THRASH METAL THEN VS. NOW - Riffs from the 80s/90s vs. Today (Riff Battle)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- In the 80s and early 90s, thrash metal was king! Defined by fast, aggressive rhythms, chunky guitar grooves, and socially conscious lyrics, thrash metal was propelled into the mainstream by bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth. Modern thrash metal bands still draw heavily from these early influences, but also incorporate elements of other subgenres like progressive metal, death metal, power metal, or metalcore. Notably, thrash metal bands continue to use predominately standard guitar tunings in contrast to many other metal genres which have gravitated towards lower and lower tunings over time.
Are you digging the new wave of thrash metal bands, or are you stuck on the classics? Let me know in the comments!
Tunings Used:
Slayer - Angel of Death - Eb Standard
Vektor - LCD - F Standard (half step up)
Metallica - Blackened - E Standard
Havok - Betrayed by Technology - Eb Standard
Testament - Souls of Black - E Standard
Warbringer - Silhouettes - Eb Standard
Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction - E Standard
Suicidal Angels - Born of Hate - D Standard
Sepultura - Arise - E Standard
Sylosis - I Sever - D Standard
Anthrax - Caught in a Mosh - E Standard
Angelus Apatrida - Sharpen the Guillotine - Eb Standard
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#ThrashMetal #Guitar #Riffs
Thrash Metal may not be as huge as it used to be back in the day, but loyal fans will keep it alive until the end of times.
well if they're like me, they didn't even realize there were bands killing it like this in thrash.
TH-cam algo's suck
Thrash til Death my brothers 🤘
This is true I still listen to older death trash dark heavy metal love it all
It depends on who you talk to, as long as there's people that connect it will always be there
That can be said for anything
Nice selection of songs! Sylosis is a must for modern thrash. I'd personally add something from Lost Society too
yea lost society kicks ass
Every album of Sylosis is so good, even starting from Casting Shadows EP.
I would have given Dust Bolt a riff in there for modern thrash.
That Sylosis riff was new for me & I can’t wait dive into their discography. Epic compilation.
Try Lich King, Fog of War and HeXeN
4:17 when someone plays Arise, it's impossible not headbang to this tune, simply and effective
Saw Sepultura on the Arise tour with opening bands Sacred Reich, Napalm Death, and Sick of it All. Arise and Beneath the Remains are still undeniably brilliant thrash albums.
Been having hard time finding modern metal that has the distinctive thrash syncopated drumming; this gave me lots of modern bands to check out
That's exactly what I thought. Havok was a standout. Holy shit listen to "V". It's a fucking masterpiece.
Trivium has caught my attention with their last three albums, they have a new drummer and the guy's a monster
If you haven't already, Check out "Power Trip"
Power Trip, Municipal Waste
@@gentelmanjunkie542 havok is libertarian too (maybe even ancap)
I was introduced to thrash metal in early 1987 when a classmate (8th grade) brought in the Master of Puppets cassette and the rest is history! I need to get into the newer bands more, but I just keep finding myself falling back to the pre 2005 stuff as it's tough to beat what you grew up on! Thanks to this video, it seems there are bands that will continue to carry the torch and keep thrash metal alive!
Look up powertrip but yeah nothing beats Slayer to me.
Still prefer the old school thrash. There's just something there with the rawness and aggression I don't hear with the newer stuff, maybe the low budget productions play a part in that also. Even as old as it is now, it still sounds fresh, real and has integrity to me. Not to say the new stuff is BAD, just not my cup of tea in most cases.
@@yearginclarke agreed. I’m going down a Death/Children of Bodom rabbit hole currently.
@@lucid6067 I saw Bodom live one time and they put on a hell of a show
Lich king will blow your mind lml
I love how at 03:25 the right guy is yawning at one of the most boring Megadeth riffs... Something off Peace Sells would be more fitting
Arise is easily the GOAT of all these. Amazing video dude!
