of The Enemy 12. Splendid Boyz 13. Disco Destroyer

After some almost semi-lazy features of The Tankard, Disco Destroyer cranks up the speed from the very beginning and as a whole it is a better match to the old standards of consistent high-speed thrash metal than a couple of previous Tankard albums. The relaxed atmosphere of The Tankard is still maintained to a notable extent but this time without sacrificing the band's traditional thrash metal antics too much. Worth a special note, some lyrics are way over the top in this album's context - how many other blatantly happy songs about serial killers or undead rotting bones can you expect to find, really. (Amusingly enough, there's even one track about surfing the web - a topic that surely doesn't sound too exciting to write a song about.) Most important of all, this album contains some insanely catchy thrashers: Serial Killer, Queen Of Hearts, Tankard Roach Motel and the title track are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Although it's definitely not something to be found in the hall of thrash metal fame, Disco Destroyer is easily one of the most enjoyable Tankard albums I've heard to date.

1. Flirtin' With Desaster 2. Dark Exile 3. Hot Dog Inferno 4. Hell Bent For Jesus 5. Kings Of Beer 6. I'm So Sorry! 7. Talk Show Prostitute 8. Incredible Loudness 9. Land Of The Free 10. Mirror, Mirror 11. Tattoo Coward

It wouldn't be too difficult to forgive someone for not keeping up with all the Tankard recordings out there. After all, Kings Of Beer took the band to the new millennium with hardly any changes in their style. In fact, compared to a couple of previous releases that featured at least some slight signs of variation together with a genuinely uplifting feel, Kings Of Beer represents the more formulaic side of the band. For example, while Flirtin' With Desaster has some hilarious lyrics of the worst taste, the song's chorus is awfully repetitive, and most other tracks do not stand out even that much. Hell Bent For Jesus and Mirror, Mirror may be the only slightly catchy tracks here - other than that, this album can be downright boring at times. For long-time Tankard followers Kings Of Beer may be just yet another safe offering, but novelty or generally even semi-interesting songs surely aren't the strong points of it.

1. Notorious Scum 2. Rectifier 3. Need Money For Beer 4. Ugly, Fat And Still Alive 5. Underground 6. Voodoo Box 7. Sunscars 8. Zero Dude 9. New Liver Please 10. Rundown Quarter 11. Alcoholic Nightmares

By B-Day Tankard's sound certainly had reached such a level of maturity that some kind of stall was only inevitable. From a technical viewpoint only, this album is more than adequate - some modern production standards are particularly audible in the guitar sound which is a lot heavier than ever before in the past, to the point of starting to lose some of the band's customary sharpness. Musically this is clearly less than an average product from the Tankard factory pipeline. Sporting riffs of little variety and generally a very one-dimensional presentation, B-Day is quite an alarmingly stereotypical thrash metal platter throughout. Not so long time ago Gerre's vocals still used to have an unmistakable tongue-in-cheek feel in them, but here the man sounds like any typical thrash metal shouter out there. Although one should hardly be surprised by Tankard's state at this point, it is still a disappointing thing to observe.

1. Under Friendly Fire 2. Slipping From Reality 3. Genetic Overkill 4. Die With A Beer In Your Hand 5. The Horde 6. Endless Pleasure 7. Dead Men Drinking 8. Alien Revenge 9. Fistful Of Love 10. Beyond The Pubyard 11. We're Coming Back

By all intents and purposes, Beast Of Bourbon is like a carbon copy of B-Day straight out of the box. The songs sound pretty identical from start to finish, with very little variation in between, and in the end you cannot help but wonder how many tracks there actually were on this thing as you could hardly distinguish them from each other. Listening to this album means hearing the same banging repeated in such a thick-headed manner that it soon becomes totally meaningless. Again, the production values easily surpass those found on the oldest albums, but it appears that imagination was left behind a good time ago. Tankard certainly made some worthwhile albums back then, but these later releases could be almost taken as cautionary examples of what happens when automated programming is applied to thrash metal. Bonus points must be granted for the total riot lyrics of Fistful Of Love, though.

1. Ice-olation 2. We Still Drink The Old Ways 3. Forsaken World 4. Rockstars No. 1 5. The Beauty And The Beast 6. Blue Rage - Black Redemption 7. Frankfurt: We Need More Beer 8. Metaltometal 9. Dirty Digger 10. Shaken Not Stirred

Just when you thought that an overkill of Tankard albums was already reached, the band go and release The Beauty And The Beer, yet another chapter in their musical (mis)adventures in beer-soaked thrash metal. It is no use to try to find any novel comments about this one, as everything that can be said about Tankard's music must have been said countless times already. As a small positive surprise, this album does appear to reach back to the old times, and these songs are not nearly as dull as previously. Also the instruments sound more balanced - the guitar in particular is not as blatantly in your face as it did on Beast Of Bourbon, for example. The Beauty And The Beer is still practically the same album that Tankard have been releasing for twenty years with only minor variations, but at least it is now done better than a couple of times in the immediate past.

