Reign in Blood

As someone who was more into the indie rock scene, this was one of the few metal albums my friends and I would listen to in college. There is something about the ferocity of the pace and the athleticism of the performances that kind of knocks the wind out of you, especially considering when this came out. They take it to the edge without going over the top, and that is what makes them more palatable to me than some other metal. Takes itself seriously enough to give you chills but not completely freak you out. Those high notes in the vocals are like a reassuring wink to the audience that it's all in good fun. Not something I'd put on every day but would be very welcome in the right context/mood. Stands head and shoulders above other metal from the era and holds up remarkably well over 30 years later.

Man, these vocals suck.

Can you imagine the discussions between the band members, when they were putting these songs together?

"Oh yeah, that sounds great, but let's try it like 5 times faster."
"Totally, and while you guys do that, I'm going to scream at the top of my lungs about BLUHHHHHHHHHHHHD!"

Whatever state of mind they were in, the result is a blistering fever dream of thrash metal that set the bar for everything else to come.

For my tastes, I'd love to hear the album sans vocals. At times Tom had a hard time keeping up with the track, which was distracting. More important to me though is that the lyrics feel cringy and pointlessly scandalous. I think they turn a lot of listeners off from appreciating the album on the whole.

A silly but perfectly formed blast of death metal. It sounds like there are too many lyrics for each song. Can't believe it came out in 86, it still sounds fresh.

This album fucking slays (pun intended). One of my favorite thrash albums of all time. Great way to wake up in the morning on a day when you've been up since 4am.