Old Thrash will NEVER get old 😝🤘🤘
Kreator, Destruction, Artillery, Sabbat, Nuclear Assault, Voi Vod, Overkill, Sodom, Dark Angel, Exodus to name a few all wrote songs that could easily stand up to modern Thrash. I like both old and modern but you can definitely hear influences from more genres of metal in modern thrash.
I'd trade the technical modern for the older power sounds, aggressive tempo changes, and therefore heavy effect any day. But great songs old and new regardless. Good to see back!
Don't forget melody, which is the biggest component in accredited "good music". metallica and Megadeth were very melodic. Dave Lombardo as stated that's the problem with modern metal, is that it lacks melody..... At it's core thrash is very tempo, percussion based like hip hop, which is why Metallica began to experiment in their second record. Kill them All is their only pure thrash album........
That little breakdown riff in symphony of destruction sounds pretty cool by itself without vocals
I only knew two of the new thrash bands. I didn't know there were so many. Thanks for this great video and for keeping thrash metal alive. Evile should've been here in my opinion. Thrash forever!
There is an entire channel on TH-cam for it. Quality varies obviously. New Wave of Old School Thrash Metal.
Theres a lot of good modern trash metal bands.
Havok
Warbringer
Vektor
Hatchet
Paranorm
Shizophrenia
Enforced
Just listen to Terminal Redux and you can die in peace, my friend!
Try out kryptos...... You'll get an old school thrash metal vibe.
Old...new....it's all good. As long as there's new thrash to add to my playlist, I'm happy.
This is my sentiment exactly.
Warbringer is a great band, their album Weapons of Tomorrow was a top 5 album for me in 2020
Same. Love the tempo change is Silhouettes
UNRAVELING 🤘
Love 80's 90's thrash! Glad to see some TesAmenT in there sir. Great video!!!🤘🤘🤘
Dude I love the little quirks you throw, the "mocking" air drumming and whatnot. I didn't know I needed comedy in my music, but fuck me I enjoy the hell out of this series of vids
No modern band surpasses Vektor when it comes to riffs!
General quality of composition and atmosphere that justifies all the silliness. Vektor is great on many levels.
I love their riffs, but damn the vocals can be a bit too much sometimes
@@Johnnysmithy24 you get used to it, have you listened to the latest 2 singles? Vocals sound a bit different
Check out the band Atomic Peacemaker, their top song Nostalgia is better than most of vektors songs
@@Johnnysmithy24the vocals are one of the reasons I love Vektor so much personally lol. But I’m also a huge Black Thrash fan so there’s that.
I'm an old school Thrash Guy, so I've never heard of any of these new band's. My personal thoughts, is modern Thrash bands use way too many notes to get there point across musically. It's like that old saying, it's not about how many notes you use, but how you use them. Modern Thrash lacks the effective punch that Metallica, Anthrax, Sepultura, Exodus and Testament have always had in there Riffs. Sometimes too much, is literally too much. Most of the heaviest and most brutal riffs ever written, are actually quite simple to play, because they are just really straightforward. Take Care Man. Cool Vid.
That's the idea, the "effective punchiness" has been done to death by old bands, and much of them are iconic by that, that's ok. But newer bands want to achieve different sound landscapes, now is not just about being heavy or punchy, (just listen to hail to the king by avenged sevenfold, they sacrified all their completixy and talent to pursue the old "feel" and the album was forgettable) new music is about conquering new territories never explored before, like having intricate or labyrinthic atmospheres borrowed from technical death metal or having more complex harmonies to find new music colours. That's why are so few modern thrash metal bands, the genre boundaries are limiting them, and much bands are more on the death metal side, exploring with more freedom. But the new thrash bands of this video are very good ones, the few relevant new thrash bands who keep the sound developing.
Agree. Let the riffs and notes breathe!
