PART XVI.
THE SECOND WAVE OF THRASH METAL. SCANDINAVIAN THRASH METAL.
(1987-1991)
SCANDINAVIAN THRASH METAL (1987–1991)
NORWAY
WITCHHAMMER
Witchhammer were one of Norway’s most distinctive late‑’80s metal bands, blending thrash with a dramatic, power‑metal edge at a time when the country was drifting toward black metal. Their 1989 album 1487 became a cult classic, full of sharp riffs, clean vocals, and a dark, historical atmosphere that set them apart from the rawer Norwegian underground. They never broke big, but in the 1987–91 window they stood as Norway’s most ambitious and melodic take on thrash.
FINLAND
STONE
ICELAND
Between 1987 and 1991, The Nordic countries birthed their own wave of thrash metal. These bands were shaped by isolation, DIY ethos, and a hunger for extremity. The Scandinavian scene was small and the bands spread out over big distances. But there was a tape trading culture and some fanzines that fueled the growth. Though few broke internationally during this era, their legacy would ripple into the rise of Scandinavian death and black metal in the ’90s.
The Scandinavian thrash scene grew out of bands such as Artillery from Denmark that album debuted in 1985 and of course Bathory that released their first record in 1984. But Bathory was of course more of a black metal band than thrash, still they were quite influential on the local scene. The Speed Metal merchants Maninnya Blade was also a pioneering band even though they would more likely be labeled as speed metal these days.
The Scandinavian thrash scene grew out of bands such as Artillery from Denmark that album debuted in 1985 and of course Bathory that released their first record in 1984. But Bathory was of course more of a black metal band than thrash, still they were quite influential on the local scene. The Speed Metal merchants Maninnya Blade was also a pioneering band even though they would more likely be labeled as speed metal these days.
SWEDEN
Sweden had the most prolific thrash scene in Scandinavia during this period. Bands like Maninnya Blade (whose 1986 album Merchants in Metal was a pioneering release), Agony, Mezzrow, Hexenhaus, Fallen Angel, Tribulation, Atrox, Kazjurol, Raving Mad and Damien pushed a mix of technicality and aggression. Merciless emerged in 1986 and quickly became a bridge between thrash and death metal, especially with their 1990 debut The Awakening. Mefisto and Morbid (featuring Dead and later Euronymous) were more primitive but influential in shaping the black/thrash crossover. Sweden’s scene was marked by icy riffing, melodic undertones, and a growing flirtation with death metal brutality. Sweden also had Ice Age, who were referred to as the female version of Metallica, but they didn't leave the demo stage back then. Rosicrucian were another band that had a demo out during this time, they album debuted in 1992 when the thrash metal was on it's way out. Meshuggah that has become famous over the decades started out as a thrash metal band with slight groove metal tendencies, they released Contradictions Collapse in 1991. Hyste'riah later Hyste'riah G.B.C. released an album in 1991 called Snakeworld. There was also this strange band called Omnitron that released Masterpeace. Sweden also had publicly financed music schools and rehearsal rooms so there was a lot of activity and bands around.
MEZZROW
HEXENHAUS.jfif)
MEZZROW
Mezzrow were one of the most polished and internationally minded Swedish thrash bands of the era. Their 1990 album Then Came the Killing delivered a crisp, Bay Area‑influenced attack. Tight riffing, sharp production, and a sense of ambition that set them apart from many of their peers. They even produced a music video for "Then Came the Killing", a rarity for Swedish thrash at the time, which helped them gain visibility in the underground tape‑trading and fanzine circuits. The band’s sound sat comfortably alongside Testament, Forbidden, and Vio‑lence, but with a distinctly Swedish melodic edge.
MEZZROW - THEN CAME THE KILLING
AGONY
Agony took a more technical and atmospheric route. Their 1988 album The First Defiance showcased intricate guitar work, dramatic arrangements, and a melodic sensibility that echoed the more sophisticated side of American thrash. They weren’t afraid to stretch songs, explore moodier passages, or weave in harmonized leads, placing them closer to the progressive thrash movement that was emerging globally. Agony stood as one of Sweden’s most musically ambitious thrash acts of the period.
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Agony - The First Defiance (1988)
FALLEN ANGEL
Fallen Angel represented the opposite pole: raw, aggressive, and deeply rooted in the underground. Their 1990 album Faith Fails captured the DIY ethos of the Swedish late‑’80s scene. Fast tempos, harsh vocals, and a gritty, unpolished sound that leaned toward the borderlands of death/thrash. They embodied the energy of small clubs, rehearsal rooms, and tape‑trading networks, the lifeblood of Swedish metal before the explosion of the early ’90s.
