:laughing:

So I was thinking how I would rate each of the big 4's albums against each other.
I'm using 1990/91 as a cut of point because I've not really listened to much of any of those bands material since around then.

So in order of preference my list would be...

Slayer - Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Metallica - Kill Em All
Anthrax - Among The Living
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Anthrax - Persistence Of Time
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Megadeth - So Far So Good So What
Metallica - Black Album
Metallica - And Justice For All
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Megadeth - Killing Is My Business
Anthrax - Fistful Of Metal
Anthrax - State Of Euphoria

The time you cut off, is around the time with the exception of Slayer that these bands stopped doing thrash and moved into other areas with varying degrees of success. Its through the post 90/91 period that Slayer were the only band of these four still consistently putting out quality material (Then with Paul Bostaph on drums) Without doubt though, the best thrash band around at that time were Sepultura, whose "Arise" album came out in 91 and served as a stepping stone into the eventual groove metal sound. Another mention should go to Overkill who were going through their best period and "Horrorscope" is one mother of an album.

As for the list, the order is pretty good and would be a general consensus but "South of Heaven" "Ride the Lightning" and "...And Justice For All"- The flawed masterpiece should be higher IMO.

Well i'm of the controversial opinion that the reason And Justice For All is considered a 'flawed masterpiece' is because it is in fact utter utter crap.
The only reason it's not bottom is because somehow other bands made worse albums.

I don't really see what I would drop down to make way for South of Heaven & Ride the Lightning if I was to put them higher.

Personally I think Killing Technology ,Dimension Hatröss & Nothingface top anything by the likes of Exodus, Testament, Sepultura, Overkill, Kreator, Death Angel, Nuclear Assault or any other thrash band you want to mention.

...And Justice For All is an album that splits a lot of people!

Voivod`s progressive thrash sets them apart from the rest of the bunch, not necessarily better but different, and the three albums that you`ve mentioned are great releases and the group had the knack of choosing some interesting cover material as well (Pink Floyd and King Crimson) along with a Batman closer on one of the albums.

Slayer writes music that's fast, sloppy, aggressive, and entirely free of preachiness. It's just speed, and intensity. The fact they refuse to have any restraint in any regard gives them the edge gave them an edge that the other three lack. Point is, I think of the four, Slayer is the band that "got the point" the most.

Lyrically, it felt their was an admittance that what they were doing was not deep or profound. They didn't embarrass themselves by attempting to force themselves to be poetic. Kind of got the point that thrash was stupid(which I do not mean as an insult).

Which is why they'll always have an edge over the three. When you listen to Slayer it's evil, and nothing but evil. Plus, I think their better work hits a layer of discomforting chaos that the more chained, refined, and polished of the other three lack. Personally, I think this really shows on Hell Awaits, which I feel is a generally overlooked album. Considering the context of the purpose of thrash metal, and it's audience, they are the most effective, and as a listener, personally give me the most emotional satisfaction when in a "thrash mood".

Megadeth is a close second for the fact that I respect them for always maintaining their quality as a live band, and even if not churning out great new material, they don't ever really feel washed up. May be more skilled performers than Slayer, but feel very boxed in, and caged compared to Slayer's more chaotic tempo pushing works. 'Even if, they are probably the most technical of the four, they still fall short. Plus singing lines like "Sit in Granny's Rocking Chair" kind of hurt the aesthetic a little bit...

Metallica for third. Similar to Megadeth, and with a lot a lot less padding/b-side material. However, I think with songs like Holy Wars, Megadeth far trumps Metallica musically. I think Metallica's commercial success only comes from the fact they had a deeper relationship with the studio/production end than the other three. However, this kind of hurts them because of the ego in trying to be ahead of the game forced them to expose limitations in their songwriting. Point is, some people are good at trying to do experimental rock. Metallica just does not have the right sensibilities for it.

Anthrax, I only really liked 2.5 of their albums. I mean, as mentioned, Among the living is amazing, along with State of Euphoria, and half of whichever one Madhouse is on. The rest, however, always feels to me like they're just knocking off Metallica's "Kill Em' All" sound. I don't know, maybe I'm not listening hard enough.

Unrelated point on Anthrax, though, I've always felt pretty much all of their work, even Among the Living, is well trumped by the jokey side project of Scott Ian, Stormtrooper's of Death. Then again, I've only heard "Speak English, or Die".

Your order is also my order of the bands, and I always felt that Slayer "Got the Point" and never deviated too much away from it. I can see why people dislike them for this, but for me thrash has always just been about speed, aggression and power and that= Slayer. They`re a band I can listen to anyplace anywhere. They`re also the thrash band that laid down the groundwork for the death metal scene and I think that says it all about them as a band. Because of Slayer we had the death metal masters Death.

Apart from the association with Nuclear Assault (who clearly came from a Hardcore Punk background) I agree that Voivod pissed all over anything released after '88 and are ridiculously under appreciated.

And Justice For all is an over wrought piece of trash that bored me in '88 and still bores me now.

Overkill were a fun band with a punk attitude and Exodus unfortunately suffered through line up changes.

Kreator are a decent band though and sound unlike anyone else, which is no mean feat.

First Death Angel album though is a classic Urbs ;) Still sounds good today and full of attitude and fire.

Metallica were really only thrash from Kill 'Em All to ...And Justice For All, i do enjoy all of their albums, but they didn't stay thrash their whole career, slayer did, megadeth almost did. not really big on anthrax, exodus should be in a 'big 5'

For most of the 90's Megadeth didn`t do too much thrash.

Apart from "Bonded By Blood" Exodus weren`t really good enough music wise to warrant a big 5 accolade. Picking a popular thrash band from the same era, I would say that the discography of Testament was superior.