METALLICA - Master of Puppets (1986)

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It's a well established fact that 1986 was the best Metal year ever, but it's also the year a number of bands peaked, releasing career defining, never to be bettered albums. One of those bands was Slayer of course, arguably Dark Angel could also be included in that, whereas Kreator managed to reinvent themselves for the unbelievably brilliant 'Renewal' album and thus avoided direct comparison with their 1986 masterpiece 'Pleasure to Kill'. But for Metallica, artistically, if not commercially, this was their greatest work. I've long said that 'Kill Em All' is my favourite Metallica album, but even I can concede that this is 'better'. The step up from 'Ride the Lightning' to this is a large one, you only have to compare the quality of 'Damage Inc' with the slightly off-hand 'Fight Fire With Fire' or the title tracks of these two albums to see that Metallica really stepped up their game to a whole new level. True there are two tracks that are only okay, and yes because there are only eight tracks they do make up a quarter of the album, but really, who wouldn't be pleased to have written 'Leper Messiah' or 'The Thing That Should Not Be'? 

The big question, destined to remain forever unanswered, is how would Metallica's musical growth been different had Cliff not been killed on the tour for this album. By all accounts Cliff's musical input into Metallica was more than considerable, can it really be a coincidence that things started to falter a little in the quality department as soon as he died? I guess we'll never know, but you only have to listen to the depth of quality of 'Orion' to realise that Cliff was something special.

DEATHROW - Riders of Doom / Satan's Gift (1986)

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Released under two different titles with two different covers for reasons no one seems entirely sure of, this is a solid piece of German Thrash which would appeal to fans of early Kreator. Sadly the band isn't up to the level of Kreator, Destruction or Exumer, but this is enjoyable enough all the same.

VICIOUS RUMORS - Soldiers of the Night (1986)

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Solid but unspectacular, this is still an enjoyable romp with shredder Vinnie Moore drafted in to add a little guitar pizzaz. This album was released in 1986, but it strikes me that Vinnie Moore's excellent 'Mind's Eye' album wasn't much later and his playing is far superior there. Whatever, this sounds somehow 'old' compared to 'Digital Dictator' which was only a couple of years later and pummels it on every level really, not least in the vocalist department with Carl Albert replacing Gary St Pierre. Fun but not essential by any means.

HELLOWEEN - Walls of Jericho (1986)

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Probably my favourite Helloween album still, this was the first and last time that you could ever really call Helloween a proper Thrash band. Even then Helloween were clearly not aligning themselves with the likes of Slayer and 'Gorgar' clearly wants to be 'Ride the Lightning'. That indiscretion aside, this is a great album and closes with Helloween's best song, the epic 'How Many Tears'.

RAZOR - Malicious Onslaught (1986)

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Sadly, Canadian's Razor couldn't maintain their hit rate and with this their third album, they slipped down the order somewhat. It's all a bit half-arsed to be honest. Like they've given up. M-Bro's drumming, never the greatest, was getting noticeably less impressive and the whole thing has the feeling that it could have been better. Perhaps Razor's intention to release two albums a year was their undoing, an idea that was abandoned after this release. Still, there are gems to be found here, 'Night Attack' being a particular favourite of mine.

ONSLAUGHT - The Force (1986)

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The trouble with Onslaught was always that they were good, for an British band. Somehow the UK got left behind in the mid-80's and though this is perfectly enjoyable for what it is, cutting edge it wasn't. Admittedly it was a step closer to what a Thrash band perhaps 'should' sound like, whereas the gloriously downbeat 'Power From Hell' was clearly a racket made by some Punks who'd discovered Slayer. But then again, that did give the first album a lot of it's naive charm. Not there aren't some good tunes contained herein, but nobody was really mentioning Onslaught and Slayer in the same breath, or even Onslaught and Overkill...

