V/A - Stars on Thrash

There once was a time when Roadrunner Records wasn't, well, what it is now. Unlike some, I don't feel that the label is ruining metal or whatever; someone has to be the biggest, and a business model based on signing the best-selling bands ...makes business sense. But I do miss the days when the label didn't feel so corporate (see this brilliant parody). Take a gander at the artwork for Stars on Thrash. That shit would never, ever fly on today's RR.

I don't normally do this, but I'm posting this 1988 compilation because (a) it's long out-of-print; and (b) there's no way Roadrunner would reissue this (despite its infamous tendency to reissue (and re-reissue) releases). It's a pretty good snapshot of second-tier thrash at the time, with some bigger names (Slayer, S.O.D.) thrown in. The charmingly primitive liner notes talk about each band - dig obscurities like Znowhite, Acrophet, Toxik (the falsetto-y Mike Sanders version, not the later, less histrionic Charles Sabin lineup), and The Great Kat (remember her???). Plus, "Commandments" proves that Pestilence kicked ass from day one. Enjoy!

1. Flotsam And Jetsam - Dreams Of Death
2. Mucky Pup - Lie 4 Def
3. Dirty Rotten Imbeciles - Manifest Destiny
4. Pestilence - Commandments
5. Toxik - Heart Attack
6. Paradox - Paradox
7. Stormtroopers Of Death - Kill Yourself
8. Acrophet - Corrupt Minds
9. Gothic Slam - Fought For Death
10. Slayer - Evil Has No Boundaries (Live)
11. Sacred Reich - Death Squad
12. Znowhite - Baptised By Fire
13. Kat - Satan Says
14. Atrophy - Chemical Dependency
15. Hades - Opinionate!

V/A - Stars on Thrash [320kbps, 122.92MB .zip]