1. Lord Of Darkness 2. The Blast 3. Thrash Ritual 4. The Blades 5. Battle Cry 6. Brain Damage 7. Yukk 8. War Path 9. Back From The Dead 10. Energetic Krusher

Probably one of the most obscure British thrash bands, Energetic Krusher played some of the heaviest thrash metal on their full-length release. Path To Oblivion is musically rather consistent and the brutal assault is fairly convincing though at the same time almost completely lacks any originality, except for the vocals that are quite hilariously overdone low growls and give this album some unintentional comical feel. Like said, although the music on the whole is extremely heavy and pounding, mostly it sounds very samey without much difference between individual tracks, which just makes this album a bit tiresome experience. Energetic Krusher certainly seemed to have some clear direction in their music, this time the result was just not that impressive to begin with.

1. Onslaught Of Steel 2. Death Aggressor 3. Destructive Reaction 4. Evil Rage 5. Savage Noise 6. Crush The Faith 7. Terminal Slaughter 8. Stay Insane 9. Malevolent Force 10. Violent Speed Assault

Enforcer could not have chosen a more fitting title for their album. Violent Speed Assault is one of those releases that can make Slayer seem slow and Tankard downright progressive in comparison. The band's sound is unrefined and unpretentious, and there is almost a rushed feel to it. There is such a frantic tempo on every song that it appears they could have just utilized one and the same drum track for the whole album. Complete with gruff vocals and guitar solos that often appear like careless splashes at best, Enforcer's style can sometimes remind you of Incubus from the late eighties, but Violent Speed Assault lacks a definite edge and some additional heaviness that Serpent Temptation had. In small portions an album like this can still be fairly entertaining, but in the long run it can turn out quite repetitive if not played sparingly.

1. Ashen Existence 2. Necrothon 3. Darkness Weaves 4. Machine's Way 5. Exalted Sith 6. Psionic Dissection 7. Traces Of Time

It is quite surprising to find an album of this high quality released during the final years of the vanishing thrash metal scene. Nonetheless, Entropy's Ashen Existence really hits the mark. The debut of this group must be one of the best "unknown" albums ever heard, composed of highly complex but fully consistent thrash metal. The sound of this album is unique and stylish, a wall of captivating riffs and distinctive vocals that range from high screams to low growls with ease. Despite the longest tracks approaching ten minutes, there is no dull moment as these songs roll like an unstoppable machine. The only blatant flaw is the weird Psionic Dissection which is just an incredibly bad piece of death metal, complete with such a poor sound that you would think it had been meant for a demo tape instead. But if you can skip past one track, the rest is about as good as it gets. Although Entropy didn't maintain their original style on later recordings, Ashen Existence remains one of the better releases in the genre.

1. Intro 2. Addiction 3. Waiting The Execution 4. Artificial Peace 5. Religious Greed

With no deep knowledge of Epidemic's origins in advance, you certainly could not determine by their sound only that Artificial Peace is a Greek thrash metal release, as this kind of recording could have been basically produced anywhere in the world. The sound quality is quite heavy and fitting, and the band appear simply competent by all measures, but as far as pure originality goes this release is not guaranteed to receive any honorary mentions for its less than innovative style. Still, based on the presentation only there must have been some serious effort behind it all, and you cannot help but feel sympathy for this band's work. If Epidemic had just possessed some more genuine vision in their music then who knows where they could have ended up, instead of making not much more than a minor albeit interesting side note in history.

1. AMX 2. Live Your Death 3. In Fear We Kill 4. Thigh Rubbage 5. Three Witches 6. Finer Thing In Life 7. Hands Of Ruby 8. Silent Torture 9. Six Seconds

For a demo based release, the production of Epidemic's The Truth Of What Will Be is surprisingly good and certainly better than on some other more processed albums. As this preliminary mini album came out two years before the band's first official release, the music is still quite raw and somewhat undeveloped. The tracks vary between short, even hardcore-ish bursts and longer, thrashy pieces that are still far from the band's later, almost grindcore-ish style. The band sound very heavy and show a lot of dedication, it's just that a bit more controlled approach might have resulted in a more convincing outcome. As a whole, The Truth Of What Will Be is not too impressive despite making a nice collector's item.

1. Fate 2. Total Massacre 3. Concealed Insanity 4. Brainwashed Nation 5. Deceit 6. Maniac Souls 7. Tranquillity 8. Morbid Craving 9. Private Hell 10. A Desease Called Life 11. Nuclear War

Of all the minor thrash metal albums that most people never heard of, Epitaph's Tranquillity must be among the most obscure ones. For better or worse, the immediate impression is not very inspiring. Despite numerous tempo changes and at least assumed attempts at variety, all tracks manage to sound repetitive and stale almost without exceptions. It feels like there were ideas only for a couple of songs at most, but somehow the material was stretched to cover the length of a full release. The timeworn production and especially the low-key guitar tone only add to the overall dusty feel of the whole recording. Of course, these are always subjective matters, but one must seriously ponder if the most interesting aspects of Tranquillity are completely non-musical. After all, experience shows that time tends to pass rather slowly when this album is playing.