@@karolosblack I'd rather listen to a big meaty three note dimebag Darrell guitar riff any day than to sit and listen to yngwie mab
@@zinAab79 Cometely agree! If thrash bands kept using the same recipe of old school bands it would have never survived as it has now. The same happens with every genre: innovate, establish and then innovate again until the cycle continues and we get back to a tribute to the original sound (exactly what happened with the Old school death metal revival wave of 2017)
@@karolosblack Exactly man! Hell Yeah!🤘🏻🤘🏻
Giving Havok some respect! 👍🏼
That was really sick! I love these then vs. now videos. Not only was I jamming the whole time, but I heard a few bands I didn't know about. Great playing, as always, man!!
Didn’t hear much thrash in the modern stuff. 80s and early 90s thrash is where it’s at
You need to try looking harder then
Always nice to see some Angelus Apatrida representation, been loving their stuff since I discovered them
Noone can touch Vektor. Perfect combination of black/thrash/and prog.
Vektor is so unbelievably overrated
Vektor is way overrated, they aren’t even close to slayer, sepultura, old school Metallica, Kreator, Megadeth, vektor tries to over complicate their riffs, old thrash will always reign, and by the way Sepultura Troops of Doom is one of the nastiest thrash tunes ever
Vektor is boring as hell
@@dantredogborsa7048I’m gonna be real you actually just don’t get it
@@smallcraigie No, it's just really boring, that's it, and I don't even considere it "complex" or "different". It's boring.
I was watching TH-cam on my television and had to go to my phone to subscribe! Impeccable editing and taste in music! Thank you!
That is awesome my man! Thank you
Honestly, I think it's a tie. I'm more familiar with the classics in this list, but the newbies sure as hell give the old geezers a run for their money.
I need to dust off my spotify collection asap. Thanks for some good pointers!
You can't kill old trash metal
you cannot kill what you did not create
@@gbwiz Duality
Simple, you can't kill the metal
@@constipatedparker5879 you can't kill Rock n roll, hellyeah
I absolutely love Havok and got to meet David Sanchez and Pete Webber in June. Warbringer, Lost Society, Vektor, and Crisix are also pretty cool.
Evile's Enter the Grave is the best thrash metal album of the new generation
@@osmanhadzalic9060 just Metallica clones
I'm mainly a death metal listener but I gotta say I thought dm had the hardest rhythms...thrash has just as hard if not harder rhythms I gotta respect the chops that thrash metal guitarists have alot of these riffs are a forearm burner for sure🤘🤘💪
Awesome riffing young man!!
Was a thrash drummer in the 80's-90's and this brought back some good memories. And gave me some new songs/bands to check out.
Thanks for sharing!!
all of them sound awesome, long live to thrash metal
Symphony Of Destruction is one of Megadeth's least thrashy songs from their mid-to-late 80's/early 90's prime - don't know why he chose that one.
I guess he can’t play any of the other Megadeth songs 😂
He was even yawning about it lol. At least he could have played holy wars
@@ralphdominicroque6588
Tornado Of Souls! Or some classic 80's Megadeth like Wake Up Dead, The Conjuring, Black Friday, or In My Darkest Hour - now that's thrash!
exactly... and the old thrash selection he made just suck imo, I mean just not enough as Vio-Lence, Forbidden, Kreator, Sodom, Nuclear Simphony, Morbid Saint, Sadus, Shah, Torture etc
Don’t forget Onslaught, such a great British Thrash act!
Hi friend idol reynan is here again sending love and support... WOw very fantastic performance awesome my friend 👍👋👋👋
Thank you! 😀
I took notes during your video, Vector, Havok, Warbringer, new band for me, really good riff, Thanks Thomas🤘
This will be your most viewed video.
I was glad to see some bands I've never heard of too.
Everything fine, but Symphony of Destruction as a Thrash Metal song? Huh?... At least you could have played the usuals Hangar 18, Holy Wars or Tornado of Souls.
He had one job. 🤦♂
Pensé la misma monda, tipo ni siquiera el riff principal de Peace Sells que en guitarra es menos compleja que el estándar en Megadeth xd
yeah there were a lot of way better choices from 'Deth. Breakdown riff from The Conjuring, spider chord riff from Wake up Dead, all kinds of great options from Dave's catalogue.