MEZZROW - THEN CAME THE KILLING
AGONY
Agony took a more technical and atmospheric route. Their 1988 album The First Defiance showcased intricate guitar work, dramatic arrangements, and a melodic sensibility that echoed the more sophisticated side of American thrash. They weren’t afraid to stretch songs, explore moodier passages, or weave in harmonized leads, placing them closer to the progressive thrash movement that was emerging globally. Agony stood as one of Sweden’s most musically ambitious thrash acts of the period.
FALLEN ANGEL
Fallen Angel represented the opposite pole: raw, aggressive, and deeply rooted in the underground. Their 1990 album Faith Fails captured the DIY ethos of the Swedish late‑’80s scene. Fast tempos, harsh vocals, and a gritty, unpolished sound that leaned toward the borderlands of death/thrash. They embodied the energy of small clubs, rehearsal rooms, and tape‑trading networks, the lifeblood of Swedish metal before the explosion of the early ’90s.
MERCILESS
Merciless were the point where Swedish thrash stopped being just thrash and started mutating into something far more vicious. Formed in Strängnäs, they were already leaning into extremity on their early demos, but The Awakening (1990) was the moment everything detonated. The album fused razor‑sharp thrash riffing with the brutality and speed that would soon define Swedish death metal. It was raw, relentless, and completely uncompromising. So much so that it became the first release on Deathlike Silence Productions, Euronymous’ label, cementing its status as a foundational document of Scandinavian extremity. Merciless pushed the boundaries; Influencing both the Stockholm death metal scene and the early black‑thrash hybrids that followed.
MIDAS TOUCH
Midas Touch came from a very different angle, representing the technical, high‑precision side of Swedish thrash. Their lone album, Presage of Disaster (1989), is one of the era’s great cult releases. Frantic, complex, and packed with riffs that feel like they’re constantly on the verge of spiraling out of control yet never do. The band leaned heavily toward the Bay Area school, but with a colder, more angular Swedish edge. Though they only released one album, Presage of Disaster became a favorite among deep‑cut thrash fans.
HEXENHAUS
Hexenhaus brought a darker, more progressive edge, mixing thrash with occult themes and complex arrangements. Their early albums stood out for their ambition and musicianship, bridging the gap between traditional thrash and the more cerebral metal Sweden would later become known for. Hexenhaus debuted in 1988 with A Tribute to Insanity. In 1990 they released The Edge of Eternity and in 1991 Awakening was released. Hexen was by far the most active thrash band in Sweden during this era.
Hexenhaus - The Edge of Eternity (1991)
DENMARK
Denmark had a smaller but potent thrash presence. Artillery stood as the country’s flagship thrash band, Invocator from Esbjerg emerged in the late ’80s with a more death-tinged thrash approach, culminating in their 1991 debut Excursion Demise. There were also demo bands such as DesExult, Sacrificial, and Frozen Sun, So there wasn't that much going besides what Artillery was doing.
ARTILLERY (1987-1991)
By 1987, Artillery had already built a strong reputation through demos and their debut Fear of Tomorrow, they followed it up with Terror Squad (1987). The album showcased the band’s trademark blend of razor‑tight riffing, complex arrangements, and Flemming Rönsdorf’s uniquely sharp, expressive vocals. It was heavier, faster, and more confident than the debut, and it cemented Artillery as Denmark’s leading thrash export. Despite the rather amateurish album artwork.
Following Terror Squad, the band spent these years tightening their live presence and writing increasingly ambitious material. Their demos from earlier years were circulating widely in the tape‑trading scene, helping them gain international attention even without major-label backing. This period was defined by stability in the Stützer brothers’ guitar partnership and the band’s growing technical ambitions.
In 1990, Artillery released By Inheritance, often considered one of the greatest technical thrash albums ever recorded. The record pushed their musicianship to new heights: intricate Middle Eastern–influenced melodies, hyper‑precise riffing, and a clean, powerful production that set it apart from many European thrash releases of the time. It was critically acclaimed but arrived just as thrash was losing commercial ground to death metal and grunge. The album was produced by Flemming Rasmussen, who also produced Metallica at this point. Flemming did a great job with the bands sound.
Despite the creative high point, internal pressures and the shifting musical landscape led Artillery to disband in 1991, shortly after By Inheritance. It marked the end of the bands first era.
Artillery - By Inheritance (1990)
NORWAY
Norway didn't have much of a heavy metal scene to speak of and the same goes for their thrash scene. Artch was a popular and skilled band but they were more of a power metal band than thrash. Similar to the Danish scene, it was mainly one band that carried the banner for thrash. This band was of course Equinox. The Norwegian scene was more scattered, with fewer releases and less infrastructure, but it laid groundwork for the extremity that would explode in the early ’90s.
