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20 Greatest Thrash Metal Albums

It is the end of the year and I am in the mood for list-making. What follows is my list of 20 Greatest Thrash Albums ... That I Own Or At Some Point Listened To In My Life. Otherwise shortly known as "20 Greatest Albums of all Time". Without further ado, here be the list:

1- RUST IN PEACE / MEGADETH (1990)









2- REIGN IN BLOOD / SLAYER (1986)









3- RIDE THE LIGHTNING / METALLICA (1984)









4- BONDED BY BLOOD / EXODUS (1985)









5- THE LEGACY / TESTAMENT (1987)









6- BENEATH THE REMAINS / SEPULTURA (1989)









7- METAL CHURCH / METAL CHURCH (1984)









8- AMONG THE LIVING / ANTHRAX (1987)









9- COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION / MEGADETH (1992)









10- MASTER OF PUPPETS / METALLICA (1986)









11- ROOTS / SEPULTURA (1996)









12- DOOMSDAY FOR THE DECEIVER / FLOTSAM & JETSAM (1986)









13- PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH / TESTAMENT (1989)









14- TORTURED EXISTENCE / DEMOLITION HAMMER (1991)

15- SEASONS IN THE ABYSS / SLAYER (1990)









16- VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER / PANTERA (1992)









17- KILL 'EM ALL! / METALLICA (1984)









18- COWBOYS FROM HELL / PANTERA (1990)









19- TRAIL BLAZER / THE PENTAGRAM (1992)









20- CHAOS A.D. / SEPULTURA (1993)

Getting Ready to Wrap up

It is almost that time of the year...the annual top 10s. I have to admit this year will be a lot more difficult than the previous years on account of my insanely lame social life. This year Yours Truly confined himself to YouTube videos of Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin - and they were hilarious.

What follows is a list of my favourite albums from this year, in no particular order:

Twilight of the Tunder God by Amon Amarth
The Formation of Damnation by Testament
Black Ice by AC/DC
Death Magnetic by Metallica
Folklore & Superstition by Black Stone Cherry
ObZen by Meshuggah
Nostradamus by Judas Priest
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace by the Offspring
Watershed by Opeth
XV by King's X
Slania by Eluveitie
Inflikted by Cavalera Conspiracy
A Sense of Purpose by In Flames
Nil Reucurring by Porcupine Tree
The Bedlam in Goliath by the Mars Volta

From this list will emerge my Top 10. Watch this space.

Peace

Magnetically Drawn Towards "Death Magnetic"

The worst title for a blog aside, the hotly-anticipated new album by the 'Tallica boys is really, very good. After the debacle that was St. Anger (2003), the boys are back with a vengeance. Riffs and solos are back.

Even though Bob Rock did a decent job over the years, he will always be remembered to make the premier thrash metal band a household name with relatively more accessible and shorter songs. I have to admit that it's a relief not to see his name in the album credits. There are only a handful of people whose Midas touches inspired and shaped many artists over the years. One name that comes to my mind is Martin Birch, who oversaw Deep Purple and Iron Maiden albums over a career that spans more than three decades. Another name that comes to mind right away is none other than Mr. Rick Rubin. This is the guy who produced the best speed/thrash album ever (Slayer's 1986 extreme sonic assault, Reign in Blood) and orchestrated Johnny Cash's comeback, among others. He is a genius. And his production is the genius behind Death Magnetic.

"All Nightmare Long", "The Day That Never Comes", "My Apocalypse", and the amazing "Broken, Beat & Scarred" are some of the hightlights of the album and are destined to be instant classics among fans. Even the cringe-inducing title "The Unforgiven III" doesn't take anything away from the joy of hearing once again how good these guys were. I'm not going to say that this is a back to roots album and is comparable to Ride the Lightning (1984) or Master of Puppets (1986) in terms of style and content, but it is a return to form for them. It sounds and feels more like ...And Justice for All (1988).

When Megadeth came back to their roots after the abysmal Risk (1999), they released The World Needs a Hero (2001) - in my opinion a very underrated album. Two albums on - patchy The System Has Failed (2004) and brilliant United Abominations (2007) - they are back near the top totem pole and receive the utmost respect from the new generation of fans. Metallica's musical output have been even patchier than Megadeth's, but they were still riding on the wave of their huge commercial success. Had Death Magnetic been closer to St. Anger musically, it might have been over for the boys. But, thankfully, it is a more than fitting album for this great band. Welcome back.

SFTD: "Will the Sun Rise?" by Stratovarius

My first foray into Stratovarius (after listening to "Black Diamond" on my friend's Walkman - remember those? - in high school) was when I bought their album Episode (1996). And what a revelation it was...

This song is the most recognizable of the songs on the album and it is pure Stratogenius: lightning-fast-and-loud drums; Malmsteen-esque shredding; a classical interlude followed by guitar and keyboards duelling; and, of course, that voice. Timo Kotipelto's voice soar to uncharted heights as you find yourself on your feet, jumping up and down and alerting your mother, so that she comes up to your room to see if you're OK ... well, maybe not.

It is a fantastic song from a once brilliant band. Better things came along with Visions (1997) and the terrific live album, Visions of Europe! (1997), but the band imploded soon after with subsequent mediocre releases. Shame.

SFTD: "Superman" by R.E.M.

R.E.M.'s best album isn't Automatic for the People (1992). It is 1986's sublime Lifes Rich Pageant (sic). This little song has all the things that make R.E.M. such a quality act: melody, old-school r'n'r mentality, and a college pretension. It is reminiscent of the best of Beach Boys and foresees Weezer by a decade. It is also one of the few select songs where Mike Mills shares the vocal duties with Michael Stipe.

I am, I am, I am Superman / And I can do anything.

They certainly can.

SFTD: "Little Dreamer" by Van Halen

The better of the two mid-tempo songs on Van Halen's much-celebrated debut (the other is the vastly overrated "Running with the Devil" - perhaps the most boring song on their repertoire), this little gem has that funk/soul thing, which feels surprisingly honest here. It also has an eeire melancholy to it. Eddie Van Halen comes up with a basic but very effective riff and one of his most emotional solos - the man is known for incredible shredding ability, so his solos tend to be one-dimensional after a while.

I'm not a huge Van Halen fan, but if I had to make a Top 5 VH songs, "Little Dreamer" might just sneak into the list.