The Best Thrash Metal Songs of All Time, Plus Texas’s Own

The best thrash metal song of all time is Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (1986). Rolling Stone ranked it No. 2 among all heavy metal songs in 2023, the highest of any thrash track, and it reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022. The songs that keep showing up beside it: “Raining Blood,” “Angel of Death,” “Holy Wars,” “Peace Sells” and “Battery.”

What Is the Best Thrash Metal Song?

It comes down to “Master of Puppets” or “Raining Blood,” and the lists lean to Metallica. Rolling Stone’s March 2023 ranking of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs put “Master of Puppets” at No. 2, behind only Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath.” “Raining Blood” came in at No. 8, “One” at No. 11, “Angel of Death” at No. 15 and “Peace Sells” at No. 19.

We agree with that order. “Raining Blood” is the more extreme song, but “Master of Puppets” taught a mass audience what thrash sounds like. For the records themselves, see our best thrash metal albums; this list is about the tracks.

The Top 10 Thrash Metal Songs of All Time

1. “Master of Puppets,” Metallica (1986)

Metallica recorded it at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in late 1985 and released it on July 2, 1986, as the album’s only single. Hetfield said the lyric “deals pretty much with drugs,” about the drug taking control. Kirk Hammett’s solo turns on a mistake: he pulled the high E string off the fretboard, grabbed the whammy bar and kept the note.

It is the band’s most played song live, first played live on December 31, 1985, at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Gibson and Germany’s Rock Hard both ranked it No. 1 in 2011. After Stranger Things used it in 2022, it reached No. 35 on the Hot 100 and No. 22 in the UK.

2. “Raining Blood,” Slayer (1986)

The closer on Reign in Blood, produced by Rick Rubin and released October 7, 1986. Jeff Hanneman wrote the music and most of the words, and Kerry King wrote the second verse. D. X. Ferris, who wrote the 33⅓ book on the album, called its opening run “the ten most recognizable notes in metal,” and Revolver credits it with the earliest example of what is now called a breakdown.

Loudwire ranked it the best Slayer song in 2012. King told Ferris, “whenever ‘Raining Blood’ comes in the set, it just electrifies the whole crowd.”

3. “Angel of Death,” Slayer (1986)

The album’s opener and, at 4:51, its longest track, written entirely by Hanneman. It starts with stop-start power-chord riffs, then Tom Araya’s wordless scream, then Dave Lombardo’s drumming at 210 beats per minute. Adrien Begrand called it “one of the most monumental songs in metal history” in PopMatters. Rolling Stone placed it at No. 15.

4. “Holy Wars... The Punishment Due,” Megadeth (1990)

The opener of Rust in Peace is two songs in one. A fast thrash section about religious conflict gives way to an acoustic bridge by Marty Friedman, and at 2:26 the song turns into a slower, heavier section based on Marvel’s Punisher. Dave Mustaine was inspired by an incident at a 1988 concert in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Loudwire ranked it the best Megadeth song in 2012. Metal Hammer said it “set the bar high for 90s thrash.”

5. “Peace Sells,” Megadeth (1986)

The title track of Peace Sells... but Who’s Buying? (Capitol, September 25, 1986) was the band’s first music video. Its opening bass line became the introduction to MTV News, and the video became an MTV mainstay. Mustaine took the album title from a Reader’s Digest article, “Peace Would Sell But No One Would Buy It.” Our Megadeth history covers the rest.

6. “Battery,” Metallica (1986)

The opener of Master of Puppets starts on acoustic guitars, swells to full volume, then drops into a fast thrash riff Hetfield improvised while relaxing in London. The title is usually read as a nod to Battery Street, home of the Old Waldorf at No. 444, the most prominent San Francisco club Metallica played. Metal Hammer called it proof “that the scene’s biggest band were still the best at thrashing.”

7. “One,” Metallica (1988)

The third single from ...And Justice for All was Metallica’s first music video, which debuted on MTV on January 20, 1989. It starts clean and builds to a “machine gun” passage of guitar and double bass drums. It peaked at No. 35 on the Hot 100, and in 1990 it won the first Grammy ever given for Best Metal Performance. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 11.

