 | | Once the kings of the Bay Area metal scene -- the birthplace of thrash -- Exodus were unceremoniously demoted from their post with the arrival of Los Angeles' Metallica in 1982. |
 | | Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. |
 | | Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. |
 | | Testament were the biggest thrash metal band never to reach the platinum plateau. In fact, the San Francisco quintet seemed on the verge of challenging Metallica (their most obvious influence) in the melodic thrash sweepstakes, but their run toward the top was eventually derailed by inconsistency, bad business decisions, and the genre's dwindling appeal. |
 | | San Francisco's Death Angel was a product of the bustling Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s. Combining serious guitar crunch and speed with a fair amount of technical expertise, they created complex thrash metal filled with time changes and tricky arrangements that, although generally loved by critics, usually failed to translate beyond a very specialized buying public. |
 | | New York thrash quartet Overkill were formed in 1984 by vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Bobby Gustafson, and also included bassist D. |
 | | From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. |
 | | A seminal influence on the evolution of thrash and black metal, Venom formed during the late '70s in Newcastle, England. |
 | | Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America. |
 | | Groups like Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Slayer may have founded death metal in the early '80s, but it wasn't until such disciples as Morbid Angel came along at the close of the decade that the genre was pushed to its most extreme level, both musically and lyrically. |
 | | One of the crucial links in the musical chain linking hardcore punk with speed metal, the Stormtroopers of Death -- known more commonly as S. |
 | | Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax were responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. |
 | | Often considered one of grindcore's founding fathers, Carcass were among the first bands of the extreme metal genre to try a different lyrical approach -- one that reflected a fascination with surgical gadgets and peculiar words straight out of a med student's textbook. |
 | | After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth. |
 | | The fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death pushed the envelope of metal to new extremes of ear-splitting intensity, rejecting all notions of melody, subtlety, and good taste to forge a brand of sonic assault almost frightening in its merciless brutality. |
 | | Danish band featuring vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen, and drummer Kim Ruzz. |
 | | This German black metal band's early lineup consisted of Tom Angelripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Chris "Witchhunter" Dudek (drums). |
 | | Widely regarded as the finest vocalist in all of metal (who possesses a multi-octave range), theatrical rocker King Diamond first rose to prominence as a member of Mercyful Fate before launching a solo career on his own. |
 | | Formed Seattle in 1982, Metal Church consisted of vocalist David Wayne, guitarists Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington. |
 | | Possessed and Death may have brought death metal to life, but Obituary brought it to fruition. After releasing some demos as Xecutioner as far back as 1986, the five-man band debuted as Obituary on Roadrunner Records in 1989 with Slowly We Rot, and in a word, the album was landmark. |
 | | Vader formed in 1986, toiling around the European death and thrash circuit while releasing demos into the metal tape-trading circuit. |
 | | One of Britain's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Birmingham's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the extreme genre's history without ever giving in to commercial temptations, or hardly even altering its sound. |
 | | "If vomit were a movie, this would be the soundtrack," wrote one critic of Cannibal Corpse's music, some of the most extreme, violent death metal sounds and subject matter ever committed to tape. |
 | | Together with their countrymen Kreator and Sodom, Germany's Destruction constituted the dominating triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal during the 1980s. |
 | | The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-'90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the '80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al. |
 | | Canadian thrashers Annihilator are the lifework of guitarist Jeff Waters, who founded the band in his native Vancouver in 1984 -- just as the speed metal revolution was getting underway further to the south in the San Francisco Bay Area. |
 | | Scandinavian metal legends Entombed were at the forefront of the death metal uprising, releasing their influential debut, Left Hand Path, in 1990, just as the movement was beginning to proliferate internationally. |
 | | Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. |
 | | Voivod (singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" d'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault) were one of the first thrash bands from Canada to gain popularity outside of their home country. |
 | | Flotsam and Jetsam initially showed a lot of promise within thrash metal circles and, though they've continued to record over the past 15 years, their talent and professionalism never quite translated into significant sales or mainstream recognition. |
 | | Controversy has plagued Florida-based quartet Deicide. During their first tour in 1992, the band was severely criticized for their statements in favor of animal sacrifices. |
 | | Motörhead's overwhelmingly loud and fast style of heavy metal was one of the most groundbreaking styles the genre had to offer in the late '70s. |
 | | Judging from their name, Suicidal Tendencies were never afraid of a little controversy. Formed in Venice, CA, during the early '80s, the group's leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir. |
 | | Led by bassist/vocalist Phil Rind, this Phoenix-based band also includes Wiley Arnett, Jason Rainey, and Greg Hall. |
 | | Like the extreme music they created, San Francisco's Possessed seemed cursed by dark and evil forces throughout their troubled career. |
 | | Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s. Responsible for bringing the genre back to Earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rockstar games of metal musicians during the early '80s. |
 | | Formed by ex-Carnage, Carcass, and Candlemass guitarist Michael Amott (concurrently of Spiritual Beggars) with his brother Christopher (Armageddon), Arch Enemy took a straight-ahead approach to death metal reminiscent of Entombed or late-period Carcass, blending catchy, classic-style metal riffs with crushing grooves for an intense yet accessible sound. |
 | | Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden were and are one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. |
 | | Death metal band Suffocation was formed in New York in the early '90s, comprising vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs, bassist Chris Richards, and drummer Mike Smith. |
 | | One of the first punk-metal fusion bands, Corrosion of Conformity (C.O.C. for short) were formed in North Carolina by guitarist Woody Weatherman during the early '80s. |
 | | Holland's Pestilence is generally regarded as one of the leaders of the late-'80s/early-'90s death metal scene, following closely behind Death as innovators in the genre. |
 | | Considered to be one of the leading death metal bands to emerge from Poland in the 1990s, Behemoth have endured quite a few lineup shifts during their career (especially in the bass department), with founding singer/guitarist Nergal being the only constant member. |
 | | Fashion trends may come and go, but Florida's Iced Earth has remained steadfastly committed to championing the cause of heavy metal through thick and thin. |
 | | Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth originally formed in 1988 under the name Scum; by the time the new moniker was adopted four years later, the line-up consisted of vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olli Mikkonen and Anders Hansson, bassist Ted Lundstrom and drummer Niko Kaukinen. |
 | | Blending black metal's most brutal tendencies, the melancholic beauty of opera, and industrial metal's production techniques, Dimmu Borgir carved a niche in the metal world as one of the most savage and creative acts to hail from the Norwegian scene. |
 | | GWAR (popularly thought to be an acronym for God What an Awful Racket, despite the band's protests to the contrary) are thrash metal's answer to the more mainstream satire of Spinal Tap. |
 | | Rising out of the expansive early '90s thrash metal landscape, New York's Prong carved a niche all their own with their minimalist urban take on the genre. |
 | | Combining the extreme speed and nihilism of modern death metal with the ancient styling of Middle Eastern music, Nile formed in their hometown of Greenville, SC, in 1993. |
 | | These Canadians started to rock in 1992 with the mission statement "deliver the most punishing music ever created by combining melody and power into one devastating force. |
 | | Arising from the death metal hotbed of Florida in the early '90s (but originally from Buffalo, NY), Malevolent Creation tend to be somewhat overlooked in discussions of groups who helped define the sound and style of American death metal. |
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