Music Banter - View Single Post - Who Is The Greatest of the Non Big 4 Thrash Metal Bands?

jackhammer · 10-23-2010, 02:13 PM

My penny's worth on these bands:

Kreator
One of the very few Thrash bands to rarely deviate from the classic Thrash sound although main man Mille Petrozza's garbled high vocals put a lot of people off which is a shame as their music has always been fast and technical whilst still holding your attention.

Testament
Whilst I appreciate Pete's liking for The Gathering, we are a lot different in ages and I grew up with their classic Thrash sound and disliked them (and a few other bands) branching out to incorporate Death Metal etc. I prefer my Thrash generally pure so the first 3 albums are where it's at for me and they utilised their twin guitar sound well. They also had some fantastic acoustic breakdowns too.

Exodus
We have talked about these quite recently and their debut Bonded By Blood is definitely up there with the most influential albums but band members coming and going (or passing away) meant that they rarely made a cohesive album IMO.

Annihilator
Alice In Hell (the album) begins in storming fashion with some serious musicianship and then the vocals kick in and they sounded like a crappy Heavy Metal band and in fact their first two releases sound like Power Metal to me and lacking intensity. I stopped listening to them after this so not sure what came after.

Voivod
One of the most distinctive bands of the Thrash era although their debut borders on Hardcore more than Thrash but due to being influenced by Pink Floyd, Avant Garde and Psychedelia, they never quite fitted in the scene for many people. One of my definite favourites though and the sort of band you could listen to even if you are not a big Metal fan.

Infernal Majesty
Well this will get you. I don't think I have ever heard a single song by them! I only know the name and that's it.

Overkill
They have always come across as more of a fun band to me. The sort of band perfect for moshing and stagediving. I do like them and have their first 3 or 4 albums but I wouldn't put them too high on my Thrash faves.

Sodom
This German 3 piece don't get nowhere near the attention they deserve. Very tight, heavy and with a very distinctive guitar sound, almost muddy and a lot less slick than their American counterparts which I really like. Agent Orange is an essential Thrash album.

Sepultura
Well I just recently made a post in my Thrash thread so I am obviously a fan but I'm one of a few fans that really disliked their sound becoming more groove orientated. However Schizophrenia is yet another Thrash must have. Very tight musically too.

Anacrusis
When their debut Suffering Hour came out it completely split opinion with some fans liking their left field approach with odd time changes and different vocal styles and others not liking because they thought that the band couldn't quite work out what they wanted to sound like. This continued for a couple of albums and I really liked them. One of the more interesting bands of the genre.

Suicidal Tendencies
I like their early as well as later albums but never really considered them Thrash although they used that sound a lot more on later albums. Their guitar sound is quality though. Very crunchy and clean.

Anvil
Never liked them only admired them. I think they were a Heavy Metal band that just ramped it up a bit.

Heathen
Surprised they are on the list TBH. Their debut Breaking The Silence is reallly solid but sounds more like a power/doom album. They then made one more album before disappearing for 15 years so I just don't consider them important enough (although they were one of the early Bay Area bands).

Destruction
Mad Butcher is such a great E.P and their fast kinetic sound was exciting but after a few tracks they start to bore me personally.

Death Angel
Their debut The Ultra Violence is still probably the best Thrash debut ever made (yes it's better than Kill 'em All) but then their follow on was completely forgettable. They redeemed themselves with Act III but then they had near fatal road accident and never really recovered. Shame.

Dark Angel
I would class these as the perfect advertisement for Speed Metal and both Darkness Descends and Leave Scars are definitely albums to have in your collection (No One Answers from Leave Scars is probably my favourite Thrash riff ever) but their intensity suffered through bad production IMO.

So what was left off and who am I choosing?

Sacred Reich
This 4 piece with probably the biggest drummer to grace a Thrash drumstool relied on a much more traditional heavier sound than some other bands at the time and also Vocalist Phil Rinds awesome throaty voice and socially conscious lyrics gave them a much more professional sound too.

Coroner
One of the most respected bands of the era with both fans and other bands themselves looking on in envy at their power and technical ability, especially for a 3 piece. They were also very good songwriters and were probably too good to stay within the Thrash template.

