The 10 Greatest UK Thrash Albums Of The Last 10 Years!
Over the last decade, UK thrash has returned in a big way, with both new blood and old dogs wringing necks in the name of high quality THRASH and delivering some of the finest work heard on these fair shores since the late 80’s!
10. Shrapnel – Palace For The Insane (2020)
Shrapnel left indelible scars with their 3rd album, the incendiary Palace For The Insane. Ferocious, feral and fuckin’ fantastic, Palace For The Insane proved once and for all that Shrapnel are still one of the greatest hopes for the future the UK thrash scene currently has to offer.
On the whole, this album ripped like a muthafucker but Shrapnel were sure to offer some much needed diversity to the thrashing onslaught by adding layers of groove and, particularly on “Begin Again”, slowing things down and embracing a little doom. The introduction of Aarran Tucker on vocals – whose aggressive barks added a welcoming grit to proceedings – proved decisive in gifting Palace For The Insane the title of most consistent and most impressive Shrapnel album to date.
Welcome to the thrash palace!
9. Virus – Evilution Apocalypse (2020)
This was the album we all hoped Coke Finlay and Virus were going to make!
Old-school thrash at its finest, Evilution Apocalypse was as honest as they come; a 100% grassroots thrash album which both honoured Virus’ past (and their influences, which include classic Exodus and Vio-Lence) while defiantly signalling a future which deserves to be brighter than their somewhat chequered past.
Full of ideas, this restless savage of an album lived and died by its dexterity, devilish sense of humour and direct approach and Virus sure as hell couldn’t be accused of playing it safe with this one. The reboots of old classics “Force Recon” and “Release The Dead” aside, this new material ticked all the thrash boxes as Coke and the boys bought both technicality and brutality to the fore.
Highlights? We’d single out both the scathing rhetoric and satisfying crunch of “Goat (Father, Scum and Unholy)” and the classic thrash sounds of “Multiple Wargasms”; songs that are, potentially, the best of Virus’ career.
Evilution Apocalypse was the only virus in 2020 that was a welcome one!
8. Evile – Hell Unleashed (2021)
As far as UK thrash goes, 2021 was the year of Evile! With the release of Hell Unleashed, the UK’s greatest exponents of modern thrash finally returned to the fray…..but with a few changes along the way!
Ol Drake was back in the band and now on vocal duties – with former frontman Matt Drake moving on to pastures new – and Evile were back to thrashin’ as hard and as fast (harder, faster, even) as they did on their incendiary debut, Enter The Grave (2007).
Stripped-back and as heavy as all hell, Hell Unleashed primarily went back-to-basics and unloaded a tirade of caustic thrash anthems upon the world. No bullshit, no fannying around, just 100% thrash from a band who may have wobbled along the way, but are now back at the forefront of UK thrash and proudly wrecking necks again – long may it continue!!
7. Thrashist Regime – Carnival of Monsters (2018)
When bands bounce back not only from a relatively long leave of absence but with an album that far, far surpasses their previous output it’s a reason to rejoice. And rejoice we did when we heard Thrashist Regime‘s Carnival Of Monsters back in 2018!
A simply sublime slab of thrash from a band who bounced back in a big way, Thrashist Regime sounded like Anthrax one minute, Onslaught the next, and there was also a crossover edge to their blistering attack as gang vox and lightning-fast riffing indulged every thrash fans wanton whim. Aggressive yet melodic, it’s safe to say Thrashist Regime delivered a stone-cold modern classic in the making; so sharp and focused were Carnival Of Monsters’ 11 tracks.
A fuckin’ King Kong of an album, a Godzilla-sized thrash monster, a Frankenstein-esque assembling of thrash metal’s finest moments…..a carnival of ABSOLUTE thrash monsters!
6. Sun Of The Endless Night – Life… A Tragedy Tainted By Malevolence (2021)
Fronted by the inimitable Si Cobb (he of almighty UK thrash royalty Anihilated – more on them later!), this politically-charged, technically audacious thrash metal outfit also features current and ex-members of Suicide Watch, Stampin’ Ground and Decadence Within and their sophomore album, Life… A Tragedy Tainted By Malevolence, was yet another blast of raging thrash ripped straight from the old-school rulebook!
A seething mass of scything riffs and feral howls, Sun Of The Endless Night were remorseless in their intensity and short, savage shockers such as the Slayer-esque “Who Let The Night In” and the more adventurous “Once Upon A Death” were testament to a band with nothing to prove….but everything to say.
Tracked in the shadow of a global pandemic – and fully encapsulating the fear and paranoia of those troubled times – Life… A Tragedy Tainted By Malevolence was as scathing as they come and showcased a band at the forefront of the UK’s current scene.
If the modern output of Kreator, the socio-political leanings of Anihilated circa 2015’s Anti-Social Engineering (more on that beast later) and the merciless attitude of Slayer still ring true in your tinnitus-ravaged ears then Life… A Tragedy Tainted By Malevolence will satisfy your rotten soul.
Carnival of Monsters is an outstanding slab of catchy, technical thrash. Accessible without sacrificing aggression, melodic without sacrificing grit.
Spot on bud!
Have you never heard SYLOSIS?!?! They have several albums out that I’m sure are just as good if not better than any one of those bands on your list. You are missing out if you haven’t checked them out by now!
Heard ’em. Don’t like ’em. Boring.