1. Stop! 2. Auf Wiedersehen 3. The King 4. Pharaoh Dance 5. Violins 6. The Floating Man 7. House Of Wonders 8. Realm Of Darkness 9. Dead By Dawn

It is certainly not too often that you encounter a band of Norwegian origins playing classic thrash metal, but Equinox were such example and not bad at all. The debut album Auf Wiedersehen must be the most straightforward of their releases although it is not without some slight technical touches already. Nevertheless, the band's powerful style of music makes the backbone of this album. Especially the first few minutes raise high expectations as Stop! and the title track in particular are quite memorable stomping thrashers. Even though some of the album runs in a more ordinary vein, the sound remains consistent until the very end. While the whole thing is not of outstanding quality, the songs are well done and have even some originality, which is clearly more than you could expect from a less known release. Auf Wiedersehen no doubt deserves some more listening time than on average - if you have a chance to find this item nowadays, that is.

1. Fine By Me 2. Inner Self 3. Skrell 4. Godamadog 5. Quest For Fire 6. Conveyer Of Truth 7. Flower Power 8. What It Is Worth

The second Equinox album is not a simple case. It seems that the band wanted to expand their style outside the most one-dimensional view to thrash metal, ending up with a product that can be occasionally puzzling enough to leave you scratching your head. The Way To Go is not really out of place in this company, but the difference to the band's debut is clear. With a noticeably more technical approach to songwriting, a few of the most original songs here may simply have something of an unnerving effect on a casual listener. Then again, if you get your kicks out of slightly unusual rhythms then this album can be quite an interesting treat. The Way To Go is not so experimental as to completely put you off the track when listening to it, but Equinox definitely took some liberties to distinguish themselves from the mass with this one.

1. Xerox Success 2. Souls At Zero 3. Lost Control 4. Jabbermouth 5. My Sweet TV 6. Now! 7. Slave To The Whim 8. Nothing At All 9. Damned 10. Succumb To The Law

Xerox Success is quite possibly the heaviest Equinox release to date, as well as more straightforward and accessible than its immediate predecessor. The music is not as deliberately disorienting at times as it was on the band's previous release, although touches of more technical aspirations are still audible every now and then. The quirky Jabbermouth is something that you could have expected to hear on The Way To Go, but most other tracks are more conventional than that. The band's output tends to sound powerful and coherent though sometimes also a bit flat in comparison to their earlier recordings, as there are no such strong hooks that would necessarily draw and hold your attention. That said, you cannot fail to notice the feel of consistent quality that persists throughout Xerox Success. The album does have a genuine style of its own, which is actually a characteristic feature of all Equinox recordings.

1. Possessed By The Devil 2. Capital Punishment 3. War In My Head 4. Thrashing Through The Pit 5. Never Surrender 6. Trigger To Apocalypse 7. Place Of No Return 8. When Bullets Drop Like Rain 9. Nothing But Ashes Remain

Eradicator did wisely to start The Atomic Blast with the best track of the album, as Possessed By The Devil could be a fine opener for almost any release. Unfortunately, one snappy and even memorable piece is not quite enough to make the day, and the rest of the material sounds more routine-like and boring. Eradicator's sound is very clear and clean, which sort of emphasizes the impersonal feel of many of these songs. As far as songwriting goes, most tracks after the opening piece provide only occasional interesting moments. Not only that but the pacing is quite uneven, with a couple of too many downright sluggish tracks in the middle of this album. While the effort on the whole is still worth some recognition, The Atomic Blast does not succeed in fulfilling the initial promise.

1. Universal Warriors 2. Target Of The Eagle 3. Road To Wisdom 4. Terrorist 5. The Prophet's Words 6. Atomic Messengers 7. Lost Empire

It must be admitted that Eros obviously had what it takes to play in a credible style. Road To Wisdom presents a neat form of thrash metal in the sense that there is little reason for technical nitpicking, and musically this album is actually surprisingly full-featured for a debut release. After a powerful start it tends to lose some momentum, though, as most individual songs are not overly distinctive and there are not too many riffs that would make a truly memorable impression. It is still quite a sympathetic recording and the band's sound is pretty cool on the whole, just not consistently strong enough to raise the bar notably above the usual semi-standard level. Road To Wisdom contains some sufficiently effective riffwork and an appealing soundscape overall, for more than that you need to look a bit further than this release.

1. Erosion / Way Of Force 2. The Unborn 3. Bilharzia 4. Aftermath 5. False Prophets 6. Paralyzed / Mortal Agony 7. Nuclear Frost 8. Into The Void 9. Humanity 10. The King

Erosion's debut album starts off as a truly fierce attack of German thrash metal. Mortal Agony sports riffs like machine gun fire with respectable intensity, and although some of it unarguably starts wearing out before the end of this album, there are still not too many releases with this kind of relentless activity. The general sound is crunchy and harsh, fitting the music more than well enough. The most striking pieces are those fast thrashers like Bilharzia and the title track that are played with absolutely no holds barred, whereas a couple of less frantic mid-tempo pieces are more on a dull side. Erosion did manage to get something right on this release, and as a positive surprise in its class Mortal Agony is definitely worth a special note.

