– 1983 –
As any metal fan worth his salt knows, 1983 was the year thrash broke. Metallica and Slayer both released hugely influential debut albums, Exciter was already repping Canada with Heavy Metal Maniac, and a slew of other tier one thrash bands would form only to release classics of their own within the next few years, including Megadeth, Death, Possessed, Onslaught and Testament (then known as Legacy).
Indeed, 1983 was so thoroughly dominated by thrash – not to mention the apex of the NWOBHM, which saw early progenitor Def Leppard rope many of the remaining NWOBHM bands into the mainstream when they found multi-platinum success with their hair metal opus, Pyromania – that it briefly seemed as if the more unrefined sounds of the underground were giving way completely for sounds more polished, more mature.
Even Mercyful Fate got a little classier with their debut full length, Melissa. While still uncompromising in its Satanic bleakness, the album finds the band branching out into more respectable territory, often looking backward toward doom ("Black Funeral") and prog ("Satan's Fall").
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZRpB_g0E9E[/youtube]
Nonetheless, the songwriting and musicianship was on par with any of the more well known bands of the time, imbuing it with the sort of timelessness that inspired people in the 90's and 00's to go back and freshen up on their extreme metal history to begin with.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1fPVoQH50c[/youtube]
