345 - Slayer Seasons in the Abyss 1990

After staking out new territory with the underrated "South of Heaven", Slayer brought back some of the pounding speed of "Reign in Blood" for its third major-label album, "Seasons in the Abyss". Essentially, Seasons fuses its two predecessors, periodically kicking up the midtempo grooves of South of Heaven with manic bursts of aggression. The monumental title track contains some of the best riffs Hanneman and King have ever penned down.