It has to be Voivod for me.

10-23-2010, 02:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	My penny's worth on these bands: Kreator One of the very few Thrash bands to rarely deviate from the classic Thrash sound although main man Mille Petrozza's garbled high vocals put a lot of people off which is a shame as their music has always been fast and technical whilst still holding your attention. Testament Whilst I appreciate Pete's liking for The Gathering, we are a lot different in ages and I grew up with their classic Thrash sound and disliked them (and a few other bands) branching out to incorporate Death Metal etc. I prefer my Thrash generally pure so the first 3 albums are where it's at for me and they utilised their twin guitar sound well. They also had some fantastic acoustic breakdowns too. Exodus We have talked about these quite recently and their debut Bonded By Blood is definitely up there with the most influential albums but band members coming and going (or passing away) meant that they rarely made a cohesive album IMO. Annihilator Alice In Hell (the album) begins in storming fashion with some serious musicianship and then the vocals kick in and they sounded like a crappy Heavy Metal band and in fact their first two releases sound like Power Metal to me and lacking intensity. I stopped listening to them after this so not sure what came after. Voivod One of the most distinctive bands of the Thrash era although their debut borders on Hardcore more than Thrash but due to being influenced by Pink Floyd, Avant Garde and Psychedelia, they never quite fitted in the scene for many people. One of my definite favourites though and the sort of band you could listen to even if you are not a big Metal fan. Infernal Majesty Well this will get you. I don't think I have ever heard a single song by them! I only know the name and that's it. Overkill They have always come across as more of a fun band to me. The sort of band perfect for moshing and stagediving. I do like them and have their first 3 or 4 albums but I wouldn't put them too high on my Thrash faves. Sodom This German 3 piece don't get nowhere near the attention they deserve. Very tight, heavy and with a very distinctive guitar sound, almost muddy and a lot less slick than their American counterparts which I really like. Agent Orange is an essential Thrash album. Sepultura Well I just recently made a post in my Thrash thread so I am obviously a fan but I'm one of a few fans that really disliked their sound becoming more groove orientated. However Schizophrenia is yet another Thrash must have. Very tight musically too. Anacrusis When their debut Suffering Hour came out it completely split opinion with some fans liking their left field approach with odd time changes and different vocal styles and others not liking because they thought that the band couldn't quite work out what they wanted to sound like. This continued for a couple of albums and I really liked them. One of the more interesting bands of the genre. Suicidal Tendencies I like their early as well as later albums but never really considered them Thrash although they used that sound a lot more on later albums. Their guitar sound is quality though. Very crunchy and clean. Anvil Never liked them only admired them. I think they were a Heavy Metal band that just ramped it up a bit. Heathen Surprised they are on the list TBH. Their debut Breaking The Silence is reallly solid but sounds more like a power/doom album. They then made one more album before disappearing for 15 years so I just don't consider them important enough (although they were one of the early Bay Area bands). Destruction Mad Butcher is such a great E.P and their fast kinetic sound was exciting but after a few tracks they start to bore me personally. Death Angel Their debut The Ultra Violence is still probably the best Thrash debut ever made (yes it's better than Kill 'em All) but then their follow on was completely forgettable. They redeemed themselves with Act III but then they had near fatal road accident and never really recovered. Shame. Dark Angel I would class these as the perfect advertisement for Speed Metal and both Darkness Descends and Leave Scars are definitely albums to have in your collection (No One Answers from Leave Scars is probably my favourite Thrash riff ever) but their intensity suffered through bad production IMO. So what was left off and who am I choosing? Sacred Reich This 4 piece with probably the biggest drummer to grace a Thrash drumstool relied on a much more traditional heavier sound than some other bands at the time and also Vocalist Phil Rinds awesome throaty voice and socially conscious lyrics gave them a much more professional sound too. Coroner One of the most respected bands of the era with both fans and other bands themselves looking on in envy at their power and technical ability, especially for a 3 piece. They were also very good songwriters and were probably too good to stay within the Thrash template. It has to be Voivod for me. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”