1. Octane Warriors 2. Deposit Pirates 3. Stay Thirsty! 4. Hyperthermia 5. Echoes Of Fear 6. When Daddy Comes To Play 7. Zodiac Man 8. G.A.L.O.W. 9. Myevilfart 10. Sexy Feet Under

For some reason it feels as if Tankard's previous album The Beauty And The Beer was announced just yesterday, but here we have again a new release from the band. It is seriously quite pointless to say anything specific about Thirst since all the avid Tankard fans must have already obtained it, and any aliens from outer space who are somehow not yet familiar with this band should rather start at the beginning of their discography and then decide if they want to continue from there. For anything else than that, there is little or no difference between Thirst and Tankard's previous works, and that's exactly all the information you should need to determine if it's worth the money or not. If it happens some day that thrash metal bands are given awards for their lifetime work, at this rate Tankard will be guaranteed to have seats in the front row.

1. Mission To The Andes 2. Hordes Of Insanity 3. They Walk In Front 4. Warriors Of The Holy One 5. Nuclear Waste 6. The Gathering 7. Under Dominion (Of Death) 8. Death Blow

Target's style seems to have had some resemblance to Living Death during their more technical period. The band's debut release Mission Executed starts off as quite interesting, although some of the novelty of its sound wears off soon before the end. The opening track Mission To The Andes in particular creates a strangely captivating feel with its clever riffs. The vocals have something of a nasty tone in them, which fits the general sound well. However, as said, the initial impression does not remain equally strong as most tracks somewhat repeat themselves. Technically the band sound completely fine and all, and there are some hints of an interesting and even original style throughout this album, but only occasionally the music really takes off. Obviously Target had some potential but Mission Executed is only a partially successful demonstration of that.

1. The Coming Of Chaos 2. Ultimate Unity 3. Digital Regency 4. Absolution By Termination 5. Dehumanization 6. March Of The Machines 7. Secret Of The Dome 8. Master Project Genesis

Target's second album is notably more complex and ambitious than the debut, with hints of even Mekong Delta coming to mind. Master Project Genesis turns out to be somewhat impressive based on its intriguing feel alone. Although the music is not too memorable due to its complexity, the outcome is very consistent and quite interesting. Compared to Mission Executed, this album shows progress in all areas except the vocals that sound weaker than before. Despite the very technical sound and the fact that it takes some time to really get into it, these songs manage to draw your attention in the long run. While some more straightforward tracks like Dehumanization appear almost immediately pretty effective, this is one of those albums that keep growing on you. Though not really a masterpiece, Master Project Genesis no doubt deserves its place in the more technical sector of the genre.

1. Whatever 2. Urges 3. Innocent Culprit 4. Pellucid Viscera 5. Among 6. Hurt 7. Mother's Gate 8. Exposed Senses 9. Lost 10. Re-Reborn 11. Breach Of Trust 12. Threatening Questions

Released way too late for its kind, Tenebra's debut album repeats the classic maneuvers in a tried and tested format but essentially gets no further than that. Actually it starts out pretty good enough, the first couple of tracks or so play quite effectively, but for the most part this album tends to sound almost the same with only minor variations. The vocals are quite plain and not the best of their kind for the music, though even a more powerful style probably would not have made much difference anyway. It is your typical middle-ground thrash metal to its fullest, and any hints of novel ideas must be more due to the casual listener's imagination without an equivalent in reality. If this release somehow doesn't sound too familiar then you can be sure that there is still room left for more of the same to listen through.

1. Re-emergence Of Atlantis 2. Under The Black Moon 3. Plan Of Observation 4. New Clear Day 5. Inheritance 6. Time Corridors Of The Planeterrah 7. Scigoreality 8. What Was And Will Be Again

Terrahsphere surely showed some serious originality with their debut. Despite its appearance suggesting progressive aspirations, Third In Order Of The Sun is closer to conventional speed/thrash metal with a few peculiar touches. Except for a couple of spacey intros and some weird lyrics, the music is not overly technical or anything, but it has a certain quirky sound that can leave one pretty confused at first. The vocals are rather harsh and intense, and speedwise this album doesn't lack much, it's just that the band's style is somewhat unbalanced and the songs are generally too uneven. Only occasionally the result manages to catch some real attention like Under The Black Moon with its good pounding riff. Probably Terrahsphere could have been able to develop their style into something more effective later if they had remained active long enough.

1. Insane Blasphemous 2. Wrath Of God 3. Everlasting Hell Damnation 4. Sacrifice 5. Demonic Torture 6. Betrays World 7. In My Load

Terror Fector's Everlasting Hell Damnation does not strike the listener with highly original content, but the band's down-to-earth and consistent style gains some favorable feedback. These lengthy tracks flow in a uniform manner, and while there are indeed not too many stand-out moments to speak of, the result leads at least to a carefully positive impression. Worth a separate mention are the twisted low tone guitar lines that appear every so often, reminiscent of early death metal. This is not of unheard quality, but it certainly adds to the emphatic and oppressive feel of this album. Without a doubt, Everlasting Hell Damnation can be quite a heavy experience to the uninitiated people, but fans of the style surely get what they need.

1. Neurotic World 2. When The Hate Increases 3. Fuck Lack Of Understand 4. Bio Extintion 5. Hidden Fear 6. Criminal Behavior 7. Nightmare Despair 8. Into The Violence 9. Panic Sindrome 10. Fuck Lack (Alternative)

Neurotic World could be taken as a proof that a specific kind of true underground spirit is not dead. The ultimately lacking quality of Terrorstorm's debut release is overshadowed by the band's distinct and crude do-it-yourself attitude. The low-key production is an exact opposite of the annoying modern trend where everything is usually boosted to hell as if volume controls suddenly became extinct. Another noticeable aspect is the vocals that sound like rantings of an old witch, with occasional low grunts thrown in the mix. Often this band appear like a poor man's Executer, for a lack of better comparison. And still, despite it being evident that this album cannot be considered great even by sometimes loose thrash metal standards and some less patient people may be inclined to throw it out the window before the first couple of tracks are over, Terrorstorm deserve all sympathy - even just for the fact that Neurotic World sounds way more honest than many other studio releases nowadays.

