Best Thrash Metal Album?

Slayer- Seasons in the Abyss

If the answer doesn't involve Metallica, Megadeth, or Slayer, then it's an opinion I don't care very much to hear.

There were so many great thrash bands: Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill, Testament, Annihilator, Sepultura, etc.. Even today, Havok and Vektor (who is a bit of a cross between thrash and technical death metal) are keeping the subgenre alive and well.

Still, Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer's best is just so much better than their peers.

There are great albums by thrash bands which possess other influences apart from thrash. Does the greatness of such records originate solely from high quality thrash metal or is it the blending of various sounds and styles which make it succeed?

Anyway, I would say each of the following albums are possibilities:
-Rust in Peace
-Ride the Lightning
-Master of Puppets
-Reign in Blood
-Seasons in the Abyss

But gun to my head, I will always pick Master of Puppets. It was THE album that made me a fan of thrash. It is brutal, dark, virtuosic, aggressive, crisp, loud, and diverse. It by no means is the "thrashiest" album in existence, but it doesn't have to be to be the best. The requisite style and sound associated with thrash are present and accounted for.

After Ride the Lightning, I'm going with a personal favorite.

metallica- kill'em all, master of puppets

anthrax- fistful of metal

quote:

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You should probably throw Anthrax in there with that group b/c at the time, they were every bit as popular and leading the way and probably more so than Slayer. Slayer always came off as using gimmicks of pentagrams and macabre imagery as much as their music. After Reign in Blood, I'd much rather listen to something by Anthrax and that include the I'm the Man EP.

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I love Anthrax, but I never viewed Among the Living, Spreading the Disease, or Persistence of Time as albums which could best Metallica, Megadeth, or Slayer.

I would even argue that Beneath the Remains and Arise by Sepultura are better thrash records.

I get what you mean about Slayer's "gimmick". They were definitely one of the few thrash bands that dealt with occult-based imagery and themes. However, Seasons in the Abyss shed much of the Satanic references and blasphemous material which made them inaccessible to more conservative fans.

Kreator - Pleasure To Kill.

(Beneath The Remains is a close second)

Some people's definition of thrash is broader than mine.

Reign In Blood rules.