158 - Annihilator Alison Hell 1989

The debut of this Canadian band is a true thrash metal classic. When the beautiful, haunting guitar intro has finished and "Alison Hell", one of the best thrashers ever starts off, you know you're sold. Everything is perfect on this album; clear production, great musicianship, and Randy Rampage's growling vocals that add immensely to the overall heaviness of the whole thing. The riffs and solos are particularly impressive as here Jeff Waters presented some of the most original and imaginative guitar work in the genre in those days. Even today every song still sounds so fresh and intense that one can easily sense the great energy involved in the making of this record. I cannot praise this masterpiece enough.