1. H 2. The Scourge 3. Thought 4. You Belong To Us 5. Are You God? 6. Nightmare 7. Strike 8. Chance

Thoughts is such a plain presentation for a thrash metal album that you will hardly find anything more ordinary very soon. Erosion's growing hardcore tendencies are still mostly audible only on the vocals that have become very dull and tiresome shouts, other than that this album follows the most typical route. For the record, the shredding guitar sound is still pretty good, but as there are almost no memorable songs except for the instrumental Strike, a lot of technical potential just goes to waste. Most of the time this album feels like it could have been put together only to appeal to the masses who would go after anything with a thrash metal stamp on it. Thoughts is technically and formally very adequate, but this is not much of help when the actual content almost completely fails to draw you to it.

1. Maniac 2. Slay Ground 3. Metal Cry 4. Victim 5. Patriot 6. Betrayer 7. P.O.W. 8. Enemy In Our Midst

You cannot really blame those few people who possibly had a glimpse of this album in the old days but then decided to skip it by the looks only. Although Erotikill's Virgin Speed may look like a perfect example of a stereotypical heavy rock album from the late eighties, it actually contains a good dose of fairly satisfying speed/thrash metal. The most positive aspect of this album must be the production which is heavy and crunchy, giving the music a nice street-credible quality. While the band's sound is generally good, some of these songs can appear a bit too basic and simple, but then again, it must be admitted that Erotikill were at their best playing fast and straightforward no-frills thrashers like Victim and P.O.W. It is true that the effort has not stood too well against time, but the overall impression is still at least carefully positive.

1. Prayers, Betrayers 2. Monumental Mind 3. The Auditors 4. Democracy 5. Electrifried 6. Playing With Matches 7. Twisted Reality 8. Inner Wasteland 9. The Sands Of Time

At first Eruption's debut release can appear rather banal, even dull with its plain and undecorated sound. But after the initial moments pass, Lifeless Paradise starts to grow albeit slowly. This is largely due to the persistent woven riffwork that eventually sort of manages to drive the message home. Most of these riffs would not score in a serious contest on an individual basis, but sometimes it happens that full songs end up being more than just a sum of their parts. Although far from distinctive, the band's modest style appears more authentic, even honest, than that of many of their contemporaries. Bonus points may be given for lyrics that seem like some actual thinking went into them, instead of the usual nonsense commonly found in these circles. While Eruption can be hardly labeled as prominent contenders in the genre, there's something about Lifeless Paradise that saves it from total obscurity.

1. Insubmission 2. Dissident 3. Fuerzas De Seguridad 4. The Wall 5. Bad Living 6. Lobotomy 7. A Sickly Earth 8. N.W.O.

A worthy addition to the small group of Spanish thrash metal bands from the late eighties, Estigia honored the trademark characteristics of the genre in high detail. As far as a vigorous presentation and hard-hitting riffs are considered, Insubmission should give any unsuspecting listener a good run for their money. From the very first moments, this album sounds powerful enough that you are not likely to drop out before due time. The initial promise holds out until the end, that is, the energy level remains consistent through the album while the band do not totally forget some necessary variation in their song structures. On the instrumental side Estigia actually show more than usual ambition, which is a nice bonus. It could be easy to think of Insubmission as just another standards compliant thrash metal album on the surface, but actually it bears a bit more than that.

1. One Way System 2. Trip To Nowhere 3. Another View 4. The Restless Hearing 5. Split Personality 6. Inserts

The follow-up to Estigia's classic debut is a bit of a surprise, a mini album that preserves traditions in a respectable manner despite the long years between Insubmission and this release. Trip To Nowhere sounds a lot heavier and tighter than its predecessor, and the vocals are noticeably more extreme as well, but this is still thrash metal in a classic vein that we are talking about. Although the increasingly forceful nature of the band's music is more than evident, in this case heaviness and speed still go hand to hand and the resulting album is far from dull. While Trip To Nowhere can sound quite different to those who are already familiar with Estigia's original style, it is not a waste of time in the slightest as the band's output remains fairly convincing and memorable.

1. Ultimatum / Open Fire 2. Tormented We Fall 3. Progressive Mental Deterioration (Dementia) 4. Omnipotent Phantasies 5. The Gathering 6. Reach The Sun 7. Reflections Of A Lost Past

Even if Eudoxis were veterans of speed/thrash metal in Canada, it took quite a long time before the band's full-length release Open Fire saw the light of day. The result is a collection of fairly nice ideas but definitely not the most intense effort around. The style is actually sometimes surprisingly similar to Mortal Sin's customary rhythmic sound, fox example. In case of Eudoxis the production could have been a bit more rough, as now the final mix seems to be missing some edge. While the songs feature satisfying basic riffage, many of them are notably lengthy affairs and not always interesting enough to avoid occasional boredom. Also, today this album sounds simply very antiquated and not only in a good nostalgic way. At least there are enough of memorable moments on Open Fire that it survives the competition with dry feet, despite some drawbacks.

