In the years prior to 1983 (give or take), many fans of hard rock and heavy metal were trapped with the ultimate crisis: the need for a genre of music that combined the edge and crushing riffs of the NWOBHM movement, Judas Priest and Motorhead, and the ferocity and attitude that comes with punk/hardcore music. Heshers all over the world were chomping at the bit for the heaviest bands, then bands heavier than that, then heavier than even that etc.
Without a doubt this was the biggest crisis the world faced during the 1980s, the solution came along in the early part of the decade, and heavy music was never the same. I’m talking about the birth of blistering, neck-breaking, beer swilling, cut-off-the-sleeves-of-every-piece-of-clothing -I-own thrash metal.
Call it thrash, call it speed, call it whatever you please. No matter what you call it, we can agree that it was the opposition to all those lame glam bands of the era that were tarnishing the name of metal, so therefore a list of the best thrash songs of the decade is in store.
Note: This list may cause neck injury, bangovers, and the defacing of thrift store denim jackets.
50. Znöwhite “Baptized by Fire”
We start this list off with Chicago thrash legends Znöwhite. Yeah, the album cover to “Act of God” is atrocious, but if the phrase “don’t judge an album by how fucking dumb it’s cover is” was ever true, it’s with this one.
49. Demolition Hammer “Infectious Hospital Waste”
A metal song about gross hospital garbage floating in the sea. Sounds pretty fucking heavy, right?
48. Toxik “Social Overload”
Toxik are one of those thrash bands from this era that aren’t known very well, but pretty much check all the boxes. Socially conscious lyrics? Check. Roadrunner/Roadracer records? Check. Ed Repka cover art? Check. Check them out.
47. Evildead “Annihilation of Civilization”
Oh look, more Ed Repka art! Named after the classic film “The Evil Dead,” Evildead are a classic band in their own right, but not quite on the same level as the film. Basically what I’m saying is: this album could use more chainsaws, but still worthy of this last overall.
46. Opprobrium (Incubus) “Voices From the Grave”
Before they changed their name, Opprobrium went by the name of Incubus. Imagine looking for a copy of “Serpent Temptation” in a record shop and only seeing copies of “Make Yourself.” The world can be so cruel.
45. Artillery “The Almighty”
Giant bombs + lightning fast riffs + cartoon guy holding a big ass gun on the cover = Danish thrash metal perfection!
44. Vectom “Too Fast for Hell”
Anyone can be “Too Fast for Love,” but only Vectom can be “Too Fast for Hell.” Is there a speed limit in hell? Are there “Slow Demons at Play” road signs? Who knows….
43. Nasty Savage “Metal Knights”
Nasty Savage are one of those bands who gets lumped in with the thrash genre, but one could certainly argue against it. But one thing everyone can agree on is this: smashing a TV over your head on stage is about as metal as it gets.
42. Onslaught “Thrash Till the Death”
Onslaught are one of the few thrash bands to emerge out of Britain and one of the many bands to have a song based on thrashing yourself to death. It’s almost like thrash bands of the ‘80s were trying to convince their fans to kill themselves with their preferred music choice. What a concept!
41. Death Angel “Evil Priest”
With their drummer only being 14, and the rest of the band all being 20 years old at the time, “The Ultra-Violence” is basically Kidz Bop goes metal before Kidz Bop was a thing.
40. Forbidden “Step by Step”
Okay, so this one is technically 1990, but it has ‘80s thrash written all over it and technically it’s the 10th year of the ‘80s because we didn’t start counting at 0. Plus it’s entitled “Step by Step” and contains no Patrick Duffy, so that’s another plus.
39. Anthrax “Metal Thrashing Mad”
This song was released when Anthrax didn’t look so happy when they played. But surely they became more respectable as time went on…..NOT.
38. Tankard “(Empty) Tankard”
Oh no! Tankard’s tankard is empty! Germans love their thrash just as much as their beer, and Tankard does a fine job of combining the two. A total anthem for any metalhead who has had to scrub crusted vomit off their denim vest from the night before.
37. Whiplash “Power Thrashing Death”
Another vicious thrash assault released on Roadrunner Records. If your brain doesn’t feel like the bean-headed guy in the robot’s grip on the cover after listening to this song, then you’re doing it wrong.
36. Dark Angel “Hunger of the Undead”
Dark Angel are the very definition of how vicious thrash metal could get. That viciousness is pretty much summed up in this one song, and you can almost feel yourself being ripped apart by the undead as you listen to it. Ouch.