1. Over The Wall 2. The Haunting 3. Burnt Offerings 4. Raging Waters 5. C.O.T.L.O.D. 6. First Strike Is Deadly 7. Do Or Die 8. Alone In The Dark 9. Apocalyptic City

Testament's debut was quite a polished effort in its time and one of the better debut albums ever, thrash with class. The songs are full of solid, memorable riffs and creative solos, and although the music is basically straightforward and very energetic thrash metal with a strong balls-to-the-wall attitude, there are lots of fine touches in it. Especially Alex Skolnick's innovative and stylish guitar playing is guaranteed to catch your attention - the frequent, melodic intros and interludes help to create a unique, refined style for this album. The production undeniably lacks some dynamics, but otherwise there's little to complain about. The Legacy is a classic album and perhaps the best Testament release ever, as the band never really surpassed the excellence of their debut.

1. Eerie Inhabitants 2. The New Order 3. Trial By Fire 4. Into The Pit 5. Hypnosis 6. Disciples Of The Watch 7. The Preacher 8. Nobody's Fault 9. A Day Of Reckoning 10. Musical Death (A Dirge)

Testament's second album was musically somewhat more generic than their previous release. The songs are not quite as fast as before and start to show hints of the fundamental problem of Testament; when the band stick to streamlined, fast thrash metal, they are as good as anyone (Into The Pit is a total killer track), but when the intensity starts to drop, you may get some of the most boring tracks in the thrash metal history. The first half of this album is essentially better than the second where the songs soon start to wade in the swamp of mediocrity, including the useless Aerosmith cover song Nobody's Fault. On the bright side, Alex Skolnick's guitar is emphasized even more on this album, now with two full instrumental pieces included.

1. Practice What You Preach 2. Perilous Nation 3. Envy Life 4. Time Is Coming 5. Blessed In Contempt 6. Greenhouse Effect 7. Sins Of Omission 8. The Ballad 9. Nightmare (Coming Back To You) 10. Confusion Fusion

For this album Testament chose to change their music towards a bit more "accessible" format, and the result is something that one might want to use as a substitute for sleeping pills. Though it's not nearly as bad as the infamous The Ritual which would mark the end of the classic era of Testament in the early nineties, most songs here sound so flat and uninspiring that it can take some serious effort to be able to listen through the album. There's just no real energy whatsoever involved, and only the strong musicianship which is still apparent here saves this album from being a true disappointment. Although Practice What You Preach is better than most of your generic thrash metal albums out there, it is also an example of Testament at their dullest.

1. Beginning Of The End 2. Face In The Sky 3. Falling Fast 4. Souls Of Black 5. Absence Of Light 6. Love To Hate 7. Malpractice 8. One Man's Fate 9. The Legacy 10. Seven Days Of May

After some more or less impressive experiments on their previous release, Testament returned to righteous thrash metal with Souls of Black. Even though this album is a little formulaic, it's still one of Testament's better, more stylish efforts since The Legacy, mainly due to the smooth flow of music. The songs are generally fast and consistent with good riffs, and the production is rather crisp although Chuck Billy's vocals sound somewhat hollow at times. Still, the general feel is more vivid than on the previous couple of releases and Alex Skolnick's cool solos are actually some of the best ever. Despite having a slightly unfinished feel, this is quite an effective album and in my opinion the last good classic Testament release before the degradation of the scene really started.

1. Dawn Of The Dead 2. Outward Of The Inward 3. Bodily Dismemberment 4. Internal Deceit 5. The Day Before Tomorrow 6. War 7. Rebirth 8. Progressive Destructor 9. Impostors' Infiltration 10. Omnicoitor / Dolor Satanae 11. The Meaning Of Life

Getting deeper into death metal on their later recordings, Thanatos could have been mistaken for an ordinary thrash metal band with their debut. Emerging From The Netherworlds gives the listener a good run for the money as far as speed and intensity are considered. The most notable feature must be the vocals - while the rough barks and semi-growls are rather typical for the time, there is also a unique kind of hollow and hoarse howling featured on some tracks which tends to sound really strange when heard for the first time. But it is the overall picture that matters, and most of the time Thanatos pass the tests with few remarks. Helped by some blazing fast riff attacks like Outward Of The Inward and generally a good atmosphere, this album plays in a solid though somewhat undistinctive style. You can't really go too wrong with that kind of thing.

1. The Pit 2. Diehard 3. Your Image 4. Getting A Grip On Things 5. Hellcorn 6. Rise 7. One Demon To Another 8. Unity 9. A Guy In A Suit And The Pope 10. Back To The Cross 11. Confidence 12. The Insult Circus 13. Thread 14. Crucial Moment

Now this is how thrash metal with an occasional tint of hardcore should sound like. The production of The Crucified's debut release is appropriately heavy, much unlike the tinniest sounding crossover albums of the eighties. As for the music itself, it is convincing thrash metal with more good riffs than on average in the genre. Only the singer sounds somewhat plain and blunt more often than not, but that is something you can get used to over time. With this kind of good production and surprisingly mature sound, you may actually get an impression that The Crucified were way ahead of their time when this album was originally released. It is not exactly loaded with variety, but the quality is constantly high enough so that you are not likely to grow too bored with these songs anyway. Definitely a worthwhile release from The Crucified, even slightly refreshing in comparison to many other albums of the time.