1. Insanes Dreams 2. Christian Lunatic 3. World Of Shit 4. Humanity Disarmed 5. I'm Rotten 6. Red Death

Although Evil Offering's We Bring Your Death has been marketed as a mini album, it is actually only a couple of minutes shorter than the band's subsequent more official full-length release, therefore it would seem fair to consider this as a full-fledged debut album already. Obviously the songs are on the lengthy side, which is not a problem in itself. More troublesome is that certain tracks seem somewhat hastily arranged, with several sections that do not fit together in the best possible way. Most of the time the band stick to typical high-speed antics, while the vocals often appear reminiscent of Vio-lence in the late eighties though not quite as obtrusive. There are short moments of slight interest but these are fragmented around, and by the time you have sort of warmed up this album already ends - it almost starts to win you over, but not quite.

1. Heretic Cult 2. The Rest 3. Enemy 4. Burn With Me 5. Cold Blood 6. W.U.F.A.N. 7. Thrashing Madness 8. Thirld World Mediocrity 9. Collective Psychosis 10. Sweet Creatures

Wake Up For Another Nightmare demonstrates that there has been some clear progress since We Bring Your Death, at least in most areas. On this release Evil Offering's sound is tighter and more focused than in the past, and almost all songs comply with the same time limit, running no longer than three to four minutes. Although the band's output is still rather stereotypical at best, the outcome is more coherent and better formulated this time. The production is otherwise quite adequate, but for some reason the vocals seem not to find their place in the mix, being either too much in the background or just generally a tad misplaced. That aside, there is virtually nothing distracting about this album, making it almost a foolproof choice of the most unsurprising type of thrash metal.

1. Thrashers 2. Evil Sinner 3. Don't Kill The Animals 4. The Gang 5. Fate 6. Death To You 7. Mosh (Part One)

Evil Sinner surely knew their way around the genre although the results were not too groundbreaking. These Belgian thrashers' debut release contains probably everything deemed necessary for a standard thrash metal album; an attitude aggressive enough, raw vocals, and generally fairly high intensity from start to finish. The problem is, none of it really sticks. There is no single track that one could honestly find likeable or even less forgettable than the others as they all sound pretty much the same. The riffs are mostly generic and really unmemorable. Unfortunately, a good attitude does not guarantee originality or even slightly interesting songs here. Wish there was something more positive to say about this album, but the total lack of inspirational moments doesn't give much reason to be impressed.

1. F.C.I. / The Awakening 2. Annihilation Of Civilization 3. Living Good 4. Future Shock 5. Holy Trials 6. Gone Shooting 7. Parricide 8. Unauthorized Exploitation 9. B.O.H.I.C.A. (bonus)

Upon the release of Annihilation Of Civilization Evildead's sound was notably more fresh than that of most other bands of the time. There is simply no fluff or flashy gimmicks in these songs, and the vocals have a slight hardcore-ish edge which adds to the concise feel of the music. At first the band's rampage may sound even too terse and difficult to grasp, but one only needs to compare it to the unfortunate vast amount of sluggish presentations out there in order to understand the benefits of Evildead's approach. Occasionally there's even something Anthrax-like in the band's style, and the guitar attacks of Garcia and Gonzalez work extremely well together. The album ends with the hilariously tasteless CD bonus track B.O.H.I.C.A. that doesn't exactly promote your average family values. Great, pure thrash metal is what Annihilation Of Civilization delivers in a splendid way.

1. Intro (Comshell 5) 2. Global Warming 3. Branded 4. Welcome To Kuwait 5. Critic / Cynic 6. The 'Hood 7. The Underworld 8. He's A Woman / She's A Man 9. Process Elimination 10. Labyrinth Of The Mind 11. Reap What You Sow

On The Underworld Evildead took a slightly more controlled as well as heavier approach. The music is admittedly more firmly structured and shows development over the debut release, but it also lacks some of the wild energy that made Annihilation Of Civilization so enjoyable in the first place. These songs appear to feature more of the standard stop-and-go style, and while tracks like Global Warming and Branded are very effective pieces, the whole album is not quite of the same high quality. Especially the second half could have been better in that sense - for example, the cover version of the old Scorpions song He's A Woman / She's A Man sounds just weird and unnecessary on this album. The Underworld is a dose of fairly good thrash metal but clearly more average than the band's first release.

1. Enter The Grave 2. Thrasher 3. First Blood 4. Man Against Machine 5. Burned Alive 6. Killer From The Deep 7. We Who Are About To Die 8. Schizophrenia 9. Bathe In Blood 10. Armoured Assault

For some reason Evile's Enter The Grave is not an easy album to embrace. Primarily this may be just due to the very unexceptional nature of the band's music. While their sound is quite refined and smooth, most songs on this album are not prominent enough to raise the bar above the average level. Except for a couple of subtle intros that provide a temporary break from standard pounding, it all tends to sound the same with no special distinction or quality. The closing track Armoured Assault does deserve a separate mention as it eventually manages to gain something back with its totally relentless feel - if only there had been more songs like this. In the class of well-produced and fluent thrash metal Enter The Grave bears some value, but it might be worth noting that there is a real risk of falling into boredom every now and then during this album.

