Belgian Thrash: The 10 Greatest Old-School Albums

Belgium; famous for chocolates, biscuits, fries and mayonnaise and the best damn beer in the world…..but not, unsurprisingly, for thrash metal!

Which is a crying shame, as those Belgians could thrash up a storm when they wanted to. So, we’ve handpicked 10 of the greatest old-school albums of Belgian thrash to highlight that very fact.

Starting with….

Cyclone – Brutal Destruction (1986)

Source // mediaboom.org

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 1986! 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.

Regardless, Cyclone had much to offer and no more so than on the outstanding Inferior To None that followed 4 years after….and there’s more on that particular album later!