Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's growled vocals, they are often called the first band in the death metal genre, and paved the way for the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene, along with Metallica, Exodus, Testament and Death Angel. The band is also notable for featuring future Primus member Larry LaLonde, who was the guitarist for Possessed from 1984 to 1987.
Mortification is an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released fourteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three extended plays, six live discs, one demo album, one box set, and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Forbidden is an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. They formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, but would change their name in 1987. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. After breaking up for the first time in 1997, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007, went into an indefinite hiatus in 2012, but reformed in 2023. The current line-up of the band is Norman Skinner (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), and Chris Kontos (drums).
Annihilator is a Canadian thrash metal band founded in Ottawa in 1984 by Jeff Waters. Waters is the band's sole constant member and has acted as its guitarist, bandleader, writer, producer, engineer, and occasional bassist and vocalist. Annihilator has released seventeen studio albums and has undergone many line-up changes, with Waters regularly assembling touring or session musicians to perform with him. Along with Sacrifice, Voivod and Razor, Annihilator is known as one of the "Big Four" of Canadian thrash metal. They are also considered to be part of the "second wave" of thrash metal bands from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Byzantine is an American heavy metal band from Charleston, West Virginia, that was formed in 2000. As of March 2016, the band consists of frontman and co-founder Chris "OJ" Ojeda, Brian Henderson (guitar), Matt Bowles (drums) and Ryan Postlethwait (bass). The band has released three studio albums on Prosthetic Records along with two independent albums. Byzantine is known for its unique sound and modern, "forward thinking" musical style which explores different musical territories and song structures.
Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, founded in 1984.
Alice in Hell is the debut studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator, released on April 17, 1989 through Roadrunner Records. This was the only Annihilator album for ten years to feature Randy Rampage on vocals, until he returned for their seventh studio album Criteria for a Black Widow (1999).
Deströyer 666 is an Australian extreme metal band formed in 1994 by vocalist and guitarist K. K. Warslut. The group originated in Melbourne, Australia and by 2001 had relocated to Europe.
Prototype is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist/guitarist Vince Levalois and guitarist Kragen Lum, who were both members of Psychosis at the time.
Yyrkoon is a French death metal band. The main lyrical themes revolve around occultism, horror/fantasy, and members' personal philosophies. The name Yyrkoon is derived from the name of Elric of Melniboné's cousin in Michael Moorcock's fantasy series.
Metal is the twelfth album by Canadian heavy metal band Annihilator, released on April 16, 2007, by SPV/Steamhammer. However, it wasn't released in the United States until January 15, 2008. The album includes several special guests who each contribute to separate tracks. This includes Danko Jones, Angela Gossow, Steve "Lips" Kudlow, Alexi Laiho, Anders Björler, Michael Amott, Jesper Strömblad, Corey Beaulieu, Jacob Lynam and William Adler.
Blood Tsunami is a Norwegian thrash metal band from Oslo, formed by Peter Michael Kolstad Vegem in 2004 and currently signed to Indie Recordings.
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.
Void Terra Firma is the second album by American thrash metal band Defiance, released in 1990. It was the first album to feature vocalist Steev Esquivel. It was advertised as being recorded "Live and in Your Face!"
Seventh Angel are an English former Christian metal band that formed in 1987 in Halesowen, West Midlands. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. The band initially released two albums, The Torment (1990) and Lament for the Weary (1992), before disbanding; these records achieved mainstream distribution through the Music for Nations label, making Seventh Angel label mates with such groups as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. The Daily Telegraph called Seventh Angel "one of the leading Christian thrash metal bands in Great Britain."
The Gathering is the eighth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on June 8, 1999. It was the first release the band had done with Spitfire Records. Co-produced by band members, Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson, this was the first album featuring new musicians Steve DiGiorgio on bass guitar and Dave Lombardo on drums. Billy, Peterson and Lombardo, along with longtime Testament collaborator Del James, are also given composer credits on the album. It would also be the only Testament album for Lombardo, who had left the band not long after the release of The Gathering.
The Prophecy is the fourth album by American thrash metal band Defiance, released in 2009. Unlike the previous two albums, Void Terra Firma and Beyond Recognition, the album is much more straight forward thrash metal, almost similar to Product of Society.
Stéphane Hugues Norbert Paut, known professionally as Neige, is a French songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician, and record producer from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, now relocated to Paris. He is the primary songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist of the post-black metal band Alcest and is the former guitarist, bass guitarist, and drummer of the post-punk/post-black metal band Amesoeurs.
Triple Threat is a box set by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator, released on January 27, 2017. It consists of a studio album solely featuring acoustic versions of many of the band's songs from over the years, a live CD featuring their set from the Bang Your Head!!! festival in 2016 and special editions feature a live DVD or Blu-ray.
Toxicon is an Australian heavy metal band from Geelong, Victoria, formed in 2012. The band consists of vocalist Wayne Clarris, guitarist Adam Esposti, bassist Jacob Maloney, and drummer Thomas Nunan. The band has a debut album "Purge" and a standalone single "Circling", both released to positive review and a second album to be released. The band has its own distinctive style of metal that comprises multiple subgenres, which they call "Hybrid Metal".
