I would say that "Destroy Erase Improve" is one of the greatest metal albums ever released and certainly Meshuggah`s best. Also listen to "Chaosphere" its their second best album.

I'll definitely check both of them out. What do you think of the two that I mentioned?

Destroy Erase Improve> Chaosphere> Nothing are the three classic Meshuggah albums in that order. The EP "I" is another must listen and is just one single song of around 20 mins or so. The only weaker efforts are the debut which is more thrash focused and there is nothing to really set it apart from the rest of the pack. Also "Catch Thirtythree" was never one of my favourites. Surprisingly I`ve not listened to "Obzen" as my listening schedule hasn`t got to that album yet. I`m kind of two years still out of date with modern day music;)

When I think Meshuggah, I think vicious grooves combined with experimental metal carnage............The stuff of modern day metal legend.

As you may have gathered from our conversation in that other metal thread I got a hold of Destroy Erase Improve and Chaosphere a few days ago. I'm enjoying both but so far I'm not sold on them being their best two albums.

Anthrax- attitude and the band that introduced many fans to music outside of metal- namely Hardcore and Hip Hop. No mean feat.
Megadeth- probably the most musically dexterous of the big four but their constant line up changes mean that they have never achieved cohesiveness and they are probably the most commercial out of the big 4.
Metallica- rightly held up as the pinnacle of Thrash but beset by ego's and commercial suicide (Napstergate, black eyeliner) and still missing Cliff Burton to this day.
Slayer - It's a cliche but Reign In Blood is still the most intense Metal album out there but their dogged attitude to try to staying intense has actually been to their detriment and have almost become a parody of themselves.

I'd say Metallica because of what they did for thrash.

They also got me hooked on thrash metal as one of my favorite genres, and as a bass player I must say that they've had three of the best. RIP Cliff.

What did they do for thrash?

IMO,mainly their commercial success, expanding the audience, etc.

They also got Dave Mustaine writing alot of stuff that would later be used for Megadeth's early albums (Mechanix for instance)

More than just their commercial stuff, they showed that thrash groups if they had the ability, should be writing longer more complex material, and progress the thrash sound beyond the confines of hardcore thrash fans, in order for it to survive as a leading metal genre.

Therefore, we had on one axis Metallica showing where thrash could go, at the expense of not really being thash anymore. On the other axis were Slayer, who despite some variation (nu-metal influences on one album) never ventured too far away from their core thrash sound.

Around the late 8o's most thrash groups had started to slow it down anyway and a number outside the big four had put out albums that were heavily influenced by doom metal. Overkill "Years of Decay" Testament "The Ritual" Exodus "Force of Habit" Being three great examples.

When thrash metal had lost its flame around the early 90`s, groove metal stepped into the void as the economically viable metal alternative.

Metallica routinely checked their music into cash, and for that, they win.

Well, however they made a cent off of Load and Reload takes some variety of talent.

For my money, it's Slayer by far. They are one of the few Metal bands I actually enjoy listening to.

In my opinion Metallica's the best from the Big four... =] But I really like the other bands, too... I'm so happy and proud I saw them live on one stage! ^^

Metallica are the greatest, in the true sense of the word, of the four... discuss

Slayer- i wanna be you god

Megadeth, there the most talented out of the 4. Better guitar work and lyrics(IMO!). They really haven't disappointed either album wise.

Not even Risk?

You actually consider "Cryptic Writings" "Risk" and "The World Needs A Hero" to be good albums?

Megadeth has their amazing albums, and they have their "What the **** where you thinking releasing this" albums. But really, they are the best of the four. Metallica is a bit overrated, but are indeed a good band. Their first four or five albums are really solid, and I might be one of the few but Death Magnetic was a pretty good return. Slayer is good as well, but I don't see them being as technically skilled as the two mentioned above. Anthrax is alright, but not great. Megadeth is my choice.

My vote was for Slayer but it was meant for Megadeth.

as far as likeability goes, i'd have to say metallica. their music covers a much broader expanse of the genre plus you can actually understand their lyrics

Actually Anthrax would be the greatest in the true sense of the word, since with five members, they are bigger in both quantity and total mass than the other three bands.

:rofl: ****ing great!!!

Megadeth has the most talent, their debut album was the best of all the debut albums of the big four, Rust in Peace is a masterpiece that can go head to head with Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, and Among the Living and win. After Megadeth its Metallica then Anthrax, then Slayer. Not to say that Anthrax and Slayer don't kick huge ass, they're among my favorite bands.

Very good, but Slayer I better than Metallica (by far) and then Anthrax dead last.

yes that was a mistake i actually meant megadeth-metallica-slayer-anthrax, slayer kicks ass but i enjoy metallica's diversity in speed and intensity within the first four albums over slayer's unrelenting lightning fast thrash

I'm guessing you've never heard South of Heaven then. Not all of Slayer's music is "unrelenting lightning fast thrash".

from south of heaven i've heard ghosts of war, silent scream, and south of heaven, none of the other ones, those three are pretty fast, maybe you can recommend some of the other ones?

Why don`t you just listen to the whole album instead of selected songs, its far more rewarding.

I listened to all of it, and a drop in tempo from 500 bmp to 450 isn't that significant. Still a great album even if its King's least favorite.

South of Heaven isn't bad but it's miles ahead of Metallica's self entitled which, contrary to popular opinion, I honestly don't think is too bad. South of Heaven is much better, though.

Yea i don't listen to anything Metallica put out after And Justice for All. I agree South of Heaven is much better.

Slayer gets my vote

Think ima give my vote to metallica

This one needs bumping too.

I went with Anthrax...I love Fistful of Metal, Spreading the disease, & Among the Living.

Slayer, I never really got into Anthrax and aside from a few songs I don't like Metallica or Megadeth. I saw Slayer live last year though, it was one of the funnest shows ever.

Slayer rocks my socks off, one of my favourite Metal bands.

Very easily Metallica.

Slayer would get my vote these days or maybe Megadeth, but Metallica has to get it just because their old **** is just untouchable. Anthrax is okay too.

Based on the heyday of thrash:

1. Metallica
Yes i know they are the most popular, but out of the big four Metallica were the ones that really thought outside the box and tried to break the constraints of thrash. They're probably THE most influential metal band of the past 30 years and their first 4 albums are metal monuments.

2. Slayer
Probably the defining thrash metal band. They've never really ventured too far from their traditional sound but if it ain't broke don't fix it i guess. They set the bar for speed and evilness and they helped pave the way for death metal and black metal. Not to mention Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King being one of the best guitar partnerships in metal.

3. Anthrax
Ok they were never exactly ground-breaking or anything. But what Anthrax brought to thrash was a sense of fun, they never took themselves too seriously and rather than being a dumb thrill they were actually very witty and intelligent. Despite a few bum notes here and there and sounding a tad dated now, they released some pretty good music during the thrash heyday.

4. Megadeth
Megadeth fans forgive me but i just cannot stand Dave Mustaine. His voice irritates me and his persona irritates me. He is however a great guitarist and formed a great guitar partnership with Marty Friedman. Their music isn't bad as such, there's some great moments on Rust In Peace and Peace Sells..., but in the end Dave just gets to me.