Favourite thrash metal albums of 2012

34 - Mortal Infinity - District Destruction
Regular decent thrash metal with slightly bad vocals but the riffs are worthwhile so makes the list.

33 - Municipal Waste  - The Fatal Feast 
A decent effort by the 'Waste but to be honest could have been better. Its enjoyable and the concept behind the album is quite amusing but the production leaves a little to be desired and the riffing is only so so as I expected more.

32 - Descender - Descending Into Chaos
Slightly raw and averagely produced thrash metal but with decent riffage and straightforward song writing is what we have on offer here. Good try and with a better production would have been higher as the simple riffing is enjoyable.

31 - Slavery - Dawn Of Mankind
Eastern European melodic thrash metal with great riffs and slightly dodgy clean vocals. Nice try at attempting to sing clean but it's a slight drawback from the very cool riffs and clean production. Still solid though.

30 - Eradicator - Madness Is My Name
Cool and fluid melodic thrash metal with a decent production. The songs are involved and fairly complex and the execution is tight however they need a little more focus on occasion.

29 - Sabretung - Collision
I liked the last album of these Aussie thrashers and they've improved on it with this outing. They sound crisper and bite just that bit harder this time. Vocals are aggressive shouts but riffs are what its all about and they get a real groove going at times.

28 - Intractable - Inner Decay
Heavy and crunchy thrash metal is the order of the way here. Not a world beater but solid thrashy goodness is what we are served up here so we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth!

27 - Testimony - Transcending Reality [EP]
Averagely produced but very well played tech thrash. Given a decent budget these guys can really do the business next time cause they already have the chops and then some.

26 - Cancrena - Hidden Depravity
Very heavy mid paced thrash with big big sound. Vocals a bit heavy and angry and bordering quite close to death but not quite. Songs are never very fast but get the blood pumping with pure bruiser boy heaviness.

25 - Flayed Disciple - Death Hammer
Uk energetic and pretty brutal thrash with death metal vocals. In fact the vocals are what's stopping this from being higher cause the riffs are super headbangy and aggressive but that vocal style is just a touch too much to take.

24 - Game Over - For Humanity
Just a typical thrash metal record basically. Easy to like riffs that gets the blood pumping and gives your air guitar a good work out. No brainer for thrashers really.

23 - Reign of Fury - World Detonation
Like a slightly galloping power metal and more melodic version of Megadeth's Rust in Peace. This UK combo Have some very cool riffs and a few mundane moments and I could do without the odd growl but I'll forgive'm cause the riffs and solos are spot on being very melodic and memorable.

22 - Overkill  - The Electric Age
It's like Ironbound but slightly less catchy but it still rules anyway. Not a big fan of Bobby Blitz's scathing vocals but I guess in thrash it doesn't really matter that much, cause its all about the tasty riffage. Its good but it was hard to top Ironbound and they had a valiant attempt but couldn't quite manage it.

21 - Scarlet Anger - Dark Reign
Skillfully produced melodic thrash metal with plenty of hard edged riffs to enjoy. Solid all round release and never forgetting melody as well.

20 - Testament - Dark Roots of Earth
I think I like it more than TFoD but I still am not in love with it like many seem to be. However the production is stellar as you'd expect and songs like Native Blood and True American Hate are classic Testament.

19 - Aggression - Viocracy
Aptly named ban with very tight and aggressive groovy riffs and heavy slightly melodic vocals to top it all off. Very solid and moshable riffage make this easily a thrashing crowd pleaser as far as this style of metal goes.

18 - Chaos Theory - Bio-Death
Slightly technical melodic thrash metal with lots of speeding riffage and always keeping the melody intact. I enjoy the constantly changing riffs a lot on this release from the deep thrash underground.

17 - Septic Christ - Guilty as we were born
A big surprise from this unknown with a brilliant choppy riffed up and aggressive thrash release. Vocals are slightly bordering on core but not quite overstepping the mark thankfully. Very mosh worthy riffage by these guys built for wrecking necks.

16 - Prayers Of Sanity - Confrontations
I liked the last album from these and they've upped the ante somewhat becoming more aggressive and with a blistering production to boot. Can get a touch one-dimensional with all instruments fighting for your attention but this is really cool stuff in the end.

15 - Sanity's Rage - You Are What You Swallow
A new Belgian band playing very nice slightly melodic thrashy riffs with understandable heavy shouted vocals on top. Their song writing is pretty good for a debut and they have all the ingredients in place to really kick ass next time round.

