Your Favorite Thrash/Death/Black Metal Albums From The 80's and 90's.

[TAC]

Helloween's Walls Of Jericho

[Zoom E]

Wrathchild America then changed to Souls At Zero were good.
DRI were more crossover hardcore thrash that I liked.
Cryptic Slaughter- Convicted and Money Talks were great albums.
Crumbsuckers-  Life Of Dreams and B.O.M.B. (Beast on my Back).
Paradox- Heresy.
Viking-  Man Of Straw is a kick ass album!

****I know tons of bands in this style, but please hit me with some underground ones not mentioned as I still enjoy my old school thrash!!!!

I have the Wrathchild America albums Climbin’ The Walls and 3D but lost track of them after that. Did their style of music change when they became Souls at Zero, or was the name change to avoid confusion with the U.K. glam band Wrathchild, who were around at the same time?

[Glasser]

Gotta give a big high five to the Forbidden shout out. Forbidden Evil is a masterpiece. Twisted into Form was good, but a slight step down. Distortion was ok.

Personally, I thought Green was freaking amazing. People call it a “groove metal” album, but I disagree. Most classic thrash albums only have 2-3 songs that are really break-neck speed, and since Green has Phat and Over the Middle, I think it qualifies as a thrash album. The Omega Wave was also brilliant. Russ is just a beast of a vocalist.

How could I forget Coroner??? OMG No More Color is so amazing!!

And I would be guilty of treason if I didn’t mention my hometown heroes Forced Entry. They only did two albums before grunge hit and buried them. But As Above So Below was one of the first technical thrash albums, and it’s absolutely a must have .

Forced Entry RULES!!! I had the tapes. Need to find the CDs!!! Great call man!!!!!

[Glasser]

****I know tons of bands in this style, but please hit me with some underground ones not mentioned as I still enjoy my old school thrash!!!!

Do you know all of these?

Believer - Sanity Obscure
Blind Illusion - The Sane Asylum
Defleshed - Under the Blade
Heathen - Victims of Deception
Invocator - Excursion Demise
Massacra - Enjoy the Violence
Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death
Obliveon - Fiction of Veracity
Powermad - Absolute Power
Razor - Violent Restitution
Sabbat - Dreamweaver
Sacrifice - Soldiers of Misfortune
Sadus - Swallowed in Black
Watchtower - Control and Resistance

Those are some of my favorite often overlooked old-school thrash classics.

Yes, huge fan of Watchtower and Sadus! Blind Illusion was good, Les Claypool!

[Glasser]

 

[svisser]

Death- Scream Bloody Gore, Human
Cannibal Corpse- Eaten Back To Life, The Bleeding, Gallery of Suicide
Metallica- Ride the Lightening, Master of Puppets
Overkill- Feel The Fire, Years Of Decay, Horrorscope
Exodus- Bonded by Blood
Testament- The Legacy, New Order, Souls of Black, The Gathering
Hypocrisy- The Fourth Dimension, Abducted 
Carcass- Heartwork
Dark Tranquility- The Gallery, Minds I

Leprosy was my favorite!!! Saw Death on the Spiritual Healing tour! Chuck was awesome! Super nice guy when I met him as well. Chuck was a HUGE loss!!!

He was easily the most important artist for getting death metal to a broader audience. We would not have bands like Black Crown Initiate, neObliviscaris, or Beyond Creation if it was not for him.

It is sad to know that he never felt 100% perfect with his music though. I remember watching the Death documentary. It made it seem like he lived a moderately tortured existence when it came to his music. That's why Sound of Perseverance was so different. It would be interesting to have seen and heard how his music would've evolved into the 21st century. 

[jammindude]

Lots of memories are flowing now.

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

I really think this album turned a corner in introducing more of a jazz influence into thrash.   Off the chart musicianship.

[Glasser]

Lots of memories are flowing now.

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

I really think this album turned a corner in introducing more of a jazz influence into thrash.   Off the chart musicianship.

I'm enjoying the same sentiment. 100% on Atheist influence. Pestilence also had some very jazz infused albums, especially their use of diminished chords.

