When discussing the history of thrash metal, the contributions of legendary Los Angeles thrash band Dark Angel cannot be overlooked. The band’s second album, 1986’s Darkness Descends, is widely considered to be one of the seminal recordings of the genre. In fact, Revolver magazine placed the album on its “14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own” list.

The quality of the album owes more than a little to the fact that it was the first to feature powerhouse drummer Gene Hoglan who contributed heavily to the writing process. Hogan would go on to be a key member in both Death and Testament.

Warbringer is a Los Angeles band that has been at the forefront of the new millennial thrash revival movement for over 10 years. Despite numerous lineup changes, the band has managed to build up a rabid cult following through a relentless touring schedule and the release of four high quality full-length albums.

Today’s Thrashback Thursday takes a look back to where it all started, Warbringer’s 2008 debut album War Without End. This is the first single and video from that album “Combat Shock.”

Today’s edition of Thrashback Thursday comes courtesy of Max and Igor Cavalera. The brothers who were once the heart and soul of Sepultura. The two had been estranged for over ten years following Max’s acrimonious split with the band, which the brothers had formed back in their native Brazil in the early ’80s.

When Igor also decided to break with the Sepultura camp the brothers reconciled, to the delight of thrash fans the world over. Their new project together was initially to be called Inflikted, but the name was already taken. They instead decided to call the band Cavalera Conspiracy and named their 2007 debut album Inflikted.

“Killing Inside” was the single from Cavalera Conspiracy‘s 2011 sophomore album Blunt Force Trauma and is today’s featured Thrashback Thursday track. Check out the official video here below.

Aura Noir is a blackened thrash unit out of Norway that has been going strong since 1993. The band is led by bassist Apollyon who is also a member of the iconic black metal band Immortal. Their guitarist Blasphemer is also a former member of the notorious black metal band Mayhem.

Co-founding guitarist and singer Aggressor had to sit out a number of years due to injuries sustained while either jumping or falling (details are sketchy) from a third story window. In recent years, he has been able to rejoin the band although still heavily reliant on a wheelchair to get around.

The video below shows Aggressor’s first reunion with his bandmates in some time for a performance of the title track of their classic second album, 1996’s
Black Thrash Attack at Inferno Festival 2011 in Oslo.

Diamond Head may not be the same sort of household name that their contemporaries such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden became during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, but their influence is every bit as strong, if not more so. Diamond Head were among the first bands to experiment with marrying the raw power and speed of punk to heavy metal. The resulting sound would provide the building blocks of the thrash movement that lay just a few years away with Mercyful Fate, Metallica, and Slayer. Such was the influence of Diamond Head on this fledgling scene that Metallica would cover Diamond Head’s classic “Am I Evil?” on their very first album.

Check out this promo clip for Diamond Head’s original version of “Am I Evil?” from their landmark 1980 debut album Lightning to the Nations.