10 Best Thrash Metal Albums Of The 21st Century

For any band setting out to craft the perfect thrash metal album, Brotherhood of the Snake is the blueprint to follow. The eleventh full-length from the Californian veterans Testament, it nails a perfect balance between speed, melody and technical chops, resulting in a true powerhouse of its genre.

From the second the title track brings the record to life with its primal drumbeats and duelling guitars, Brotherhood of the Snake is a disc that taps into the same raw energy as classics like The Legacy and The New Order, albeit with more sophisticated production.

“Brotherhood of the Snake” then proceeds to unabashedly trade off immense, whipping solos from Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson in a technically confident display. The roars from frontman Chuck Billy then totally undo the more catchy nature of Testament’s prior album Dark Roots of Earth, before being balanced out by the following, chorus-orientated single “The Pale King”.

Combining all this together, Brotherhood of the Snake becomes a cornerstone of 2016’s old-school thrash extravaganza: let’s not forget, the year also saw new albums from legends such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Death Angel, Artillery, Flotsam and Jetsam and Sodom. For this record to be the best of that bunch speaks huge volumes about the undying genius of Testament.