Two fan favorites, “Seek & Destroy” and “Creeping Death,” miss our cut. Metal Hammer’s 1983–85 list passes on both too, taking “Metal Militia” instead.

8. “Caught in a Mosh,” Anthrax (1987)

From Among the Living, it recounts a roadie’s experience at a rowdy concert, and critics read it as a celebration of the slam pit. Metal Hammer singled out Scott Ian’s “exuberant crunch” and Joey Belladonna’s “melodic pipes.” The rest of the album is in our Among the Living story; hear it on Spotify.

9. “Bonded by Blood,” Exodus (1985)

Metal Hammer notes it was “already a set opener by 1983.” Exodus finished the album by August 1984, but it didn’t come out until 1985. By then an advance cassette had spread through the tape-trading network. It is Paul Baloff’s only studio album with the band. More in our Bonded by Blood piece.

10. “Over the Wall,” Testament (1987)

The opener of The Legacy, released April 21, 1987. Metal Hammer calls it “Bay Area thrash in a nutshell,” with “the fluid melodic leadwork of guitar prodigy Alex Skolnick.” Machine Head’s Robb Flynn credits Skolnick with bringing “classical arpeggio sweeps into songs like ‘Over The Wall.’” See our Testament history.

The Best Thrash Songs Not by the Big Four

When Rolling Stone’s 2023 list left out Exodus and Testament, Flynn objected in public, as Blabbermouth reported. His reason is the case for numbers 9 and 10 above:

“Without EXODUS, there is no MACHINE HEAD.”

Outside the Big Four and the Bay Area, start with Kreator’s “Pleasure to Kill” (1986). Metal Hammer quotes Mille Petrozza, “We really, really worked hard on that album.” Then Destruction’s “Mad Butcher,” first on the band’s demo, cut for 1984’s Sentence of Death and re-recorded as a 1987 A-side. Our Kreator and Destruction histories cover both bands.

From New Jersey, Overkill’s “Rotten to the Core” (1985) bangs “punk and NWOBHM heads together,” in Metal Hammer’s words. From the Bay Area’s second wave, Heathen’s “Hypnotized” (1991) is the pick from the band Metal Hammer calls “the Bay Area’s most underrated.”

From Brazil, Sepultura’s “Mass Hypnosis” (1989) made Metal Hammer’s 1986–89 list. The magazine says the album’s “dark, atmospheric twists and boiling chemistry are damn-near definitive” on that song. Roadrunner released Beneath the Remains in April 1989, and that November the band played the Axiom in Houston. Our Sepultura history has the rest.

What the Lists Leave Out: Texas Thrash Songs

Across Metal Hammer’s four era lists, 40 songs in all, Texas gets two entries: Power Trip, and a Vulgar Display of Power track by Pantera on the ’90s list. These are the songs to hear next. Our Texas thrash bands guide has the wider scene.

Power Trip, “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” (2017). The Dallas band’s single from Nightmare Logic is the Texas song on Metal Hammer’s 2000 to 2020 list. “If any band represented thrash’s bright future, it was Texan terrors Power Trip,” the magazine wrote. A live version was nominated for a Grammy in 2021.

Rigor Mortis, “Re-Animator” (1988). The Metroplex band cut it first as “Reanimator” on its 1986 demo. Dallas promoter Jeff Liles wrote in a 2013 Dallas Observer tribute that “twenty seconds into ‘Reanimator,’ my eyeballs nearly exploded.” The re-cut is on the Capitol debut. Rotting Corpse shared bills with the reunited band in 2006, per our timeline.

Watchtower, “Meltdown” (1985). The Austin band first recorded it in 1983 for Cottage Cheese From the Lips of Death, a Texas hardcore compilation, then re-cut it for Energetic Disassembly. Rotting Corpse shared a 4th of July bill with Watchtower at the Continental Club in Austin in 1986; our Watchtower story tells it.

D.R.I., “The Five Year Plan” (1987). The opener of Crossover, the Metal Blade album that gave the style its name. The Houston band’s story is in our D.R.I. history; listen on Bandcamp.

