80s German Thrash: The 35 Definitive Albums

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Tankard – The Morning After (1988)

Tankard‘s 3rd studio album was released in 1988 and was swiftly followed by the Alien EP the following year. At this stage, Tankard were a force to be reckoned with and their name was finally being uttered in the same breath as their German brethren in Kreator, Sodom and Destruction.

With The Morning After, Tankard’s sense of fun was amplified but so was there technical proficiency. These guys were improving at a rate of knots (despite the inebriation) and the likes of  “Commandments” shamed Slayer in the speed stakes.

Tankard were fast becoming one of thrash metal’s most violent acts but there was still fun to be had. The frenetic likes of “Shit-Faced” and the title-track reinforced Tankard’s credentials as a party band to be reckoned with but their standing in thrash circles was only increasing with each release.

Notably punk in flavour, this relentless little shit of an album will still leave you with a head-banging hangover regardless of whether you sank 10 pints the night before!

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Vendetta – Brain Damage (1988)

They don’t come more unique than Vendetta‘s Brain Damage, an album that retained the required thrash crunch of the era while significantly maturing and offering unparalleled diversity to the discerning thrash fan.

This was the sound of a band that should have left the underground, seriously skilled and home to such consistently impressive songwriting that a breakthrough seemed inevitable. Alas, it just wasn’t to be. But, that’s no reason to overlook its merits now as Brain Damage‘s fiendishly catchy melodies and exquisite guitar work are as impressive now as they were back in 1988!

Vendetta’s technical prowess and crystal clear clarity showcased a band whose merits were writ large. After all, Brain Damage truly is an unsung masterpiece from the golden era of thrash!

Also recommended: While not as expansive or (r)evolutionary as Brain Damage, Vendetta’s debut, Go And Live…Stay And Die (1987), was an ideal introduction to this bands unique brand of thrash.

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Accuser – Who Dominates Who (1989)

Approaching their brand of thrash metal with an eye for experimentation and a flurry of time-changes, Accuser‘s Who Dominates Who may have arrived at the tail end of the 80’s but it still had something new to say.

Each track on Who Dominates Who slams hard with colossal choruses, hardcore shouts and a grinding sound that relentlessly pummels its way into your brain. It’s pretty safe to say that Metallica’s stop-start chug and elaborate song-structures were Accuser’s main inspiration and that’s no surprise considering the year it was recorded.

On an album spilling over with epic thrash tracks it’s “Symbol Of Hate” and the title-track that pack the biggest one-two punch; each song meandering through endlessly inventive machine-gun riffs and full-force battery.

Accuser may never have been spoken of in the same breath as the genre’s greats but Who Dominates Who is the one album in their back catalogue that rises high above the status of also-rans.

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Deathrow – Deception Ignored (1989)

After the relatively no-thrills thrash found on Deathrow’s Riders Of Doom aka Satan’s Gift (1986) and Raging Steel (1987), there was virtually no indication that Deathrow would break boundaries with their 3rd full length release!

Complex and rhythmically confounding – but never at the cost of a satisfying sense of structure – the likes of “Narcotic” were insane blasts of technical thrash wizardry and should have marked Deathrow out as pioneers of prog metal / tech thrash very early in the game.

Instead, obscurity beckoned with Deception Ignored initially receiving a lukewarm response and ironically ignored by a legion of confused fans. Fortunately, this outstanding album has gone on to be revered as a work of almost labyrinthian art, misunderstood by many but now beloved by those in the know.

A technical thrash masterpiece from a band way ahead of the curve….this is one album that truly has to be heard to be believed!

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Grinder – Dead End (1989)

Beginning with “Agent Orange” (not a cover of Sodom’s classic but a classic of their own making), Grinder‘s stomping, militarised, rotor-riffs flow flawlessly into the kind of quality melodic thrash that should have adhered these German thrashers to millions.

Channeling the highly melodic noise of Flotsam and Jetsam and Anthrax, Grinder still managed to create something a little different in the thrash world; no easy task by the time the late 80’s rolled around. Playing with structure and speed, Grinder’s skill lay in fluid bass lines and taking the turn least expected. The result? An album that remains unpredictable and surprisingly unique.

In particular, Dead End‘s title track is a thrash monster, a totally unique speed/thrash workout which traverses more moods and more terrain than most thrash albums manage in their entirety!

Also recommended: Debut album, Dawn For The Living, isn’t quite a match for Dead End…. but it sure as hell comes close!

