Recently I had a thought that 1986 was perhaps the peak for Thrash Metal LPs (in terms of classics and when the genre really just seemed to reach its creative zenith).
Power and Pain by Whiplash/Feb-86.
Master of Puppets by Metallica/3-Mar-86
The Force by Onslaught/May-86.
Tragic Serenades EP by Celtic Frost/1 9 8 6
Doomsday for the Deceiver by Flotsam and Jetsam/4-Jul-86
The Dark by Metal Church/7-Jul-86
Eternal Devastation by Destruction/Jul-86.
Zombie Attack by Tankard/Jul-86.
Flag of Hate EP by Kreator/Aug-86.
Peace Sells…But Who's Buying? by Megadeth/19-Sep-86
Reign In Blood by Slayer/7-Oct-86
Pleasure to Kill by Kreator/1-Nov-86
Morbid Visions by Sepultera/10-Nov-86
Darkness Descends by Dark Angel/17-Nov-86
I think you just made a very convincing case for 1986, Merc!!! I consider everything I BOLD-ed to be pretty much essential Thrash! At least THREE of these would make up Top Ten Thrash albums of all time! AT LEAST!!!
I GUARANTEEEE IT!!! Especiallyfor YOU!!! :twisted:
Awesome! Maybe I even convinced myself. I don't why that Nuclear Assault release was omitted... but I have heard many good things about that band and so will check it out! Thanks! _________________ -Ryan
I am endlessly interested, fascinated and drawn to Thrash Metal. Ever since I was a lad of 11, I found thrash to be cool. Maybe its wholly the sound, the brutal cutting sounds of the music. Maybe its the aesthetic or look or whatever - the gruffness, the plainness, the toughness... And maybe (probably) It is both. But whatever the reason, Thrash has been king in my eyes for decades.
I think it cool and fascinating that Thrash came out of NWOBHM and Hardcore Punk and some other stuff too I am sure and formed this distinct and awesome genre and culture. And then that genre became, in turn, the main wellspring from which we got Death and Black and Grind and other stuff I am sure. I guess I just like the simple diagram in my head, like 2 triangles laid on their sides with their tips touching and in the middle you have Thrash in all its glory. Like this ... >< .... lol. kinda.
So anyway, despite my love of the genre and all it birthed and so much of what birthed it, I have a MASSIVE and ever-growing list of projects/EPs/Albums/Bands/Scenes/Songs/etcetcetc that I have never listened to. I also have a loooong list of classics and goodies I last heard LITERALLY 15 years ago in some cases.
So, I will delve into this world anew and I will delve deeper than ever I have. I think I'll start with some listening and relistening to the roots of what we now think of as thrash... NWOBHM albums and songs and Hardcore punk stuff that (to these ears) sound awfully close to genuine thrash in one or 2 ways or another/others. Could be the beat, the solo, the singing style, the riff, the heaviness, the speed, the tone, the attitude, the various things that make me think of Thrash BEFORE thrash.
Then I will go chronologically where possible (a lot of these albums I have looked up have very vague and broad timelines of release... but we will soldier on.) with many many thrash and some thrashy proto-death/black and maybe some other crossover thrash stuff through the years from 1983 at the onset of Thrash through, idk, 1993 when Thrash was pummelled to death by Groove and grunge and stuff. I hope to stick to this. It won't be exhaustive. It will be (if I follow through) about 100-150 projects/albums/EPs/etc within the broader thrash umbrella including the proto-thrash/thrash influences. Then if I am still feeling the fire, I will get a similar project together for Death/Black/Grind/Powerviolence/Sludge etc. Am I avoiding Power metal? You betcha. But that may change. Just not a genre I am interested in AS OF NOW while those others I am. Hell, I like a lot of those genres MORE than Thrash I would say. But Thrash are where it started. Let's start at the beginning then, shall we?
And with that, I will listen to a few early influential things and see how I like em. Will try not to go overboard with typo-filled "reviews" but, then again, if the inspiration genuinely hits me, I'll go where it feels natural.
