With the ‘90s finally over, it seemed as if thrash acts the world over felt comfortable stepping out of the Pantera shadow that had so imposingly been cast over them throughout the decade. With this came a return to the standard thrash sound, but with a newfound sense of purpose and conviction — and a reason for us to celebrate the best thrash albums of the 21st century!

A handful of years into the new millennium yielded a neo-thrash movement as young metalheads grouped together to bring some much needed headbanging to a world starved of thrash since the scene (for the most part) fizzled out in the early '90s. This new crop of bands didn't yield much beyond playful idol worship, but it did re-energize the scene with new blood and demonstrated fans were just as hungry as these bands were to hear their heroes contribute more pit anthems to the genre's esteemed canon.

This movement did add some newly minted thrashers though, who are certainly capable of hanging with some of the genre's premiere acts who pushed the boundaries throughout the '80s and a tad into the following decade. Those established legends also rebounded remarkably, swiftly erasing any notion of the ill-fated years bereft of quality thrashin'.

So flip the brim of your hat up, cut off those jeans at the knee and, while you've got the scissors handy, get those shirt sleeves too and scroll through the gallery at the top of the page as we count down the 10 Best Thrash Metal Albums of the 21st Century!

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