Some classics found here- great thrash.
359206
I saw Exodus a couple of nights ago, opening up for Slayer, and they played three songs from this album. Exodus has many albums, some great, some average, and a couple I don't talk about, but Let There Be Blood belongs in the top grouping. Check out their new work, Exhibit B: The Human Condition, it is killer.
3237990
Testament is one of my favorite bands. Having consistently released quality work throughout their career. And low is no exception never straying to far from their bay area thrash sound but being far from generic sounding. Low is the first cd to feature chuck billy using death metal vocals found on the song dog faced gods. Which would dominate their future demonic release. The high points of the cd are what has made testament so highly respected in metal circles since the 80's. Great guitar work,solos,lyrics,vocals, and drumming. Hail mary is one of my favorite songs possesing great guitar work,vocals and a killer chorus. Trail of tears is one of my favorite songs a slower number great guitar and vocals keep interest throughout. P.C.,chsing fear,low,legions in hiding are other highlights keeping the thrash quotient high. The only low points would be the song ride as it has a mediocre riff and goes nowhere. And the instrumentals just take up space. Overall low is another great release by a band sticking proudly to their bay area thrash roots.
944083
This is easily the best Exodus album and one of the best thrash albums ever. The riffs are awesome,the songs are catchy,and the drumming is awesome! Here is a track by track review:

1. Bonded By Blood-5/5-Awesome song. Great riff,cool lyrics,great album opener.

2. Exodus-5/5-Awesome song. Great follow up to Bonded By Blood. Has some really violent lyrics,so I wouldn't listen if this stuff offends you.

3. And Then There Were None-4/5-Slower than the first two songs,but still pretty good.

4. A Lesson In Violence-5/5-My favorite song on the album. Awesome riffs and the best guitar solos on the album.

5. Metal Command-2/5-My least favorite song on the album. Nothing special.

6. Piranha-5/5-My second favorite song on the album. Awesome intro,and just an awesome song.

7-No Love-3/5-An OK song. Has a cool acoustic intro and some cool riffs,but too slow and has some disgusting lyrics.

8. Deliver Us To Evil-4/5-A pretty good song,but too long and has too many different riffs,and really evil lyrics.

9-Strike Of The Beast-5/5-My third favorite song on the album. The fastest song here,and has some AWESOME drumming courtesy of Tom Hunting. Exodus usually closes wih this in concert.

10-And Then There Were None-5/5-This reissue has 2 bonus live tracks. I like this version better because it has Steve Souza on lead vocals instead of Paul Baloff.

11-A Lesson In Violence-5/5-Awesome live version.

If you don't have any Exodus,I'd definitely start with this album.
1442461
Got this the day it came out last year and have loved it ever since.  This is a return to their thrashier roots, which was evident on st anger.  While st anger had a poor production and was rather sloppy, the band thrashed it up again on that release.  One of the few that I know, that still enjoy it.  Well Death Magnetic saw the band bring back the amazing solos and thrash elements, with a decent production.  I think one of the big issues is kicking Bob Rock to the curb.  I feel he was most responsible for changing their sound.  Bring in Rick Rubin who basically says, guys listen to your first 3 records for inspiration for this new release.  That was just your life races out the gates and is pure thrash as is the closer My Apocalypse, which has a riff from Damage Inc. in there-towards the end-it's a great throwback to the early days.  Anyway the album is not perfect.  There is still some load moments and the middle of the cd has some parts that do drag.  However this is a great cd that is heavy and has James growling like he used to.
951560
After how long they have been around how can they possibly find it within themselves to put out something this good?  If you are a thrash metal fan BUY THIS.  Topical, angry (surprise), pointed lyrics along with engaging (not worn out) jackhammer riffs.  Just when I think metal is out of new riffs this comes along.  The guitar leads are crisp, melodic.  I'm not a fan of melodic metal but the leads are an interesting change on the powerful rhythms.  And it is just one pounding song after another -  and without sounding alike.  The songs are not boring (like, oh, I've heard this a thousand times); quite the opposite.  Each one grabs your attention.  An outstanding thrash metal cd.  I am SO glad I trusted the other reviewers and bought this one.  CHEERS!
4511439
Gama Bomb are a band principally from Northern Ireland, who play a very strict 1980's influenced form of Crossover/Thrash Metal and incorporate a lot of humour into their lyrics.

Tales From The Grave And Space is their third full-length studio album, after 2006's Survival Of The Fastest and 2008's Citizen Brain. It was released in 2009 (re-released in 2010) on Earache Records and is currently available for free legal download off of Earache's website.