1. Intro 2. Hateworld 3. It's All About Fear 4. The Wrong One 5. Mindbender 6. Path To Sorrow 7. Fellowship Of Thieves 8. Focus 9. The Strength 10. Blackstone 11. So-Called Living, 1991 12. The Pillars Of Humanity

The Pillars Of Humanity is more streamlined, also one-dimensional at times when compared to The Crucified's debut album. It is still not half-bad though certainly not as interesting on the whole as the band's first release. Among the practical differences, the vocals sometimes tend to get slightly buried in the mix, while the overall sound of the band appears more unified than before. The songs are constantly fast attacks and rather nice as such, although this time it is harder to distinguish between them due to their general resemblance to each other. Maybe it's just that at this point The Crucified's style did not seem too novel anymore, no matter how well done the music is. Some criticism put aside, The Pillars Of Humanity does still make a good companion to its predecessor despite some simplifications in the band's sound.

1. Aggressive Assault 2. Storm Of Steel 3. Evil World 4. Heathen's Attack 5. The Omen 6. Overlord 7. Possessed By Metal 8. Long Live The Metal Gods 9. Thrash Till We Die

It is rather unlucky that The Force chose to play most ordinary thrash metal, as one can take only so much of that kind before the cup finally runs over. As far as standard requirements go, Possessed By Metal is formally adequate, but there is little else to be said about it. Except for the long and somewhat ambitious instrumental Long Live The Metal Gods, this album does not stick out as noticeably energetic or otherwise remarkable in any way - it is just thrash metal for the sake of thrashing, with no deeper message whatsoever. As most people should already have a pretty good idea of the extent of competition in that area, considering both legacy and recent releases, it is useless to comment how effectively a generic album can get lost in the crowd without a trace. Unfortunately, the force is not strong with this one.

1. Product Of A Sick Mind 2. Viral Malignance 3. As I Lay Dying 4. Blood Justice 5. Liquidation 6. The Raven 7. Corruption 8. Final Solution

As a pretty obscure band born in the last years of the original thrash metal scene, The Horde Of Torment didn't really have much chance or time to gain higher recognition even though their music was definitely no worse than most of the stuff around at that time. Product Of A Sick Mind may appear somewhat ordinary at first, but the great intensity of this album gives it some extra boost over the lesser companions. The opening title track is quite an effective piece with its machine gun like rapid sound, and the rest of the album right up to Final Solution is very much in the same vein. In addition to the frantic delivery, the band's sound is made a bit more original by the vocals that are raw but clear and somewhat hardcore-ish. Even a relatively basic style like this can bring good results when done well enough as it's the case with this album. In all its plainness, Product Of A Sick Mind succeeds better than many of the more refined productions out there.

1. Intro: Evilution 2. He Speaks 3. Mulling Over Anaesthesia 4. Kill Each Other 5. To Whom Can You Turn 6. Beria, Show Him The Door 7. Imperial Leather 8. Justify The Means 9. I

Based on their only full-length release, The Krixhjalters seem to have had a healthy positive approach to their work. Evilution sounds like it was recorded in a good mood, as the band's style is fairly upbeat and lightsome, more agile than really heavy. The jovial feel aside, there is not much about the music that would be guaranteed to draw you into it. Most songs are passable enough to serve basic needs but there are no noteworthy tracks among them, and the riffs are quite unexceptional and forgettable. Despite some instrumental variation, this album can become quite boring already after a short introduction to it. While Evilution starts out sounding semi-interesting, the point is lost during the remainder of the album. By the time the whole thing is over, there is very little incentive to give it another listen.

1. Flying Saucers In The Sky 2. Smiles, Tears And Chaos 3. A Step Into The Dark 4. The Enemy 5. Hate 6. Barbed Wire Land (At War) 7. Phantasmagoria 8. Lightning In The Dark 9. Like A Bad Song 10. Faces Of Glass

In the Brazilian thrash metal scene The Mist had something of a distinctive sound of their own. This can be heard pretty well on the band's debut release Phantasmagoria that already shows originality and talent above the average level. Vladimir Korg was really one of the better vocalists in the field, and his decaying voice adds to the distinguishable style of The Mist by a notable amount. While the opening track hits you at high speed, several songs also exercise the band's tendency for heavy mid-tempo riffing which is used for a good effect. Generally this recording is still more straightforward than its even more ambitious follow-up. If you had to pick a thrash metal album that could be called "stylish" without sounding ridiculous, Phantasmagoria would be among the best candidates for that.

1. God Of Black And White Images 2. Scarecrow 3. Peter Pan Against The World 4. Falling Into My Inner Abyss 5. The Hangman Tree - Act One 6. The Hell Where Angels Live 7. My Life Is An Eternal Dark Room 8. My Pain 9. The Hangman Tree - Epilogue 10. Broken Toys 11. Leave Me Alone 12. Toxin Diffusion (bonus)

The Mist's The Hangman Tree must be one of the better examples of sometimes unexpected variety in the field of thrash metal. Opening with the dark and divine God Of Black And White Images, this album separates itself from some more stereotypical aspects of thrash metal right at the start. With their general melancholic feel combined with very good production values, these songs feel like a heavy rain falling down. In this depressing atmosphere, Vladimir Korg's suffering vocals perfectly fit in, giving it the final touch. This album is not at its best in the middle, though - while the multi-part title track is rather ambitious, it gets a bit too ponderous in a couple of places. But when there's even adequate speed applied, The Mist's formula results in some of the more impressive thrashers around. With lyrics painting images like in a dark dream, the term "gothic thrash metal" couldn't be more appropriate to describe the style of The Hangman Tree.

