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You’ve heard the phrase before, and you’ve probably even seen it on a few t-shirts about a few different artists: “I only like their first four albums.” So we asked our readers one simple question over the weekend – of all the ’80s thrash bands, who had the best first four albums? Your answers are below, ranked.
It’s no surprise that all four of The Big Four (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax) made the list, though other cool inclusions are a certain Canadian sci-fi thrash band and one of The Big Four of Teutonic Thrash. Check it out below!
#10 Exodus (35 votes)
Coming in at No. 10 is Exodus and their first four records Bonded By Blood, Pleasures Of The Flesh, Fabulous Disaster, and Impact Is Imminent. There’s a reason Exodus is always in consideration for a hypothetical Big Five, and these first four records are certainly four examples why.
#9 Overkill (59 votes)
Speaking of another Big Five content, Overkill! From the grimy reaches of New Jersey, Overkill blasted onto the scene with their first four records Feel The Fire, Taking Over, Under The Influence, and Years Of Decay, and they’ve been going strone ever since.
#8 Anthrax (63 votes)
Let’s be real – all four of the Big Four were going to make this list. We all love ’em, we all listen to ’em, and they’re classics for a reason. Anthrax is holding down the No. 8 spot on this list with their first four records Fistful Of Metal, Spreading The Disease, Among The Living, and State Of Euphoria.
#7 Kreator (69 votes)
Speaking of The Big Four, we’ve got an appearance from The Big Four of Teutonic Thrash too! Kreator‘s run of Endless Pain, Pleasure To Kill, Terrible Certainty, and Extreme Aggressive landed the band at the No. 7 spot in all their collectively aggressive glory.
#6 Voivod (71 votes)
Canada, you’re up! Quebec’s classic sci-fi thrashers (more prog than thrash these days) Voivod come in at No. 6 with their first four albums War And Pain, Rrröööaaarrr, Killing Technology, and Dimension Hatröss. It’s always great to see some Voivod love in the scene.
#5 Testament (126 votes)
Breaking into the Top 5 of this list is Testament with their first four records The Legacy, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, and Souls Of Black. Testament‘s output has remained consistently thrashy throughout their career, and those first four hold up as strong as they ever have to this day.
#4 Sepultura (141 votes)
Despite their early leanings into death metal, Sepultura has landed at No. 4 on this list in all its Cavalera-era greatness. Morbid Visions, Schizophrenia, Beneath The Remains, and Arise earned quite a few votes, though I’d imagine those last two alone would’ve done similar numbers.
#3 Megadeth (476 votes)
Here’s where the vote numbers start increasing exponentially. Landing at No. 3 is Dave Mustaine in all his post-Metallica anger (with some classic bandmates behind him) with Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?, So Far, So Good… So What!, and Rust in Peace.
#2 Slayer (686 votes)
Slayer at No. 2 should surprise nobody. Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, and South of Heaven were untouchable then and they’re exactly as untouchable now. Feel free to stand up and shout Slayer at the top of your lungs for as long as humanly possible once “Raining Blood” gets done playing.
#1 Metallica (1,485 votes)
Winning by a pretty substantial amount is the unstoppable thrash force that is Metallica and their first four records. Kill ‘Em All in 1983, Ride The Lightning in 1984, Master Of Puppets in 1986, and …And Justice For All in 1988 simply could not be topped.
