10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 7)

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Mysto Dysto – The Rules Have Been Disturbed (1986) [Netherlands]

Obscure but well worthy of mention, Dutch thrashers Mysto Dysto may have gone on to become the slightly (but only slightly) more well known Mandator….but it all started here. 

With Peter Meijering’s ridiculous falsetto leading the charge, Mysto Dysto could hardly be accused of subtlety and while The Rules Have Been Disturbed may sound like utter nonsense to uncultured ears, the rest of us are left to revel in Mysto Dysto‘s metal majesty. 

With speed metal freakouts like opener “Power Of The Law” nestling next to the Iron Maiden-influenced semi-ballad “Confused”, The Rules Have Been Disturbed is, ironically, a confusing listen. But then Mysto Dysto were all about fucking with the rules, so this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise!

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Obliveon – From This Day Forward (1990) [Canada]

A thrashier version of Death circa Spiritual Healing / Human, Obliveon’s debut album has become an all-time technical thrash classic from the golden era of forward-thinking thrash.

Obliveon were part of the natural Canadian evolution that first began when Voivod crawled from the primordial swamp before, over time, casting aside the shackles of conformity and entering cyberspace. While they weren’t alone on embracing the more technical side of thrash, Obliveon‘s take on Voivod‘s early-doors experimentation was undoubtedly heavier than most; informed as much by death metal as it was traditional thrash.

As far as debut albums go, From this Day Forward was leagues ahead of the competition and you’d be hard pressed to find a more technical old school thrash album which delivers on so many levels. Speed, technicality, atmosphere, diversity, aggression….Obliveon‘s From This Day Forward has the lot!

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Protector – The Heritage (1993) [Germany]

With their 3rd album, The Heritage, Protector paid homage to their own legacy while managing to release a quality thrash album in 1993 – a time, if you recall, when thrash had all but died on its arse. 

As ferociously frantic as ever, Protector’s deathly leanings remained rampant and the band had lost none of the vicious bite that made A Shedding of Skin and Urm The Mad so damn appealing. 

From the opening salvo of “Mental Malaria” and “Scars Bleed Life Long” sprang death / thrash of the highest order – informed as much by Deicide as Kreator and Destruction – and the pedigree of this late in the day thrash opus was clear to hear. The Heritage would prove to be Protector‘s heyday swansong – not a bad way to go out we would wager! 

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Vulture – Fatal Games (1990) [Netherlands]

Fatal Games was a melodic thrash masterclass from a band who failed to receive their dues. While bravely attempting to mimic the mighty Forbidden may have been a step too far, it’s to Vulture’s eternal credit that these veterans (they had been on the scene since as early as 1984) soldiered on and eventually released their Fatal Games debut in 1990. And a damn fine album it was too, with Vulture unleashing technically savvy anthems at a rate of knots and with vocals that attempted to out-do the likes of Russ Anderson (Forbidden) and Steve Grimmet (In Search of Sanity-era Onslaught) throughout.  

Ironically nowhere near as fatal a game as those depicted in the likes of Battle Royale and Squid Games, Vulture‘s Fatal Games still riffed up an almighty storm of tempo-changes, staccato-riffing and soaring vocals and should have seen them lauded as much more than a mere cult-curio. 

With a hundred ideas per song flung at you with little to no warning, Fatal Games can be a daunting prospect….but it’s one well worth taking on!      

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Xentrix – Kin (1992) [UK]

This should have been the big one for the UK’s brightest thrash hopes.

Kin should have been Xentrix‘s Black Album, their Countdown To Extinction, their Ritual.….their genre-defining, mainstream-baiting, sure-fire hit release.

It wasn’t. But it should have been!

“No More Time” may have been a little too maudlin for its own good (although you couldn’t argue with the sentiment) but there was still plenty of crunch and mature thrashing to be found on the likes of “A Friend To You” and the chugging nirvana of “Release”

Everything abut Kin was grander, more opulent and designed for mass consumption but you cannot – should not – ridicule Xentrix for wanting a million selling record under their belt….and in a parallel universe, Kin was that album.

Also in this Series:

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 1)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 2)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 3)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 4)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 5)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash Albums You Need To Hear! (Part 6)

10 Obscure Old-School Thrash albums You Need To Hear! (Part 8)