1. Cross Child 2. Escape To The Arms Of Lord 3. Disaster 4. Blind 5. Naked Lunch 6. Hate

After a couple of highly characteristic albums, Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust appeared to present a slightly different side of The Mist. With radically changed vocals and some mechanical intonations, the band's new sound notably deviated from their established style but not necessarily for the worse. Opening with the captivating Cross Child, the music is still quite stylish and even original in its own way. Although the cold and sometimes almost robotic vocals may draw some attention at first, they fit these songs more than well enough. The long and ponderous Disaster is quite a dragging piece, but all the others sound better than that. Especially the last two tracks Naked Lunch and Hate make up for earlier occasional slowdowns, both being enjoyable scorching thrashers. Regardless of stylistic changes, this release can be considered another fine addition to The Mist's discography.

1. The Day After 2. Violence Riddled 3. Thrash Alkoholisation 4. Insane 5. False Queens Of Metal (Extermination) 6. The Caprice 7. Mercyful Hate 8. Keine Eintracht 9. I Am Your God Part I 10. I Am Your God Part II 11. The Return

When it is taken into account that The No-Mads have been around in the scene for quite many years already, it is not too surprising that the sound of Deranged is fairly well developed though not necessarily too polished. With a fitting heavy production, The Day After opens the album in a convincing manner. The harsh female vocals immediately bring Holy Moses to mind, although most of these songs appear pretty banal and the music is not nearly as exciting and distinctive as the output of the band's more famous German peers can be. For a Polish band, The No-Mads also have a peculiar tendency to insert an odd track sung in German language, which happens a couple of times on this album as well. As a whole Deranged may be rather unremarkable, but the music is not quite as rough on the edges as it can initially seem - for fans of a specific kind of edgy thrash metal, this album should be a fair experience at least.

1. Reverend Terrorist 2. Unter Der Bar 3. The Age Of Demise 4. Children Of The Reich 5. Point Blank Fire 6. Nanoman 7. Last Lift Down 8. A Moment Of Sobriety 9. Vamos!

Although The No-Mads surely could have used some improvement already early on, The Age Of Demise shows signs of a promising development. This album is more consistent and intense than the band's previous works, and while it is mostly still nothing too special, the highlights stand out. Tracks like the opening piece Reverend Terrorist are effective brutal attacks in your face, but it's the title track that collects most of the honorary points this time. While the song at first seems to play like a typical prediction of the end of the world due to its natural course, something in this relentless pace coupled with some appealing guitar lines eventually catches the eye for good. When the rest is at least on a satisfactory level, The Age Of Demise successfully crosses the fine line that separates albums even slightly above the average from those that never quite reach the goal.

1. The Godsend 2. Clouds Of Death 3. Quicksand 4. Inverted Crosses 5. Legions Of Violence 6. Necronomic Forces

Thrash metal probably cannot get much more underground than The Unsane's Inverted Crosses. At first this mini album may appear like the leftovers from some bigger band's weekend rehearhals, but what do you know, the more you listen to it the better it starts to sound. Despite a constant rushed feel, this band were able to get their point through in a short and concise format. The songs are fast and simple, with almost an equal length for each track, but their unvarnished presentation carries a specific appeal of its own and the riffs are really not half-bad. Maybe it is only a lucky thing that the whole recording is not longer than this, otherwise the limited nature of the music might take its toll. Against the initial expectations, the cover art is not the only thing worth a second look on this one.

1. Surgeon 2. Poverty Is No Disgrace 3. Deportation 4. Caesium 137 5. Deadly Hatred 6. Think Of Misery 7. Conversion By Violence 8. No Compassion

By the looks of this album only, it would make more sense to expect even folk songs rather than genuine German speed/thrash metal from a band called Think Of Misery. Therefore the true nature of Poverty Is No Disgrace may come across as a small surprise, and not such an unpleasant one at all. Without any knowledge about the band in advance, the first half of this recording sounds quite effective with its dark and warm sound, not to forget some fairly appealing songwriting that eventually contributes to a positive impression. The rest of it does sound more generic though, and as a whole the thing is not fully as captivating as the first moments of it. Poverty Is No Disgrace is still a surprisingly nice effort of such little known origins, way better than you could reasonably wish for.

1. Coronation Of The Wicked 2. Master The Flesh 3. The End Of Sanity 4. Burned Within 5. Divine Departure 6. Two Leads One 7. In Written For Thoughts 8. Wounded Sun 9. Suffocator's Speech

It is pretty rare that a thrash metal album can be called stylish, but Thornclad's Coronation Of The Wicked fits the description. With a lot of varying tempos, melancholic passages, and even some downright decorative guitar lines, this is far from the most straightforward releases around, but the collection of songs here is actually more coherent than one might initially expect. The band's sound is generally quite heavy, thriving and crunchy, and the raspy, strong vocals add a touch of credibility to the mix. With the possible exception of the directly hard-hitting Master The Flesh, the individual tracks are not immediately too memorable, but the consistent atmosphere of Thornclad's music is easily distinguishable. While it would be an exaggeration to consider Coronation Of The Wicked first-rate, it has some deep, persistent quality that essentially makes a huge difference in comparison to all those disposable throwaway releases that one can find in great numbers nowadays.