[Glasser]

Death- Scream Bloody Gore, Human
Cannibal Corpse- Eaten Back To Life, The Bleeding, Gallery of Suicide
Metallica- Ride the Lightening, Master of Puppets
Overkill- Feel The Fire, Years Of Decay, Horrorscope
Exodus- Bonded by Blood
Testament- The Legacy, New Order, Souls of Black, The Gathering
Hypocrisy- The Fourth Dimension, Abducted 
Carcass- Heartwork
Dark Tranquility- The Gallery, Minds I

Leprosy was my favorite!!! Saw Death on the Spiritual Healing tour! Chuck was awesome! Super nice guy when I met him as well. Chuck was a HUGE loss!!!

He was easily the most important artist for getting death metal to a broader audience. We would not have bands like Black Crown Initiate, neObliviscaris, or Beyond Creation if it was not for him.

It is sad to know that he never felt 100% perfect with his music though. I remember watching the Death documentary. It made it seem like he lived a moderately tortured existence when it came to his music. That's why Sound of Perseverance was so different. It would be interesting to have seen and heard how his music would've evolved into the 21st century.

I think Chuck was evolving so much and had so much music in him when he became ill. When I spoke with him he told me how much he loved Watchtower and how much they influenced him. Listen to the instrumental outro in the song Perennial Quest. So melodic and moving. His playing was improving so rapidly. What could have been..... But we are lucky to have all he did. He's sorely missed, such a kind soft spoken person.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

The outro to "Perennial Quest" was what hooked me on Death's music. 

[Glasser]

The outro to "Perennial Quest" was what hooked me on Death's music.

Its short yet it is so emotional right? Deaths music is deeper than people would assume.

[jammindude]

I’m not even sure what category it falls under, but I was spinning Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium the other day. You want to talk about an album that completely broke the mold…that was it.

Always loved that album, but I don’t know what the reaction was by the death metal community at large since most of my friends didn’t listen to much of it.

[Glasser]

I’m not even sure what category it falls under, but I was spinning Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium the other day. You want to talk about an album that completely broke the mold…that was it.

Always loved that album, but I don’t know what the reaction was by the death metal community at large since most of my friends didn’t listen to much of it.

They covered Mexican Radio which I enjoyed. Tom Warrior experimented a lot and I appreciate everything he did in its own way. I saw Celtic Frost with Venom on the Cold Lake tour. I enjoyed it but it was awful seeing the band literally get spit at on stage! Tom was wearing an LA Guns shirt, i'll never forget that.

[dparrott]

Man this is bringin back a lot of memories.  I don't listen to these genres much anymore, but some of my favorites are Justice, Ride, Countdown by Megadeth, Death - Human and Mortal Sin - Face Of Despair.

[faizoff]

Thrash albums from the 80s and 90s that I grew up with which still hold a special place for me

Overkill - The Years of Decay
Overkill - Horrorscope
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Metallica - And Justice For all
Metal Church - Metal Church
Metal Church - Blessing in disguise
Pantera- A Vulgar Display of power
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease
Anthrax - State of Euphoria
Testament - The New Order


I think though all have been already mentioned here before. I didn't start listening to Thrash until 91 and at that point I listened to what was available near me.

[TheCountOfNYC]

01: Metallica-Master of Puppets
02: Pantera-Cowboys From Hell
03: Metallica-…And Justice For All
04: Megadeth-Rust in Peace
05: Metallica-Kill ‘Em All
06: Metallica-Ride the Lightning
07: Pantera-Vulgar Display of Power
08: Megadeth-Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?
09: Slayer-Reign in Blood
10: Pantera-The Great Southern Trendkill

[Glasser]

All great lists! Thanks to everyone sharing in this thread, keep it going. I had Mortal Sin on cassette! I still listen to all of this great stuff I grew up on. Been on Soilwork and Onslaught kick lately.