1. At The Edge Of Madness 2. The Silence 3. Hateful Pain 4. Desperate End (Nuclear Nightmare) 5. Mirror Of Eternity

Emerging from the Swiss scene, Excruciation's Last Judgement contains a dose of some very moody old thrash metal. Except for the slow and brooding Hateful Pain, this mini album is not really short on speed although it probably would not make it to the pole position in a serious thrashing contest. What really deserves a special note is the unique menacing and gloomy feel that this music so effectively passes on to the listener. It could be compared to Sodom's earliest efforts, but here the style is realized in a slightly more refined and convincing format. The production sounds antiquated enough to make the dust fly, but this actually contributes to the overall memorable impression by a notable amount. For the purpose of getting some idea about thrash metal in its most old-fashioned form, Last Judgement is surely an album more than appropriate to play.

1. Slaughter Disorder 2. Stricken By Might 3. Autopsy 4. Metal Hell 5. Slayer 6. Martial Law 7. Warchild 8. Fatally Wounded 9. Seek And Destroy 10. Crib Death

E-X-E started their short existence as a band mixing elements of conventional power metal and more furious speed/thrash metal. Although the band looked like a bunch of deliberate posers in the beginning, Stricken By Might is a fairly interesting though unavoidably patchy release. The album starts off fine with some fast, intense tracks and blatantly catchy riffs, but in the middle it degenerates into third-rate heavy metal cliches before fortunately returning back to the right direction near the end. Really, when the band can pull off such fine thrashers as Autopsy and Fatally Wounded, pointless and plodding tracks like Metal Hell are just a major nuisance. The most striking example of the talent this band must have had is the closing track Crib Death, a dark and devastating piece that even Slayer could be proud of. Despite its high points, Stricken By Might is something of a mixed bag and as such not completely successful.

1. Three Years Later / Dismembered 2. Another Chosen Life 3. Sexploitation 4. Innocent Betrayal 5. Chamber Of Sorrow 6. Second Coming 7. Horrors Of The Mind 8. No One To Pray To 9. I'm Sanctified 10. Infected

Compared to Stricken By Might which tried to combine both conventional and thrash metal influences, Sicker Than I Thought! is a full-speed thrash album. There were some changes in the band's line-up between this and the debut release, the vocals in particular are much different on this album as the new vocalist is rather high-pitched. The music is laudably fast and there's a lot of obvious attempt to make some impact with this album, but in the end it's just your run-of-the-mill urban thrash metal. Occasionally the fast, harmonic guitars result in some memorable moments like on Chamber Of Sorrow though these are not too frequent. It would have been nice to find more virtue from this one, but the truth is that Sicker Than I Thought! is not too remarkable by any standards.

1. You'll Come Back Before Dying 2. No Destiny 3. Rotten Authorities 4. Flight To The Other Side 5. Money 6. Humbug Lines 7. Violence 8. To Clean The Filthiness 9. O.A.O.

Executer certainly had the trademark Brazilian thrash metal sound in their music early on. Rotten Authorities is like a textbook example of the local scene, filled with rampant riffs that weave a web of frantic and nervous tracks. It goes like so many others, promoting minor interest based on its face value only, but then again, you can hear only so much without getting totally bored. However, Executer did have a power source of their own and this album is by no means among the worst of its kind. In fact, Money would be one of the better tracks on almost any album. Despite the formula being repeated almost unchanged over and over again, it's a little wonder how well it turns out in the end. While it's probably the completionists who get the most value out of this one, Rotten Authorities is not to be skipped by casual listeners either.

1. Intro 2. Lost Angels 3. Suffering And Pain 4. No More Racism 5. Message To The Weak Ones 6. Involuntary Suicide 7. Chaos Memories 8. Psychotic Mind 9. Black September

Maybe Executer were not a big player in the old scene, but somehow the band seem to have found their musical niche in the new millennium. Except for upgraded production values, Psychotic Mind oozes old school approach to thrash metal done in the right way, resulting in one of the more memorable releases in recent years. Sticking faithfully to their original style with nasty vocals and all, the revived band prove that if something worked fine in the old days, nothing prevents it from happening again. Most of this album features somewhat simple but also very catchy riffs, often with an Exodus-like twisted quality in them. Although Executer's style can be almost too repetitive for their own good, it is definitely not only for pure nostalgia reasons that Psychotic Mind triumphs over a great number of more generic albums made before it.

