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I never considered Pantera to be a thrash metal band, they were kind of unique almost like a groove metal genre if that makes sense. if we are considering them thrash then definitely yes, Pantera kicks Overkill out. I totally forgot about Sepultura, I would give them the nod over Overkill as well.

jnurp wrote:I never considered Pantera to be a thrash metal band, they were kind of unique almost like a groove metal genre if that makes sense. I totally forgot about Sepultura, I would give them the nod over Overkill as well.

This. Pantera was never a thrash band. Overkill's career has been a tad long-winded at times but their early stuff is great.

Pantera is the big 1!! Accept no substitutes

Stratsouldier wrote:Pantera is the big 1!! Accept no substitutes

Let's agree to disagree

Someone earlier up mentioned ST and I gotta say I loved them back in the day

nakedzen wrote:Change Overkill to Sodom and I'd agree.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsfm67VE32Y[/video]

I prefer Sodom (the band ) and Destruction to Kreator. Agent Orange was absolutely killer and the first 3, 4 Destruction LPs were excellent. Someone else mentioned Death Angel and I have to say they are one of the least consistent bands of that era imo. I dug Ultra Violence and bits and pieces of the next two. For more rock oriented leanings. Not a lot of thrash on Frolic or Act III. Their "comeback" albums have bee really boring as well. Though I will say the last song I heard from their most recent one is actually really solid

Yeah, Destruction is in there. No doubt IMO. I know the original vocalist Schmeir, was perhaps a bit of a turn off to some, although I liked him just fine. Definitely a bit "German" .lol. But on Cracked Brain they had a more traditional US thrash guy.

To me Release from Agony is a classic of thrash. And even Cracked Brain to some degree. The early Destruction was definitely less technical and they were still learning. I think I heard Mike was only playing guitar for a short time before their first record. But even then they had catchy riffs and songs. By Release from Agony they were one of the more technical thrash bands.

Anyway

[video]https://youtu.be/iqM5idlJOpc[/video]

[video]https://youtu.be/Hs-Z1JN0L-s[/video]

No Schmier..

[video]https://youtu.be/p444rqVXaD0[/video]

Release from Agony is killer. I have it on white vinyl. Perfect mix of technicality and catchiness. I think the German accent makes for a vicious pairing with the music \m/

Yeah, for me Destruction fits in with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth as far as 80's (into 1990) thrash is concerned. I always liked them better than Exodus, overkill, testament, Anthrax, etc.

I listened to Cracked Brain this morning at the gym. Then by coincidence this thread was here. I think Cracked Brain has perhaps even aged better than Release from Agony, which was a huge fave of mine growing up

JiveTurkey wrote:

Stratsouldier wrote:Pantera is the big 1!! Accept no substitutes

Let's agree to disagree

Someone earlier up mentioned ST and I gotta say I loved them back in the day

I'll continue to agree to disagree good sir.
If you don't think Pantera was at anytime a thrash band maybe you haven't listened to the album Cowboys From Hell?....... I will agree and say that they aren't a straight thrash band but either are Metallica or Megadeth. Some of the big 4 started as pure thrash bands but changed with the times. Pantera is not a pure thrash bad but the elements of thrash that they do are better than about any band you can name. That's why I have a hard time with sub-genres, can it not all be just referred to metal? Even if the op is referring to thrash..........I still love you


They truly were monsters! Hide yo kids!!!
[video]https://youtu.be/o0r25D233vk[/video]

Too much good thrash. For American thrash 5 – 8 I gotta go:

Testament
Overkill
Exodus
Death Angel (after further consideration)

I still think for OVERALL best of (I don't put a lot of stock in the Big 4...)

Destruction
Sodom
Kreator
Slayer
Metallica
Testament
Overkill
Megadeth
Exodus / Death Angel

There are SOOOO many killer thrash bands that I like better than Anthrax like:

Laaz Rockit
Vio-Lence
Forbidden
Tankard
Zoetrope
Nuclear Assault

The list goes on!

Forbidden was sooooooo underrated! People probably didn't dig the fact that they had a more traditional metal vocalist and I get that. Still absolutely killer \m/

'63-Strat wrote:

GuitarBilly wrote:testament and exodus for sure. I'd also add Sepultura and Pantera to that, since I do consider them to be thrash, especially their earlier work.