@@Ghostweaver even from the same album, he could’ve gone with something like Skin O’ my Teeth or High Speed Dirt.
without a doubt he should've played rattlehead
Really nice!!
Love Havok and some of those bands but I still have to go original thrash. Great video!
I can say that thrash is maybe the only metal sub-genre that stayed consistantly awesome
Even in the between years like 2000 Sodom put out M16 which in an insanely good album got example
Sylosis!! Great song choices here. I really did. It want this video to end. You should do a part 2!!!
How is no one talking about that NJ DLX warlock you got that thing is killer
Learned some new bands to check out
Those downstrokes are godlike man!
Yawning to 90's Megadeth riffs is something I endorse and eagerly participate in :D
Cool video! Your sound production especially on angel of death sounds awesome, n the way you flow the songs together is great too
even tho SLAYER retired, WE ARE SLAYERRRRRRRRR
Wooh! Ok this was killer. You sir just got another sub
I'd love to hear you play some Deathrow! They wrote some of the most complex riffs I've ever heard. Their 1988 album Deception Ignored is a masterwork in complexity. I've never heard any modern thrash metal band that has surpassed it. Also Evildead: Annihilation of Civilization (1989) and Gammacide: Victims of Science (1990) both complex and brutal, and a special shout out to Watchtower. They were one of the most complex metal bands you'll ever here using jazz fusion, classical and world music modes with elements of thrash. Their 1989 album Control and Resistance set a new standard in technical proficiency that's never been surpassed. I enjoyed your performances and showed me lots of new stuff I never listen to. Keep thrashing! 💪
Dark Angel were pretty technical on their last two albums. Coroner is another good one.
@@DaveOJ Of course. DA were my absolute favorite thrash metal band in their time. I have all their albums and of course they are known for first introducing Gene Hoglan as their drummer and lyricist. Coroner too are a highly complex band, one of the most technically accomplished and experimental. Both their albums No More Color and Mental Vortex set the bar. I'm sure there are many more who never got the recognition they deserved. That's why I love thrash! There are no bounds or rules to what you can do. Thrash metal features some of the greatest musicians who ever lived. It took these bands to make it a genre that's internationally recognised.
Artillery's By Inheritance, Holy Terror's Mind Wars, Heresy by Paradox also.
Edit: Mekong Delta
@@MrThrash3d All ace. Holy Terror one of the greatest thrash metal bands ever. They are masters of complexity and innovation. Mind Wars is epic. I saw them supporting DRI in London in '88 on that tour! They blew my mind!! Keith Dean RIP.
@@rushshukla4636 Damn you're a lucky guy!
Only came here to check what riff you're gonna include from metallica and sylosis, Awesome VID
Thank you for including Angelus Apatrida!! Fantastic band! Give it try(listen), you will not regret!!!
A awesome vídeo
Greeting from México :3
I thought Thrash Metal was stagnant because all thrashers i know wanted to sound like the 80s, thanks for opening my eyes.
Listen to watchtower
@@doopsoupboop1301 any album in particular?
@@playguedoctor6879 control and resistance
@@playguedoctor6879 also try sieges even - life cycle, and if you like these 2 bands you can go ahead and listen to spiral architect - a sceptics universe, not 80s tho
Nice selection of songs
Amazing riffing dude🤘🏻🤘🏻
would love to see you and the suffocator play against each other. great stuff👍
This was some awesome insight to was modern thrash is! Huge difference!
man you are sick at that speed pick technique. i hope to have it down like that someday too.
My g changed shaved and bought a new guitar under about 15 seconds
Can't tell if the older or newer stuff is better, it all makes me want to bang my head.
As a huge thrash fan both old and new this is awesome 🤘🏼
This video really made me appreciate modern thrash metal and how i overlooked it all the time . Definitely goona check out thosr bands
This was phenomenal!