Oh and as I go I will Tier and rank these albums. I think I will avoid NUMBERS. Maybe I'll use like emojis... but CERTAINLY I will create some sort of Tier list as I go and then within the tiers I will as best I can rank them in terms of my personal preferences (not influence or renown... Welcome To Hell may be WAY WAY more influential than, say, this Urban Waste EP... but If I like Urban Waste more, I'll rank it higher. - That is just a hastily thought-up example, not sure if Urban Waste's 1982 EP will be here... but its a fucking beast and its recommended nonetheless...)
Recorded Late 1977, Released 10 February 1978
Is this Thrash? No, of course not and I never even indicated it was - thank you very much! But I did kind of indicate this is Proto-Thrash… so, is it that? I don’t know, I lean no/maybe/sorta.... BUT I think there is a speed and intensity here that makes me think it was majorly influential on Speed metal and thrash and really all metal that came after it. “But, OF COURSE”, is what you probably are saying. Well, look. This portion, this foreplay before listening to a whooooooolllllleeeee lotta thrash proper, was really so I had an excuse to listen newly to some all time favorites that came before those famous thrashin’ metal maniacs. So I see this as an absolute win. And as time goes on I do more and more feel this is my favorite Priest album. There is a nostalgia (as well as a lot of greatness) connected with Sad Wings. But This beast is so sharp, so intense, so GLORIOUS and has almost no breaks at all, no ballads, nothing but the straight 10/10 energy. This is peak Priest. I don’t even think Painkiller is better. Though admittedly it has been quite awhile since I listened to that album.
I was just thinking how much more badass Judas Priest was than their contemporaries. I mean I know they FORMED in 1970 and so their contemporaries would, in theory, include Deep Purple and Sabbath etc. But I am not counting them in my head. They hit their stride and released classic after classic from 1976 to 1984. Outside of Maiden who came along to give Priest some kind of competition in 1980, who was around releasing metal as powerful and sick and timeless and aces as this? Or Sad Wings? Or Sin after Sin? Etc etc? Anyone? I don’t see it.
Spoiler, I have been listening to a lot of so-called NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) classics in recent weeks in the lead up to me jumping into a deep dive of Thrash (the genre that sorta nipped NWOBHM in the bud). And I was hoping to find something, ANYTHING that was as fast and gnarly and filthy and fresh and killer and invigorating and badass as Stained Class. And I have yet to find any real comparable statement of sheer kickassery. I’ve enjoyed FINALLY listening to some Saxon, Angel Witch, Raven, Anvil and other bands that I kept reading “had a HUGE influence on Thrash”. But that was mostly all I felt, like they were cool, solid, fun. I can kinda hear the same level of unadulterated intensity in those other NWOBHM bands as I do in Thrash or Stained Class. But its fleeting moments.
Of Course there are exceptions… Diamond Head’s Lightning To The Nations kicks fucking ass! (not on the same level as Priest). Venom is obviously more directly influential to Thrash than Priest (but not remotely as good or sharp or even hair-raisingly intense if I am being honest). And, of course that brings me back to the other band that finally arrived – and the only one that I can see was even remotely in Priest’s Ballpark – those young whippersnappers IRON MAIDEN! FINALLY Priest (who I know is not part of the NWOBHM, just to preempt the correction) had a rival, a peer in sick-as-hell HEAVY METAL madness.
I was thinking… if we were to compare these iconic metal bands, and, in some cases whole groups of bands/scenes, to iconic and important NBA LEGENDS, Black Sabbath has to be Mikan (you know, the tall white guy with glasses who was absurdly dominant in the 1950s and was the first true superstar in NBA History).. Then there is a little lull until the second truly great and transcendent basketball player/metal group shows up – that being the champ of champs, Bill Russell. Bill Russell is Judas Priest in this analogy, you see. And just like Judas Priest, Bill Russell is in the league awhile and is clearly the greatest with no real competition or equal. Then in year 4 of Russell’s career who shows up but the muscular, tall, freakish legend WILT CHAMBERLAIN. Wilt is basically Iron Maiden in this extended and strained analogy. Then they have a few years (like 10) where they are each other’s opposite, each other’s foil, each other’s greatest comparable force-of-nature. I am biased in both basketball and Metal, so Russell/Priest almost always comes out on top over Wilt/Maiden, but at least there is some good strong competition!