1. And The Rottenness Goes On... 2. 13 3. Lead Years 4. Sick World 5. Murderer's Lies, Salvation Of The Powerful Ones 6. My Hell 7. Inspiration For Crime 8. The Big Black Abyss 9. Cause And Effect 10. Power Thrashing Death

Welcome To Your Hell is quite a satisfying continuation of Executer's return to the scene. Whereas Psychotic Mind honored one and the same traditional formula until the very end, this follow-up album carries some slightly more varied touches on it. The vocals are still as nasty as ever, and then some - occasionally to the extent of causing minor irritation in a casual listener's ears, but better this than some total weakling on the microphone. As these songs still recycle pretty much the same tested and tried elements despite some variation in them, the result may not initially sound as fresh as on the previous release, but it is still enough to leave many other bands behind. Possibly it's a certain routine starting to show through that makes Welcome To Your Hell appear a bit less infectious than Psychotic Mind at first, but that is no reason to ignore a good thrash metal album.

1. Death In Vain 2. Homicide 3. Desecrator 4. Exhorder 5. The Tragic Period 6. Legions Of Death 7. Anal Lust 8. Slaughter In The Vatican

Over the years there have been many arguments about the stylistic similarities between Exhorder and another well known band. As Slaughter In The Vatican was self-released as a demo (missing only The Tragic Period) already in 1988, it's not that hard to see where the original ideas came from. This must be among the heaviest albums of all time, with lyrics full of nihilistic rage against society and religion. As for the music, it certainly provides an impenetrable wall of sound although some tracks seem a bit dumb. Even though the extreme, straight-to-the-point execution occasionally pays off (like on the shattering Homicide), the best track on the whole album must be The Tragic Period, a terrific, crushing piece that definitely stands out among the less diverse tracks. In a sense, Slaughter In The Vatican may be a bit lacking in content, but you got to give some real respect to the uncompromised nature of this album.

1. Soul Search Me 2. Unforgiven 3. I Am The Cross 4. Un-Born Again 5. Into The Void 6. The Truth 7. The Law 8. Incontinence 9. (Cadence Of) The Dirge

Exhorder's final release is almost as heavy as their debut album although not nearly as fast. The band still showed some extreme attitude in their music, but not much of its earlier appeal can be found on The Law anymore. The problem is that at some point the over-the-top brutal style actually starts to wear out. Also, due to a less thick production the guitar sound is not as good as on Slaughter In The Vatican, and as a whole this album sounds notably more strained and forced than its predecessor. With even some slight slowdown in the music, many songs become downright tedious and plodding, and listening to this album can be quite an unpleasant task. The Law is still a crushing Exhorder release, but unarguably the music had lost a lot of its inventive energy here.

1. Bonded By Blood 2. Exodus 3. And Then There Were None 4. A Lesson In Violence 5. Metal Command 6. Piranha 7. No Love 8. Deliver Us To Evil 9. Strike Of The Beast

Although the debut of Exodus deservedly got a permanent position in the hall of thrash metal fame due to its classic status only, some of this album has not aged as gracefully as some other releases of the time. The late Paul Baloff's vocals are still guaranteed to divide opinions and firmly belong to the "love it or hate it" category. Even though I personally never found his style too likeable, at least I can listen to Bonded By Blood without being forced to cover my ears. Besides the vocals, my only other major gripe about the music is the cheesy "metal" lyrics in many songs (Metal Command, anyone?), but this just applies to many other early efforts as well. If you don't mind over-the-top vocals and some archaic feel, this album is more than a decent piece of straightforward thrash metal with some solid guitar work, but in retrospective it doesn't appear like such an untouchable work of brutal art anymore.

1. Deranged 2. 'Til Death Do Us Part 3. Parasite 4. Brain Dead 5. Faster Than You'll Ever Live To Be 6. Pleasures Of The Flesh 7. 30 Seconds 8. Seeds Of Hate 9. Chemi-Kill 10. Choose Your Weapon

With Pleasures Of The Flesh Exodus introduced some welcome variety in their thrash metal formula, resulting in a more diverse and enjoyable album than Bonded By Blood. In the vocal department Paul Baloff had been replaced with Steve Souza who had a bit less extreme yet easily distinguishable style, actually very similar to the old AC/DC with Bon Scott as a vocalist. Of the new songs, Brain Dead is simply brilliant in all its simplicity while the title track and Chemi-Kill are the best examples of the band's new, more versatile style that combined powerful execution with a sense of melody. I must say I never thought much of Exodus, but Pleasures Of The Flesh is actually a good thrash metal album and one of the better releases from this band.

1. The Last Act Of Defiance 2. Fabulous Disaster 3. The Toxic Waltz 4. Low Rider 5. Cajun Hell 6. Like Father, Like Son 7. Corruption 8. Verbal Razors 9. Open Season 10. Overdose (bonus)

Fabulous Disaster is almost a direct follow-up to the style of Pleasures Of The Flesh though this time the sound is clearly more crunchy. Steve Souza's vocals sound generally nastier, occasionally so much that it starts to get annoying. Musically this album is quite typical for Exodus without any great surprises or innovations. The Last Act Of Defiance and Open Season are some great, fast thrashers, though somehow the long, crushing Like Father, Like Son turns out to be the most impressive piece. Of the two cover songs, Low Rider is just goofy whereas Overdose is good in the same way as Megadeth's cover of Anarchy In The U.K.; nothing more than a faithful re-rendition of the original. Maybe Fabulous Disaster is not quite as vivid and memorable as Pleasures Of The Flesh but its general crunchiness helps to even the score.

