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If the best thrash has to offer was released in between 1983->1990, why the hell do people keep on putting out albums? Seems like a worthless scene to me if nothing good has been made in the last 17 years.

.:crast:.

(yes, I'm very aware that 2 of the 25 songs were released 2001)

Well, if you ask some "true" thrash fans, most of them would probably agree that thrash has been in a quite sad state since the early 90'ies.

I'm a total poser when it comes to thrash, but here's my list, in no particular order:

Slayer - Angel of Death (you just can't argue with this one)
Metallica - Creeping Death
Vio-lence - Kill On Command
Megadeth - Tornado of Souls (one of the greatest solos ever. Holy Wars...is a close second)
Exodus - War is my Shepherd
Destruction - Bullets from Hell
Testament - Over the Wall
Sodom - Agent Orange
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Dark Angel - The Burning of Sodom

Seems wierd to put this in when you said earlier that speed metal was not thrash... isn't this speed metal?

Anyway, very interesting subject for an editorial and will probably inspire me to look for the tracks I don't know.

Yeah that is pretty much it. I am not saying there has been little noteworthy thrash of the last decade, but in order to make a list like this, you have to be crating some outstanding work. I was very close to putting in a song from Sodom's M-16 which is a very good modern thrash album. I also think that Destruction has put out some of their best material in the last 6 or 7 years (I only put one song per band in order to make it as diverse as possible). The same goes for Hirax, Heathen, Tankard, Exodus and Testament who have all put out great work since 99 or so, but again, to say they have top 25 songs is a tough sell for me.

Oh, the debate between thrash and speed metal is one that will probably never cease, and many songs from Megadeth are the focal point of many an argument. To clarify, my reasoning with the speed metal comment was to clarify that there is a difference between the two, yet so many people use those terms interchangeably and often group the two together. This is sort of a pet peeve of mine, im not sure why, but to me, they deserve to be represented seperately.

As for Holy Wars, I can definitely see your reasoning behind this one as the intro is pretty much a speed metal riff fest. However, I think with the changes in tempo throughout the song, and the uber thrashy breakdown at the end of the song, I tend to group this song in with the thrash.

Well what is your own definition then?

I love some thrash, but I'm too picky when it comes to vocals, and to some extent production, that I rarely get to fully enjoy this genre.

Bands I do enjoy are:
Kreator
Megadeth
Slayer
Metallica
Testament (sort of)

I generally like thrashinfluenced bands more than full on thrash bands, for example Nevermore or early Iced Earth. I like stuff like that alot.
I wish I'd like more thrash bands though, because I love RIFFS and thrash is riff heaven, but I'm having trouble seeing past what I dislike about many bands in the genre. But it's an ongoing process, my personal taste is getting wider with experience and age so I will probably change my opinion about many of the bands in the future, like I have many times before.

well, i can't make a list, to difficult
but if i had to choose the best bands, it would be sodom, slayer, exodus, death angel, kreator, destruction and megadeth (i like more trash bands, but those are my heroes.)

Thrash, like any genre, is organic in its evolution with influences from many different aspects of music, but its primary influence is hardcore punk. Early thrash was a parallel between crossover groups (punk going metallic ala Overkill and Suicidal Tendencies), and metal groups orientating punk and groove riffs into their traditional riffs (i.e. Metallica). After several years of its existence, thrash was diluted (for the better in many cases) with progressive riffs (Watchtower, Anacrusis), and power metal (Heathen), amongst other influences.

Speed metal is fast like thrash, but it omits the hardcore influences.

That's a pretty good list there. I agree wholeheartedly with the Slayer entry. Raining Blood is usually the favored song, but I fuckin' love Angel of Death. The Destruction song is pretty awesome too, but I am a bit more partial towards "Thrash Till Death." That song gets me movin' in the mornings.

Angel of Death is one of my favourite thrash songs too, the problem is that once it ends I never bother going through the rest of the album

And the tempo changes, speed metal is basically just that: "speed", thrash is more versatile, it can have different tempos within a song.

Overall i think it was a good list, all of the songs you posted are
great but many of them are not my favourite:

Slayer - Angel Of Death; although i love that song my choice would have been Mandatory Suicide, IMO the best Slayer song ever.