14 - Exumer - Fire & Damnation
German stalwarts of thrash return to rip heads once again and a great comeback too. The sound is ripping, fast and very heavy making for a riveting listen indeed.

13 - Mad Maze - Frames of Alienation
Italian tech thrashers who join the ranks of bands to watch from the underground with this release. Technical, groovy fast and a mechanical like production make this album sound very tight and meticulous in it's precision which is always a good thing. The thing is if they tighten up the song writing a touch they can even go on to far better things.

12 - Infinite Translation - Masked Reality
Another big surprise with this fluently riffed up and slightly roughly produced album from the depths of the underground thrash scene once again. I love the thick, semi-technical riffage on this album which makes the band sound more personable rather than cold and mechanical. I look forward to more albums from these guys cause this is a great start make no mistake.

11 - Soulfly - Enslaved
Max has been churning out regular Soulfly albums over the last few years and the quality has been pretty good throughout and Enslaved is no different. Not every song is amazing but there are plenty of cool ones like Gladiator to sink your teeth into. Good stuff yet again from Max and co!

10 - Alphakill - Unmitigated Disaster
Unknown underground thrash metal gem with awesome slightly technical galloping riffs with very good vocals which sound like an on form and better James Hetfield. The songs are very catchy and groovy with tons of killer riffs in each song with a slightly flat production which could do with more oomph if I'm being picky. Other than that this band and album needs more attention from thrash fans cause it has plenty going for it.

09 - After All - Dawn of the Enforcer
Another band that have been churning out albums for a while with little success but Dawn of the Enforcer is their best effort by miles. Granted they have a new and very powerful singer on board which lifts them above some of the also-rans. the riffing is tight and melodic and verges on power metal territory as does the singing but it has enough power and speed to please any fan of melodic and polished thrash metal.

08 - Thrashist Regime - Fearful Symmetry
Uk thrash is getting better all the time and the wonderfully named Thrashist regime are one of the pioneers no doubt. They have a very slight crossover or hardcore slant to some of the tunes with gang shouts etc but this doesn't bother me in the slightest and in fact adds to the overall charm. The production is nice and heavy whilst the riffage puts a shit eating grin on your face. What more can you ask for!

07 - Angelus Apatrida - The Call
Spanish melodic thrashers with an album light years ahead of anything they've put out previously. The sound is crisp and sharp with more inspired technical riffage making for an easy head bang sesh for thrashers.

06 - West Of Hell - Spiral Empire
Not an out and out thrash record it must be said cause of the midpaced nature however with the kind of riffs on display here it was hard not to get carried away with this one. The songs are mostly midpaced as I said and the odd gallop develops but mainly you get choppy slightly technical riffs and a very powerful gruffly melodic vocal delivery on top. In fact its the vocals that I like a lot on this album and its rare to say that for a thrash album but this dude is seriously mental on the mic with very aggressive yet still melodic scowls.

05 - Skull Hammer - Destroyers of the Faith
Ok Dave is calling and wants his riffs back but bloody hell these guys nailed the 'deth worship on this release. The production could have been crunchier but the riffage blew the roof off with its 'dethly style and aggression.

04 - Bludvera - Terrorform
Only a 7 tracker so a very short album but these Liverpool thrashers caught me right on the hop with their crunchy, raw and very aggressive yet catchy debut release. The vocals are very raw and in your face whilst the riffs pound and bounce away like there's no tomorrow. I look forward to following these people on their next album cause this was a great start!

03 - Kreator - Phantom Antichrist
Veteran Germans didn't let up for second this time round. They maybe pretty old now, but the sheer ferocity of the band never ceases and Phantom Antichrist is probably one of their most aggressive albums to date. Having said that they still didn't forget that you need a bit of melody or catchiness in the riffs no matter how intense they are making for a very mean and yet catchy listen.

02 - Bonded By Blood - The Aftermath
The band pretty much split in two but the resulting album with the new members is just as good if not better than the last album. The production is tighter than before and the songs are a bit more cohesive and structured better. The new singer is also better than the old guy being less screechy and annoying. It was very close for this album to be number one as I enjoyed it immensely but it was a gallant second in the end.

01 - Suicidal Angels - Bloodbath
Its rare for me to find a Suicidal Angels song that I don't like and I've played this album to death since I got it way back earlier in the year. SA just have this knack for hitting the right spot or groove when it comes to Slayer infused thrash that no other band can match. In fact even Slayer can't! Killer!