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Kreator – Extreme Aggression (1989)

With their 4th record, Germany’s thrash giants Kreator finally coupled their frenzied attack with hooks and choruses catchy enough to make even your Great Gran nod furiously along!

With each track on Extreme Aggression maintaining a ridiculously high tempo, the Kreator boys ripped through 9 tracks of Teutonic fury featuring vicious, stabbing riffs and Mille Petrozza’s sandpaper vocals. They even scored an MTV hit with their video for “Betrayer”, gaining them valuable exposure in America; a considerable achievement for music as harsh and unrelenting as this.

Kreator’s second album, Pleasure To Kill, may be revered as a death / thrash colossus but it’s Extreme Aggression that is the true sound of a band operating at the peak of their powers.

Also recommended: The only Kreator album not to have its own entry in this list is 1987’s Terrible Certainty. For the sake of diversity something had to give and, if truth be told, it’s our least favourite 80’s Kreator album – so out it went. It’s still great though. Don’t hate us.

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Mekong Delta – The Principle Of Doubt (1989)

Mekong Delta often operated on another level entirely and this, their 3rd full length album, was certainly no exception! The chug of Anthrax-esque riffs may have provided the core of their sound but Mekong Delta stood out from the pack via their otherworldly solos, frantic percussion and abstract background noise; resulting in a sonic maelstrom often inconceivable in its complexity.

To sound like you’re playing a different song to your bandmates and still fashion these sounds into something resembling a recognisable song structure is a feat in itself…..and yet, Mekong Delta managed it time and time again.

Just give the title track a spin and try telling us your head isn’t left spinning from the sheer madness of it all!

Also recommended: Let’s be honest, we could have happily included every 80’s Mekong Delta album in this list. So, take that as our recommendation to go check out Mekong Delta‘s self-titled debut from 1987 and 1988’s The Music of Erich Zann.

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Paradox – Heresy (1989)

Approaching thrash with far less malice than the likes of Sodom and Kreator etc, Paradox instead embraced a power metal aesthetic, aligning themselves with the likes of Metal Church, Anthrax (minus any silliness) and Onslaught circa In Search Of Sanity rather than with their Germanic brethren. It paid off too, helping Paradox to stand out from the pack and offering an accessibility that their teutonic peers simply didn’t offer at this point in time.

With Paradox marching forth on their own crusade to combine elegance with destruction, Heresy ironically re-told the tale of the Albigensian Crusade of the 13th century and in the process redefined the limits of thrash.

Featuring soaring twin harmonies, mind-frazzling solos and a rhythm section that could rival the tightest thrash acts around, Paradox were anything but their namesake, delivering instead a concise and melodic attack on the senses that was unrelenting in its clinical efficiency.

Also recommended: We may come to rue the fact that Paradox‘s 1987 debut, Product Of Imagination, doesn’t have its own entry in this list – because it really probably should! Apologies.

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Protector – Urm The Mad (1989)

A full-on death / thrash onslaught, Protector’s 2^nd album, Urm The Mad, remains a shockingly visceral experience….but one that comes laced with groove and an endless parade of often mid-tempo, skull-crushing riffs.

“Sliced, Hacked and Grinded” perfectly encapsulated Protector’s deathly leanings, while “Nothing Has Changed” indicated a propensity for death / doom’s oppressively heavy approach. However, Protector were still a thrash band at heart and when the hyper-speed of “Quasimodo” hits, you’ll still be left reeling.

Urm The Mad is quite simply one of the greatest death / thrash albums you’re ever likely to hear! 

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Sodom – Agent Orange (1989)

Bidding a fond farewell to the knuckle-dragging sound of their Obsessed By Cruelty debut and harnessing the considerable progress made on Persecution Mania, Sodom tickled the fancy of the mainstream with their 3rd album, Agent Orange; and the world stood up and took notice.

Think of a superlative and it applies to this album; originality, quality, intensity, variety andtechnicality all ring true. Still capable of thrashing up a storm it was on the mid-paced chug of “Remember The Fallen” and “Magic Dragon” where Sodom’s monumental progress took form. Revelling in a confidence that allowed Agent Orange’s compositions to breathe, their less is more approach reaped endless rewards with thrillingly expansive dynamics well and truly achieved.

As deadly effective as the title would suggest, Agent Orange stood out in what was (obviously) a banner year for thrash. After all, to hold your own against the might of Sepultura’s Beneath The Remains (1989) and Kreator’s Extreme Aggression (1989) amongst many others takes some doing….but Sodom proved more than worthy of the challenge on this, their greatest ever album!