The Greatest Thrash Metal Album of All Time
One album stands just a touch above the rest and remains the greatest thrash metal album of all time. – Author: Anne Erickson, Metallica photo via Tim Saccenti
Thrash metal music boasts a bevy of fantastic albums from the genre’s genesis to today, but one stands apart. Don’t get us wrong. It’s very difficult to highlight just one thrash metal album as the very best, because the genre has so many great ones from which to choose. Just look at the tally of pioneering thrash metal bands from the 1980s: Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, Exodus and Kreator, to name just a few. But, one album stands a touch above the rest and remains the greatest thrash metal album of all time.
A Brief History of Thrash Metal Music
The mid-80s were a major time for thrash metal. It was actually in 1986 that several of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time were released, including Metallica with “Master of Puppets,” Slayer with “Reign in Blood,” Megadeth with “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?” and Kreator with “Pleasure to Kill.” The year prior, Exodus released “Bonded by Blood,” and the year after, Testament released “The Legacy.” So, it’s obvious that this was a major time for the genesis of thrash metal music.
As Music Radar points out, thrash metal was the “fastest and nastiest music of the ’80s.” Following the movement’s start in the early-’80s, they note that “a whole new thrash scene has arisen in their wake and it’s just as aggressive as the bands that inspired it.”
uDiscover Music adds that when it comes to thrash, “With an emphasis on precision and speed, thrash metal emerged in the early 80s to become the dominant form of heavy metal throughout the decade.” Thrash really took hold in the ’80s and became one of the genre’s kingpins. While hair metal dominated the top 40 charts, thrash metal attracted a different kind of metalhead, one who was in it for the long-haul.
The Best Thrash Metal Album Ever Created
So, what’s the best thrash metal album of all time? While everyone has their favorite, Audio Ink Radio is going with Metallica and “Master of Puppets.” This album stands above the rest, but barely, for its unique musical quality, gutting lyrics, originality and overall influence.
Released in 1986, the year of thrash, Metallica’s rise from being an underground metal band to a worldwide metal sensation wouldn’t have happened without “Master of Puppets.” While the band became “mainstream” in 1991 with “The Black Album,” they won over the hearts of true metalheads years before then with “Master of Puppets.” This album was a statement. Classics such as “Battery,” “Disposable Heroes” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” helped make Metallica a platinum-selling force without compromising their heavy sound. It’s really the fundamental thrash metal album.
The title track off “Master of Puppets” is a favorite. But, at more than nine minutes long, it was really the anti-radio single of its time. Despite that, the song’s “extravagant length is intrinsic to its power; stitched together, the separate parts play out with cinematic grandeur, with moments of frenzied aggression balanced by interludes of arresting fragility,” Louder Sound notes.
For more thrash metal knowledge, find Audio Ink Radio’s feature on the best thrash metal bands of all time.
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