PRESENTS
E XT R E M E LY E XT R E M E
D EC I B E L M AG A Z I N E .C O M
THE
THRASH METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
[starring]
THE
BIG FOUR
+
TESTAMENT PRONG ANACRUSIS
… and the stories behind their greatest records
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just words from the editor
I first heard thrash through an
elementary school friend named Bernie. We were both in sixth grade. I was a fat loser rocking a Dutch Boy haircut and he was a new kid at our Catholic school who creeped everyone out with his Iron Maiden “Stranger in a Strange Land” back patch. Obviously, we became fast friends. Back then, the most extreme records—nay, cassettes—I owned were Metal Health, Stay Hungry and Pyromania. Bernie set out to correct that with one Memorex dBS-90 titled Project: Metal. Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (which I misspelled as “Master of Pupets” for years), Rigor Mortis’ “Foaming at the Mouth” (fastest song I’d ever heard) and S.O.D.’s “Pussy Whipped” (I had no idea what the song was about, but somehow Bernie did) all assaulted my arena rock ears, and officially put Bernie on the “watch list” for my mom. I didn’t wake up the next day with “Slayer” carved into my arm, but I was well only my extreme metal way—though, still not a fraction as metal as the “Burndog” was. Complied two years later, a second volume of Project: Metal (II: The Next Generation) featured Exciter, Omen, Sabbat, a collection of doodles and a handwritten disclaimer: “warning: may contain graphic lyrics.” To this day, they’re still the only two cassettes on my CD racks. Bernie didn’t live long enough to see Decibel. But I’ve thought about him on numerous occasions while assembling this HOF Thrash Special. I’m sure if he got the chance to read it, he’d give me a ton of shit about not sneaking Helloween’s Walls of Jericho album into our Top 50. This one’s for you, dude.
—albert mudrian, Editor-in-Chief
Alex Mulcahy
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Decibel’s Thrash Top 50 .................................................... 05 Slayer, Reign in Blood....................................................... 12 Anthrax, Among the Living................................................ 18 Testament, The Legacy ...................................................... 24 Metallica, …And Justice for All ......................................... 32 Megadeth, Rust in Peace ................................................... 40
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Anacrusis, Reason............................................................. 48
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Prong, Beg to Differ........................................................... 56
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*Get your music from a record store. Find them at www.mymetalclub.com
J
mania behind Yankee Stadium’s ust because we at Decibel didn’t exactly buy in to the have ever really stopped playing, wallet-raping Big Four Nostalgia Fest—none of those bands a year ago—doesn’t mean we and three of them toured the States together as recently as grunge-era swoon up to a still don’t fucking love thrash. From its ’80s heyday through the at its denim seams with innovators shocking new millennium/new wave resurgence, the genre teems
and imitators. The point of this list is identifying and honoring the former, and the only way to do it right is to be painstakingly thorough. It should be no spoiler alert that the Top 10 are all more or less products of the Reagan Years, but we also incorporated overlooked gems (Blind Illusion), one-and-done crossovers (Pantera), Jesus freaks (Believer), adventurous ’90s game-changers (the Haunted, Witchery) and the best of the new jacks (Municipal Waste). Anyway, you know this is all coming down to Slayer and Metallica near the top, but take your time riding the lightning through the remains to see which master reigns. —ANDREW BONAZELLI
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FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
Doomsday for the Deceiver METAL BLADE (1986)
Mostly known as the original stomping grounds of former Rock Star: Supernova bassist Jason Newsted (who left soon after Doomsday to join some other group), Flotsam and Jetsam were one of the more New Wave of British Heavy Metal-influenced groups. Their thrash wasn’t as brawny as the Bay Area’s take, but the effortless musicianship and sense of fun certainly made up for it. Just, uh, ignore the dopey cover art. —JEFF TREPPEL
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FORBIDDEN
WHIPLASH
COMBAT (1990)
ROADRUNNER (1985)
Twisted Into Form
Power and Pain
The San Francisco band emerged in 1990 a more polished outfit than heard on the rampaging Forbidden Evil, and it was a smart move, as Twisted Into Form remains an incredibly hooky thrash album to this day. Guitarists Craig Locicero and Tim Calvert display just as much restraint as they do dexterity, while singer Russ Anderson puts in a vocal performance for the ages, highlighted by the extraordinary title track.
From the fertile NY-NJ-CT thrash/hardcore/crossover scene emerged this Jersey trio. Power and Pain—Whiplash’s debut—is another unheralded classic from the annals of thrash metal, where the Italian stallions ramped up the ferocity and speed with “Stage Dive,” “Red Bomb” and “Power Thrashing Death,” but managed to temper the chaos with riffing that melded flashy technique and infectious fluidity with classical-inspired leads and a raspy vocal spew.
