Here's a few i've been listening to lately:
-Kreator -
Flag of Hate: Alongside Slayer's
Haunting the Chapel and Rigor Mortis'
Freaks, this is pretty much my favourite
Thrash Metal EP ever.
Kreator was fucking on fire in 1986, with this
Beast and Pleasure to
Kill, and this EP is easily among the best things in the entire genre. Three songs of ripping, violent
Thrash Metal, with excellent, sharp riffage, Mille's
Savage vocals, and fantastically well written songs. The title song gets a real
Kick in the ass from the
Endless Pain version, "Take Their Lives" is an intensely violent thrasher, and "Awakening of the Gods" is absolutely one of the greatest thrash songs of all time. Brilliant riff after brilliant riff and a truly epic sense of scale.
The important lesson of the day is that early
Kreator fucking owns.
-Slayer -
South of Heaven: I just wrote a review for it here. I don't have a lot else to say, other than it's one of my
Absolute favourite records from the band. I love it just as much as
Reign in Blood, though for entirely different reasons.
-Destruction -
Sentence of Death: Surprisingly, a really good start to Destruction's career. It's a bit rawer and not quite as fully fleshed out as
Infernal Overkill was, but it's definitely a strong little release. This showcases everything you would expect from Destruction: the excellent, choppy, unique riffing, Schmier's high-pitched vocals, and ferocious songs. This has a bit more of a first wave
Black Metal feeling to it than later
Destruction records, which makes it stand out just a bit more for me. The riffs are very good, and while the songs are a bit sloppy, they hit real hard. The production surprisingly is pretty decent and has some heft to it.
Definitely not as good as the next few records, but a good start anyway.
