Well put. I would probably argue Rust in Peace is Megadeth’s most famous album, but I’m slightly biased there.
Great interview with Dave Mustaine here
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I mentioned Countdown to Extinction because Symphony of Destruction was played in an endless loop on MTV and the radio. It was their breakthrough song and signature song.
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I sort of stopped listening to thrash after Rust in Peace - it seemed a high point at the time and I started to venture in to heavier types of music. I returned to thrash a couple of years ago but I’m still a little stuck listening to pre 90 thrash.
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Basically, because they don’t care or aren’t interested, all they see is noise, which is unfortunate because they are missing out on a lot. It also doesn’t help that most people only hear about the biggest performers like Slipknot and Foo Fighters. Thankfully, metal has its own media, which is why it survives; nonetheless, many people never hear it or move on, and the majority do not.
…Lol, see and I immediately thought of Peace Sells…. I’m also definitely biased. Mostly it’s because of the time frame I think. I had my first daughter in 1990 and pretty much immediately left the scene.I always loved music and still listened but wasn’t so completely immersed in music and the local scene the way I had been. So everything prior to 90’ has more of an attachment for me I guess. For example I was a big Maiden fan but the last album of theirs I had was PowerSlave ! Lol
Like you, I also got into heavier music …Death (the band), Carcass, Obituary, black metal, and the like.
Now all five kids are grown and on their own.(now with 5 grandkids and counting) Which is what spurred me to get back into music more and subsequently this hobby since I had an extra room to set up a music/theater room. I’ve discovered a lot of music I missed over the years since I had to get a haircut and get a real job.
The hair down to my ass is long gone ( it’s in my ears now) but I still love my metal !!
I’ll share this one because I’ve not seen them mentioned here at all or really anywhere and I really love this album. This isn’t technical stuff or that heavy really….Simple driving metal and I dig it
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well I wouldn’t argue too much against Peace Sells, great album.
My first thrash album was actually So Far So Good So What (and on cassette) so I’m really just one album in front of you and a grandfather to just 4 grandkids (at the moment).
Great shout for Bolt Thrower, they were a local band to me, I’m from Birmingham and they are from Coventry and back when I was 18 used to regularly tour the local pubs and if they weren’t in the local pubs they were probably in Games Workshop.
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What’s your all preferences for audio chains when it comes to rock/metal music? I find I set aside my super mid forward headphones with a focus on timbre (bs650 / 6XX) and reach for either my Aeolus with leather pads or Porta Pros. I also seem to favor solid state amp versus tubes for rock/metal, bit more extra slam in the double bass and snap in the snares and guitars.
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I also love rock/metal with midforward headphones. My goto’s are my Atticus and recently an Audio Technica WP900. Both have lots of slam that really drive the energy of the music. The Atticus is better for fatiguing tracks with it’s more subdued treble, whereas the WP900 is great for better quality stuff like Zeplin, Hendrix, etc. I usually listen to tubes even with metal, but the WP900 doesn’t like my tube amps much, so that’s a solid state only listen. Did I mention the WP900 slams? 
It’s even more visceral than the Atticus, though not nearly as natural sounding. The Porta Pro is always an option as well! Sometimes I just don’t want to deal with systems, tubes, etc, and just grab the Porta Pro and Dragonfly Red, and call it a day.
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My preferred headphone from my collection for rock/metal is the 2021 LCD-X. It has less going on in the upper mids/lower treble, so the guitars don’t have too much bite or sound overbearing. If the recording is rather dull to begin with, though, I boost 3.5K to 5K using Peace EQ, which brings that region back into line. Even with that region boosted, it’s still not as elevated as something like the HD 650 or the Harman Target; I prefer it that way, though (2-3dB less than the Harman Target at 3.5K is my jam).
My go-to IEM for metal right now is the Dunu SA6. It has a slight dip at 3K, which is again more pleasant sounding to me for distorted guitars.
Since my primary headphone is a planar, I’m a class A solid state man.
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My preference is to remove the headphones, lock the cat in an upstairs room, and crank the volume on my Rectilinear III’s. Prefer vinyl on the VPI Prime Scout. Amplification courtesy of my Wyred4Sound STI-1000. Neighbors be damned.
The Rec III is a 1972 vintage floor standing properly designed bass reflex speaker with adequate volume and a 12 inch woofer. My set was modified with an excellent soft dome tweeter. Mids are handled by 5 inch Phillips drivers. Someday I’ll replace them with speakers in the 5 figure range, but haven’t yet because these things still rock.
Allegaeon released Damnum last week - possibly their best album yet based on the handful of listens I’ve had. It’s melodic technical death, but not boring. These guys are truly talented.
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Great one. Listening to it now. I like the idea of some throwback suggestions. So much music…it’s easy to forget a lot of great stuff.
I’ll throw out another “Classic Listen” …
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Nice!!! Great stuff. Another band I’ve lost track of. Have this one in my library which I think is great too. I believe it’s their first release?
For whatever reason this made me think of “The Absence” and their album “Riders on the Plague”. Who I discovered have a newish release which I’ll have to check out this weekend.
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Going through some recommended songs for testing audio systems…
Nothing Else Matters (Live with the SFSO)
Incredible - especially if you have a headphone with great staging!
Damn, they have a metal band named “ISIS” (never knew)!
Isis was an ancient Egyptian god and the name predates recent politics.
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With all this cheery stuff happening in the world, I just had to listen to this today.
One of those few case where the remaster is at least as good as the original, not a drop of vitriol was mixed out.
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