I def like Sepultura and Pantera over Overkill and Kreator, agreed

Though whether they're strictly "thrash" is for the purists to debate

True, but the same can be said about the big 4 except for Slayer... the other 3 had albums/phases that were not strictly thrash.

GuitarBilly wrote:

'63-Strat wrote:

GuitarBilly wrote:testament and exodus for sure. I'd also add Sepultura and Pantera to that, since I do consider them to be thrash, especially their earlier work.

I def like Sepultura and Pantera over Overkill and Kreator, agreed

Though whether they're strictly "thrash" is for the purists to debate

True, but the same can be said about the big 4 except for Slayer... the other 3 had albums/phases that were not strictly thrash.

Not disagreeing there. I could easily support Metallica/Megadeth/Anthrax/Slayer/Exodus/Testament/Sepultura/Pantera as the big 8, but I'm not as concerned about the purity of thrash per se. Some friends of mine do an early Metallica tribute called Cliff 'em All and while they're diehards, they all listen to play a ton of diff genres. I'm gonna see what they think

hardvalve wrote:[video]https://youtu.be/42GKVdkG9xM[/video]

Amazing thrash song, Ted Kirkpatrick is such a great drummer. This song will make anybody bang their head, AND have a unique sound.

[video]https://youtu.be/b9aEZfVOvw0[/video]

Infuckingsane right here. I want to mosh every time I hear this.

[video]https://youtu.be/X-SHTByIilI[/video]

Their timing, tech for the time is staggering. The lead singer, and main songwriter used all of their funds to pay for medical school, and is one of the world's leading brain surgeons. Crazy. A great, great band.

I like Tourniquet also but the best albums were put out over too short of a period of time before they softened up. Also, they didn't have a big enough of an influence on the musical world.

I would same the same about Deliverance too. Stay of Execution was a great album but they dropped the thrash style so people would stop comparing them to Metallica.

[video]https://youtu.be/2x08jUTdY_w[/video]

Believer's album Dimension is pretty cool also.

thisguy wrote:

hardvalve wrote:[video]https://youtu.be/42GKVdkG9xM[/video]

Amazing thrash song, Ted Kirkpatrick is such a great drummer. This song will make anybody bang their head, AND have a unique sound.

[video]https://youtu.be/b9aEZfVOvw0[/video]

Infuckingsane right here. I want to mosh every time I hear this.

[video]https://youtu.be/X-SHTByIilI[/video]

Their timing, tech for the time is staggering. The lead singer, and main songwriter used all of their funds to pay for medical school, and is one of the world's leading brain surgeons. Crazy. A great, great band.

I like Tourniquet also but the best albums were put out over too short of a period of time before they softened up. Also, they didn't have a big enough of an influence on the musical world.


I would same the same about Deliverance too. Stay of Execution was a great album but they dropped the thrash style so people would stop comparing them to Metallica.

[video]https://youtu.be/2x08jUTdY_w[/video]

Believer's album Dimension is pretty cool also.

First 3 Tourniquet for sure. Later stuff, pretty bad. I liked Deliverance back in the day, has not aged well for me. Dimensions by Believer was a pretty Avant Garde album, unique. One thing I liked about Tourniquet was the production for that time was really good, when so many thrash and death metal bands had terrible production. I appreciate a lot of bands, but can't listen to them because of the production. Big influence on me.

thisguy wrote:

hardvalve wrote:[video]https://youtu.be/42GKVdkG9xM[/video]

Amazing thrash song, Ted Kirkpatrick is such a great drummer. This song will make anybody bang their head, AND have a unique sound.

[video]https://youtu.be/b9aEZfVOvw0[/video]

Infuckingsane right here. I want to mosh every time I hear this.

[video]https://youtu.be/X-SHTByIilI[/video]

Their timing, tech for the time is staggering. The lead singer, and main songwriter used all of their funds to pay for medical school, and is one of the world's leading brain surgeons. Crazy. A great, great band.

I like Tourniquet also but the best albums were put out over too short of a period of time before they softened up. Also, they didn't have a big enough of an influence on the musical world.

I would same the same about Deliverance too. Stay of Execution was a great album but they dropped the thrash style so people would stop comparing them to Metallica.