The musicianship is absolutely top notch and even more surprisingly, the production is of the absolute highest quality. This album sounds as almost as good in terms of production as other Thrash Metal albums from 2009 from long established bands like Exodus's Exhibit B and Megadeth's Endgame.

Highlights include `New Eliminators Of Atlantis B.C.' as well as `We Respect You,' and album closer `Mummy Invasion,' all of which are fast and straightforward thrash metal numbers; mostly with more of an East Coast feel than Bay Area if you want to get more specific, although that is reversed on tracks like `Polterghost.' The album is twelve tracks long, clocks in at half an hour in length.

As singer Philly Byrne has been known to say live `I hope you like songs that sound exactly like that one.' Gama Bomb don't incorporate anything else into their sound other than pure thrash metal; there are no ballads, no atmospheric buildups, no eastern scales and no fifteen minute progressive songs.

If you are a big fan of Nuclear Assault, S.O.D, Sacred Reich and more modern acts like Municipal Waste, SSS and Evile then Gama Bomb are certainly a worthwhile proposition that you should check out.

This album is very strong and no serious complaints can be made about any aspect of it other than the simple fact that it doesn't come from the 80s and that there isn't a whole lot of variety on offer, but if you expect any you may be missing the point of this band a little. If you hate humour in your thrash, you also may want to give it a miss, otherwise however Tales From The Grave And Space is a very good album that thrash fans should seriously enjoy
3110341
I love this video. Anyone who loves thrash music will undoubtedly love this. Besides the main feature, which is fantastic and does a great job of capturing the genre's glory years, there are a ton of incredible special features. Buy it for yourself or for the headbanger on your Christmas list. Can't go wrong with this movie.
2452096
As we all know, throughout the last decade or so we've had a kind of thrash metal resurgence-classic(and not so classic) thrash acts of the golden years have either regrouped or gone back to their roots after the metal-hating 90s.  The amazing thing about all this is that through all of this Overkill has been chugging away for the last 25+ years.  Overkill never broke up(though the lineup was always changing) or had an "experimental" or non-metal phase.  Nosiree, Bob! Overkill have always been Overkill regardless of what was going on in the world around them.  In fact, off the top of my head they're the only classic thrash band I can think of that's done that.  They certainly have nothing but respect from me.
They've been consistently releasing albums year after year.  The albums get reviewed-many of them favorably-but tend to just slip by in the metal community.  Overkill have lots of great albums, but Ironbound is making some folks take notice, and rightly so.  It's a killer album.  While Overkill have always remained a thrash band, they added a bit of a groove element to their sound back in the 90s, which stuck with them to this day.  Ironbound has this of course, but also has some more straight out thrashing as well.  It's a great mix, and makes for some very memorable tunes.  Blitz and DD are pushing 50 years old now.  Fifty years old for crying out loud!  And they can still stomp any mallcore wannabes into the ground!
If you've been out of touch with Overkill for some time, now is definitely a good time to revisit them, as Ironbound shows us that they not only still have it(they never lost it anyway), but can make one of the best albums of their career!
2437821
If you looking for one album that contains everything that you could possibly imagine in a thrash album, here it is!!! One of the best three masterpieces, along with "State of Euphoria" and "Persistence of Time", but this album got something to desire, is their own distinctive sound. Anthrax obviously was one the "big four" and is not to expect lesser than the other albums on that time. Here you got excellent drums, incredible guitar riffs and breathtaking solos courtesy of Dan Spitz. This album, "Master of Puppets", "Rust in Peace" and "Reign in Blood" makes the thrash scene back in the day!!!
2938783
before priest reducded the length of their songs in the early 80s with albums like british steel and screaming for vengeance they were a rather different beast with much longer songs. out of the pre-british steel albums stained class is problaly the best. songs like exciter, better by you better by me and the peerless beyond the realms of death are the ackownledged classics on the album. however the other tracks like the title track, invader and savage are equally as good. the impact of this album upon thrash can not be underestimated just listen to exciter if you don't believe me. a brillant album and well worth getting.
2919776
Metallica's sophomore album, "Ride The Lightning" certainly showcases some interesting and classic thrashers. It's hard to imagine what the metal community nowadays would be like without gems like this album. It seems that this album seemed to be an overlooked one in Metallica's early catalogue, considering "Kill 'Em All" is generally considered the birth of thrash metal, "Master of Puppets" is regarded as Metallica's magnum opus, and "...And Justice For All" got Metallica some mainstream attention with the music video for "One".
