15 Underrated ’90s Thrash Albums

Thrash nearly went extinct during the 1990s. The first three years of this new decade yielded some impressive efforts, but once new trends emerged and took over the mainstream, thrash fell by the wayside, struggling to remain relevant. Despite this, there are still 15 Underrated ‘90s Thrash Albums, which we explore here.

The grunge wave nuked metal’s mainstream appeal while groove and, later on, nu-metal began dominating metal with the extreme metal underground positively humming during this time. The failure to progress is often the kiss of death for many artists and this era left thrash a bit confused on where to take things next. The extreme movement was the natural successor to this style and most thrashers either split up or slowed things down, taking cues from hardcore and, of course, Pantera as they took advantage of slower mosh breaks and used them as the focal point of a retooled sound.

Between 1990 and 1992, there was a lot to celebrate — Megadeth’s Rust in Peace, Kreator’s Coma of Souls, Testament’s Souls of Black and their moodier The Ritual, Sodom’s Tapping the Vein, Overkill’s Horrorscope, Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss… there’s quite a bit. Even in this era, some records didn’t get the notoriety they deserved and thrash would mostly become quite a confused mess not long after this.

So many are quick to write off the entire decade in regards to thrash’s output, but we’re here to prove why that notion is just a tad foolish, albeit not entirely off the mark.