—ADRIEN BEGRAND
—KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
D EC I B EL
5
TH RASH HoF
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TESTAMENT
Formation of Damnation NUCLEAR BLAST (2008)
Nü-metal and pleasant memories of The New Order and Practice What You Preach kept us grading Testament on a curve throughout most of the ’90s. Sure, The Gathering was better than average and only a diehard Trans-Siberian Orchestra fan could grouse over Alex Skolnick’s return, but did anyone honestly expect Testament to unleash anything as vital, scorching, and “Big 4”-shaming as The Formation of Damnation after a nine-year layoff? —SHAWN MACOMBER
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NUCLEAR ASSAULT Game Over
COMBAT (1986)
Occasionally given short shrift due to their jokey propensity and a lackluster comeback, N.A.’s first three albums are all essential, and their debut is narrowly the best of the lot. Covering a lot of ground, the band earns respect for mixing up-tempo, politically-charged numbers with bursts of punk intensity (“Hang the Pope,” “My America”) and some nicelydrawn-out instrumental sections (“Brain Death,” “Sin”) that still sound fresh. —ULA GEHRET
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SADUS
Illusions/Chemical Exposure SELF-RELEASED (1988)
Sadus are criminally slepton. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio’s herculean thunder bass is more widely celebrated on Death’s Human than on any of Sadus’ needle-in-the-red, turbo thrash, but shit, Illusions/Chemical Exposure rips along with such an eye-popping intensity—Darren Travis’ yelp sounds like he’s channeling the very essence of the man on the edge. Metal Church’s John Marshall deserves huge credit for capturing this low-budget/high-definition insanity on tape. Aggressive perfection. —JONATHAN HORSLEY
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SLAYER
Seasons in the Abyss DEF AMERICAN (1990)
Slayer’s third album with Rick Rubin was also their last truly fantastic one. Where Reign in Blood set the thrash standard and South of Heaven injected venomous nuance, Seasons saw Kerry King and the boys slowing tempos down (occasionally) even further in the process of becoming seriously fucking evil. The gems here are numerous— “War Ensemble,” the title track, “Skeletons of Society”—but the album’s legacy comes down to Slayer’s most unforgettable moment: “Dead Skin Mask.” —J. BENNETT
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INFERNÄL MÄJESTY
None Shall Defy RC/ROADRACER/ ROADRUNNER (1987)
Yes, Toronto’s Infernäl Mäjesty provided another crucial link between thrash and death metal, much like Possessed and Slaughter. However, while None Shall Defy sounded menacing enough, what remains so extraordinary about that 1987 debut is just how varied it is. For an album so often lauded for its brutality, it’s actually a very dynamic, meticulously arranged record, displaying a lot more nuance than many of the band’s peers were capable of. —ADRIEN BEGRAND
TH RASH HoF
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WITCHERY
DEATH ANGEL
SEPULTURA
NECROPOLIS (1998)
RESTLESS (1987)
RC/ROADRACER/
DIABOLIC FORCE (1987)
Originally consisting of four former members of Swedish blackthrashers Satanic Slaughter, plus King Diamond bassist Sharlee D’Angelo, Witchery tore the underground a new one with this killer blast of vicious necro-thrash. Deeply infectious cuts like “The Reaper,” “Awaiting the Exorcist” and a self-titled song—the calling card of any band with aspirations of metal greatness—had fans from Stockholm to Suriname doing “the W.” They’d continue to rule faces with 1999’s mostly-covers Witchburner EP and Dead, Hot & Ready album before falling off.