1. Decaying Ice 2. Co Walker 3. Heady Steams 4. Mother Country 5. The Faceless One 6. The Hanging Garden 7. Bruised Memories

Usually a band labeled as "progressive" thrash metal is a good reason to skip the whole thing for good, but Threshold were one of those few groups that actually delivered what they promised. Within The Expanse is something else than just an excuse for unlistenable jazz or a variation of power metal - an album of technical but real thrash metal. Threshold were apparently not afraid of preserving genre characteristics like speed and heaviness while simultaneously pursuing more ambitious and complex directions. Sometimes the style works fairly well, but in the end this album does not quite reach the goal, mostly due to its rather unfocused feel. The emotionless vocals also make the music appear somewhat cold and sterile at times, though this may have been just fully intentional in the first place. At least those who are interested in less simplistic productions out there might find the result worth a closer look.

1. Intro 2. Gotta Bad Taste 3. Katharsis 4. Backwoods 5. Gore-Shriek Of A Hunchback 6. Midnitemeattrain 7. Total Sellout 8. Outburst 9. Evil Dead 10. Headless

With a surprisingly good and heavy sound, Catharsis is not too bad an effort from Tishvaisings (or "The art of the legendary Tishvaisings" as the whole title goes, obviously with deliberate humorous intentions only). Not exactly a stereotypical release for the German scene, this album plays in a nice although not too innovative manner all through. With a lot of semi-memorable, almost playful riffing here and there, the music has a slight edge over some more average attempts of this kind - a couple of tracks like Backwoods are almost there to make it to the hall of honorable mentions. Except for the good production the album appears more like a clever exercise on the genre antics than a serious project, though. As a whole, Catharsis has just enough qualities to justify the effort to go and check it out.

1. Intro 2. Acid Rain 3. Religious Insanity 4. Shop 'Til Ya Drop 5. Bestial Sex 6. Motorhead 7. Chainsaw Massacre 8. Drunken Torment 9. Cry For Justice 10. Slaves Of Technology 11. Das Neue 12. Crucifixion 13. Ballad Of Peter's Dog 14. State Of War 15. Liebe Freunde von Torment

Let it be said that although even lesser bands certainly deserve to have their voice heard, Torment's Experience A New Dimension Of Fear... can make most other thrash metal albums sound highly respectable in comparison. If you needed an extreme example of differences between American and German schools of thrash metal, this would be a good candidate. Torment's output is simply very rough, noisy, and often downright ugly with brutal vocals that get tiresome surprisingly quickly, and drums that are sometimes so monotonic that the band could have as well used a drum machine there. With their sickening sound these tracks can practically leave a bad taste in your mouth, even just a couple of them being already more than enough. If there ever was anything high-spirited about this album in the first place, nothing of it has remained over the years.

1. Intro 2. New World Terror 3. Tormentation 4. Porn Casting 5. Laws Of The Street 6. In The Name 7. Traitor's Fate 8. Politically Incorrect (And Damn Proud Of It) 9. Shop 'Til Ya Drop 10. The Calling 11. Not Dead Yet 12. Woman 13. Tribute To Traci (T. T. T.) 14. State Of War 15. Please Don't Touch 16. Bestial Sex 17. Heavy Metal Hooligans

Considering the band's early releases, expectations towards a modern-day Torment album were not necessarily high. Therefore it was quite a pleasant surprise to notice that Tormentation is actually a very listenable piece of easy-going thrash metal. New World Terror effectively introduces the band's renewed sound that is a lot more relaxed as well as vigorous than in the past, not to forget some more intelligible vocals. In addition to competent thrashing this album also includes a few songs that could be almost directly from Motorhead's catalog. These are in no way distracting, and they actually add a certain merry vibe to the whole thing - the amusing Porn Casting with its shamelessly raunchy lyrics being a good example. Although the massive length of this album is partially due to several re-recorded pieces and cover songs, you get a lot of value for your money. Not only that, but Tormentation can be a real feelgood experience, too.

1. Tormentizer 2. Let's Get Extreme 3. Nothing To Repent 4. Heavy Metal Whorehouse 5. I Hate The System 6. Wind Of Change 7. Stalker 8. Temptress Crystal Meth 9. We Are The Boys 10. Politics And Religion 11. The Ones You Love To Hate 12. A Tribute

In thrash metal a grim outlook is sometimes taken for granted, but in Torment's case this kind of thinking does not apply. At the first sight Tormentizer appears to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Tormentation, one of the better albums in its class, but a closer look reveals that the band's sound has evolved further into a more laidback direction. With some increasingly Motorhead-ish tones audible in many songs, the music admittedly could have used a bit more energy at times, but then again it's the most joyful pieces that seem to make the most memorable moments here. For example, Heavy Metal Whorehouse fully brings the politically incorrect Porn Casting from the previous album to mind, demonstrating a thoroughly happy mood that is a total opposite of the typical pop-a-vein-in-your-forehead kind of grave approach. Tormentation is still Torment's best release to date, but Tormentizer should be enough to satisfy at least some of a similar appetite.

