No one has bettered the ferocity, pace, and brutal power of this 28-minute 10-song set. Guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King fire out of the gate with the infamous "Angel of Death" and don't take a respite until the fifth cut, "Jesus Saves." And that breather lasts all of 30 seconds. Winding like a mutant Paganini piece, "Postmortem"'s hook is so inescapable that even metal neophytes will find it irresistible. Superbly sequenced and wonderfully executed, this favorite of producer Rick Rubin stands as the most extreme album in thrash-metal history. --Steffan Chirazi