35. Sacrifice “Burned at the Stake”
Who said all Canadians were nice? Maybe the members of Sacrifice are, I’ve never met them. But this song, or the whole album for that matter, certainly is not “nice.” It’s one of the more stripped-down, vicious thrash metal albums of the ‘80s.
34. Coroner “Masked Jackal”
Coroner is a technical thrash band that doesn’t get too techy to the point of being boring. There are a few bands I can think of that missed this list that fall under that category, but this is a list of best thrash metal songs, and metal fans have always been respectful to bands they don’t like.
33. Bulldozer “Cut Throat”
Italian speed metal at its absolute finest. The singer looks a bit like a “Flash Gordon” villain, but that doesn’t take much away from the greatness of this song or record. Perhaps it enhances the greatness, even.
32. Sacred Reich “Surf Nicaragua”
Sacred Reich are a bit hit-or-miss really, but they do have the title of being the only thrash metal band to be featured on the “Encino Man” soundtrack. And that’s something every band should aspire to.
31. Warrant “The Enforcer”
More German speed! Yes, the German Warrant, not that other band with the same name. Come to think of it, that happens a lot in metal, huh? Anyways, blast this, stay clear of that.
An oldie isn’t always a goodie, but even “bad” AFI is good without quotes. We know, we gaffed and AFI’s 1995 debut studio record “Answer That and Stay Fashionable” should be the number one ranked LP here, actually we can’t even make it through this sentence without unsuccessfully asking our mom for permission to do so, gasping, laughing, falling down, and turning ill. While your favorite release is completely contingent on where you were in your respective life when you discovered the band, this album is a good intro to your friend and mine about a band with an expansive catalog, but that’s about it.
Northern California’s AFI formed in 1991 and subsequently released four albums in the 1990s. In a predictable manner to us and a possibly unpredictable one to you, the first three records to come out are the first three to be mentioned in this piece; this fact that is an opinion will likely make you close your eyes and open your mouth, but honestly you should lower your head and take it in the body. However, this entry is actually their third full-length and the next one to be featured is their second, showing you, the avid reader, that we put some intricate and delicate thought into this here list. You’re welcome; the devil loves you. Anyway, to add salt for your wounds, the best part about this one is the fantastic LP that directly followed it in 1999. More on that punk classic later!
AFI’s 1996’s LP “Very Proud of Ya” is the band’s sophomore release, and as a wake-up call to all of you misguided and bitter Despair Faction members, it’s their best effort of the first three records; yep. While it admittedly has way too many songs, in fact, the most tracks on any of the band’s total albums, the longest tune clocks at at two-minutes and forty-five seconds, so if you’re not a fan of a particular entry, advances in modern technology would permit you to either skip or cruise control through it. Basically 1995-1997 were adolescent years for the group, and they finally hit their adult stride on the self-titled EP that came out one year later, but as you know, that is not technically an album, so if you’re looking for its ranking here, think again, pleeb. To close this trilogy that isn’t as good as “The Godfather” trilogy, but arguably better than part three, “Very Proud of Ya” is the last album from the band that wasn’t truly consistent from its nascent start to its bitter end.
Self-titled records are often a combination or an inkling of a valiant return to form, a strategic back-to-basics vibe, and, to be quite frank, the lack of a good name suggestion for an album. While you can decide in the comments which of these AFI’s 2017 LP actually is or isn’t, and we know that you dumb kids actually will, one thing’s for sure, the blood on this record literally runs thick, and there is a plethora of sonic influences over the course of its fourteen tracks. That is definitely not a bad thing, but the other seven records just did it better. We’re gonna end this section with an Easter Egg from the extremely serious and rarely comedic group known as A Fire Inside: AFI has a song on “The BLOOD Album” called “Above the Bridge” and Red Hot Chili Peppers have a song called “Under The Bridge” on their blockbuster “BLOOD Sugar Sex Magik” record. Woah! California!
In an effort to showcase a huge case of low-hanging and possibly spoiled fruit, Drowning Pool did it first in their megahit butt-rock single twenty years before 2021’s AFI record “Bodies,” but this most recent album effort from the band with three letters as its band name is the first of two one-word albums starting with the letter “B” to be sequentially listed here. Speaking of the letter “B,” one more five-word album from the band to be mentioned later also starts with “B” and it is a bodacious entry at that! Back to “Bodies,” this record is the group’s shortest album of their career to be released after 1997, and truly, truly leaves the listener wanting more, which is good or bad depending on who is writing an album ranking article for your twisted tongues. We’ll check out your blog later and subsequently toast to the band’s next eleven LPs!