Gammacide, “Gutter Rats” (1990). From Victims of Science, recorded in Dallas in the summer of 1989 and released by Wild Rags in 1990. It was the Arlington band’s only album until 2026, and it sits closer to early Sepultura than to the Bay Area. See our Gammacide story.

The local pick: Rotting Corpse, “Those Without Conscience” (1987). It opens the F*ck It, It’s Only Thrash demo, cut at Pantego Sound in the summer of 1987 with Vinnie Paul engineering. It ranks on no list; it’s ours. The full story is on our history and discography pages.

The Best Thrash Songs by Era

Metal Hammer split thrash into four eras in 2018, ten songs apiece. A few of its picks, beyond the ones above:

• 1983–85: Metallica, “Metal Militia”; Slayer, “Chemical Warfare,” which the magazine calls “now an encore staple”; Megadeth, “Rattlehead.”
• 1986–89: Megadeth, “Black Friday”; Sepultura, “Mass Hypnosis.”
• The ’90s: Slayer, “War Ensemble”; Kreator, “People of the Lie.”
• 2000–2020: Slayer, “Cult”; Overkill, “Ironbound”; Metallica, “Spit Out the Bone.”

The 1986 run is its own story; read 1986: thrash metal’s greatest year.

How We Ranked Them

We started from the thrash songs in Rolling Stone’s 2023 top 20 and Metal Hammer’s four era lists, then weighed what each song changed and whether it still lands live. That puts five 1986 songs in the top 10. “One” sits below “Angel of Death” and “Peace Sells” here, the reverse of Rolling Stone’s order, because only part of it is thrash. Our guitarists and drummers lists follow the same method.

Where to Hear It Live

As of November 2026, these are the Texas dates we found on venue, festival and ticket pages.

• Saturday, November 14, 2026: Rotting Corpse with Iron Jaw at the Haltom Theater, Haltom City. Details on our show page.
• Tuesday, November 17, 2026: Forbidden and Heathen at Come and Take It Live, Austin, all ages, 6 p.m. Tickets.
• Wednesday, December 2, 2026: D.R.I. at Come and Take It Live, Austin, all ages, 7 p.m. Tickets.
• Saturday, December 5, 2026: Rotting Corpse at Spam’s Bar and Lounge, San Angelo (details).
• March 18–20, 2027: Hell’s Heroes IX at White Oak Music Hall Downstairs, Houston, with Overkill on the bill, per Metal Centre. Three-day passes.
• Saturday, May 22, 2027: Metallica, with Limp Bizkit and Avatar, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

For everything else, check our shows page and the bands’ Bandsintown pages.

Sources

1. Blabbermouth: Machine Head’s Robb Flynn calls out Rolling Stone (March 15, 2023)
2. Metal Hammer: The 10 best thrash songs from 1983–85 (Chris Chantler)
3. Metal Hammer: The 10 best songs from the Golden Age of Thrash, 1986–89
4. Metal Hammer: The 10 best thrash songs from 1990–99 (Chris Chantler)
5. Metal Hammer: The 10 best thrash songs from 2000–2020
6. Wikipedia: Master of Puppets (song)
7. Wikipedia: Raining Blood
8. Wikipedia: Angel of Death (Slayer song)
9. Wikipedia: Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
10. Wikipedia: Peace Sells... but Who’s Buying?
11. Wikipedia: Battery (song)
12. Wikipedia: One (Metallica song)
13. Wikipedia: Among the Living
14. Wikipedia: Bonded by Blood
15. Wikipedia: The Legacy (album)
16. Wikipedia: Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)
17. Wikipedia: Energetic Disassembly
18. Dallas Observer: Rigor Mortis Re-Releases Lost Demo of Their Legendary First Recording
19. Bandcamp: Gammacide, Victims of Science
20. Come and Take It Productions: Forbidden, Chaos By Design US Tour 2026
21. Come and Take It Productions: D.R.I.
22. Metal Centre: Hell’s Heroes IX 2027 lineup
23. Alamodome: Metallica M72 World Tour, May 22, 2027

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