Thrash metal is the common ancestor of all extreme metal in that we wouldn’t have death metal, grindcore, or black metal without it. Back when Venom came on the scene and influenced the likes of Metallica in the early 80’s, everything changed from what the 70’s had worked up, and henceforth did metal become less of a fad and more of a movement that we all identify with today. Bands like Metallica and Slayer are the crème de la crème of the genre, but what about the smaller bands from the second wave that emerged? I took it upon myself to explore the debut albums from bands I’ve enjoyed but never listened to. It’s here I confess that I never gave these albums the time of day because of no good, convincing reason, so now’s as good of a time as any, right?

Vio-lence – Eternal Nightmare

With the band getting back together last year and playing this in its entirety, you’d think I would have given Vio-lence the time of day so I could join in celebrating this big deal of a reunion. I had heard some of the band’s demos by happenstance some years ago, but I never went forward with listening to Eternal Nightmare because I probably was too infatuated with black metal at the time. That said, though, this debut is like a foreshadowing of Municipal Waste in some aspects, but also taking the musical aspects of Megadeth and Anthrax’s thrashiest material and running right for the touchdown. Fast riffs, wild instrumentation, and some gnarly solos, bruh, all come together for a really slept on classic. It’s a damn shame Vio-lence didn’t become one of the bigger thrash bands, because this is one of the more engaging records you’ll find in the genre that isn’t about the party lifestyle.

Destruction – Infernal Overkill

Okay, bear with me: of all the albums I listened to, this one was the one that surprised and disappointed me the most. Destruction’s latest output has been nothing but killer and super-high tier thrash metal by any standards, but they’ve aged like wine in the sense that this first album is a pale comparison to what they would become. That said, if you’re looking for primitive and standard thrash metal, Infernal Overkill is that album. “Black Death” is the album’s highlight and shows the brilliance that the band would come to assume later on, but getting there is more akin to Celtic Frost’s Morbid Tales than Under Attack or Born to Perish. Schmier and Sifringer are still involved and remain a mostly-constant force in the band, but all in all I’m just glad they got significantly better and smarter as their discography grew.

Nuclear Assault – Game Over

Now this is how you party! Nuclear Assault are a great band and The Plague is a fantastic EP, but I never got around to this classic album. I’m kinda kicking myself because it’s a hell of a good time and one that has influenced many bands, especially of the crossover variety. I think the guitar tones aren’t thick enough and some of the playing is really raw, but MAN is this just a raw, silly, intense album that covers a lot of bases. “Kill the Pope” is ultra-fast and the thrashiest, most punk piece of any thrash band from this time, while “Stranded in Hell” is anthemic and catchy. I don’t think there’s a bad song across all 13 tracks, and even with the blemishes I mentioned it’s all forgivable because you can tell it’s four guys doing this out of passion and not to chase trends. Hell. Friggin’. Yes.

Sodom – Obsessed by Cruelty

Sodom are no strangers to thrash metal, but their influence on death metal and black metal cannot be understated. Often being credited as the album that made second-wave black metal a thing, (Those Norwegian boys, if you don’t know) Obsessed by Cruelty is a nasty and raw endeavor that acts as a ground zero for all things extreme and heavy. Coming out between Possessed’s Seven Churches and Death’s Scream Bloody Gore,  this nefarious thrash album is just as responsible for the formation as death metal as the rest. That said, its got its moments and shines when Sodom gets right to the point. I appreciate the musical sections and the rhythm breaks that the band explores, but the album runs a song or two too long before rushing to the end with some quick tracks to close it out. While not my favorite on this list, metal owes this album and Sodom a lot for helping influence a whole generation of metal. Bless the Germans for this gem.

Thrash is a definite mainstay in metal culture and there’ll always be new bands coming out with great albums. NJ’s Paralysis and Philly’s No Gods are the perfect examples of the genre being very much alive, and it’s only a matter of time before the genre cycles around and we start acknowledging the newer and smaller bands that make the genre continue turning. For as much trash I can talk on the genre, thrash is a lot of fun and has some of the best bands in all of metal in its ranks.