Regardless of whether or not "Ride The Lightning" is overlooked or not, it's still a classic that should be in every metalhead's collection. One interesting thing about this album is that while it still captured the raw power and fast energy of Metallica's debut, it seems to have a thicker, more polished, and at times, more epic sound. Don't get me wrong, though, I still think "The Four Horsemen" off their debut is one of the finest metal epics, but to get a full review of "Ride The Lightning", simply read on.
"Fight Fire With Fire" starts things off with some classical acoustic guitar playing for a bit over half a minute. Suddenly, a crushing riff rips its way into your sound system at about a hundred miles an hour. The massive drums crash their ways in and you have a fast and furious headbanger about the evils of pollution and nuclear warfare. The singing is also very raw, with James singing a very staccato pattern, "Do!...Un!...-to others!...As!...They've!...Done to you!". Great way to start off the album.
"Ride The Lightning", the six and a half minute epic title track starts off with some high-pitched guitar notes before going into a thrashy, Devil's Tritone riff. Some epic guitar soloing is featured in here, along with an interesting storyline that shows how the band is against capital punishment.
"For Whom The Bell Tolls" is a progressive, five-minute classic with plenty of great guitar riffs that occupy the first two minutes of the song. The nastiest riff of them all is featured in the chorus, and some wild guitar playing closes this war song out.
"Fade To Black" is a personal favorite of mine, one of the best songs on the album, and one of the very best songs Metallica's ever written. Some sad but beautiful acoustic guitar work opens with a lovely electric solo. Mournful but poetic lyrics occupy the verses, then comes a powerful chorus riff. More great guitar soloing fills the rest of the song out.
"Trapped Under Ice" is another heavy song about struggle, featuring some dirty riffage and wild soloing that definitely makes itself worthy to be on the album.
"Escape" is a more melodic, radio-friendly sounding song, but nonetheless a great track, as well. A bit shorter and a pretty cool song.
"Creeping Death" is a song that defines thrash metal. This is an overall great song that you gotta hear. Its lyrics refer to the Seven Plagues in the story of Moses in the Bible, and the thrashing riffs pummel their way into your brain. And, as always, Kirk Hammett shows us why he's an amazing guitarist when he screeches out those awesome guitar solos.
"The Call of Ktulu" is a nine-minute, progressive instrumental. A cool way to end the album, it has an odd but mesmerizing tone that features some mighty and powerful riffs and drums, alongside solos that give the song quite an epic tone. I personally prefer "Orion" off "Master of Puppets", but this song is definitely a great one, too.
So as you can see, "Ride The Lightning" is undoubtedly a classic metal album. I've seen it ranked as being one of the top ten metal albums of all time, and when you give this a listen, you'll see why. All of the tracks are very strong, the songwriting's great, as are the singing, guitar-, bass-, and drum-playing. Get this, along with the other three Metallica releases in the '80s, and even "The Black Album" if you're interested. Overall, this is a very strong and solid album that I would recommend to all fans of thrash metal, and heavy metal in general. Good job to the 'tallica guys! Thanks for the time, and peace.
1487798
This is one hell of an album. The songs on this are melodic while still packing the power of thrash metal, the lyrics are well written "For a hill men would kill, why they do not know"-from For Whom the Bell  Tolls, the instrumental work is top notch (check out the guitar solos on  Ride the Lightning and Call of Ktulu), and you also have the slower, more  acoustic Fade to Black. If you enjoy this check out all of Metallica's  stuff up until ...And Justice for All. Now to the songs.
Fight Fire with  Fire: Good acoustic intro going into an incredibly fast rhythm guitar and  drums. An excellent song that packs a big wallop and is very  explosive.
Ride the Lightning: The first half of this song is average, as  are the lyrics, but the second half is great kicking off with an awesome  guitar solo.
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Excellent song with lots of power,  the riff is very good and the lyrics are too.
Fade to Black: Very good  song, acoustic first half is very good, the lyrics adress suicide and  descending into depression. The second half is also excellent with an great  descending staccato riff to kick it off, with this song they proved they  are not mindless metalheads.
Trapped Under Ice: Decent fast song, with  decent lyrics, not a real standout like most of the songs here.
Escape:  Not really that good, this is the only song that seems like and album  filler.
Creeping Death: Great fast song- about the plague of the  first-born that went through Egypt. Explosive and fast, another awesome  song.
