257 - Death Angel Mistress of Pain 1987

Though they were immediately pegged as the runts of the Bay Area thrash metal scene for barely being old enough to drive, Death Angel quickly silenced most critics with their ambitious first album, The Ultra-Violence. Technically on par with many of their older peers, the album still showed a lot of room for growth, however -- especially in the songwriting department. "Mistress of Pain" is a powerful instance of the band energy.