I'm really sorry
@Magnus my man. I know how much you love Burzum but I really can't stand it. And it's not even because of Varg and his attitude and deeds (ok... that doesn't help the slightest TBH.... quite much the opposite). It's really the sound itself. Now don't be a sad elephant and take solace in the fact I'm voting for an album that I know you like in Alice In Hell.
Annihilator.
Ah now this is a quality matchup. I never liked Skid Row's debut and when some friends of mine back in the day told me "Hey you have to listen to Skid Row's new album! That shit is powerful Hard N' Heavy!". My reaction was "Skid Row? Powerful Hard N' Heavy? Yeah, right..." . Some months passed and I simply didn't care for it. Until one day I went to a friend of mine's house and he was listening to this fast paced, stomping, heavy as fuck vicious metal tune. "Hey man... what's this ?" And when answered it was the new Skid Row album my jaw just fell to the floor (BTW it was the title track). So yeah... this is a really diverse album that spans from hard rock to borderline thrash. Of course there are still songs reminiscent of their Motley Crue/ Guns N' Roses sound I don't appreciate much like Psycho Love, Creepshow, Living In A Chain Gang and the soft ballads like Wasted Time and In A Darkened Room. But then there's the good stuff. And by good I mean REALLY GOOD! Even retaining a lot of those Hard Rock / Hair Metal vibes on tracks like the opener Monkey Business and Get The Fuck Out they mix that sound with some Killing Machine/ British Steel era Priest and the result is a blast of incredibly groovy, pounding Heavy Rock on steroids. And still on the Hard Rock vibe Quick sand Jesus is another ballad but this time melodic and intense as nothing I've heard in the Hard Rock genre (yeah! Me liking a Hard Rock Ballad, that's right!). Then of course there's the really heavy stuff: Riot Act is borderline punk rock, Mudkicker's dragging stomp is vicious and what to say about the savage combo Of The Threat and Slave To The Grind. So while having a handful of songs I skip Skid Row's sophomore is overall one hell of a record. But it's going against an album that is almost devoid of fillers, being one of my two favorite albums by a Thrash powerhouse. So, although I'd love to see STG advance a bit further, I have to give this one to
Testament.
After three albums of more punk uncompromising attitude, Bobby and Verni geared one of the oldest and well oiled Thrash metal machines towards more complex and darker venues. The result was simply stunning. To this very day The Years Of Decay is still my favorite record by these guys and it's easy to understand why. Time To Kill kicks the album with pomp and dives into a dire thrashing feast with delicious riffs and rhythmic details. Elimination and I Hate are much more in the vein of previous albums but nonetheless still extremely exciting and well written (especially I Hate). Nothing To Die For shows how much these dudes evolved skill wise without losing their grit (although that initial riff is somewhat... errr... blackened). After a cacophonic intro, this megaton doomster properly named Skullcrusher comes to grind every single one of your bones and Birth Of Tension's breakneck speed fury blows what's left of our jaw. Who Tends The Fire is the definitive proof that this album is a huge upgrade on the band's sound: the number of gorgeous nuances and how tight they connect with each other is mind blowing. Speaking of mind blowing, if this record wasn't already utterly superb it saves the best for last. The desolate calm ambiance of the title track and its variations (man... that coda!!!!) and once again the new attention to detail on the heavy, intricate and dark E.V.I.L. Never Dies closes what I consider to be one of 80's Thrash masterpieces. That being said it's easy to understand what will be my vote since the only thing where the Dark Saga beats The Years Of Decay in my book is on the cover art (one is done by Mc Farlane while the other seems it was done by a 10 year old metal fan). Everything else doesn't even comes close and goes without the slightest doubt to
Overkill.
Well... as much as I like every Death album, Individual Thought Patterns is just something stunning. First the performance is ridiculous. (unlike in Human) DiGiorgio's bass is much more in front of the mix and man... this guy is bringing lines penned by the devil itself! What is this nonsense??? This is an almost perfect (and original) display of bass playing. And this could be the real standout besides the songs themselves. But noooooo. And there's where Individual really fucks with you. Because if you like technical Thrash / Death you don't know which way to turn. And why? Because although young Reinart and Masvidal were already huge musicians (but still evolving) who does Chuck brings to fill the places left beyond the kit and second six strings? Hoglan and Laroque. Fucking Hoglan and Laroque, man!!! And what these two dudes do in this album is also inhumanely off the charts. And what's "left"? Ah... just Chuck and his immensely talented playing and sublime song writting. Honestly... The first time I listened to this I stood in absolute awe. And then listened to it a million times again. And am still listening to it to this very day. Fillers??? Nope. Zero. As for standouts Overactive Imagination is simply my favorite track by the band while In Human Form, Trapped In A Corner, Nothing Is Everything, Mentally Blind, Destiny orThe Philosopher are also absurdly good. Hell, what am I saying? All the album is a standout... there you go! Just one detail: run away from the remastered version of it. It's horrible. Whoever did it putt everything at the red and almost destroyed a masterpiece. So with that in mind it does not matter how good of a rock album Ten is. This one goes to
Death.