The Forgotten Thrash Albums Of 1986! (Part 1)
1986....the greatest year in thrash for good reason!
Hallows Eve – Death & Insanity
Dialing down the frantic nature of 1985’s Tales Of Terror (a little), Hallow’s Eve’s sophomore effort was a prime slab of power thrash and the finest of their three albums released in the 80’s.
Upping the ante from production to songwriting, all element of Hallow’s Eve’s sound were finessed on an album that arrived just a mere year after their debut. Take the scuzzy stomp and aggression of “Lethal Tendencies” as a prime example of their controlled rage….a mid-tempo wrecking ball that’s lost none of its heft!
Hallows Eve may not have been the fastest, they may not have been the heaviest but, with Death & Insanity, they contributed an unsung classic to the scene.
Exorcist – Nightmare Theatre
A true cult classic, Nightmare Theatre may have sprung from the mind of David DeFeis (Virgin Steele) but its horror overtones and occult tendencies were far removed from Virgin Steele’s power metal output.
Like an unholy coupling of Destruction and W.A.S.P, the appeal of Nightmare Theatre lies in its camp 80’s feel and video nasty sensibility that renders it oddly nostalgic whilst still kicking ass with 15 tracks of evil thrash metal!
The only Exorcist release (to date) can lay claim to influencing death metal and black metal but needs to be remembered for being one hell of great mid-80’s thrash/speed metal record.
High Roller Records finally re-released this beast on CD back in May….hunt down a copy now!
Flames – Mercilles Slaughter
Horrific cover art, nasty as fuck sound; Greece’s Flames were an unholy racket of lightning fast trebly riffs and barked vocals….awesome 80’s thrash in other words!
Another record lost in the avalanche of outstanding titles from 1986, Merciless Slaughter still holds up as an intriguing time-capsule from an era when thrash was king and should seriously surprise those yet to hear its delights!
Tupperware drums aside, Flames pick up a (disembodied) head of steam and their dirty raucous sound still packs a killer punch. A cult curio that deserves to be heard!
That’s Part 1 done, look for Parts 2 & 3 over the coming weeks….there’s plenty more thrash where these bad boys came from!
You didn’t put in parts 2 or 3 yet! And my suggestion: the top 10 greatest canadian old school thrash albums
Yeah we did….here’s Part 2! http://www.worshipmetal.com/features/the-forgotten-thrash-albums-of-1986-part-2/
Great suggestion re. Canadian thrash, we’ll get on it!