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Crossover thrash, usually called crossover by fans and known as punk metal in some circles, was a term used in the 1980s to describe the first wave of bands that mixed hardcore punk and thrash metal.

Many consider Suicidal Tendencies to be one of the first bands to mix hardcore punk and metal. Their debut album, released in 1983, blurred the line between the two genres. Void are also often credited with being pioneers of crossover. Their side of their debut split LP with The Faith merged metal shredding solos with punk energy and speed. Some of the earliest bands to have worked in this style are D.R.I. (with their albums Dealing With It and Crossover), Corrosion of Conformity (Animosity), and Stormtroopers of Death (Speak English or Die). As documented in American Hardcore (film), Crossover thrash took over the Boston Hardcore scene, with SSD, and DYS and Gang Green all releasing Metal influenced albums in the mid to late 80s. DYS should be infamously credited with recording the first crossover power ballad - the song "Closer Still" off their second self-titled album, though Suicidal Tendencies' "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow?" has some power ballad characteristics as well.

Several other prominent bands went on to adopt the style in the late 1980s, such as Cryptic Slaughter, The Accused, Wehrmacht, Attitude Adjustment, Crumbsuckers, Ludichrist, Nuclear Assault, and Hirax. With Suicidal Tendencies' second album, Join the Army, the metal influence in their sound had increased, and their third album, How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today, almost fully transformed the band into a thrash metal outfit. Suicidal would go on to even greater commercial success with full-fledged metal albums like Lights...Camera...Revolution! and Art of Rebellion in the 90's, but left behind their punk roots and, as a result, most of their original fanbase.

By the 1990s, several of the pioneering bands had broken up, Corrosion of Conformity had drastically changed their style, and D.R.I. had not released any new material since 1995. In recent years, though, there has been something of a comeback in the style, with bands such as The Cooters, Toxic Holocaust, Municipal Waste, Holier Than Thou?, Destruction's End, What Happens Next?, DFA, Bones Brigade, and the now defunct Crucial Unit coming to prominence. Recent years have also seen the reformation of The Accused, Hirax, and Nuclear Assault.

Main article: List of crossover thrash bands

• The Accüsed
• Beowülf
• Body Count
• Carnivore
• Corrosion of Conformity (C.O.C.) (Early)
• The Cro-Mags
• Cross Examination
• Crumbsuckers
• Cryptic Slaughter
• Excel
• The Exploited (Post-1987)
• Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (D.R.I.)
• DYS
• MD.45
• Method of Destruction (M.O.D.)
• Municipal Waste
• Nuclear Assault
• Ratos de Porão
• Send More Paramedics
• Sick Mother Fakers
• Soziedad Alkohólika
• SSD
• Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.)
• Suicidal Tendencies
• What Happens Next?

• All Music Guide - Punk Metal

• Thrashcore
• Metalcore
• Crossover (music)

• Grindcore
• Crust Punk