1. Ignominous Slaughter 2. Blood Portraits 3. Slay Ride 4. Terror Kingdom 5. Storm Alert 6. Enter The Chamber 7. Whips 8. Deceiver

The classy and melodramatic intro to this album feels initially quite misleading, as Torture's Storm Alert is basically a piece of the rawest thrash metal around. Despite the apparent roughness of music, the band incorporate a lot of nice touches in it, which makes the tracks more interesting than one might expect. Torture's sound is immediately familiar to anyone who has listened to Coven, as the bands are quite similar to each other as far as the extreme vocals and the general style are considered. As it's the case with Coven, it is sometimes a bit difficult to listen to Torture with a straight face even though the band don't take their delivery as deliberately over the top. Regardless of the slightly simple grounds that this music is based on, Torture manage to present some surprisingly effective thrash metal on Storm Alert, making it quite a nice representation of their style.

1. Breakout 2. Burning Down Your Life 3. Forbidden Lust 4. Mad Sounds 5. State Of Madness 6. Overloaded 7. Raging Speed 8. Left To Die 9. United Forces

From another less known group of German thrashers, Toxic Shock's debut Change From Reality sounds pretty typical in every sense. While the material is not exactly too distinctive, the feel of this album is somehow more uplifting and energetic than the norm, which makes it slightly more tempting to grab it for playing every now and then. The vocals sound a bit awkward at first with their heavy accent, but you soon forget to worry about it. The lengthy tracks are full of sufficiently hard-hitting thrashing although it's a bit hard to remember too much of the individual songs afterwards. Without any real faults the result is fairly consistent and enjoyable, and as long as you don't expect anything exceptional, Change From Reality should do quite fine.

1. Intro 2. Behind The Guillotine 3. Change From Reality 4. Dragon's Eye (The Story Part I) 5. World Power Rules 6. True Insanity 7. One End 8. Welcome Home... Near Dark (The Story Part II) 9. Termination 10. The Challenge

With Welcome Home... Near Dark Toxic Shock adopted a notably duller sound than on their debut. The first thing you will notice is the production that is rougher and less clear than before. In addition, the vocals are now more harsh but also a bit less distinctive. Although the musical style has mostly remained the same, together with the mentioned changes the sound of this album on the whole is not as fresh and energetic as that of Change From Reality. Now the output is often downright tedious and flat, something that doesn't exactly make this album a longtime favorite. While the band's sound in the beginning was only slightly above the average, it was highly listenable when compared to this second effort.

1. Heart Attack 2. Social Overload 3. Pain And Misery 4. Voices 5. Door To Hell 6. World Circus 7. 47 Seconds Of Sanity / Count Your Blessings 8. False Prophets 9. Haunted Earth 10. Victims

Toxik's brand of speed/thrash metal was so much a child of its time that today World Circus sounds so eighties you wouldn't believe. The band's original style was pretty close to Agent Steel, especially considering the melodic but fairly high-speed songs, and vocals that are extremely high-pitched in the John Cyriis vein though not quite as sarcastic. To add to the distinctive Toxik sound on this album, Josh Christian's guitar playing is quite original and inspirational, at times even flashy though in a good, nostalgic way. Although the thrash metal factor varies quite a bit from track to track, the fastest pieces like the opening Heart Attack and the closing triplet of tight thrashers should not leave anyone cold - not to forget the awesome title track that gives a whole new meaning to dramatic songwriting. With blatantly catchy riffs spread all over this album, it's not that hard to see the appeal. If Agent Steel rings the bell for you and you don't mind absolute air siren vocals, then World Circus is a sure hit.

1. Dismembered Illusions 2. Aphorisms 3. The Prophecy 4. Land Of Despaire 5. Lord Of The Flies 6. Daily Inferno

Having heard practically nothing about Toxin in advance, my expectations towards this German band were originally nil. Even more surprising it has been to find that their releases are among the better ones in the scene. The band's debut release Aphorisms is a notably powerful mini album with simply a very intense sound, combining vigorous vocals and pumped-up riffage that hardly leave anyone cold. The feel of this album is essentially more original and interesting than what many other minor league bands of the time were able to provide, and only occasionally the music seems to lose its direction for a while. With a surprisingly refined sound already at this early stage of the band, Aphorisms is no doubt worth some serious attention.

1. Two Sided Existence 2. Misantrophy 3. Retrospective 4. Disintegration 5. Destructive Ways 6. Lust For Life 7. Two Wishes 8. Wings Of Death 9. X.T.C.

Following Toxin's strong debut release, Misantrophy has a distinctive style of its own. The content of this album is a bit more intriguing and less straightforward than on Aphorisms, with continued emphasis on genuinely original riffs and interesting songwriting. Featuring some slightly increased technical touches, the feel of this release somehow reminds me of Mystrez even though Toxin's sound is still more energetic and not as complex, resulting in a stronger impression. Although there are two different vocalists in the band, the output remains fairly consistent and equally powerful. Pursuing a lot more ambitious directions than most other bands, Toxin produced music that has stood against time, making Misantrophy a strong contender in the field.