[faizoff]

Oh yeah goes without saying I listened to all of those on cassettes. I wish I had kept them, don't know where they all went.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Now for a few overlooked gem lists:

Death metal:

AntropomorphiA - Necromantic Love Songs
Catacomb - In the Maze of Kadath
Gorefest - False
Iniquity - Serenadium
Purtenance - Member of Immortal Damnation

Black metal:

Covenant - Nexus Polaris
Decameron - My Shadow...
Odium - The Sad Realm of the Stars
Satariel - Lady Lust Lilith
Sear Bliss - The Haunting

Melodic death metal:

Callenish Circle - Graceful Yet Forbidding
Ebony Tears - Tortura Insomniae
The Everdawn - Poems Burn the Past
Gardenian - Soulburner
Without Grief - Deflower

Progressive death metal:

Forgotten Silence - THOTS
Hieronymus Bosch - The Human Abstract
Phlebotomized - Immense Intense Suspense
Sadist - Tribe
Supuration - The Cube

[bobzor]

Thrash metal:
Metallica - Kill 'em All
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Slayer - Raining Blood
Kreator - Terrible Certainty

Death metal:
Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal to the Flesh
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Deicide - Once Upon the Cross
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated
Autopsy - Severed Survival

Black Metal:
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Mayhem - De Mysteriis dom Sathanas
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
Gorgoroth - Pentagram
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
Satyricon - Nemesis Divina

A lot more could be mentioned but these are the essential ones for me from the 80's and 90's. 

EDIT: Couldn't resist, here's a list for more underground black metal of the 90's, some of which is quite brutal.
Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
Blasphemy - Fallen Angel of Doom
Conqueror - War Cult Supremacy
Goatlord - Reflections of the Solstice
Graveland - Thousand Swords
Hades - The Dawn of the Dying Sun
Inquisition - Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult
Limbonic Art - Moon in the Scorpio
Mayhemic Truth - In Memoriam (compilation)
Moonblood - Blut & Krieg
Mütiilation - Vampires of Black Imperial Blood
Nifelheim - Devil's Force
Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns
Paysage d'hiver - s/t
Root - Temple of the Underworld
Vlad Tepes / Belketre - March to the Black Holocaust

[nick_z]

Now for a few overlooked gem lists:

Sadist - Tribe

Many good ones in here, but a big, big +1 for this! Fantastic album.

[Glasser]

Now for a few overlooked gem lists:

Sadist - Tribe

Many good ones in here, but a big, big +1 for this! Fantastic album.

Yes 100%! Sadist is very under looked!

[Glasser]

Now for a few overlooked gem lists:

Death metal:

AntropomorphiA - Necromantic Love Songs
Catacomb - In the Maze of Kadath
Gorefest - False
Iniquity - Serenadium
Purtenance - Member of Immortal Damnation

Black metal:

Covenant - Nexus Polaris
Decameron - My Shadow...
Odium - The Sad Realm of the Stars
Satariel - Lady Lust Lilith
Sear Bliss - The Haunting

Melodic death metal:

Callenish Circle - Graceful Yet Forbidding
Ebony Tears - Tortura Insomniae
The Everdawn - Poems Burn the Past
Gardenian - Soulburner
Without Grief - Deflower

Progressive death metal:

Forgotten Silence - THOTS
Hieronymus Bosch - The Human Abstract
Phlebotomized - Immense Intense Suspense
Sadist - Tribe
Supuration - The Cube

Wow! Ok now I have to check these out. Sadist is the only one I know. 

[Glasser]

Helloween's Walls Of Jericho

This is an amazing album, full on classic!. As soon as Michael Kiske joined and the first Keeper album came out with MTV and all its commercial support, Walls of Jericho was kind of left in the underground.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Wow! Ok now I have to check these out. Sadist is the only one I know. 

I get the impression you're probably more of a thrash guy.  We kind of emptied the vault for it in the first page, at least of stuff I've heard, but there's plenty more death metal left (especially of the melodic variety).  I'm a bit more casual about thrash. 

[Glasser]

Wow! Ok now I have to check these out. Sadist is the only one I know. 

I get the impression you're probably more of a thrash guy.  We kind of emptied the vault for it in the first page, at least of stuff I've heard, but there's plenty more death metal left (especially of the melodic variety).  I'm a bit more casual about thrash.

Actually, my favorites are Venom and Deicide. I do love thrash for sure. Some current stuff I listen to is: Gruesome, Belphegor, Behemoth, Goatwhore, Whitechapel and Gorod.

[dparrott]

Oh yea I forgot about Trendkill.  I still love that album.