Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often includes criticism of The Establishment and concern over environmental destruction, and at times shares a disdain for Christian dogma with that of black metal. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Downey, California, that formed in 1981. The band's current lineup includes guitarists Jim Durkin and Eric Meyer, drummer Gene Hoglan, bassist Mike Gonzalez and frontman Ron Rinehart. In its history, they have gone through many lineup changes, and there are no original members left in Dark Angel besides Durkin, who was out of the band from 1989 to 2013. Meyer, who joined in 1984, is the only member to appear on all of their albums.
Blind Illusion is an American progressive thrash metal band from Richmond, California. Formed in 1978 by lead guitarist and main songwriter Mark Biedermann, the band has had several lineup changes, with Biedermann being the only constant member. Blind Illusion is also notable for featuring Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde, both later of Primus, who performed bass and guitar respectively on their 1988 debut album The Sane Asylum.
Coroner is a Swiss thrash metal band from Zürich. They garnered relatively little attention outside of Europe. Formed in 1983, the band broke up in 1996, but reformed 14 years later. The band has performed at multiple live venues and festivals around worldwide since 2011, and plans to release their first studio album in nearly three decades in 2022 or 2023.
Watchtower is an American progressive metal band based in Austin, Texas, active from 1982 to 1993 and they have reunited occasionally since 1999. The band has released two studio albums―Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1989)―as well as one compilation album, four digital singles, one EP and three demo cassettes, and has been featured on numerous compilation albums. They are also notable for featuring vocalist Jason McMaster, who left Watchtower after the release of Energetic Disassembly to form Dangerous Toys, and was replaced by Alan Tecchio, who appeared on Control and Resistance and the band's 2016 EP Concepts of Math: Book One.
Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena, the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with several of their thrash metal peers such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash.
Ron Jarzombek is an American guitarist best known for his work with WatchTower, Spastic Ink, and Blotted Science, featuring Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. His most recent project is Terrestrial Exiled. He released a brand new song, "Beyond Life And Cosmic Kinetics" (B.L.A.C.K.), as an interactive six-track multi-tracking app in November 2012.
Spastic Ink was a progressive metal band from the United States.
Dangerous Toys is an American, Austin, Texas-based rock band, with often humorous lyrics. Founded in 1987, Dangerous Toys released four full-length albums and one live album before unofficially disbanding at the turn of the millennium. The band found mainstream success with its debut album Dangerous Toys (1989), which featured the singles "Teas'n, Pleas'n" and "Scared" and it was certified gold by the RIAA five years after its release. Their next two albums, Hellacious Acres (1991) and Pissed (1994), were not as successful as the self-titled debut, but also received acclaim. Although they have not released any new material since their fourth studio album The R*tist 4*merly Known as Dangerous Toys (1995), Dangerous Toys have continued to perform live over the years.
Ink Compatible is the second full-length album from Spastic Ink. It was released in 2004 after a four-year process via Ron Jarzombek's EclecticElectric label, except for Japan and Southeast Asia where it was released by Avalon/Marquee. It was released in Russia on Iron d.
Energetic Disassembly is the debut album by progressive metal band Watchtower, released in 1985. This is the band's only album to feature vocalist Jason McMaster and guitarist Billy White, who were replaced by Alan Tecchio and Ron Jarzombek respectively for their next album Control and Resistance. Energetic Disassembly has been recognized as one of the first albums in the technical thrash metal genre, and Chuck Schuldiner of Death had cited the album as a significant influence on the band's transition from traditional death metal to technical death metal on their 1991 album Human.
Prototype is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist/guitarist Vince Levalois and guitarist Kragen Lum, who were both members of Psychosis at the time. The band's current line-up comprises founding members Levalois and Lum, bassist Kirk Scherer and drummer Pat Magrath. Bassists Stephen Gambina and Mike Bear and drummers Damion Ramirez and Nic Ritter are former members of the band.
Victims of Deception is the second album by the American thrash metal band Heathen, which was released in 1991 by Roadrunner Records. It was re-issued by Metal Mind Productions in 2006 as a digipak in a limited amount of 2,000 numbered copies.
Blotted Science is an instrumental progressive metal supergroup headed by Ron Jarzombek, bassist Alex Webster and drummer Hannes Grossmann. They formed under the name Machinations of Dementia, but later changed their name to Blotted Science.
Defiance is an American thrash metal band from Oakland, California. They played a technical style of thrash originally evoking bands like Testament, though they would later move on to playing in their own unique, more progressive thrash style. After dissolving in 1995, they reformed in 2005 and released their fourth studio album The Prophecy in late 2009. They broke up once again in 2012, but announced yet another reunion in September 2019.
Demonstrations in Chaos is a 2002 archives release by progressive metal band Watchtower, containing various early recordings that span the years 1983 to 1987.
Viking is an American thrash metal band in Los Angeles, California, which had existed for four years, between 1986 and 1990. However, they reformed in 2011. To date, Viking has released three studio albums, Do or Die (1988), Man of Straw (1989) and No Child Left Behind (2015).
S.A. Slayer, originally known as Slayer, was an American heavy metal band formed in San Antonio, Texas, in 1981 by the former Blitzkrieg guitar duo Robert "Bob Dog" Catlin and Art Villarreal, bassist Don Van Stavern, drummer Dave McClain, and vocalist Chris Cronk. The latter was soon replaced by Steve Cooper and the band signed a record deal with local upstart label Rainforest Records and proceeded to record six songs for a proposed EP at B.O.S.S. Studios with producer/engineer duo Bob O'Neill and Rick Shrieves. The Prepare to Die EP was released in 1983 and "Slayer" became one of the top metal draws of the Texas scene. The band changed their name to S.A. Slayer following a cease and desist lawsuit from founder of Metal Blade Records, Brian Slagel, on behalf of thrash metal legends Slayer.
No Fraud is an American hardcore punk/thrash metal band from Venice, Florida, United States, that formed with members Dan Destructo on guitar and vocals, Buzz Cockrill on bass and Mike Shenkin on drums. The band has added different members since its origin. No Fraud is known for their fast music and wild, energized live shows.
Concepts of Math: Book One is the first EP by the American progressive metal band Watchtower, and was released on October 7, 2016. An anticipation of Watchtower's upcoming third album Mathematics, the EP contains four previously-released tracks and one brand new song. "The Size of Matter" was previously released in 2010 as a digital single, and "M-Theory Overture", "Arguments Against Design" and "Technology Inaction" were digitally released separately in 2015.
