Big Four Thrash Band Debut Albums Ranked
 

Metallica vs Slayer vs Anthrax vs Megadeth

Go!!!

Anthrax > Slayer > Megadeth > Metallica

Fistful of Metal the best, really? Really?!

Aye

Art thou mad?

Megadeth - Looking Down the Cross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-EfflMI6_4

I like this one better than anything on Kill 'Em All, even if I find the album a bit inconsistent overall. Metallica's first outing is more consistent, but I don't find the high points all that high. The Four Horsemen is 10x better than Mustaine's take, at least. Really missing that slow section with the solo in Mechanix.

Slayer = eh, they're ok.

Anthrax = eh, whatever.

Megadeth > Metallica > Slayer > Anthrax

Now, if Joey had sang on Fistful of Metal it would be a different story. Megadeth would still be best though.

Phew, none of those are very good. I'm happy thrash improved so rapidly over the next few years.

If Joey had sung on Fistful it wouldn't have been the same early speed metal romp. He just wasn't suited to that album. I find it hard to even call it an Anthrax album cause it has nothing to do with everything they did after.

This is why your time is over, old man.

I don't know, the re-recorded version of Metal Thrashing Mad from Armed and Dangerous kicks ass:


Though I do like Fistful of Metal as it is, it's just the weakest of the big four debuts imo.

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.

Have you actually heard those albums? How can you call Kill Em All buttrock? It's so trashy and nerdy. It's just metal for metal's sake and sounds nothing like the self-importance of their later albums. They're just young guys having fun making loud music.

I mean yeah they count although Feel the Fire wouldn't get as high marks as Killing Is My Business, Kill Em All, or Show No Mercy. Or Bonded By Blood.

nah KeA is essentially a proto Creed album

"Seek and Destroy" smh, what gayness

That is indeed one of the ultimate jams of any genre and makes me think twice about repping any other album. Even dudebros know that track slays. I don't know if it's quite a top ten metal track but it's close. Definitely a top 50 if we're including all of music. One of my great memories of getting high with this psychopath I now despise was us both being Metallica fans and we'd throw "Seek and Destroy" on regularly in his truck and I'd rock out mightily.

I think No Remorse is better and easily the best song on KeA.

Bruh even Hetfield's vocals on Kill Em All are amazing. He sounds like this young guy who just really thinks metal is cool and wants to rage and thinks it's hella cool when other young guys "mosh" to his band's songs.

Oh and everybody thinks of the heavier and more aggressive songs from those albums as the best, but **** all of that. Some of those tracks off Kill Em All are just pure OG punkified hard rock metal energy fun. This is one of the best metal openers ever and is on the shortlist of songs I'd cover if I started my own retro 1st wave black metal band.

it's really tough to rank the tracks on that album

Metal Militia kills my balls

And ****ing "Phantom Lord" my dude. And "Jump in the Fire". And has others have said, "No Remorse" is godlike.

I think Phantom Lord is ridiculous with the guitar

no one ever knows what I mean and I dunno if I do either

What do you mean? I'm willing to hear. It's a great track and I don't think I know. Talk to me.

well in layman's terms it just shreds downright excessively

but that's always kick ass

probably has something to do with squealing guitar passages of above average length. Metallica in general is pretty ridiculous with the guitar.