Znowhite - All Hail to Thee - 1984

Znowhite are unique for the simple fact that their vocalist is female. Other than some band named Thrash Queen, which from what I can tell are thrash in name only, there were no other female-fronted thrash bands around in 1984. Is Nicole Lee a great singer? No, not really, but she gets the job done. The music itself is pretty competent speed/thrash for 1984, with little to offer in terms of originality. Songs like "Sledgehammer" and "Bringin' the Hammer Down" are actually pretty enjoyable though. Unfortunately, tracks like "Never Felt Like This" exist as well.

1. Sledgehammer
2. Saturday Night
3. Somethin' for Nothin'
4. Bringin' the Hammer Down
5. Do Or Die
6. Never Felt Like This
7. Rock City Destination

Score: 4/10

Destruction - Sentence of Death - November 10, 1984

Destruction's first EP was pretty indicative of the sound they would always play -- definitely more melodic than Sodom but more abrasive than Metallica, their sound is a lively, snarling style, not unlike bands we would hear from a little later like Overkill and Exodus. There's a bit of sloppiness here and the songwriting chops haven't fully formed, but songs like "Total Desaster" and "Mad Butcher" really rip, but the quality slowly declines as the album goes on. The closer, "Devil's Soldiers" is the worst, seemingly going for a pounding, almost totally non-melodic style that just doesn't suit the band. All in all, it's a fun little EP, and a nice introduction to the band.

1. Intro
2. Total Desaster
3. Black Mass
4. Mad Butcher
5. Satan's Vengeance
6. Devil's Soldiers

Score: 7.5/10

Dark Angel - We Have Arrived - November 5, 1984

Some bands who attain greatness at some point in their career have rather mediocre debuts. Dark Angel is one of those bands. We Have Arrived is neither good nor bad -- it's just kind of there. There are flashes of brilliance to be sure, hell "Merciless Death" is one of the best songs they've ever written but it sounds a hell of a lot better on Darkness Descends. "No Tomorrow" has some good moments too, as does the title track but the over all feel just isn't the vicious, riffdiculous Dark Angel we would all come to love.

1. We Have Arrived

2. Merciless Death

3. Falling From the Sky

4. Welcome to the Slaughter House

5. No Tomorrow

6. Hell's on its Knees

7. Vendetta

Score: 5/10

Metallica - Ride the Lightning - August 15, 1984

So 11 days earlier, Slayer cracks the door to the world of thrash metal open, much like a deranged Jack Nicholson in The Shining with Haunting the Chapel. On this day, August 15, 1984 (coincidentally my younger brother's second birthday) Metallica blasts the motherfucker open with this masterpiece and slays everybody in that dang room! Metallica go at it a little differently than Slayer though. While Jack's simple and effective axe is a perfect metaphor for Slayer's brutal and ultra-violent style, Metallica go with a katana -- an equally effective killing tool, but there is a beauty in its killing style. Metallica make thrash a true artform with this one.

This album is perfect in nearly every way. I've heard it countless times and I can still sit and listen to it, eyes closed, from front to back and not get bored or antsy, as I just did now. The production is unbelievable. You can't show me an album 28 years later that sounds better than this album. The arrangement is masterful. So good in fact that Metallica would virtually clone it two years later with Master of Puppets. The one-two punch of "Fight Fire With Fire" and "Ride the Lightning" is devastating. The following of the beautiful and moving "Fade to Black" with the all-out thrasher "Trapped Under Ice" is equally so. And the album closer, oh what a fucking closer! An instrumental that truly transcends genres, "The Call of Ktulu" is a nearly 9-minute epic, with Cliff's bass wailing and groaning like the mythical sea beast that the song was titled after.

As far as I'm concerned this is the album that really announced the genre's arrival. I had to double-check that it was indeed released in 1984! I mean, look at what we've heard so far. There's nothing that even approaches the level of songwriting, musicianship and production values within the genre. 

OK, I guess I'm done gushing. This will probably end up being the longest review I write in here, and it was the easiest as well.

1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride the Lightning
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls
4. Fade to Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. The Call of Ktulu

Score: 10/10

Voivod - War and Pain - August 10, 1984

This just isn't very good. I've never been a big fan of Voivod, but truth be told I've only ever listened to their first three albums, which is probably the reason I just can't bring myself to listen to their later material. At any rate, we're talking about War and Pain right now, and to me, they should have just called it Pain. It's not a complete train wreck, but this is some pretty sloppy, messy, Motorhead-tinged speed/thrash. The vocals are OK, the lyrics are ridiculous, some nice riffs and leads show up every now and then, and the whole thing just kind of runs into one long cacophony that doesn't hold my attention one bit.

1. Voivod
2. Warriors of Ice
3. Suck Your Bone
4. Iron Gang
5. War and Pain
6. Blower
7. Live For Violence
8. Black City
9. Nuclear War

Score: 3/10

Slayer - Haunting the Chapel - August 4, 1984

This EP, this little tiny 3-song EP is where thrash becomes THRASH. It's almost immediately recognizable. As "Chemical Warfare" kicks in, there's a noticeable increase in darkness, in aggression, in violence... and then Araya comes in sounding like a demented madman and it's settled: this is what thrash will be. "Chemical Warfare" is easily the best song here, and among the best in Slayer's vast catalog. The other two are still good, just a little less so. The title track really has an "Angel of Death" vibe going on during the verse. The guitar solos are a little more towards that dissonant style that Slayer would develop later but still pretty good, and Lombardo still isn't amazing either. This is some quality, early thrash though. I just wish there was more of it.

1. Chemical Warfare
2. Captor of Sin
3. Haunting the Chapel

Score: 8.5/10

Sodom - In the Sign of Evil - May 5, 1984

And yet another debut album from a classic thrash band that isn't quite thrash. But this ain't freaking speed metal, kids. This is first wave black metal! This has to be one of the absolute heaviest things around at the time. The production is a little lacking, especially for thrash, with the guitars a little low and the drums and demented vocals way out front, but the effect isn't lost. This is heavy, ugly, snarly, Venom-inspired blasphemy. It's pretty simple blasphemy though. The riff-o-ramas from later Sodom albums haven't made an appearance yet, as most of the songs consist of about 2-3 real riffs. 

1. Outbreak of Evil
2. Sepulchral Voice
3. Blasphemer
4. Witching Metal
5. Burst Command til War

Score: 6.5/10