thehistoryofthrashpart19

    

PART XIX:
THE SECOND WAVE OF THRASH METAL. INTERNATIONAL THRASH METAL.
(1987-1991)

EUROPEAN THRASH METAL (1987–1991)

The late‑’80s thrash movement outside the big European powerhouses was a story of scenes that refused to be overshadowed. These countries; France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal weren’t in most cases producing the global headliners, but they were building their own identities in rehearsal rooms, youth centers, and tiny clubs. Their bands were shaped less by major labels and more by local traditions and the hunger to keep up with the speed and aggression coming from Germany and the Bay Area. What ties these nations together is the sense of being on the periphery yet absolutely determined to contribute something fierce and distinct to the genre. Between 1987 and 1991, these scenes matured, hardened, and in some cases birthed bands that would later be recognized as cult giants.

FRANCE

France’s thrash scene was gritty and hybridized. Bands like Massacra, Agressor, and Loudblast were already leaning into death/thrash territory, creating a sharper, more violent sound than the classic Bay Area template. The French underground had a strong crossover with the emerging death metal movement, which gave their thrash a darker, more technical edge. Even earlier speed‑thrash acts like Morsüre and ADX laid the groundwork, but by the late ’80s the French identity was clearly moving toward extremity.

Agressor - Neverending Destiny (1990)

ITALY

Italy was one of Europe’s most underrated thrash incubators. The country had a chaotic, experimental streak that produced bands like Schizo, whose early work fused thrash with proto‑death insanity, and Necrodeath, whose speed and ferocity rivaled anything coming out of Germany. Bulldozer brought a blackened, Venom‑inspired approach, while Extrema and Alligator carried the more traditional thrash banner. Italian thrash was raw, theatrical, and often unhinged, reflecting the country’s vibrant underground culture. Perhaps inspired by the early works of Italian pioneers Death SS.


BULLDOZER
Bulldozer, meanwhile, were Italy’s snarling, street‑level answer to Venom, but smarter and more self‑aware than their reputation suggests. After the raw chaos of their early work, they entered the late ’80s with IX (1987) and the year later Neurodeliri (1988), on these records they laid further into a thrash sound. Still with a distinctly Italian sense of theatricality. Bulldozer were unmistakably themselves but also one of the most important thrash acts on the European scene outside Germany.

Bulldozer - Neurodeliri (1988)

SPAIN

Spain’s thrash scene grew out of a strong punk and hardcore foundation, especially in the Basque Country. Bands like Legion and Fuck Off delivered sharp, aggressive thrash that felt street‑level and confrontational. Muro and Estigia added a more classic heavy metal backbone and Su Ta Gar brought the progressive flair. Spanish thrash had a rougher, more DIY feel than its northern counterparts, but it was passionate and deeply tied to local youth culture.

THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands produced a surprisingly intense wave of thrash. Dead Head emerged as one of the most ferocious European thrash bands of the era, with a sound bordering on death metal. Mandator, Sacrosanct, Usurper, Messina, Lunatics Without Skateboards Inc., Vulture and Jewel contributed to a smaller but dedicated scene that valued speed, precision, and aggression. Pestilence was of course the big and famous band on the Dutch scene but they quickly moved away from thrash into a more progressive death metal sound. Death thrashers Thanatos another band worth mentioning here.

Mandator - Perfect Progeny (1989)

BELGIUM

Belgium’s underground was small but potent. Originally there was something of a speed metal scene going on in Belgium with Acid, Warhead, Killer and Crossfire but by 1987 the thrash wave had rolled in over Belgium. Cyclone became a cult favorite for their razor‑sharp, high‑speed thrash, while Target, Asphyxia and Evil Sinner added their own flavors to a scene that leaned heavily on rawness and intensity. Later on groove thrashers Channel Zero became a popular act on the Belgian scene.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is often remembered for Celtic Frost and Coroner, but the country had a broader ecosystem of smaller thrash acts orbiting those giants. Apocalypse, Drifter and Poltergeist stood out as contenders. Carrion, Lunacy, Calhoun Conquer and Verwaint brought made the Swiss scene quite crowded for such a small country. The Swiss sound tended to be more technical and experimental, influenced by the progressive tendencies of Coroner and the avant‑garde spirit of Frost. Even the lesser‑known bands carried a sense of precision and ambition.

Drifter - Reality Turns To Dust (1988)

CELTIC FROST
Celtic Frost were in a state of constant reinvention. After the avant‑garde extremity of Into the Pandemonium (1987), they plunged into the controversial Cold Lake (1988) era, A glam‑tinged detour that alienated almost everyone but revealed just how restless Tom G. Warrior really was. It was more or less a career ending record. By 1990’s Vanity/Nemesis, they had clawed their way back toward a heavier, more grounded sound, still experimental but far more controlled. Frost in this era were volatile, unpredictable, and always pushing against the boundaries of what metal was supposed to be.

Celtic Frost - Vanity / Nemesis (1990)

CORONER
Coroner spent these years mutating at high speed. Punishment for Decadence (1988) sharpened their precision, No More Color (1989) pushed them into a hyper‑technical, almost surgical form of thrash, and by Mental Vortex (1991) they were operating on a level of sophistication that barely had peers on the international scene. Their music was cold, exacting, and intellectual like a Swiss clockwork version of thrash that felt like it came from a different planet than the Bay Area. They were the band proving that thrash could be progressive without losing its bite. They were also filmed together with Kreator, Tankard and Sabbat (UK) for the Live in East Berlin VHS in 1990.

