Best Thrash Metal Bands You Need to Check Out Besides the Big 4

This list is for those who are new to thrash metal and aren't familiar with some bands besides the Big 4 (aka Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax). Bands like Exodus, Overkill or Testament would be a good start to check out non-Big 4 bands.
The Top Ten
1 Testament Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band consists of vocalist Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, bassist Steve DiGiorgio and drummer Gene Hoglan.
2 Exodus Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of 37 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members.
3 Overkill Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, with singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D.

Tied with Testament for my favorite non big four thrash band.

4 Dark Angel Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1981. Their over-the-top style (extremely fast, heavy and lengthy songs with lots of tempo changes, lyrics and extended instrumental parts) earned them the nickname "the L.A. Caffeine Machine". Although Dark Angel had ...read more.
5 Annihilator
6 Death angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released seven studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and two live albums.
7 Kreator

The beautiful death-thrash...

8 Toxik Toxik is an American thrash metal band originally from Peekskill, New York. Initially active from 1985 to 1992, in 2013 it was announced that Toxik would reform again and start work on its third album.
9 Flotsam and Jetsam Flotsam and Jetsam is a thrash metal band that formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1981. The band currently consists of vocalist Eric A.
10 Coroner Coroner is a Swiss thrash metal band from Zürich, formed in the early 80s. They have been called "the Rush of thrash metal" for their increasingly complex style of progressive rock-infused thrash. They garnered relatively little attention outside Europe .
The Contenders
11 Lost Society Lost Society is a thrash metal band from Finland, formed in 2010. Lost Society released their debut album in 2013 when band members were teens aged 17, 18, 19, and 19.
12 Sodom Sodom is a German thrash metal band from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981. They have gone through many line-up changes, leaving bassist vocalist Tom Angelripper as the only constant member.
13 Havok
14 Watchtower Watchtower is an American progressive metal band based in Austin, Texas. The band was influenced by late 1970s progressive rock acts, such as Rush and U.K., as well as the burgeoning new wave of British heavy metal scene.
15 Xentrix
16 Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in San Francisco, California in 1980 before relocating to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly using the name Shrapnel.
17 Onslaught Onslaught are an English thrash metal band from Bristol, England. Initially active from 1983 to 1991, they reformed in 2004. The band initially drew influence from second wave hardcore punk bands such as Discharge and The Exploited, and then adopted a straight forward thrash metal sound.
18 Destruction Destruction is a German thrash metal band. They are considered one of the "The Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard.
19 Sacred Reich
20 Laaz Rockit Lääz Rockit is a thrash metal band formed in San Francisco, California in 1982. Although one of the lesser-known groups of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, each album in their career has received high critical marks. One of their signature elements were Ibanez guitars adorned with elaborate airbrushed ...read more.
21 Vektor Vektor is an American progressive thrash metal band from Tempe, Arizona. The band was formed under the name Locrian around June 2003, but changed their name to Vektor in 2004.
22 Vio-Lence
23 Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band founded in 1980 in Venice, California by vocalist Mike Muir, who is the only remaining original member of the band. The band is often credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash".
24 D.R.I. D.R.I. is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas in 1982. As of 2015, the band comprises two of its founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Walter "Monsta" Ryan and bassist Harald Oimoen.
25 Voivod Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s. The band's current line-up consists of Denis "Snake" Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain, Dominique "Rocky" Laroche and Michel "Away" Langevin.
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