Kick ass playing and superb tones! 🤘🏻😎🎸
Thank you!
in my PERSONAL opinion old thrash riffs are the peak of riffs, there is just something so energetic about them, yea sure they might not be as heavy or brutal as bands like cattle decapitation or aborted, but to me they have an undeniable energy that you dont hear in any other genre
Singing unintelligibly or using a 36 string guitar doesn't make you heavy.
@@AlohaUlises it kind of does
I fucking love that you added vektor.
Havok is an underrated band.
They put on a great show too
Early Sepultura was absolutely brutal. For my money, Arise is one of the best thrash albums I've ever heard.
I love both. Good vid man
Also Vektor rules 🤘🤘
thank you for introducing me to terminal redux, dont think ive got this obsessed with an album for a long time :)
I like both, a good song comes through no matter how technical, all of these are bangers!! Great video!!🔥🔥🔥
Gotta say I'm an old school Slayer and Metallica fan! Also saw them live! And gotta give credit to hardcore punk crossover bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles!
Testament and Megadeth are way better than Slayer and Metallica.
Old school for sure!!!but there is some pretty cool new stuff too 😎 keep it metal
Imma have to check out Warbringer and Sylosis cause those riffs were sick.
It would be fun to do 1989 Voivod and ...2022 Voivod.
Freaking awesome as always, great stuff.
So glad you played a song off Sepultura's Arise album.
That Angelus Apatrida riff at the end sounds heavy af!
Amazing job ! I think there are more great Thrash bands than people realize in general, you should do another battle !
Coroner, Demoniac, Toxik, Enforced, Kreator, Paranorm, Voivod, Power Trip, Helstar
Thanks! Yes there are definitely enough bands out there, a round 2 might be in order 😁
I've never heard of those newer bands, but the classics are top tier choices man
Got so happy to see sylosis! They revived thrash for me!
They're definitely a stand-out band to me too. It's not just thrash done well but it sounds like something new!
defo! their lead vocalist is now with architects on lead guitar!
Glad My boys vektor finally getting the respected they deserve
🤘😈 dobrá práca - parádny výber ...
I don't know how many videos that sweet Schecter Apocalypse C7 has been in, but man it stole the show in this video! I'm also biased as hell since I have the Apocalypse pickups in my Hellraiser C7 FR haha I'd love to see more of that Schecter! Also, cool video idea you have going on, you can do lots with this! Keep 'em coming!
You know it! Just got it a few months ago, it's definitely a sick guitar
Fuck. Yes. Would love to see Harlott thrown into one of these someday. Definitely an underrated band that puts out banger after banger. Cheers!
Great video, dude.
This sounds truly beautiful. The transitions are unreal!
Highlights from Metal Allegiance would fill both categories since it’s thrash godfathers riffing in recent years.💪🏻🤘🏻
Very good, I learned of new bands I had no idea existed.
Top! Very cool! It is a pity that Crisix was not included in the selection of NWOTM performers. These guys know how to play true Ultra Fuckin Thrash! 🤘🔥
Havok sounds amazing, holy shit. I always knew in the back of my mind I had to check them out
Cool vid dude \m/
Old and new WTH both are fucking great🤘🤘🤘
This is so awesome to watch when you ave a buzz on lik ei do right now i could wath this all night.
Havok is love... Havok is life... And also Angelus Apatrida...
I think the new one is technically more complicated, but I prefer the old school because the riffs are more pleasant to my ears
The old thrash just sounds better with the more headroom given to the mixes and less compression. Your video does do a great comparison of old riffs vs new riffs on that alone since the production is the same all the way through.
Also, you didn't play any of their songs here, but I love old Believer thrash metal. Those guys were way ahead of the curve with throwing odd time signatures into thrash riffs, and then also the symphonic metal stuff. I feel like they deserve to be right up there with any of the big 4 bands.
I love your videos and the way that u enjoy play the guitar
"Thrash Metal is the music of the Gods".
Deserves a second or third video.
Thrash till death!!!!
This video is one of my favorite songs now.
New: more notes
Old: more effective
The moment you put any song from Reign in Blood up against anything new, anything new instantly loses. Period.
This was a badass video!