1. Wishing A Funeral 2. The Call Of Death 3. Atrocious Obscurity 4. Profaner 5. Fear Of The Cross 6. The Road To The Graveyard 7. Exhumated 8. Tormented Brain 9. Burial At Sea

Being the leading thrash metal band in Mexico, Transmetal demonstrated strong compliance to the characteristic style of the thrash movement in their continent. The sound of Burial At Sea is rather muffled and raw though also quite strong in a certain primitive way, which somehow fits the music pretty well. The vocalist has such a heavy accent that without the lyrics sheet you might not be able to tell whether he is singing in English or Spanish. Like said, musically this album has an inimitable touch of Latin American metal though Transmetal's style is not quite as appealing as some of the better offerings from the local scene. While Wishing A Funeral and The Call Of Death even in all their roughness have some memorable moments, many other tracks tend to sound more uninspiring despite their energy. As a result, Burial At Sea is not a terrible effort but often it just drags a bit too much.

1. The Last Warrior 2. Berud's Sword 3. The Trojan Horse 4. Seance With Vampire 5. Tempest's Son 6. Goddess Of Confusion 7. Angel From Hell

A legendary band from Poland, Turbo played more traditional metal during their first years but then evolved into a fine thrash metal band. Last Warrior is a full-blooded speed/thrash metal album with a surprisingly fresh sound. The latter feature is largely due to the riffs that are fast and heavy but also have some notably melodic touches. On the other hand, the vocals are quite harsh, almost overdone at times, and they can be a certain put-off to some. But the music is simply pretty good, especially the lengthy instrumental sections in some songs (Berud's Sword, The Trojan Horse) are very well done even though a couple of other tracks sound slightly clumsy in comparison. I can't help but think that with a bit better vocals this album could have made an essentially stronger impact in the first place. Even with some limitations Turbo's sound has some real style and it is easily distinguishable from a standard pack, something that alone deserves an honorable mention.

1. Salvator Mundi 2. AIDS 3. Ocean Of Tears 4. Loop Of Time 5. Crazy World 6. Anty N.R. Eve 7. Pleasure And Pain 8. Den Of Sorrow 9. 13.12.88

With Epidemic Turbo's sound became more refined, to some extent even classy. Especially the vocals are less rough than on the previous album and the production is somewhat cleaner than before, a factor that actually makes the band sound slightly less energetic. Whereas the lyrics on Last Warrior focused on fantasy topics, the general theme of Epidemic revolves around diseases and entropy of society and human body. Although the outcome is pretty stylish, the songs are not quite as distinctive anymore. Salvator Mundi is an impressive opener and Den Of Sorrow a good ending, but the rest is more average with only occasional highlights. It must be admitted that Epidemic has a genuine touch of class, but the result is just not as memorable as Last Warrior.

1. Introduction 2. Everyone 3. Barbaric Justice 4. Blind Alley 5. Annihilate 6. Enola Gay 7. Evolution 8. The Raven 9. Dead End 10. Mortuary 11. Prophetic Sound

With a new vocalist and a lot heavier sound, Dead End was probably the heaviest Turbo album up to this point. Gone is the refined sound of Epidemic, this album is notably less melodic than the past efforts. Although the music is not as characteristic as on Turbo's older releases, it is not necessarily worse assuming that one can appreciate also this kind of more straightforward pounding. While this album lacks definite stand-out tracks and does not actually differ too much from the norm anymore, it's not completely without some inspired touches. Even with some slightly more stereotypical presentation, Dead End is a fairly well done piece of heavy thrash metal, just in a slightly different vein than the older Turbo albums.

1. Introduction 2. End User 3. Regression 4. Mental Alienation 5. Blasphemy 6. Refuse To Live 7. One Way 8. Scum 9. Disaster Area

Ending Turbo's classic run of albums, One Way is sound-wise not too far from Dead End. This may appear to be the most ordinary release of the bunch, and it is true that at this point of development Turbo had ended up sounding like a typical thrash metal band in every sense. There is little in the way of original ideas here, and the outcome does not draw you into it nearly in the same way as some of the band's best works. It is still a product of solid workmanship, and with such heavy riffs as found here this album is not really bad, just clearly more derivative and less distinguishable than any of its predecessors. As a complement to Turbo's discography this is nevertheless an essential piece, but not the one that you should start with in the first place.

1. Seed Of Descent 2. Unforgiven 3. No Life 4. Tinnitus 5. What Am I Doing Here 6. Dead Strike 7. Final Attack

Tynator's Living In Pain is again one of those releases that tend to leave you pretty indifferent regardless of how much time you put into it. It's a slight pity that musically this album fails to distinguish itself from the mass as technically it is not a bad effort at all. The riffs are smooth but quite unmemorable, and it's hard to say anything special about the music as it mostly just goes through your head without a trace. The vocals are surprisingly intelligible and the band's dark sound is sort of appealing, but other than that there's not really much to catch your attention. It's just fairly well done and all, but unfortunately there's no real reason to grab this one for listening very often.

1. Visions 2. Time Waits Hungry 3. All Our Wars 4. Wait For Disaster 5. Evil Divine 6. Fearful People 7. Try Again 8. The Message

Coming seemingly out of nowhere, Typhoon could have made something of an impact if Take Good Care had been released a few years earlier. The band's style can be called technical speed/thrash metal, with vocals that sometimes appear even a bit too pretentious for the style. The music is generally fast except a couple of slower pieces, and most tracks are sufficiently varied, too. However, despite ambitious compositions this album essentially fails to deliver whole memorable songs. Somehow Typhoon's music manages to pass your ears as rather superficial and unimportant, more often than not, and the foremost feeling after hearing this album can be a slight disappointment. Take Good Care is admittedly an advanced piece of work, but that alone does not guarantee a good impression.