10 Essential Thrash Metal Bands You Need To Listen To

While most thrash-fanatics tend to focus their attention on the booming Californian scene of the '80s, the genre enjoyed a good deal of notoriety in Germany at the time as well.

Look no further than Sodom, one of the giants of Teutonic thrash metal. The Gelsenkirchen headbangers first tore onto the scene with the tastelessly ultraviolent 'Obsessed by Cruelty' in 1986. In the years that followed, the group concocted a guttural, furious, occasionally low brow sound and vibe that set them apart from their peers.

Their curiously Satanic approach to thrash in their early days proved integral in the formation of both death and the already budding black metal, two subgenres that wound up eclipsing the power of thrash in the '90s. With more than 30 years of bloodthirsty, ear drum destruction on deck, Sodom have plenty of face-punching romps for thrashers to delve into.

Of their many LPs, plentiful diehard fans will cite 1987's 'Persecution Mania' as a perfect starting point. Boasting vastly superior production value and technical skill than their messy, low budget debut a year prior, this album captures them at their best as a no holds barred, vengeful force in German thrash metal.

The good news is there's plenty more classics where that came from from this underrated Teutonic menace.