Call of Ktulu: My favorite song by Metallica, and on this album. In  essence a metal symphony, great guitar solo, great intro, great riff,  incredible power chord ending, metal doesn't get any better.
In  conclusion if you like heavy metal, get this, you can't go wrong. This is  the best metal album of all time, second only to Master of Puppets.
BTW:  If you have a big stereo, it is awesome hearing Hetfield yell "DIE, BY  MY HAND, I CREEP ACROSS THE LAND, KILLING FIRSTBORN MAN"
Bye people,  remember what metal was and truly is.
2040009
This is not only a classic album, but one of historical importance to 80's metal. There is some great material here and in my opinion, it has stood the test of time. Thrash is both heavy and fast and we find that here. I believe some of Charlie's greatest drumming is found right here and Scott Ian was a hungry axe slinger who was out to show the west coast that New York was down. 'DeathRider' and 'Metal Thrashing Mad' are standouts that are classic tracks in the metal genre. Throw in a blazing cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" and you got a well rounded album that is fit for the pit.
2846160
Iced Earth is a bizzare mix of thrash and power metal that's sure to please fans of Iron Maiden, Testament, Anthrax, and Pantera. Something Wicked This Way Comes might just be their best record yet. Opening with the  throbbing "Burning Times" (very reminescent of Slayer's  "Postmortem"), SWTWC quickly turns soft. "Melancholy"  is one of the most 'accessible', poppy tunes on the album. This pattern  (heavy song, soft song) continues throughout--providing for a unique  listen. The best songs are: Disciples of the Lie, The Reaping Stone  (Danzigy, with a similar riff to Metallica's "The Thing That Should  Not Be"), 1776 (the best instrumental ever), Burning Times,  Consequences (close to Testament's "The Ballad"), and Watching  Over Me---which is one of the best songs ever written (about Jon Schaffer,  rythm guitarist's, friend, killed in a motorcycle crash). WOM is worth the  price of Something Wicked althogether.
Also, as an added bonus, the last  three songs are concept tunes, about Jon's fictional character, that flow  into one another nicely. IE is slated to release a concept album about him  later on.
Matt Barlow's a great vocalist, whose voice is strange and  unique... drums are good, and Schaffer's rythm playing is the best since  Scott Ian. IF you like metal, pick this up NOOOOOW!
1141348
Top-notch thrash has been hard to come by since the very early 90s. With the big names like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer either abandoning the genre entirely or putting out sub-par material, thrashers have had to make do with some of the better death/black metal bands from the underground in recent years.
From the beginning (The Legacy) I thought Testament belonged higher on the thrash totem pole than Anthrax or Megadeth. Skolnick was every bit as talented as Mustaine and the bands songwriting was leaps and bounds over Anthrax. With the Gathering, I am very happy to report that a 5-star thrash CD was released as recently as 1999. (By the way I don't give 5 stars because I like the band. Slayer is my favorit and I have given them 2 stars for a couple of their albums).
The Gathering has great material. Chuck's voice is still strong and the riffs are what classic thrash is made of, but do not sound rehashed or dated.
With the passage of time, it is difficult to remember the excitement you felt the first time you listed to a record that totally shreds. Believe me The Gathering will bring it all back.
4896427
Yet another recent Peaceville release, in this case a debut, Dominion present a somewhat renewed version of thrash metal with various other influences, together with both male and female vocals. In fact, and that might be what will bring Dominion notice, Michelle is actually the lead vocalist, with various sorts of backing male vocals. They have a consistent sound and use a very clear bass, while managing to have a very fair amount of interesting, even original, arrangements and riffs, although their quality isn't constant. The tracks that really stand out are "Silhouettes" and "Weaving Fear", but almost every track has something good about it. Track four features guest vocals from Aaron (My Dying Bride) and Michelle's good vocal abilities are explored in the very soft final track. Dominion show some good potential, though they still lack something to really make them stand out. Not a masterpiece, but a very pleasant album and a good debut.

(7 out of 10) ~ Pedro Azevedo
1256896
This is a 2-cd set with 2 albums on the first cd and one one the other. The first cd with In the Sign of Evil is the Harder of the two with songs like blasphemer and witching metal sounding like prototype death metal.  The songs on these cd's are some of the fastest thrash around, think beneath the remains sepultura style maybe even faster, the only thing that kind of sucks is Tom angelrippers voice back then was kind of weird.  His voice is way better now.  Trust me, his voice isn't as bad as like Steve Souza's or anything and it won't keep you from enjoying the hell out of these two cd's.  5 stars for some of the fastest hardest thrash around.