(TheBRHM.com) In the latter part of the 1980s, thrash was thriving in the U.S and Germany. These were the two main regions I’d hear about in my introduction to old school metal but it wasn’t unusual to hear about bands from the UK, Canada, and Brazil.
Canada’s metal scene at this time always piqued my interest. While Razor’s releases really impressed me, it was the acts that had something “extra” to them that always had me returning and digging into their discographies.
Let’s look at five old school bands from the Great White North—a bit of a refresher or soft introduction, if you will.
Razor
Hailing from Ontario, Razor is one of the bands that were referenced in Darkthrone’s 2007 song “Canadian Metal”, this thrash reminds me of a Canadian Sodom in the speed and fury of their performances and the consistency in quality of their releases.
During its existence, the Canadian thrashers have had two vocalists of note in the late “Sheepdog” McLaren—known for some aggressive squeals—and Bob Reid, who added even more attitude to the vocal approach of the band.
Mind you, Razor has had more than two vocalists but these are the two who appear on their projects. Switching vocalists is always precarious work but when the albums dropped, they always had bangers regardless of the decade or period in metal.
Tracks to Try: Speed Merchants, Cross Me Fool, Road Gunner, Bad Vibrations
Exciter
Another Ontario act, Exciter is somewhat similar to Razor—or rather, Exciter was always recommended alongside Razor. If you’re unfamiliar with Exciter but you know of our next entry in Anvil, they’re a faster, more aggressive Anvil.
What always stood out about Exciter to me was that their drummer Dan Beehler does the vocals. Beehler the vocals until the early 1990s and it made some exciting songs with him shouting over the riffs and blasts of the band.
Look at that, a band living up to an on-the-nose band name! I dig it.
If you’re considering diving into Exciter, I recommend their first three albums; Heavy Metal Maniac, Violence & Force, and Long Live the Loud with Violence & Force being a treat.
Tracks to Try: Violence & Force, Pounding Metal, Cry of the Banshee, Iron Dogs
Anvil
Guess where these Canadian legends hail from—correct! Another Ontario band. If you guessed “Quebec” or “The Maritimes” then…maybe next time?
Anvil tends to play speed metal but you will get some mid-tempo pounders. That’s what the band always excelled at one their albums: pounders of varying tempos.
If the intensity of Razor or Exciter are a bit much and you just want to headbang or rock out: Anvil’s your band. I recommend UK speed metal legends Raven for a similar sound and tempo.
As for some recommend viewing check out their 2013 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
Tracks to Try: Winged Assassins, Metal on Metal, Shadow Zone, Embalmer
Piledriver
Yeah, we’re not leaving Ontario. As a matter of fact, the original entry here was a British Columbia veteran in Thor. Yes, Jon-Mikl “Thunder on the Tundra” Thor.
There are two periods of the Piledriver band: OG ‘driver and The Exalted Piledriver of the 2000s. Well, technically there’s three as during the late 80s and early 90s, Piledriver performed as Dogs with Jobs.
DWJ had two good full length releases but they lacked that abrasive humor and catchiness of Piledriver. We’re mainly looking at the first iteration of ‘driver as those two albums Metal Inquisition and Stay Ugly—from 1984 and 1986, respectively—had bangers. Some of those bangers were pounders while others were rippers but Piledriver had them both.
Lyrically, ‘driver delivers what you’d hear from their thrash contemporaries with a good dose of dirty humor. Even some serious trappings of thrash pushed into comic book territory at times as with songs like “Sex with Satan” and “Alien R**e” from Metal Inquisition.
It’s a song that had me wondering “What’s even going on here?” As for the landmark Piledriver track: give the pounder “The Fire God” a whirl.
Tracks to Try: Metal Inquisition, Witch Hunt, Metal Death Racer, The Fire God
Voivod
Our fifth entry hails from—hey! Look at that, we got a Quebecoise band in Voivod. This was a band that evolved its sound over the decades while remaining consistent from project to project.
In the same way as changing vocalists can be dicey business, transitioning styles can be troublesome. However, Voivod did that well going from nasty, ripping thrash in their debut War and Pain to evolving their sound along progressive metal lines before the 80s ended.
Listening to those 80s and early 90s albums and hearing that rapid growth is very interesting. I’m a fan of the Motorhead-Sodom school of “If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It” but there’s also the Darkthrone school of “Explore and change over time”. Have eras to your sound, don’t be afraid to revisit the dark arts every now and then.
Voivod is a great example of that.
Tracks to Try: Iron Gang, War and Pain, Slaughter in a Grave, Psychic Vacuum
Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.