Some thrash bands were simply too heavy, too nasty to simply languish alongside the others. For every Metallica, there\u2019s a Slayer, and thrash has always had that two-sided nature to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the secular metal world, bands like Slayer became iconic for their much darker and more violent take on the style (which would definitely prove to be fertile ground for death metal to grow out of), but it was bands like Kreator, Morbid Saint, Dark Angel, Sepultura, and Possessed (who vie with Death for releasing the first proper death metal album) that took things to an altogether nastier level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But to me, when Christians started playing thrash, many seemed to skip more traditional thrash metal altogether, and went straight for the heaviest sound they could concoct right away; case in point: Vengeance Rising with Human Sacrifice<\/em> and Opprobrium (Incubus) with Serpent Temptation<\/em>. Sure, more traditional bands like Deliverance came about too, along with eclectic (and heavy in their own right) prog-thrash acts like Believer, but it can\u2019t be denied that Christian thrash got off on a very extreme footing. Vengeance Rising\u2019s debut Human Sacrifice<\/em> was the musical equivalent of an atom bomb in terms of its ferocity and overall heavy tone. Roger Martinez\u2019s histrionic snarling is something I can\u2019t see the average Metallica fan stomaching too well; it\u2019s just way too extreme for a thrash metal vocalist to sound without pushing into death metal territory. Bands like Sacrament and Mortification would soon follow, with some later opting for a more thrash-centred style, and some later diving right into death metal pure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With that in mind (and after all that hairsplitting of genres, as I am apt to do), I present to you eight records that I think are particularly noteworthy when it comes to a thrash metal sound dabbling in death metal influences and taking the genre to its limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opprobrium (originally known as Incubus) – Serpent Temptation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Several albums can actually vie for being the first Christian death metal release ever done that aren\u2019t Mortification\u2019s self-titled 1991 debut. One of those that predates it by three years was released by a band formerly known as Incubus, now known as Opprobrium, entitled Serpent Temptation<\/em>. This is a prime example of early death metal finding its own identity beyond its thrash roots. Snarled vocals, blastbeats, and chaotic solo work are all part of this symphony of dire spiritual warnings. I have no doubt that this one\u2019s a bit of a controversial work in some respects when it comes to its lyrical content (which is pretty explicit for a Christian band, especially for this time period), but I think this band was focused more on speaking to secular fans of the darker sides of thrash and death metal than a Christian one. Time shows it worked, at least to some degree, as the band managed to gain a certain degree of cult popularity in the secular metal underground. Fans of Kreator, Destruction, and even Tormentor will love this one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacrament – Testimony of Apocalypse<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Still the sonic equivalent of a bulldozer going through an antique shop, Sacrament\u2019s brawny wall-of-sound approach to thrash metal took the genre to its absolute limits, and from some points of view, is another contender for the Christian metal scene\u2019s first death metal album. My take? It\u2019s not death metal, but its ultra-heavy guitars and throaty roars of vocalist Mike Torone push the songs occasionally into death metal territory. It\u2019s as heavy as thrash metal gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Final Prophecy – Re-Awakening: The Demos 1990-1992<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding stuff by an obscure band like Final Prophecy would be virtually impossible if it weren\u2019t for the treasure hunters over at Thrashback Records. All we\u2019re left with is a handful of demo material from this death\/thrash act, but what\u2019s left is an awesome example of what a band can do when combining the two styles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vengeance Rising – Released Upon the Earth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Frankly, any Vengeance Rising album could be on this list, but Released Upon the Earth<\/em> is the one album of the four that pushes their already terrifying sound the furthest into death metal stylings. It\u2019s a controversial release at a time when the band was essentially down to being a solo project of Roger Martinez, and some fans seem to lose interest with Vengeance Rising after their second album, Once Dead<\/em>. I\u2019d like to say – give this one a chance. No, it\u2019s not as unhinged as the first two records, but it\u2019s hybrid sound of raw thrash augmented by death metal growls is undeniably cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crimson Thorn – Plagued<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait, Crimson Thorn? They\u2019re full-on death metal aren\u2019t they? You bet, and one of the best death metal bands going. But their first demo was a different story. Imagine if Living Sacrifice\u2019s debut was given a death metal injection, and you\u2019ll have an idea of the sound on here. Its fast pace mixed with heavy grooves definitely rings of Living Sacrifice circa 1991, but Luke Renno\u2019s occasional forays into what would become his legendary, bowel-shaking guttural vocals also make some appearances on here, separating Crimson Thorn from the more traditional thrash metal pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Possession – Eternally Haunt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anybody who\u2019s into extreme metal at all probably knows about unblack metal icons Frost Like Ashes. But before that band began rocking the black metal boat, several of its members (most notably Nyk Edinger, aka Azahel) were in a death\/thrash act called Possession. Their sole full-length album, Eternally Haunt<\/em>, is a crazy mix of Merciful Fate-like theatrics combined with echoes of the sound they would later explore with Frost Like Ashes, all supported by a death metal-style base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tourniquet – Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This one might raise a few eyebrows, but hear me out. Eclectic thrash icons Tourniquet\u2019s flirted way too much with death metal elements on this one for me to ignore it, and though it\u2019s not the kind of brutal thrash you\u2019re going to get from some of the bands on this list, I can\u2019t ignore what I\u2019m hearing. Check out the title track and you\u2019ll hear blastbeats and death metal riffs; listen to \u201cThe Skeezix Dilemma\u201d and it\u2019s death metal roars you\u2019re going to hear. While most of the album remains firmly rooted in progressive thrash territory, this one\u2019s just a little too death metal adjacent for comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mortification – Break the Curse<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mortification\u2019s first demo (unless you count it as a Lightforce release; either way) doesn\u2019t yet bear the terrifying roars that Steve Rowe would later bestow upon the listener, but his rabid snarl still gave Mortification the nasty edge required to push them into death\/thrash territory. Fans of Kreator and Sodom will definitely enjoy this one\u2019s primitive aggression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some thrash bands were simply too heavy, too nasty to simply languish alongside the others….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1021],"tags":[3529,3530,3528],"class_list":["post-17466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features-d97","tag-best-christian-thrash","tag-best-christian-thrash-bands","tag-christian-thrash-albums"],"yoast_head":"\n