KREATOR - Flag of Hate e.p. (1986)

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Not an album granted, but this is so completely awesome I have to review it anyway. This came out just after the 'Pleasure to Kill' album (and indeed the CD of 'PTK' included these tracks as a bonus) and captured the band at the perfect point where they were making the transition from the brutality of 'PTK' to the cleaner sound of 'Terrible Certainty'. Three tracks, the first a remake of the live favourite 'Flag of Hate' (originally from the 'Endless Pain' debut album) and two new songs 'Take Their Lives' and the crushing 'Awakening of the Gods'. This e.p. is essential, if only for the last track, because 'Awakening of the Gods' is probably the greatest Kreator song of all time and should definitely have been included on a proper album. Fools.

KREATOR - Pleasure to Kill (1986)

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Alongside 'Reign in Blood', 'Master of Puppets', 'Darkness Descends' and a few others, this album was one of 1986's most imposing releases. Brutal Thrash that pummeled you into submission, with some epic chugging parts to make you bang your head, this was just the German Thrash album of the decade, with only Destruction's 'Infernal Overkill' giving it any sort of run for it's money. Buy or F.O.A.D.

NUCLEAR ASSAULT - Game Over (1986)

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1986 was a hell of a year wasn't it? Truth be told, this is the only Nuclear Assault album I ever really took to. I'm sure most would cite 'Survive' as the best album but for me this is hands down the winner. 'Stranded in Hell', 'Brain Death', 'Hang the Pope', 'Live Suffer Die', this album is crammed with minor gems, but even so me and Nuclear Assault never really hit it off somehow.

SLAYER - Reign in Blood (1986)

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This album has been talked about so much over the years, but the sad fact is that someone coming to it today cannot comprehend the jaw-droppingness of this in 1986. Who would have dared imagine that Slayer could step up so far from such an awesome album as Hell Awaits in the space of a single year? Of course the production was the real killer, where Hell Awaits was dingy and dank, Reign in Blood set new standards for Thrash recording and partly because of that, this is still the only album that has ever literally made my jaw drop. A masterpiece which has weighed heavily on the bands shoulders ever since, truth be told.

KING DIAMOND - Fatal Portrait (1986)

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For me, the best of King Diamond's solo career (perhaps tying with 1989's 'Conspiracy'), which sees most of the old Mercyful Fate line-up intact and with a better contract in the pocket. Noticeably different from the 'Don't Break the Oath' album this sees the band plying their wares in a much more 'Hammer Horror' style than previously, and the 5 song concept piece set the scene for much of King's solo career.

EXUMER - Possessed by Fire (1986)

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I don't quite know where this idea that Exumer sound American came from, but it's plainly bollocks. Exumer are German, they sound German, they sound a lot like Kreator as a matter of fact, and this is a cracking album, particularly 'Destructive Solutions'.

VINNIE VINCENT INVASION - Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)

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I so want to give this album a 5, but in all seriousness I can't bring myself to do it. A mad, mad album where Vinnie Vincent lets out all the frustration of being reigned in by Gene and Paul during his Kiss years and widdles himself half to death. Ridiculous and gloriously without taste, this is the greatest Glam Metal album of all time bar none!

QUEENSRYCHE - Rage for Order (1986)

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An excellent album which confused the hell out of people at the time of release. Queensryche's huge futuristic leap and (drastic) image change nearly saw them perish before they hit the big time. Thankfully disaster was averted, but in no way should this reflect on this great album. Next time out Queensryche really found their niche.

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)

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Despite the rather, um, shite album cover, this is a stonking Speed/Thrash Metal album. Awarded 6K's by Kerrang on release, this can't hope to live up to the hype, but it is a quality album nonetheless. The CD remaster gives the production some much needed beefing up and this remains Flotsam's finest hour.

IRON ANGEL - Hellish Crossfire (1986)

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More Speed than Thrash, this remains a classic of the genre. Admittedly it doesn't stand up as well as some to the ravages of time, but it's still more than worth a listen.