Yes it is the weakest debut, but Joey simply is not the kind of singer suited to the bargain basement speed metal of the debut. There's a corny grit he does not have that is essential to that album.

I've had Kill Em All ranked as one of my absolute top ranked metal albums for a long time now but these days Show No Mercy is more immediate and Killing Is My Business is the most advanced gutter metal album of all time which gives it a very good shot at the best metal album of all time. My old rankings are shot all to hell. I mean not a thing on any of the other three albums is as mind-meltingly gnarly as the lead riff on Killing Is My Business' title track.

Kill 'em All not because the other albums are inferior, KeA is just in a league of it's own

I’m 18!

TBH Metallica's, Megadeth's, and Slayer's debuts are all in a league of their own. They're all where metal became something on another level that the NWOBHM could never be.

Exodus should be in the Big Four and Bonded wins by a long shot

They're where Metal became overindulgent buttrock, instead of fun

Anthrax >

well then who cares

this is where it's at if it sounded better

Exodus has a lot of mediocre music to answer for tbh but I'd put them over Anthrax for everything but Spreading the Disease. And Bonded by Blood would be a solid contender for a debut but I'd still take Megadeth's debut. Bonded By Blood will always be one of my favorite metal albums ever though. The title track, "And Then There Were None", "Deliver Us to Evil". Paul Baloff is the metal guy I'd never want to be but always wish I could have been born as.

Hot take: no matter what anyone says about Dave Mustaine's vocals he was the absolute greatest by a ****ing mile singer for that period of metal of the early-to mid 80s. After more aggressive metal became a going thing in both thrash and death metal he wasn't so suited but before that when speed metal and thrash metal were still synonyms he was the best and most vicious. It's a specific time period I'm talking about but it's also a very specific sound in metal that's kind of my favorite time period for metal so his vocal performance on Killing Is My Business is possibly my favorite metal vocal performance. That time when metal and rock were JUST about to separate completely.

:beer:

As a whole, Anthrax is best of the big four.