EQUINOX
Norway’s Equinox stood out as one of the country’s most polished thrash exports during this period. While Norway would soon become synonymous with black metal, Equinox represented the last strong pulse of Norwegian thrash before the shift. Their late‑’80s material, culminating in Auf Wiedersehen (1989) and The Way to Go (1990). Equinox played technical and quite melodic thrash with a European flair. They weren’t as extreme as what was brewing in Oslo’s basements, but they captured that Scandinavian tight, cold, and slightly melancholic-sounding thrash.
WITCHHAMMER
Witchhammer were one of Norway’s most distinctive late‑’80s metal bands, blending thrash with a dramatic, power‑metal edge at a time when the country was drifting toward black metal. Their 1989 album 1487 became a cult classic, full of sharp riffs, clean vocals, and a dark, historical atmosphere that set them apart from the rawer Norwegian underground. They never broke big, but in the 1987–91 window they stood as Norway’s most ambitious and melodic take on thrash.
FINLAND
At the center of the Finnish thrash scene stood Stone, who at this point became one of Finland's biggest metal bands. Their musicianship and oddball creativity set the tone for the entire Finnish sound. Finland also had bands like Airdash, Prestige, Maple Cross, A.R.G. (Originally Aku Raaska Group) and National Napalm Syndicate, each bringing speed, aggression, and a touch of punk attitude. Finland’s thrash was often rawer and more unhinged, with a strong underground following and a taste for experimentation.
STONE
Stone were the beating heart of Finland’s late‑’80s thrash scene, the band that took a small, scattered underground and gave it a sense of identity. Formed by young, ridiculously talented musicians, they played thrash with a quirky Finnish twist, fast, technical, melodic, and just strange enough to stand apart from anything happening in the Bay Area or Germany. Their 1988 debut Stone introduced their sharp riffing and youthful intensity, but it was the run that followed that cemented their legacy: No Anaesthesia! in 1989 pushed their technical side, Colours in 1990 dove into progressive territory with odd melodies and adventurous songwriting, and Emotional Playground in 1991 exploded into full experimentation.
Across those four albums, Stone evolved at a pace few bands could match, each record sounding like a leap forward rather than a refinement. They became cult heroes in Finland, influencing an entire generation of musicians, most famously a young Alexi Laiho, who often cited Stone as a foundational inspiration. By the time they split in the early ’90s, they had already shaped the DNA of Finnish metal, Stone also got to open for Metallica when they came to Finland in 1988 on their ...And Justice For All tour.
Stone - No Anaesthesia! (1989)
AIRDASH
Finland’s Airdash brought a different energy entirely. Emerging from the same fertile scene that produced Stone and Prestige, they leaned into a punk‑tinged, speed‑driven thrash attack that felt scrappy and street‑level. Their debut Thank God It’s Monday (1988) captured that raw, restless motion, while Hospital Hallucinations Take One (1989) sharpened their riffs and attitude without losing the youthful bite that defined them. They weren’t as technical as Stone or as extreme as A.R.G., but they embodied the unpolished, high‑energy spirit at the core of Finnish thrash.
Finland’s Airdash brought a different energy entirely. Emerging from the same fertile scene that produced Stone and Prestige, they leaned into a punk‑tinged, speed‑driven thrash attack that felt scrappy and street‑level. Their debut Thank God It’s Monday (1988) captured that raw, restless motion, while Hospital Hallucinations Take One (1989) sharpened their riffs and attitude without losing the youthful bite that defined them. They weren’t as technical as Stone or as extreme as A.R.G., but they embodied the unpolished, high‑energy spirit at the core of Finnish thrash.
A.R.G.
A.R.G. (Aku Raaska Group later Ancient Rotten Graveguards) represented the opposite pole of the Finnish sound. One of the most aggressive and chaotic thrash bands in the region, Similar to what Slayer and Kreator were doing at the time. Their debut Entrance (1989) pushed straight into death/thrash territory with harsh vocals and frantic riffing, and One World Without the End (1991) doubled down on that intensity with even darker, more violent songwriting. A.R.G. captured the moment when Finnish thrash was mutating into something nastier and more extreme, laying groundwork for the death metal surge that would soon define the country’s metal identity.
ICELAND
Iceland had a minimal thrash presence during this era, with only a handful of bands dabbling in the genre. Reykjavik's Flames of Hell a black/thrash metal band released an obscure album in 1987 titled Fire and Steel. There was also a band called Bootlegs from the same city. But these types of bands were really obscure.
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