Sepultura - Mass Hypnosis; great song a total thrashfest but nothing can compare to "From The Past Comes The Storms"

Exodus - Brain Dead; catchy and fun thrash song but "Pirahna" or "Metal Command" are far better IMO

Destruction - Dictators of Cruelty ,cool song but the album has better songs and Destruction has better albums my choice would have been "Incriminated".

Annihilator - Insomniac; yeah i can see why you listed songs and not albums Phantasmagoria or Alison Hell would be my choices here

Sodom - The Saw Is the Law; i was really surprised that you picked a song from that album wich IMO is very underrated, this song kicks ass in so many levels, its catchy, the riffs are great (Michael Hoffman is fucking amazing here) the chorus is awesome, so overall this song is the shit, but nothing and i mean NOTHING can compare to "Tired And Red"

My other observation is that you didnt include Dark Angel or Coroner, both bands are far greater than a lot of the bands you listed and if we are talking about songs Black Prophecies and Masked Jackal are definetely worth to mention.

I Know that the list was just your personal point of view on the best 25 thrash songs ever, and like i said i think it was good so im not complaining here its just my personal opinion.

Oh crast, you and your un-thrashy ways.

You definitely got the right bands on the list, I'll give you that (excepting, as you mentioned, Mekong Delta, Sadus, and some other nice ones like Exumer and Assassin). Would have disagreed on some of the songs, but thats opinions for you. And I was really happy to see Shah on that list; criminally underrated band. I might have to post my own list later.

I agree with you, for the most part.

Some things I don't though, like Mandatory Suicide the best Slayer song? I would of easily went with Angel of Death, or Chemical Warfare. Or The Past Comes the Storm best Sepultura song? I would say Arise or Lobotomy as their best. Or Incriminated as Destruction's best? I would say Mad Butcher or Bestial Invasion. And as for you saying that Black Prophecies should be on the list, what is so good about it? It is 8+ minutes of the same thing, it gets boring quickly. (Yes I did read where Gene said he drummed it and it was recoreded on only his 3rd attempt.)

That is a lot i disagree with you there, but there is also a lot that I do agree with. I always agree with you.

PS - A few other things: I like Carnival Diablos, but I agree Phantasmagoris is a better pick but what about Human Insecticide (live) it's awesome. Pirahna would have been a much better choice as well, or A Lesson in Violence.

Black Prophecy completely fucking rules. Large number of incredible riffs.

Yeah Crast but remember that in any genre their most Classic songs are from the period this genre had more strenght wich in the case of thrash it was the 80s, that does not mean that there isnt anything else worth mentioning from that genre, for example if we made a death metal list most songs are likely going to be from the early 90s, or let me just put it this way; if you check the CLASSIC section of this site you will find that most of the albums are at least 10 years old does that mean that anything worth mentioning about the metal scene is from at least 10 years old? i dont think so, of course this is just one way to see it but if someone asked me wich way to start on any metal genre my choice would be with the classics.

IMO Thrash metal is going really strong these days a lot of old gems are getting reissued, legendary bands are getting reunited, a lot of new bands are being created and a lot of new metalheads are thrash fans.

Here are some relatively new bands that are worth mentioning:

Municipal Waste
Kill For Satan
Deceiver (Sweeden)
Bywar
Comando
Toxic Holocaust
Evile (Uk)
Mutant
Pitiful Reign
Strike Master

+1 totally agree brother.

What are you talking about Devoted? this song completely kicks ass 8 minutes of pure fucking madness, and Arise better than From The Past Comes The Fucking Storms? dude this song pretty much destroys everything its just riff after riff after riff of the highest poser slaying order, that part when he sings "Insanity-- Lacerating The Last Sanity" its fucking awesome! i swear i got a boner the first time i heard it, but like i said its just my opinion so its just normal that we all got our favourites

Oh and about Mandatory Suicide i really dont expected anyone to agree with me on this, since South Of Heaven is my second favourite Slayer album after Hell Awaits, its wierd but i always found it to be a better album than Reign In Blood.