Kreator and Exodus were here last night. I feel like a doofus for not going.

I may check one of them out. All I have by Voidod is a "best of" album, maybe if I heard a full album I'd appreciate it more.

Katorz is also a good Voivod album featuring Jason Newstead after he left Metallica....well worth checking out
http://www.blackmetal.com/scans0806/voivod_katorz.gif

Back due to popular demand ;)

Sodom

Sodom were and still are one of Germany's most influential and iconic Thrash bands and having witnessed the furore a couple months back when I caught them live in their homeland my respect increased for this 3 piece. YES a 3 piece band with a sound that seems more influenced by Hardcore Punk than American Thrash. Lyrically dealing with war and it's aftermath, Sodom are still a formidable and cohesive unit, utilising lot's of speed but with a tight intensity and lack of harmonics that appeals to the harder edge of Thrash.


Recommended albums:
Persecution Mania
Agent Orange.

I've never actually got round to listening to any Sodom but that's some really tight shit.

Oh and well done for bringing the thread back!

Very nice, jackhammer! I also was a thrash fan when I was a kid - but pretty much only got around to the "big 4" and other popular bands from the 80s before I moved on. Then, a year or so ago I got re-obsessed with old school thrash and found a bunch of stuff I hadn't heard (still learning new things here though). The sound is so simple and limited that it forces you to pick up on the small details. You can easily tell good guitarists and drummers from bad ones when they're playing this stuff for instance. Also, it's always fun to see whether the band leans towards punk or metal just by listening to the vocal delivery (the more punk the better if you ask me). I know you already did Sacred Reich but here's one of my favorite thrash songs.

Megadeth - just a few more days:)

...check this out...these guys are rocking it...

YouTube - Megadeth - Hangar 18 (complete cover by Sufosia)

Anyway...thanks for Sacred Reich video...good old days...

subbing cuz thrash is my fav genre of music and I need more!!

Decisions...decisions. I think I'll start with Persecution. I checked out Voivod and went with Dimension Hatross, which is absolutely bitchin.

A little thrash history;

The first metal piece ever to contain thrash was Judas Priest's "Exciter".



It can also be heard to a lesser extent on "I Don't Know", by Ozzy Osbourne, where Randy Rhoades unleashes a 16th note riff - but the overall pace and dynamic of the piece is not thrash by any means.

Thrash, as a genre, is based on the alternate picked 16ths, as demonstrated so ably by Priest above, but combined with a faster backbeat than Priest played - hence it doesn't sound exactly the same as thrash. It also tends to use the "darker" chords, with a particular penchant for the tritone.

Diamond Head were (famously) next, but very few seem to have actually heard their very first album (The White Album), which contained the thrashy versions of their material that really shows what DH contributed to the thrash revolution that was to happen over in San Fransisco and spread like wildfire. "The Prince" and "Helpless" are the best examples;



Venom came much closer, with the double bass drums - if only Abbadon could actually play the things! Cronos sure as hell could not play bass. The thing worked because of the attitude, and the album recordings, which are significantly better than Venom could actually manage live.



Often overlooked, Bitch thrashed as much as anyone - and not only Betsy with her trademark whip!




I think that the Progressive and technical approach of Diamond Head combined with the obnoxious and aggressive style of Venom, rooted in Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Iron Maiden (along with the lesser known NWOBHM bands) was what created the thrash melting pot in the first place. Just a theory.