Coroner - Die By My Hand (Live in East Berlin 1990)


PORTUGAL

Portugal’s thrash scene was modest and there wasn't that much going on during the heyday of thrash, most bands showed up in the nineties. Tarantula and Ibéria were among the key names, but they were perhaps leaning more into power metal. W.C. Noise then showed up in '92 and 


GREECE

Between 1987 and 1991, the Greek thrash metal scene developed in a raw, underground surge driven by a handful of determined bands working with almost no industry support. At the center of this early movement stood Flames, one of Greece’s first true thrash acts. Their albums Summon the Dead (1986), Last Prophecy (1989), and Nomen Illi Mors (1991) captured a uniquely harsh, chaotic sound that set the tone for the country’s emerging extreme‑metal identity. Around them there wasn't that much interesting going on you had Crush released the cult classic Kingdom of the Kings (1993), Death Courier, formed in 1987, released the album Demise (1992), bridging thrash and death metal. 

Flames - Summon the Dead (1986)

JAPAN

If we leave Europe and travel to Asia, then we must talk about Japan. Japan had a lot of strange bands, Sometimes they dressed and looked like a glam band but they delivered real fast and aggressive hardcore infused speed metal. The Japanese thrash scene between 1987 and 1991 was explosive, disciplined, and often more technically ambitious than its Western counterparts. Heavy Metal bands Loudness and X Japan were grandfathers of the Japanese metal scene but towards the late 80's we started to see more of a thrash scene in Japan.

Outrage - Black Clouds (1988)

Outrage were the closest thing Japan had to a flagship band, delivering tight, muscular albums like Black Clouds (1988) and Blind to Reality (1989). They had the professionalism and songwriting chops to stand alongside the Bay Area bands.

United were the workhorses, relentless, precise, and constantly evolving. Their late‑’80s material showed a band hungry to push the genre forward, and by the early ’90s they were one of the most respected thrash acts in the country.

Doom were the visionaries. Their music was thrash, but filtered through avant‑garde instincts, odd time signatures, and a willingness to break every rule. They were the Japanese equivalent of Voivod, but even stranger. A band that treated thrash as a canvas for experimentation rather than a set of boundaries.

Casbah were the underground bruisers, one of the earliest and most aggressive Japanese thrash bands, with demos and EPs that circulated heavily in the tape‑trading network. 

Shellshock brought a technical, razor‑sharp approach that made them stand out in a scene already known for precision.

Jurassic Jade fused thrash with hardcore ferocity, driven by fierce vocals and a confrontational energy that felt uniquely Japanese.

Aion started as a thrash band before drifting into power metal, but their early work belongs firmly in the thrash canon.

Rosenfeld, operating out of the Kansai hardcore scene, delivered a vicious crossover‑thrash hybrid that hit with the force of a riot.

And then there was black/thrashers Sabbat. The black thrash legends. Not to be confused with the U.K. band with the same name. Sabbat had that Venom inspired look and sound. Maybe even more occult and thrashier. They certainly didn't care about trends, they kept releasing material even though thrash went out of style in the 90's. Sabbat were active in the mid eighties but it wasn't until 1991 when their full-length debut Envenom came out.

What made Japanese thrash special wasn’t just the musicianship. It was the intensity of commitment. Rehearsal culture was strict, live shows were explosive, and the many of the lead guitarists had a neo-classical flair to their playing. Japan didn’t produce a "big four" but it produced a scene that could go toe‑to‑toe with any of the major global thrash movements in terms of skill, ambition, and sheer force.

AUSTRALIA

Australia’s thrash scene between 1987 and 1991 was a wild, sun‑scorched parallel universe to what was happening in Europe and the US. It never had the numbers of Germany or the polish of the Bay Area, but it had attitude, grit, and a uniquely Australian sense to the music. The country’s isolation meant bands were a bit closed off to what was going on in Europe.

They were building their own sound from whatever tapes they could get and whatever chaos they could stir up in pubs and community halls. 

 Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction (1987)

By 1987, the first wave of Australian thrash had already taken shape. Mortal Sin were the obvious spearhead, the band that proved Australians could play thrash at an international level. Their album Mayhemic Destruction (1987) hit the global tape‑trading circuit hard, and Face of Despair (1989) showed a leap in songwriting and production. They were the closest thing Australia had to a breakout thrash act, touring internationally and giving the scene a sense of legitimacy. They were also chosen to be the opener when Metallica came to Australia in 1989.

But the underground was where the real character lived. Hobbs’ Angel of Death, led by Peter Hobbs (R.I.P.), delivered a ferocious blend of thrash that could be compared to what Slayer were doing at the time. Their sound felt far more extreme than most of their contemporaries. Their 1988 self‑titled album became a cult classic. 

Hobbs Angel of Death - Hobbs Angel of Death (1988)

Addictive emerged with a sharper, more technical edge, releasing Pity of Man in 1989 and pushing toward a more polished, American‑influenced sound. Slaughter Lord, though short‑lived, left a massive mark with their Taste of Blood demo (1986) still circulating heavily into the early ’90s; their influence far outweighed their discography.

Armoured Angel from Canberra were another crucial force, evolving from speed/thrash into a darker, heavier style that would eventually help shape Australian death metal. Their late‑’80s demos were essential underground currency.

There were smaller but vital names too, Bezerker, Taramis, Depression, Rampage, Redeemer, Cromok, Nothing Sacred, Renegade, Tyrus, and early Sadistik Exekution (though they quickly veered into total chaos beyond thrash). These bands kept the scene alive in local venues, often playing to small but rabid crowds. The Australian pub circuit was notoriously rough, and thrash bands thrived in that environment.

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