These Bay Area squirts weren’t even old enough to order a beer when their debut blew the back patches off thrash’s denim vest. Innovation wasn’t important— Death Angel made an album that was solid from beginning to end, with freaky solos, neck-snapping rhythms, horror-movie squeals and sick drumming (courtesy of a 14-year-old with adult cojones). The Ultra-Violence was substantial enough to make an entire stadium of mullet-heads stain their seats. Even metal has its child stars. —JEANNE FURY
ROADRUNNER (1991)
Eyesore cover notwithstanding, FTT is a purist’s thrash album: vocals that drip acid, sharp and precise riffing, and wellplaced time changes. Add in some truly legendary songs (“Re-Animation,” “The Entity,” “Cyanide” and the epic “Flames of Armageddon,” where Rob Urbinati’s pit-igniting “go!” would beat Tompa to the punch by about eight years) and you have one of—if not the—finest thrash records ever to emerge from the Great White North. —ULA GEHRET
Restless & Dead
—J. BENNETT
The Ultra-Violence
Arise
Spectacularly, two decades of time and dust haven’t obscured Sepultura’s fourth long-player. Moored by Max Cavalera and Andreas Kisser’s Brazilian bikini-tight riffs, Max’s caustic oracular proclamations, and Igor Cavalera’s heart-stop-worthy drum work, Arise symbolized thrash’s ability to modernize without sacrifices to tempo and aggression. A gateway record— the Roadrunner affiliation helped—if there ever was one, Arise, to this very day, is both a thrash and death metal classic! —CHRIS DICK
SACRIFICE
Forward to Termination
6
D EC
38
BELIEVER
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VOIVOD
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Sanity Obscure
War and Pain
RC/ROADRACER/
METAL BLADE (1984)
ROADRUNNER (1990)
Twenty-seven years ago, Jonquière , Quebec’s resident weirdo quartet was referred to as the “worst band in the world.” That’s a by-product of creating music that forges ahead into the future; the wimps and posers leave the hall, leaving barbs of insecurity in their wake. War and Pain still crushes with erudite originality and caveman rawness, and the reaction to the songs in their live set today prove Voivod are a smidge better than the worst band ever.
Believer’s sophomore LP disproved two longstanding metal myths: thrash could never be as heavy as death metal, and all Christian metal blows dead dogs for quarters. A technical, progressive, yet mercifully catchy masterpiece, Sanity Obscure remains inexplicably cool despite an anti-drug PSA (“Stop the Madness”) a six-minute opera (“Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)”) and even a semi-ridiculous U2 cover (“Like a Song”). Do you believe in miracles? Neither do I, but this is close enough. —ALBERT MUDRIAN
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How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today EPIC (1988)
How Will I Laugh Tomorrow marked the debut of Mike Muir’s longtime foil, rhythm guitarist Mike Clark, who gave Suicidal Tendencies a complete thrash baptism. Suicidal were already on a hot streak with Join the Army, but “Surf and Slam” makes up for the lack of skate songs by exploring the link between the Ventures and metal. Oh, and the title track? Some of the most ridiculously catchy gang vocals ever. —NICK GREEN
—KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
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DESTRUCTION Infernal Overkill
STEAMHAMMER (1985)
A marked improvement on their 1984 debut EP Sentence of Death, and yet still somewhat eclipsed by 1986’s classic Eternal Devastation, Destruction’s first full-length outing remains something of a dark horse in the band’s discography. Nifty instrumental “Thrash Attack” and album closer “Black Death” aside, all the tracks remain in their set lists to this day and, of course, this one gave us Destruction’s immortal anthem “Bestial Invasion.” —GREG MOFFITT
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PRONG
MUNICIPAL WASTE
CARNIVORE
EPIC (1990)
EARACHE (2007)
ROADRUNNER (1987)
STEAMHAMMER (1988)
We know Prong existed before MTV aired the “Beg to Differ” video. For thrashers yearning for a new sonic perspective— Voivod notably excepted—the lead single off Prong’s second album was exactly the right wind in doldrum-ed times. The confluence of Killing Joke, Die Kreuzen and Bad Brains wasn’t evident to most longhairs on Beg to Differ. However, what Prong did with those influences—short, punchy, mid-tempo tunes— resonated hard. Beg to Differ is singularly powerful. —CHRIS DICK
Detractors dismiss the thrash revival as the sonic equivalent of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with beer. Municipal Waste don’t write songs about pizza (though they should), but The Art of Partying is a deft blend of parody, satire and hero worship by one of the scene’s most virtuosic ensembles. No stone is left unturned on this concept album about the world’s most epic bender: It even opens with a song called “Pre-Game.” C’mon, that’s genius. —NICK GREEN
Before Bloody Kisses and Playgirl, Peter Steele roamed the apocalyptic wastelands with this power trio from hell. Disguised as a goofy, disgusting concept album about postnuclear barbarians, Carnivore actually contains some of the catchiest, most melodic progressive thrash you’ll ever hear, jumping from grinding hardcore to sweet crooning to crawling doom (all in the same song). Underneath, you know, deadpan lyrics about cannibalism and rape—but that’s part of the charm.
While 1985’s “Evil Invaders” was the song that galvanized Canadian headbangers, Violent Restitution from three years later would prove to be Razor’s most consistent album out of all their dizzying 1980s output. Dave Carlo remains one of the most underrated thrash guitarists, his riffs moving with astonishing speed, while Razor never sounded as good as they did with Stace “Sheepdog” McClaren grunting and screaming like no one else ever could.
Beg to Differ
The Art of Partying
Carnivore
—JEFF TREPPEL
D EC I B EL
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TH RASH HoF
RAZOR
Violent Restitution
—ADRIEN BEGRAND