40 years old today. Congratulations to the biggest metal band of all time and to one of the genre defining albums of thrash metal.

Hit The Lights
The Four Horsemen
Motorbreath
Jump In The Fire
(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth
Whiplash
Phantom Lord
No Remorse
Seek & Destroy
Metal Militia

Pick your favourite if you can.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Redel, Yaniv, Daniell, BitterCOld, RaduP, nikarg, Netzach

I bet you haven't heard any Kazakh metal bands. Well, here's your chance to change that. Quantum Loba is a deathcore band from Astana, Kazakhstan. Coming from a country not particularly know for their metal music, which already makes this band quite unique, they play a very atmopsheric, djentier style of deathcore adding to their uniqueness. With deathcore being a somewhat saturated genre these days, Quantum Loba is a breath of fresh air.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Starvynth

The first CD I ever bought was Far Beyond Driven all the way back in 1994 when I was 13 and just hitting puberty. Back then this was the most brutal thing I had heard in my entire life and this album would become the one album that would define my musical taste up until this day and age. From the initial onslaught of opener "Strength Beyond Strength", through the grooves of "Becoming" and "5 Minutes Alone", leading to "I'm Broken" which probably have the grooviest riff ever written, to the psychotic "Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills", my mind was blown and we weren't even at the midpoint yet. Half-way through we got "Slaughtered", the most brutal song they've written without losing even an ounce of the grooviness which permeates the entire album. And then we have "Shedding Skin", the highlight of the album and the one song that made me fall in love with metal music. Without namedropping every song I can only state that there are no fillers on this album and to round things up we get a soothing cover of Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" to calm us down before we press Play again and give it another go.

When speaking of Pantera albums people are most likely bound to mention Vulgar Display Of Power and Cowboys From Hell but Far Beyond Driven shouldn't be overlooked. This is the grooviest Pantera album and the one who really steals the spotlight here is Vinnie Paul who delivers some of his best drumming ever. So what are you waiting for? Press that Play button now.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP, nikarg, Daniell, ScreamingSteelUS, Yaniv, Dream Taster, Darkside Momo