But then… after Wilt, surely there are legions of others big men that similarly try to take Russell’s throne… right? WRONG! No one outside of MaidenWilt ever challenges him/them AT ALL. Until Kareem shows up in 1970 or so… who will that band be that represents the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Well, you stayed tuned and you may find out. (I really don’t know myself.)
(Edit: this note added later in post-production to say I forgot about Motorhead. This is a crime. How did I forget about them when speaking of my fave NWOBHM – or lack of faves - ? I will probably be woken up by the ghost of Lemmy himself so he can kick my ass. I’m sorry… - still, Judas Priest>>>Motorhead/Maiden>>>Venom/Diamond Head>>>>Saxon, Anvil etc etc etc…)
I’ll end this quasi-write up on Stained Class by saying this is just about as sharp and intense as METAL got at the time. And I would say for a good 5 to 7 years after the release of this album, it was the best Metal album ever made. Yes, better than any Maiden or Sabbath or whatever album up until 1984 or 1985 when a new breed of metal greats started making albums I like as much or maybe even more than Stained Class. Just my opinion. But a good one.
Side note (this whole fucking neverending write up is just a series of side notes lol) but I just got to thinking… 1970 Black Sabbath debut holds the baton as the greatest metal album for a few months, then hands it off to Paranoid. Paranoid gets by for a few years and holds on as the best LP in metal. And then in 1976 2 bands arrive vying for the prize – In March Priest’s Sad Wings of Destiny grabs it for 2 months before in May a challenger in the form of Rainbow’s Rising LP. I feel Sad Wings holds on after quite a scrap! Only to have another Judas Priest album finally successfully steal the title of best Metal album away 2 years later. Stained Class that is. Then in 1978, no major challengers that I consider. 1979, the punks are getting hardcore but staying away from Metal and so the title is safe in Stained Class’s hands. 1980 Iron Maiden and Diamond Head make their claims, but are shot down and defeated in the field of metallic battle. 1981, 1982, nothing of real note (Maiden’s Number of the Beast and Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance actually do make a solid challenge now that I think of it. And Bad Brains has their moments of metal perfection, but thankfully for Priest they don’t yet commit to indulging in metal fully, because Bad Brains would have stolen it methinks.). 1983, oh shit who are these fucking upstarts??? Slayer and Metallica don’t make albums better than Stained Class but to say they have potential is an understatement! 1984… Ride The Lightning, and Morbid Tales fucking BUM RUSH Stained Class and just like that, after a WILD 6 year reign of terror, Stained Class is overtaken. Then from there, Slayer takes the crown in 1986 and maybe even 1985 and holds on for almost 40 years and here we are… This opinion may change soon as I listen to absurd amounts of 1980s metal and thrash and stuff.
Okay, where the fuck was I?... Oh yeah, STAINED CLASS. Bless this badass album. If there were some skank beats and maybe if it was more BRUTAL and blunt force sounding in its riff work and less lazer focused and knife-sharp, it would be basically a Thrash album kinda.
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PRE-1983 Tier List/Ranking:
MASTERPIECE, ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL LISTENING: 1. Stained Class by Judas Priest (February 10th, 1978)
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Initially I was going to make this perhaps the longest post of all time and save it and add to it for weeks and weeks with chronological write ups on other metal and and hardcore punk thrash influencers.... but decided to get this first one up as a head's up on what I will be doing. It's all good fun!
Obviously there are many of you who know your shit when it comes to heavy music of the late 70s and early 1980s. If there are some albums that truly strike you as having a huge influence on the sound or style or energy of Thrash, let me know. I have a list of 20 or so albums and EPs to listen to or re-visit. But maybe your suggestion will be a gem that I never thought to invest time in.
...Welcome To Hell may be WAY WAY more influential than, say, this Urban Waste EP... but If I like Urban Waste more, I'll rank it higher. - That is just a hastily thought-up example, not sure if Urban Waste's 1982 EP will be here... but its a fucking beast and its recommended nonetheless...)