Gil Norton produced several rad and sonically perfect LPs for Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, and many, many more bands that even your anxious and bitter punk rock hearts secretly and not-so-secretly love. Gil sat behind the boards for 2013’s “Burials,” and along with the number two entry in this article is one of the more underrated AFI albums in their expansive catalog, and it won’t likely start a deep slow panic to admit that the record is definitely the most unappreciated one to be listed thus far. Wild! Last words of the runaway: “Burials” is as dark as its album title suggests, and so, so much catchier than most bands could ever hope to be in or around the scene. Our hope for forgiveness dies.
Here’s a true summer shudder to all of you fools about a cold (love-like) Winter album title: You’re so right, this one should at the very least be a medal winner in the golden #1, silver #2, or bronze #3 slot in this piece, but we’re not apologizing as your negative comments light a fire inside. Sorry not sorry: Number five is what it is and we’re the final word on a piece that we write. Yep. Still, 2016’s “Decemberunderground” really rips, and it likely introduced many to the four-piece known as AFI; much respect. It’s also badass that this record topped the album charts, and it’s even cooler that seventeen years after the album came out, “Miss Murder” STILL gets constant radio love to the masses. Simply a look can break your heart.
Ranks 11-9 are the band’s first three albums from the 90s, and 8-5 are all from this century, so how did we do so far? Answer that and… yeah, no. 1999’s “Black Sails in the Sunset” is the last album of the 20th century to be mentioned in this piece, and the songs still truly hold up today! Who knew? Bad Religion certainly doesn’t hold a monopoly on chanting, and AFI opens this record up by discussing our album rankings in this article by shouting, “Through our bleeding we are four! Through our bleeding we are four!” At a glance, this hilarious joke references its fourth slot position, and the actual number of people in the raucous and revered rock-and-roll band AFI. Say the titles of tracks 2-4 on this record out loud three times fast and jump down to the next section!
AFI kicked off this century with “The Art of Drowning” on September 19, 2000, and the punk world hasn’t been the same in the best way since. This LP is the band’s last album to be solely released on Dexter “The singer and the guitarist for The Offspring and a licensed pilot who has a doctorate in molecular biology and who wrote ‘Original Prankster’ in case you forgot” Holland’s Nitro Records before inking a deal with the now-defunct DreamWorks Records, which eventually folded into Geffen Records and later merged into the Interscope Geffen A&M Records group. That’s a mouthful of greetings and goodbyes. Two albums before the group’s eventual #1 slot on Billboard (and #5 slot over here), this record is their first to chart in the top 200, providing the charts with an initiation for the lost souls. SMILE!
This may ruffle some feathers, rather, this may (and this is foreshadowing to the #1 spot below) modify various makeshift wings, but we don’t do this for your (crash) love; we solely do it for your bitter non-beautiful comments, dorks. As we mentioned and alluded to in the handy-dandy “Burials” section a mere four positions above, 2009’s “Crash Love” may just be AFI’s most underrated album, and your anger on this position proves said opinion as fact. SACRILEGE! If this truly offends you, just medicate, and then you will say, “Okay, I feel better now.” Anyway, “Crash Love” is the band’s last album since “The Art of Drowning” to have less than three singles, which successfully proved that the fourpiece’s label ended transmission and gave up on this one way too soon, which is a shame given how flawless it is. If you had a chance to see AFI open for Green Day on this record’s (and GD’s also underrated “21st Century Breakdown” LP’s) cycle, throw your arms into the sky!
This time imperfect: We know that millions of diehard AFI fans will flock to read these rankings, but even hardcore and misguided ‘90s AFI indie label fans have to legally admit that this major-label debut is the band’s most superior album front-to-back. You can’t be mad at this placement, but you will be! Come. On. Now. The band’s eventual platinum-selling and perfect sans any filler LP “Sing the Sorrow” hit stores/MTV/radio/random cool supermarkets and head shops in March of 2003, and successfully found a way to unite both a plethora of old and new fans of the group, being FAR from a great disappointment. This celluloid dream is extremely rare when bands make a jump to the big leagues, and you’ve gotta give the band mad props for doing so.
