by Elmer Dean

Created on: March 29, 2009   Last Updated: March 30, 2009

A great deal of the articles I have read about the essential albums of the 1980s have deeply explored the pop albums of the decade. I decided that I am going to explore a different musical force of the 1980s that was a bit more underground.

When people talk about the 1980s, many people bring up the musical scene of the Sunset Strip, the so called "80s metal". Well, there was another form of sub-genre of Heavy Metal at work in the underground that was fiercly opposed to the "80s metal" way of doing things and that has changed music more then anybody ever imagined, that is Thrash. (Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica)

Thrash Metal is rooted in the NWOBHM scene of the late seventies(bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motorhead, and Hollow Ground) and the hardcore scene (bands like The Misfits, Discharge, SSD, and Cro-Mags). Thrash was aggression and it is the forefather of the entire extreme metal movement. Often, bands of the Thrash metal movement would organize "poser raids" against the Hair Metal fans (mostly in the L.A scene). Metallica is often said to be the first band to record a thrash album and they started in L.A, but moved to San Francisco because of poor reception. The Bay Area was a major scene of Thrash, and many others sprung up (Germany, New York) as well. I think an article is needed for the highlight cuts of this genre.

Here is a list of the ten best albums of the genre.

10. Beneath the Remains - Sepultura
Sepultura is the big band of South American thrash. This is a fine example of brutal thrash.

9. Darkness Descends - Dark Angel The first album of the unholy trinity of 1986. This is a curcial album to the starting of Death Metal, these guys play faster then you can imagine.

8. Crossover - D.R.I This is album shows a brand of thrash on the more hardcore side of things, D.R.I pionereed the "Crossover Thrash" style.

7. Among the Living - Anthrax One of the more recognized Thrash bands, they had a sense of humor in their playing.

6. Pleasure to Kill - Kreator A German band, this album is another of the unholy trinity. One of the most extreme thrash albums.

5. The Legacy - Testament Testament has been getting allot of publicity lately, they are a definite example of the Bay Area Thrash.

4. Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? - Megadeth "Megadave", the band that has always been in Metallica's shadow (I actually think they have surpassed them). Another one of those bigger Thrash bands.

3. Reign in Blood - Slayer Often cited as the heaviest album of all time, Slayer's masterpiece of Thrash that they never quite got close to again. This album will fascinate you with its gruesome brutality.

2. Kill 'Em All - Metallica The mentioned first Thrash recording of the legendary Metallica. You have definitely heard of this band, but maybe not their early career. It is possible without this album Thrash would have taken a completely different direction.

1. Bonded by Blood - Exodus Exodus is the ultimate Thrash band. They are the ultimate dictionary definition of a Thrash band, it is impossible not to headbang to this music.

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