...Welcome To Hell may be WAY WAY more influential than, say, this Urban Waste EP... but If I like Urban Waste more, I'll rank it higher. - That is just a hastily thought-up example, not sure if Urban Waste's 1982 EP will be here... but its a fucking beast and its recommended nonetheless...)
Hell yeah! Awesome one-awesome-note, early NY Harecore. The guitar tone is siiiiick! Love the coldness and just staticy heaviness of it. Vocalist is damned fine as well. Songs aren’t super great, but I think it’s the sound and energy of the record that I come to it for.
Recorded Late 1977, Released 10 February 1978
Is this Thrash? No, of course not and I never even indicated it was - thank you very much! But I did kind of indicate this is Proto-Thrash… so, is it that? I don’t know, I lean no/maybe/sorta.... BUT I think there is a speed and intensity here that makes me think it was majorly influential on Speed metal and thrash and really all metal that came after it. “But, OF COURSE”, is what you probably are saying. Well, look. This portion, this foreplay before listening to a whooooooolllllleeeee lotta thrash proper, was really so I had an excuse to listen newly to some all time favorites that came before those famous thrashin’ metal maniacs. So I see this as an absolute win. And as time goes on I do more and more feel this is my favorite Priest album. There is a nostalgia (as well as a lot of greatness) connected with Sad Wings. But This beast is so sharp, so intense, so GLORIOUS and has almost no breaks at all, no ballads, nothing but the straight 10/10 energy. This is peak Priest. I don’t even think Painkiller is better. Though admittedly it has been quite awhile since I listened to that album.
I was just thinking how much more badass Judas Priest was than their contemporaries. I mean I know they FORMED in 1970 and so their contemporaries would, in theory, include Deep Purple and Sabbath etc. But I am not counting them in my head. They hit their stride and released classic after classic from 1976 to 1984. Outside of Maiden who came along to give Priest some kind of competition in 1980, who was around releasing metal as powerful and sick and timeless and aces as this? Or Sad Wings? Or Sin after Sin? Etc etc? Anyone? I don’t see it.
Hmmmmm.... to me the other two obvious ( 😈😈😈😈😈 ) Albums from 1978 would be...
My Top TEN of 1978 would be (in order & NOT including live albums...
1. Judas Priest - Stained Glass
2. AC/DC - Powerage
3. Rush - Hemispheres
4. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N Roll
5. Van Halen - s/t
6. Ace Frehley - s/t
7. Judas Priest - Killing Machine
8. Rose Tatoo - s/t
9 Heavy Load - Full Speed At High Level
10. The Godz - s/t
Recorded Late 1977, Released 10 February 1978
Is this Thrash? No, of course not and I never even indicated it was - thank you very much! But I did kind of indicate this is Proto-Thrash… so, is it that? I don’t know, I lean no/maybe/sorta.... BUT I think there is a speed and intensity here that makes me think it was majorly influential on Speed metal and thrash and really all metal that came after it. “But, OF COURSE”, is what you probably are saying. Well, look. This portion, this foreplay before listening to a whooooooolllllleeeee lotta thrash proper, was really so I had an excuse to listen newly to some all time favorites that came before those famous thrashin’ metal maniacs. So I see this as an absolute win. And as time goes on I do more and more feel this is my favorite Priest album. There is a nostalgia (as well as a lot of greatness) connected with Sad Wings. But This beast is so sharp, so intense, so GLORIOUS and has almost no breaks at all, no ballads, nothing but the straight 10/10 energy. This is peak Priest. I don’t even think Painkiller is better. Though admittedly it has been quite awhile since I listened to that album.
I was just thinking how much more badass Judas Priest was than their contemporaries. I mean I know they FORMED in 1970 and so their contemporaries would, in theory, include Deep Purple and Sabbath etc. But I am not counting them in my head. They hit their stride and released classic after classic from 1976 to 1984. Outside of Maiden who came along to give Priest some kind of competition in 1980, who was around releasing metal as powerful and sick and timeless and aces as this? Or Sad Wings? Or Sin after Sin? Etc etc? Anyone? I don’t see it.