1. Impact Is Imminent 2. A.W.O.L. 3. The Lunatic Parade 4. Within The Walls Of Chaos 5. Objection Overruled 6. Only Death Decides 7. Heads They Win (Tails You Lose) 8. Changing Of The Guard 9. Thrash Under Pressure

If a heavy guitar sound was everything that matters then Impact Is Imminent would be a certain winner. The first few moments of this album with their over-the-top crunchy guitar wall are very promising indeed. Unfortunately, more than that is needed for a good album and here Exodus fell short. Impact Is Imminent must be the most one-dimensional Exodus release ever, with a really monotonic sound and the most uninspiring riffs. The production is beyond heavy but it doesn't save the totally pointless and forgettable music. None of the creativity present on the previous albums is left here, instead the result is about as formulaic, repetitive and boring thrash metal schlock as you can get. Any original ideas whatsoever are lost in the dull pounding. Hate to say it, but this is easily the worst Exodus album, even taking into account their attempt at a more groovy style later on.

1. Scar Spangled Banner 2. War Is My Shepherd 3. Blacklist 4. Shroud Of Urine 5. Forward March 6. Culling The Herd 7. Sealed With A Fist 8. Throwing Down 9. Impaler 10. Tempo Of The Damned

As a new Exodus studio album in more than ten years Tempo Of The Damned had some extremely high expectations to meet. It is pretty safe to say that despite some drawbacks the outcome gives even some of the most classic Exodus releases a good run for the money. Only a few seconds into the album and you cannot fail to recognize the band's unmistakable sound in the intro of Scar Spangled Banner, a prime example of twisted Exodus riffs at their best. War Is My Shepherd follows closely in the same vein, while Blacklist is a killer mid-tempo stomper. After that, the quality gets more uneven - while it never drops really low, some of the later tracks just do not hit you with the same kind of energy as the first ones. However, the band sound as tight as ever, Souza's vocals are positively venomous, and the production couldn't be more fitting. If the whole album was in the same class as the first three tracks then Tempo Of The Damned would be an all-time thrash metal classic already, now it is still one of the better newer releases in the field.

1. Raze 2. Deathamphetamine 3. Karma's Messenger 4. Shudder To Think 5. I Am Abomination 6. Altered Boy 7. Going Going Gone 8. Now Thy Death Day Come 9. 44 Magnum Opus 10. Shovel Headed Kill Machine

With most of the band's original line-up gone, Shovel Headed Kill Machine turned out to be a surprisingly vital Exodus album. Rob Dukes may not be the most original vocalist out there, but his voice is raw and powerful and does not deviate too much from the old Exodus style. Musically this album is more consistent than Tempo Of The Damned although it also lacks the catchiest riffs found on that one. While everything is technically solid, there are no easy hooks to be found from these tracks. Sometimes the pounding sound wall is almost in danger of becoming one-dimensional enough to remind you of Impact Is Imminent, but fortunately this newer effort has a far greater amount of pure nasty spirit to back up the riffage. In fact, this thoroughly mean and punishing feel of Shovel Headed Kill Machine may be its biggest saving grace, and the most furious moments of this release are without comparison. Definitely not an easy album to hear for the first time, even less so to get into, but in the end it will get through you if just given enough time.

1. A Call To Arms 2. Riot Act 3. Funeral Hymn 4. Children Of A Worthless God 5. As It Was, As It Soon Shall Be 6. The Atrocity Exhibition 7. Iconoclasm 8. The Garden Of Bleeding 9. Bedlam 123

There should be little doubt about The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A being the most ambitious Exodus release to date, therefore it is a pity that the music does not represent the band in their top form. Shovel Headed Kill Machine was kind of refreshing with its aggressive approach, the same does not apply here. Most songs are long and often quite tedious experiences, and a couple of them you could call nearly worthless in a traditional sense. The album is not a total loss, though - Funeral Hymn is not too bad after it really gets going, and Bedlam 123 is a fair straight-out thrasher although very unexceptional as such. In this company, the title track may be the most interesting piece of work, a fairly effective offering of high-speed drama and slower crunch even though also this one starts to suffer from its length after some point. With a particular harsh and cold feel to it, it is apparent that Exodus took a direction of their own here, but it is a different thing altogether whether this path is really the best one to follow.

1. The Ballad Of Leonard And Charles 2. Beyond The Pale 3. Hammer And Life 4. Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer) 5. Downfall 6. March Of The Sycophants 7. Nanking 8. Burn, Hollywood, Burn 9. Democide 10. The Sun Is My Destroyer 11. A Perpetual State Of Indifference 12. Good Riddance 13. Devil's Teeth (bonus)

Exhibit B: The Human Condition is a problematic album. Clearly this is a more coherent release than The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A, with less experimentation on the modern side of things, but it is still hard to call it good. On a typical Exodus scale, the riffs appear quite ordinary, not to mention seriously repetitive. Most tracks drag six to seven minutes or even longer, while there are hardly enough of thrills for a portion of that. When the total length of this recording approaches eighty minutes, the result unavoidably appears bloated for no good reason. The lyrics are filled with invariable hate and angst that has become a trademark for Exodus these days, and their only function seems to be to complete the general bleak and depressive feel. Exhibit B: The Human Condition is undeniably a consistent product, even a bit more traditional than its predecessor, but it can be a very tiresome experience to wade through this album even once.

