ACT LIKE A MANIAC - An Underground Thrash Metal Compilation (1986 - 1993)

12th anniversary of All Things Old School compilation edition (originally due out in 2022) - We have quite a handful bands in the hardcore punk nowadays surfing the Thrash wave, which is dope (and they should keep that way) but their sound were most likely not solely based on the so-called Big Four of Thrash. A lot happened so that we can now stage dive to Dead Heat, High Command and Foreseen. My aim for this compilation is to shed light on the GOLDEN ERA of underground Thrash Metal scene which, in my humble opinion, lasted from 1986 to 1993.

In a time without proper internet, when tape trading was king, new releases surely took some time to reach out the audience in a global scale. Making copies and shipping tapes, digging after the stuff you liked, hearing that Thrashy sound that ignited the desire to start your own project. It's safe to say a new dawn for Thrash Metal was about to happen after 1986, the year albums like Reign In Blood, Master Of Puppets and Peace Sells were released. New acts from all over started to pop up like a wet Gizmo, from Chile to Canada and from Spain to Japan, the following years saw a tsunami of underground releases flooding the planet's ghettoblasters, headbangers united by Thrash.

From there you get 2 types of metal bands: the serious (often satanic) type and the well-humored (sometimes goofy) type of groups, regardless of the approach most of them tackle social issues in their lyrics and for some reason dental problems were a common concern. Either way I tried to mix a bit of everything in this comp, just by checking the song titles you'll know what I mean. Also another key element here for me to pick bands was that they were all under 2000 listeners (or close to that!) according to last.fm, they use that tag there and I never found use for it until now. Note: a fair amount of these recordings were recovered straight the cassette demo tapes and they sound rough. >

With that in mind I ended up leaving out many underground cult groups as the idea was really to spot the underrated and the obscure, lost gems of the shredding technique. This may sound way to familiar with that write up I did about the 80's Crossover but I guarantee these are no punk related groups, except maybe by EVOL, Sacrilege B.C. and Tyrranicide but then again the best metal bands for me are usually the ones whose members do listen to punk! Act like a maniac, whiplash!!

Tracklist - CD1:

ACROPHET - Corrupt Minds [USA, 1988]

FALLEN ANGEL - Dental Surgery [Sweden, 1992]

AFTERMATH - Going No Place [Greece/USA, 1987]

BLOODCUM - Death By A Clothes Hanger [USA, 1988]

STYGIAN - Seconds 'Til Death [USA, 1990]

ARMOROS - Autopsy (Dementia) [Canada, 1987]

NECROSIS - Prayer (Demo) [Chile, 1987]

FORCED ENTRY - We're Dicks [USA, 1991]

DECADENCE - Deadly Dreams [Belgium, 1989]

AGONY - Madness Reigns [Sweden, 1988]

FATAL AGGRESSION - Words Unreal [USA, 1991]

PRESTIGE - Force Of My Hate [Finland, 1989]

CHARGED - Inquisition [Finland, 1989]

FUCK OFF - Another Sacrifice [Spain, 1988]

DEATH SQUAD - Mind Fuck [USA, 1991]

POISON - Requiem / Alive (Undead) [Germany, 1987]

EXPLICIT HATE - From The Jungle [Brazil, 1990]

QUICK CHANGE - Plowed [USA, 1988]

RE-ANIMATOR - Re-Animator [UK, 1989]

AFFLICTION - Peace Through Violence [USA, 1992]

CD2:

TYRRANICIDE - Pull The Plug (USA, 1989)

SLAUGHTERED GRACE - Twins of Sin [USA, 1990]

HEADCRASHER - Sk8 Life [Italy, 1989]

DEAD SERIOUS - It's a Nice Day [Belgium, 1991]

PROTECTED ILLUSION - Swimming in the Moonlight [Finland, 1990]

ACID STORM - Scourge Of The Gods [Brazil, 1989]

DOMINANCE - This Is Only A Test [USA, 1990]

MORFEUS - Humam Degradation [Brazil, 1993]

EVOL - Cyco-Self [USA, 1990]

SILENCE - Vision [USA, 1991]

OBLIVION - D.O.A. (Dead On Arrival) [USA, 1990]

SACRILEGE B.C. - Victimized [USA, 1986]

MANDATOR - An Invisible Disease Strikes [Holland, 1989]

ASPHYXIA - One Big Family [Belgium, 1991]

LAWSHED - Don't Urge Disorder [Japan, 1991]

MEZZROW - Prevention Necessary [Sweden, 1990]

WITCHHAMMER - On My Own [Norway, 1991]

OPPRESSION - Parasites [Finland, 1988]

OBLIVEON - Fiction Of Veracity [Canada, 1989]

DENIAL - The Awakening [USA, 1990]

DOWNLOAD

Which one was your favorite? Drop me a line in the comments if you're having a hard time trying to find the whole album of a specific release. This compilation title was also inspired in the 2007's iconic comp THRASHING LIKE A MANIAC.