With two albums, Speak English or Die (1985), and Bigger Than the Devil (1999), the band also released a live album in 1992, and collection of unreleased material in 2007. was a central part of the East Coast wave of thrash and regional wave of crossover in the mid-1980s, and the music speaks for itself, and would cater to fans of Slayer, Exodus, or any other band on this list. Critics over the years have noted the racist, misogynistic and xenophobic lyrics, but the band has always said the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek and meant to be humorous, not taken literally. The band's uncompromising assault of punk-laced speed metal blended thrash and hardcore and made songs faster, angrier and louder than most others. This was a thrash band formed as a fun side project in 1985 by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, along with his band mate, drummer Charlie Benante, former Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker and vocalist Billy Milano. The violently fast drums, and metal-like screams and punk rock rage, have been at a constant for going on three decades, and the band aren't slowing down. The album American Paranoia (1986) has been a widely cited influence to everyone from Municipal Waste to Napalm Death, both of whom have toured with Attitude Adjustment. But Attitude Adjustment added a bit more hardcore punk in their sound and approach and carved out a nice spot in the scene for themselves. This band formed in the SF Bay Area in the '80s, and fit in with the pure thrash bands of the scene, including Violence, Exodus, Forbidden, Possessed, Death Angel, Testament and more. The lasting impact of the Crumbsuckers can't be denied, as many younger fans are coming to discover their music, as the retro thrashers and punks keep it alive online and through record collecting. Though the band are no longer active, other bands have formed in their wake, and the members have gone on to join other groups, including Life of Agony, Pro-Pain, and more. It blended punk, speed metal, rock and hints of blues to make an erratic crossover style that many bands try to mimic today. Founded when the band members were still in their teens, Crumbsuckers' skillful guitar playing was well ahead of their time. The band was considered to be part of a network of East Coast crossover bands, including several on this list, and played shows with everyone from Suicidal Tendencies to Pantera and Megadeth. Since then, with growing interest in the band, a new lineup featuring original singer Dan Clements has formed, and as of 2013, is beginning to play shows for all their fans of skaters, thrashers and punks.įorgotten among the mainstream, Crumbsuckers were a crossover thrash punk band formed in 1982, in Long Island, New York. The band did get some notoriety when around a decade ago, allegations were made that the Metallica hit “Enter Sandman” was indeed a rip off of the main riffs used in the Excel song, “Tapping Into The Emotional Void,” from the album The Joke's on You (1989). Excel disbanded in 1995, but new, unreleased material was released in 2001. Excel's thrash metal sound soon took hold and the band played shows with bigger names in metal, including Megadeth and Overkill. Their peers included Suicidal Tendencies, Cryptic Slaughter, No Mercy, Beowulf and others in the famous Venice music scene of the time. We now present our list of top ten crossover bands.Īnother band from the cluster within the Venice punk skate/thrash scene, Excel was formed by guitarist Adam Siegel and vocalist Dan Clements. This is the music that slam dancing was made for. It was the first generation of crossover bands which created the backdrop, and spawned a musical subculture to influence new generations of bands today, such as Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, Iron Reagan, Trash Talk and more. Many are not letting factors such as personal health, age or finances stand in their way of bringing bring thrash punk to their fans. Many are still fighting the good fight, putting out new music, and destroying audiences across the globe. But during the early-to-mid-1980s, such camaraderie between hardcore punk and heavy metal was non-existent and for a period of time, the two scenes could not peacefully coexist.īut, as the violence, hostility, fights, and mayhem ensued when the fans met at shows, bands were able to use this tension and chaos to usher in a new breed (at the time) of thrash metal and punk rock combined, a hybrid style of music that came to be known as crossover, since it bridged the gap, and crossed between fans of both hardcore and metal.Īsk any one old enough to witness concerts back in the day by bands such as D.R.I., Anthrax, Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies and others on this list and off. It isn't uncommon to spot a Black Flag T-shirt at a metal show, or a Metallica T-shirt at a punk show. Fans of punk and metal nowadays take it for granted that the two genres often manage to intermingle.