Bolt Thrower are a British death metal band from Coventry, England. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their current label is Metal Blade Records. The band has had a succession of members and have toured Europe, the United States, and Australia.

The band takes its name from a weapon in the popular tabletop strategy game Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The lyrics and artwork of their second, third and seventh albums were based on Warhammer Fantasy Battle and its futuristic companion Warhammer 40,000, with much of the art actually being provided by the game's publisher, Games Workshop. The general theme of their lyrics is war and its consequences.