The Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy was formed by Peter Tägtgren in 1990 upon his return to Sweden from Florida, where he had been inspired by that state's flourishing death metal scene (bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death, and Obituary). Hypocrisy's first demo was recorded entirely by Tägtgren himself; once it secured him a record deal,... [+] Read More

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Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America. Labeled by critics as "avant-garde"... [+] Read More

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Like most late-80s/early-90s British thrash bands, Morecombe's D.A.M. (short for "Destruction and Mayhem") arrived too late and bearing too little in the way of original talent to compete with the leading American and Continental European thrashers of the day -- most of whom were already moving onto new sounds by then anyway. But, backtracking... [+] Read More

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A joint effort by Rhys Fulber and former Front Line Assembly bandmate Bill Leeb, Delerium has produced some of the most unusual sounds to emanate from Vancouver, Canada. With Leeb responsible for finding samples, writing lyrics, creating bass lines, sequencing, and overseeing the project and Fulber handling the sampling and programming, and... [+] Read More

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Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980's. Although they ultimately failed to match these peers' in terms of commercial success and longevity, at least two of their albums still qualify among the crème de la crème of the decade's speed... [+] Read More

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Exumer was an early German thrash metal band with close ties to Angel Dust (their labelmates on the Desaster imprint) and a raw, vicious, unsophisticated style derived chiefly from influences like Venom, Exodus, and Slayer. In fact, vocalist/bassist Mem von Stein and guitarist Ray Mensh were said to have met at a Frankfurt Slayer show,... [+] Read More

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Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. By taking the hard riffing and minor key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by... [+] Read More

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Arguably the most influential and successful European thrash metal band ever, Germany's Kreator is also by far the most enduring. Like many of their European speed metal brethren.Kreator fused Metallica's thrash innovations with Venom's proto-black metal imagery, sparked it with Motörhead's balls-out velocity, and capped it off with the... [+] Read More

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A Queens, NY-based hardcore/metal quartet from the late '80s/early '90s, Leeway was often compared to thrash metal bands of the era (Crumbsuckers, Anthrax, Testament, etc.), but weren't afraid to experiment with their sound, including detours into funk/rap and plodding Sabbath territory. The group issued a total of four albums during their... [+] Read More

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Groups like Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Slayer may have founded death metal in the early '80s, but it wasn't until such disciples as Morbid Angel came along at the close of the decade that the genre was pushed to its most extreme level, both musically and lyrically. Formed in 1984 in Florida, Morbid Angel (along with Death) would also help... [+] Read More

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Mortal Sin were one of the first Australian thrash metal bands to achieve widespread recognition outside of the land down under. Inspired by the genre's earliest champions (especially Metallica and Anthrax), vocalist Mat Maurer, guitarists Paul Carwana and Steve Krstin, bassist Andy Eftichiou, and drummer Wayne Campbell caused quite a stir with... [+] Read More

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Holland's Pestilence is generally regarded as one of the leaders of the late-'80s/early-'90s death metal scene, following closely behind Death as innovators in the genre. Combining elements of Slayer, Celtic Frost, Venom, and the Possessed, Pestilence was an underappreciated and short-lived outfit that, along with peers Sepultura, Atheist, and... [+] Read More

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Slayer was one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics deal with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. Their full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their... [+] Read More

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One of the crucial links in the musical chain linking hardcore punk with speed metal, the Stormtroopers of Death -- known more commonly as S.O.D. -- were actually intended to be a one-off novelty side project, done as a lark during a gap in Anthrax's recording and touring schedule in 1985. Guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante were... [+] Read More

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This German speed-metal band's primary theme revolved around extolling the virtues of alcohol. ~ John Book, All Music Guide

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Voivod (singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" d'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault) was one of the first thrash bands out of Canada to gain popularity outside of their home country. From their beginning in the early '80s, their main goal was to be different from anyone else, and thus... [+] Read More

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Watchtower remains on the most over-the-top prog metal outfits of all-time. Their songs often came off as excuses to shred away and show off their member's instrumental prowess, and although the group remains quite obscure, they (along with Dream Theater) spawned countless musical offspring by the '90s -- Spock's Beard, Dali's Dilemma, Cairo,... [+] Read More

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