1. Black Mass 2. The Invocation 3. Burnt Offerings 4. The Hex 5. Possessed 6. Call For The Exorcist 7. Death By Bewitchment 8. The Trial 9. Execution Of The Witches 10. Consuming Flames Of Redemption 11. Megawatt Mayhem 12. Riding To Hell 13. Queen Of The Dead 14. Lucifer's Lament 15. The Banishment

This album must be one of the strangest releases in speed/thrash metal ever. In an old interview the producer - David DeFeis from Virgin Steele, of all people - told that the band fell apart during the recording and he basically finished the album. Whatever, the result is definitely interesting. The music is classic speed/thrash metal with some original riffs, a hint of melody, and a few haunting intros/outros that add to the blackened feel of this thing. Despite its age and occasionally almost unbearable vocals, the material still sounds fairly strong and inventive today. Too bad the sound quality of my copy leaves something to be desired. That and the fact that the cover art of this particular album is very uncute, though somehow the band picture in the inner sleeve seems a lot more disturbing... If there ever was an evil record out there, this would be it.

1. Invasion From Inside 2. The Mirror 3. The Other Side 4. No Life 5. Insanity Future 6. Suicidal Mankind 7. The Trip

Something of a surprise from the Brazilian thrash metal scene, Explicit Hate mixed some notable ferociousness of their own into the typical formula. The sound of A View Of The Other Side is not too far from the usual standards as far as songwriting goes, but the venomous vocals and vicious attitude add a genuine touch to the music, being sometimes reminiscent of Kreator with a similar rough quality. In addition to this hint of passionate ambitions, the music is at least semi-creative; decent riffing at a decent pace, fortunately with good enough production values. Although these generally lengthy tracks do not necessarily possess truly memorable characteristics, the album on the whole provides a fair dose of intense thrashing - while it may sound like a complete cliche, you could actually choose a lot worse than this.

1. We Don't Care 2. Play Again 3. Metal Thrust 4. Get Ready To The Shell-Shock

It should be no big wonder if it seems difficult to find people familiar with Extrema's We Fuckin' Care, as this short mini album is definitely not one of the most common items in its class. Featuring some rather lightsome speed/thrash metal with a notably uplifting feel, this release almost perfectly serves as a brief virtual trip to the late eighties scene. Play Again is actually quite a fine piece, and the rest of the album plays with no major headaches as well. Certainly there is nothing in Extrema's sound that would make it clearly distinguishable from many other performers, but somehow the band managed to capture some genuinely positive attitude on this recording, and that is actually a lot more than one can usually hope for.

1. Intro 2. Possessed By Fire 3. Destructive Solution 4. Fallen Saint 5. A Mortal In Black 6. Sorrows Of The Judgement 7. Xiron Dark Star 8. Reign Of Sadness 9. Journey To Oblivion 10. Silent Death

Hailing from Germany, Exumer were not just another generic thrash metal band in the scene. Possessed By Fire is quite an energetic album with some genuinely good riffs. The band's style on this debut is close to the early Exodus with raw vocals and fast, straightforward songs. What really makes this album rise above the average is the great feel the music creates; it is easy to sense the level of enthusiasm put into the making of Possessed By Fire. Not only that, but this is a fine piece of thrash metal as far as songwriting is considered. Tracks like A Mortal In Black and Xiron Dark Star contain some extremely powerful and catchy yet so simple riffs that it's almost brilliant. Even though not all tracks are such masterpieces, the general impression is absolutely positive. It is actually quite surprising how good this album turned out to be - undoubtedly one of the better old releases.

Note: The re-releases of this album and Rising From The Sea by High Vaultage must be some of the best ever, surpassing even some Century Media reissues. Included are the full band history, some original reviews from magazines, and of course lots of pictures - all complete with high quality packaging.

1. Intro 2. Winds Of Death 3. Rising From The Sea 4. Decimation 5. The First Supper 6. Unearthed 7. Shadows Of The Past 8. Are You Deaf? 9. I Dare You 10. Ascension Day

Exumer's second and last album led to a certain decline in quality. The band's sound on Rising From The Sea is slightly heavier than before, partially due to the change in vocals. The energy is mostly still there but the music doesn't sound as fresh as it did on the debut release, with a lot of catchiness lost for good. The difference wouldn't be so drastic if the simple riffs didn't start to wear out at this point. The situation is not helped by the fact that the production is simply not as good as on Possessed By Fire. Despite the obvious effort by the band, the result is eventually quite tedious. Exumer still deliver some intense thrash metal here, but it doesn't hold a candle against the enthusiasm and magic of the band's debut.