Top 10 Heaviest Thrash Metal Bands

The Top Ten
1 Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. They rose to fame with their 1986 album Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the big four of thrash metal bands, the others being Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. ...read more.
2 Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen. Their style of music is similar to that of their compatriots Destruction, Sodom and Tankard; along with those three bands, Kreator has been referred to as one of the "big four" of Teutonic thrash metal, and they are often credited with helping pioneer death metal and black metal by containing several elements of what was to become those genres.

If you take Slayer, speed it up, make the vocals harsher, drop it into a portal to hell and let the devil himself put his own touch on it And then drag it back violently to earth. You get Kreator they're just heavier, and believe me I love Slayer

This list is crap. Venom isn't thrash, Destruction and Exodus are not even in the top ten, and why are there three death metal bands here(Possessed, Atheist, Death)?

Should be number 1. Just listen to Pleasure to Kill. It's WAY heavier than Reign in Blood!

3 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.

Listen to Tapping the Vein or 'Til Death Do Us Unite, it can't get heavier than that.

Tapping the Vein album is heavier than all Slayer album sorry, Sodom should be #1.

4 Sepultura Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Their first album, Morbid Visions presented a proto-black metal sound with Wagner Lamounier of Sarcófago. Sepultura's sound varies by the album, from thrash metal, groove metal, and even death metal.

They are obviously number 1. Just like Metallica, they mix fast and slow together, but they are more intense. Some of their songs is almost too heavy to be considered Thrash Metal!

5 Venom Venom are an English extreme metal band formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal—are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general.

Even though Slayer is better than Venom, Venom is heavier. Although, I suppose they're not technically thrash, either. Voted for Venom.

6 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 never achieved a mainstream breakthrough in their initial career, their 1986 album Darkness Descends is widely regarded as a landmark in the thrash metal genre.

Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Downey, California that formed in 1981

7 Morbid Saint Morbid Saint is an American thrash metal band from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, active from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. The band opened up numerous concerts for Florida's Death, one of the progenitors of death metal, as they shared a manager.

Relatively unknown but damn heavy, beats Slayer, Kreator and Sodom hands down.

Hands down they beat Metallica and Megadeath all the way down.

8 Possessed Possessed is an American thrash/death metal band, originally formed in 1983 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's guttural vocals, they are routinely called the first band in the death metal genre. Possessed is the sometimes credited with being the first ...read more.
9 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.
10 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.
The Contenders
11 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.
12 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.
13 Demolition Hammer Demolition Hammer is a thrash metal band from the Bronx, New York. The band formed in 1986 and released three full-length albums between 1990 and 1994. Century Media Records made a complete anthology available in 2008.
14 Sadus Sadus is an American thrash metal trio from Antioch, California known for the unique, borderline death/black metal growling of vocalist Darren Travis, and speeding up thrash metal to levels previously unheard of with the help of bassist Steve DiGiorgio whose bass lines truly pushed the limits of the ...read more.
15 Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.
16 Metallica Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman".

With their first two albums, Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning reaching underground success, their third effort, Master of Puppets has since become one of the most important heavy metal albums ever, as it became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. The title track has since become the band's most played song live. ...read more.

This list is a joke, Metallica are obviously heavier than Destruction. They have heavier riffs and have more distortion on their guitars. They are also heavier than Slayer? Why? Because they have a good assortment of fast and slow. Thrash Metal doesn't always need to be fast to be heavy! Battery is on the same album of The Thing That Should Not Be and they are 2 of the heaviest Metallica songs ever. The only Thrash Metal band that's heavier than them is Sepultura.

People who think Venom is heavier than Metallica don't deserve to be called metalheads.

17 Nervosa
18 Sarcofago Sarcófago was an influential Brazilian extreme metal band. They were fronted by Sepultura's original singer, Wagner Lamounier, and Geraldo Minelli.
19 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.
20 Machine Head Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn and bassist Adam Duce. They have received great critical success especially for their album "The Blackening" which is considered a modern metal ...read more.
21 Forbidden Forbidden was a thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, the group was founded by Russ Anderson and Craig Locicero, who were both ever-present members.

No, they are even softer than Metallica & Megadeth. Their vocals are probably the cleanest in the genre

22 Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Megadeth was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine was fired from Metallica. They have released 15 studio albums to date, and have gone through many lineup changes, with Dave Mustaine being the sole constant member.

They released their debut album “Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!” in 1985, but became successful after the release of “Peace Sells...But Who’s Buying?” in 1986. ...read more.

Megadeth should easily be in the top 10 they have remained a thrash band thru out their career!

23 Municipal Waste Municipal Waste is a crossover thrash band from Richmond, Virginia. They performed at the UK's Download Festival on June 15, 2008. They also joined At the Gates on their "Suicidal Final Tour" along with Darkest Hour, Toxic Holocaust and Repulsion.
24 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.
25 Atheist Atheist is a progressive/technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984 by drummer Steve Flynn and singer/guitarist Kelly Shaefer.
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