Hmmmmm.... to me the other two obvious ( 😈😈😈😈😈 ) Albums from 1978 would be...
My Top TEN of 1978 would be (in order & NOT including live albums...
1. Judas Priest - Stained Glass
2. AC/DC - Powerage
3. Rush - Hemispheres
4. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N Roll
5. Van Halen - s/t
6. Ace Frehley - s/t
7. Judas Priest - Killing Machine
8. Rose Tatoo - s/t
9 Heavy Load - Full Speed At High Level
10. The Godz - s/t
All kickass stuff!!!
Awesome! I need to check out that Rainbow albnum and its been on my to-do list for awhile. I will listen for this little project soon.
And that AC/DC is one that is off my radar. Will check it out.
Do you feel these 2 albums have that same menacing, cutting edge heaviness and speed that Stained Class possesses? Are they more Hard Rock or do they seem to presage the future, more extreme future of Metal to come in the next 4-5 years after 1978? Just curious your thoughts there. _________________ -Ryan
A Couple more pre-thrash classics leading up to the year 1983 (at which point I will just be focusing on Thrash albums and not so much stuff falling outside that genre)...
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Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Static Age by Misfits Static Age by The Misfits/Recorded Jan-Feb 1978 – released in 1997
Okay, okay, so this archival album is great! The Misfits are great! The songs and sounds here are simple and simply, well, great! I included this because it’s great, its next chronologically and also Metallica and other major Thrash bands have covered some of the great tracks here. Also the proto-corpse paint, the horror themes, the occasional heavy as shit and fast and badass riffs here (and much more so in later recordings) are all dripping a similar attitude that made early thrash kick ass.
The songs here are just awesome. In these early years of the band it was even more clear that this was the more eccentric Jersey answer to the greatness of The Ramones. The pop hooks and the vocal charms of Danzig on most of these songs is truly special. The ramshackle simplicity work with this record. The standouts are pristine and all-time-classics. “We Are 138”, “Attitude”, “Hybrid Moments”, “Last Caress”, “Teenagers From Mars” (this one being the most immediately reminiscent of the Ramones), “Angelfuck”, and “TV Casualty” I’d consider all classics and just about the most immediate and fun and catchy punk rock ever made.
I have to have a couple Motörhead albums here on this big preliminary section. Along with Venom, I can’t think of any band that were more influential to early thrash and extreme metal.
I have heard this several times before today. It’s a classic, and that opening title track’s groundbreaking double bass attack as iconic and the whole song kicks ass. As does this album. It drips with punky danger and metal heaviness.
It’s never super fast, even on the title track and at its fastest, it lopes at a relatively subdued speed. Maybe not for its time, but in the broad scheme o’ things, there are no tracks here that sound absolutely blistering like, say, Priest’s “Exciter” or certainly early Bad Brains (like Pay To Cum that they recorded in 1979) or whatever.
But what this album lacks in that proto-thrash speed it makes up for in the gruff growling vocals of Lemmy that sound almost impossibly cool and menacing, or in the filthy rumble of the bass and guitar attack, or the don’t-give-a-fuck look and style of this group.
This albums rips. I like it a lot. I think Ace of Spades is produced with more heaviness and teeth, but again that is a production point imo. The songs here are every bit as killer as Ace of Spades.
Anyway, not much else to say about this one for now.
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PRE-1983 Tier List/Ranking:
MASTERPIECE, NEAR-PERFECT, ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL LISTENING:
1. Stained Class by Judas Priest (February 10th, 1978) - exemplary track, "Exciter"
2. Static Age by The Misfits (Recorded Jan-Feb, 1978) - exemplary track, "We Are 138"
GREAT AND ESSENTIAL 3. Overkill by Motörhead (April 24th, 1979) - exemplary track, "Overkill"
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Okay, I'll leave it with that for now. Will be relistening to some Bad Brains, Maiden and Diamond Head next along with maybe some others that come to mind or seem intriguing as I trace the origins of Thrash Metal. _________________ -Ryan
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