This enduring heavy metal outfit was formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969, by K.K. Downing (Kenneth Downing, 27 October 1951, West Bromwich, Warwickshire, England; guitar) and close friend, Ian Hill (b. 20 January 1951, England; bass). As another hopeful, struggling young rock band, they played their first gig in Essington in 1971 with a line-up completed by Alan Atkins (b
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This US thrash act was one of the first to emerge from San Francisco’s Bay Area in Metallica’s wake in the 80s. Originally formed as Legacy in 1983, becoming Testament two years later, the line-up included vocalist Steve Souza alongside Alex Skolnick (29 September 1968, Berkeley, California, USA, replacing original guitarist Derrick Ramirez), Eric Peterson (b. 14 M
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This thrash metal quartet was formed in New York, USA, in 1984 by vocalist Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth, guitarist Bobby Gustafson, bass player D.D. Verni and drummer Rat Skates. Together they self-financed the recording of a mini-album. Desperately short of cash and exposure, they sold the rights to the small Azra label and made a net loss. They were soon picked up by Meg
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This group was formed in San Francisco, California, USA, the home of the Bay Area ‘thrash’ phenomenon, in 1982. The band comprised five cousins, namely Mark Osegueda (vocals), Rob Cavestany (guitar), Gus Pepa (guitar), Dennis Pepa (bass) and Andy Galeon (drums). Their debut, The Ultra-Violence, was a brutal blend of high-speed thrash riffs and thunderous drums. The ba
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Along with Kreator, this speed metal band was at the forefront of the 80s German thrash scene, although Destruction never quite achieved the former’s level of success. Destruction was formed in 1983 in Weil am Rhein, Germany by Schmier (Marcel Schmier Schirmer; bass, vocals), Mike Sifringer (guitar) and Tommy Sandmann (drums) made a rather raw debut with 1984’s min
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Formed in Essen, Germany, in 1984, under the name Tormentor, this heavy metal band originally comprised Milan ‘Mille’ Petrozza (guitar/vocals), Rob Fioretti (bass) and Jürgen ‘Ventor’ Reil (drums). Their vicious thrash style was inspired by the filth and industrial pollution problem that Essen, on the River Ruhr, was experiencing. After changing their n
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Formed in New York, USA, in 1985, this extreme and influential outfit initially comprised John Connelly (guitar/vocals), Dan Lilker (18 October 1964, USA; bass), Mike Bogush (guitar) and Scott Duboys (drums), although Anthony Bramante and Glenn Evans quickly replaced the latter pair. Lilker formed Nuclear Assault while still a member of Anthrax, making them one of the earlie
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This German black metal/thrash trio was formed in 1983 by Tom Angelripper (bass, vocals), Aggressor (vocals, guitar) and Chris Witchhunter (drums), drawing inspiration from bands such as Motörhead, Anvil and Venom. Aggressor was replaced by the similarly pseudonymous Grave Violator on the agenda-setting debut EP, In The Sign Of Evil. By the time Obsessed By Cruelty emerged
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This thrash metal band is a vehicle for the talents of classically trained Canadian guitarist Jeff Waters (13 February 1966, Ottawa, Canada). The initial line-up of Annihilator was formed in 1984 by Waters, John Bates (vocals), Paul Malek (drums) and Dave Scott (bass). After the break-up of this line-up, Waters set the underground scene alight with a demo entitled ‘Phan
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This New York, USA-based thrash metal outfit was formed in 1981 by Scott ‘Not’ Ian (Scott Rosenfeld, 31 December 1963, Queens, New York City, New York, USA; rhythm guitar) and Dan Lilker (b. 18 October 1964, USA; bass). After a series of personnel changes, Ian and Lilker were joined by Neil Turbin (vocals), Dan Spitz (b. 28 January 1963, USA; guitar) and Charlie Be
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This intense death/thrash metal quartet was formed in Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, USA, during 1982. Comprising Tom Araya (Thomas Araya, 6 June 1961, Valparaiso, Chile; bass/vocals), Kerry King (b. 3 June 1964, Los Angeles, California, USA; guitar), Jeff Hanneman (b. 31 January 1964, Oakland, California, USA; guitar) and Dave Lombardo (b. 16 February 1965, Havana, Cuba; dr
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Formed in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1981, Dark Angel specialize in ‘ultra-heavy thrash metal’. The original line-up comprised Don Doty (vocals), Jim Durkin (guitar), Eric Meyer (guitar), Rob Yahn (bass) and Mike Andrade (drums), although the latter was quickly replaced by Jack Schwartz. Early demos saw the band sign to Azra Records, resulting in the release of
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