25 Albums That Made 1986 One Of The Greatest Years In Thrash Metal History!

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25 albums that made 1986 one of the greatest years in thrash metal history (listed in alphabetical order, not importance)…..

Angel Dust – Into The Dark Past [Germany]

Before they fully embraced power metal, Germany’s Angel Dust had a pop at thrash and as debuts go, Into The Dark Past was a fast, frantic, thrill ride! Resolutely obsessed with speed over finesse, these 8 ripping tracks were less Sodom and Kreator and more Iron Angel; a thrilling hybrid of speed and thrash that was equal parts melody and barbarity.

Romme Keymer’s vocals may have received a bit of stick over the years but they fit the music perfectly. Ugly, forceful, yet furnished with glimpses of power metal harmony, Keymer was actually an unorthodox yet perfect match-up.

Fans of Agent Steel, Grave Digger and Helloween should already be aware of Angel Dust‘s early output. Those who missed out the first time round should applaud the relatively recent re-release of Into The Dark Past on No Remorse Records as this often unsung contribution to early German thrash is ripe for rediscovery.

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Cro-Mags – The Age Of Quarrel [USA]

A legendary debut, The Age Of Quarrel saw the Cro-Mags define the hardcore movement in 15 easy lessons!  

A sickle-sharp, metallic sound that was rooted to a blue-collar sensibility, the concise delivery of the hard-hitting  “World Peace”, “We Gotta Know”, “Street Justice” and “Hard Times” brawled their way into your head; insistent, impossible to ignore and delivered with brass-knuckles on.

Few albums can capture pure rage and emotion as perfectly as this, the reality of street life rampaging through the very heart of each track and through each vocal frustration delivered by the incomparable John Joseph.

Consider The Age Of Quarrel the crossover equivalent of Slayer‘s Reign In Blood…it’s that influential and that genre-defining!

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Crumbsuckers – Life Of Dreams [USA]

Hardcore, thrash, metal, punk…..Crumbsuckers catered for all and their vitriolic debut, Life Of Dreams, remains a crossover classic.

Infused with an endless array of exemplary hardcore meets thrash riffs – Crumbsuckers arguably perfected the art of combining the two styles on Life Of Dreams (follow up Beast On My Back followed a more metal path) – this groundbreaking collection was musically accomplished and stood Crumbsuckers out as the most talented of the crossover pack.

Twisting and turning through riff and tempo changes, this schizophrenic beast of a record remains a hardcore flurry of adrenalised aggression; simply brilliant!

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Cyclone – Brutal Destruction [Belgium]

Belgium’s Cyclone weren’t particularly active – just 2 albums in a 9 year career – but they were the instigators of some distinctive riffage and Brutal Destruction remains an underrated collection of tenacious, tightly focused and terrorising thrash anthems.

Admittedly, Brutal Destruction may sound antiquated to modern ears but this semi-forgotten title had some clout in ’86! Slightly dubious title aside, “Incest Love”(?!) remains one hell of a closer while the razor-sharp riffs and unrefined shrieks found on “Long To Hell” and “Fall Under His Command” still leave scars!

One of those albums that belongs in a true thrashers collection – even though it may not receive a regular airing – Cyclone‘s sound was more mid-level American than European and for this reason alone, Cyclone were up against it; they were never going to make an impact in the US when bands of this calibre were already ten a penny.

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Dark Angel – Darkness Descends [USA]

Unbridled ferocity, technical supremacy and relentless aural battery….is there a more succinct description of what is arguably the greatest thrash metal album of all time?

Featuring the likes of the rampaging “Merciless Death”, the incendiary “The Burning Of Sodom” and the progressively minded “Black Prophecies“, the first indication of the 100+ riffs per song and epic song length mentality the band would explore on later releases was writ large on Dark Angel‘s terrifyingly tenacious, genre-defining, sophomore effort.

The eerie yet elegant bass intro to the aforementioned “Merciless Death” aside, moments of respite were few and far between on Darkness Descends, as Dark Angel focused on thrashing harder, faster and with more gritted teeth malevolence than any other band on the planet…..and that includes the mighty Slayer!