[video]https://youtu.be/2x08jUTdY_w[/video]

Believer's album Dimension is pretty cool also.

Forgot all about Deliverance.

hardvalve wrote:First 3 Tourniquet for sure. Later stuff, pretty bad. I liked Deliverance back in the day, has not aged well for me. Dimensions by Believer was a pretty Avant Garde album, unique. One thing I liked about Tourniquet was the production for that time was really good, when so many thrash and death metal bands had terrible production. I appreciate a lot of bands, but can't listen to them because of the production. Big influence on me.

Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance had awesome production!

JerEvil wrote:Forgot all about Deliverance.

Here's some deliverance doing some thrash with a strong "brain-washing" message.

[video]https://youtu.be/pfFwAhc4B84[/video]

The "live" album was good also. They used Mark IV amps according to the liner notes.

[video]https://youtu.be/i8O2oSp2YA4[/video]

Sorry, but the German bands get their own list. There's already a Teutonic Four list, and Kreator and Sodom are the top two bands on it.

My list:

5. Testament
6. Exodus
7. Overkill
8. Death Angel

Pantera doesn't count, because they recorded three albums with that doughnut-glaze guy, none of which were remotely close to thrash.

The Big 4 had to do with popularity and sales. In the US, my list was sort of it. Technically, it would include Pantera, but, you know, doughnuts.

hardvalve wrote:[video]https://youtu.be/b9aEZfVOvw0[/video]

Infuckingsane right here. I want to mosh every time I hear this.

HOLEY FUCK - check out the dive from the top of the speaker towers @ 2:13!
I fucking L:love:VE the S.O.D. - Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Lilker fucking rule


These are from a buddy's band ATTAXE, from the mid- to late-80s. I wouldn't necessarily put them in top 8 category, but since we're talking thrash, you guys should check these out.

[video]https://youtu.be/39Itz6ddsoo?t=19s[/video]

[video]https://youtu.be/xNh7DKDjn2s?t=2m20s[/video]

[video]https://youtu.be/pgJVEmqkMfw[/video]

Got crabs?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kJPVG5vn_k[/video]

damn Attaxe was fucking DOPE man. what a fantastic band. Guys like that should have been household names for metal fans. What was their story. My goodness that riff in bearing the cross is just SICK.

jnurp wrote:damn Attaxe was fucking DOPE man. what a fantastic band. Guys like that should have been household names for metal fans. What was their story. My goodness that riff in bearing the cross is just SICK.

Once you break the seal from the 1st tier to everything below it; there are all sorts of great bands to dig into from that era. Dark Angel, Possessed, Heathen, Sacred Reich, Wrathcild America, Atrophy, Wargasm...on and on and on. So good.

Yeah, they were really great - especially when Skelly, their singer/bass player frontman joined the band. He really helped bring them to another level from where they'd been with prior frontmen.

The guitar players and drummer were together since the early 80s, following right after 3 of the big 4 started to get established - playing in many of the same places, including Radio City in Anaheim (SoCal), where Metallica/Mustaine played their very first gig. They got to the point of playing a lot of bigger non-stadium venues, opening for bands like Danzig, Anthrax, Death Angel, Armored Saint, and loads more in SoCal, and toured around the western US for a while. But thrash really had a hard time contending with all the pussy hair bands that were getting all the attention in the later 80s.

I believe they got as far as 1992 when they had a falling out, and never really got back together.

If you're interested, you can check out their story on http://attaxe.blogspot.com/. Todd (the guitar player that I knew through a good friend of mine) did a great job capturing their history there.

JiveTurkey wrote:

jnurp wrote:damn Attaxe was fucking DOPE man. what a fantastic band. Guys like that should have been household names for metal fans. What was their story. My goodness that riff in bearing the cross is just SICK.

Once you break the seal from the 1st tier to everything below it; there are all sorts of great bands to dig into from that era. Dark Angel, Possessed, Heathen, Sacred Reich, Wrathcild America, Atrophy, Wargasm...on and on and on. So good.

I had a Heathen tshirt that I wore to absolute death in high school. I think my junior year hs pic was with that heathen tshirt on iirc lol.

I am not a big "thrash fan" but i really like this thread


Great job GAB'ers and i learned some shit today


Carry on