 | Blog author: Alex Stojanovic The debut album is always a very important step in a band's career because it's your major introduction to the world and it lays the foundation. Bands always say that you have your whole life and career to write your first album, so that's why many debuts contain magic. It showcases the band at their hungriest, but there have also been many debuts that don't match up to the later work of certain bands. |
Down below, I will share with you my top 10 favourite debut albums ever. Let's not waste anymore time and just get into it.
10. EXODUS - Bonded By Blood
In all honesty, you cannot have a discussion about metal debut albums without mentioning Exodus' Bonded By Blood. Packed with pit-starting ragers like "Bonded By Blood", "A Lesson In Violence", "Strike Of The Beast", "Piranha", "And Then There Were None" and "Metal Command", as well as razor sharp Gary Holt riffs, it's no wonder why this album is one of the best thrash albums of all time. You will never see an Exodus show where they don't play "Bonded By Blood". In all honesty, I wasn't too big on Paul Baloff's vocals, except for "Strike Of The Beast". To this day, Bonded By Blood remains not only a landmark debut album or landmark thrash album, but a landmark metal album.
In all honesty, you cannot have a discussion about metal debut albums without mentioning Exodus' Bonded By Blood. Packed with pit-starting ragers like "Bonded By Blood", "A Lesson In Violence", "Strike Of The Beast", "Piranha", "And Then There Were None" and "Metal Command", as well as razor sharp Gary Holt riffs, it's no wonder why this album is one of the best thrash albums of all time. You will never see an Exodus show where they don't play "Bonded By Blood". In all honesty, I wasn't too big on Paul Baloff's vocals, except for "Strike Of The Beast". To this day, Bonded By Blood remains not only a landmark debut album or landmark thrash album, but a landmark metal album.
09. MEGADETH - Killing Is My Business
Right after his expulsion from Metallica, Dave Mustaine was out for blood, and it shows on Megadeth's debut album Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good that he was not screwing around. Even though the production is a little muddy, tracks like "Last Rites/Loved To Deth", "Rattlehead", "Skull Beneath The Skin" and "Mechanix" all support the album's status as one of the best thrash albums of all time. The band was given $12,000 by the label to record the album, but they spent half of the budget on food, alcohol and drugs. This forced the group to fire their producer and self-produce the album. The only song from the album that would still make the odd appearance in the setlist would be "Rattlehead", but they recently put "Mechanix" back into the setlist for the first time in a while.
Right after his expulsion from Metallica, Dave Mustaine was out for blood, and it shows on Megadeth's debut album Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good that he was not screwing around. Even though the production is a little muddy, tracks like "Last Rites/Loved To Deth", "Rattlehead", "Skull Beneath The Skin" and "Mechanix" all support the album's status as one of the best thrash albums of all time. The band was given $12,000 by the label to record the album, but they spent half of the budget on food, alcohol and drugs. This forced the group to fire their producer and self-produce the album. The only song from the album that would still make the odd appearance in the setlist would be "Rattlehead", but they recently put "Mechanix" back into the setlist for the first time in a while.
08. VAN HALEN - Van Halen
To this day, there's honestly no other debut album that has had more of an impact, especially on guitar playing, than the first Van Halen album. Eddie Van Halen brought guitar playing to another level with his riffs, solos and technique. I can only imagine what it must've been like back in 1978 when this album first came out and hearing "Eruption" for the first time, and having your mind blown by what you just heard. There's so many young kids even today learning it on guitars. This album turned 40 years old this year, and it's still one of the most celebrated albums in rock history. You still hear songs like "Runnin' With The Devil", "You Really Got Me", "I'm The One", "Jamie's Cryin'", "Feel Your Love Tonight" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" on the radio and will continue to do so for years to come.
To this day, there's honestly no other debut album that has had more of an impact, especially on guitar playing, than the first Van Halen album. Eddie Van Halen brought guitar playing to another level with his riffs, solos and technique. I can only imagine what it must've been like back in 1978 when this album first came out and hearing "Eruption" for the first time, and having your mind blown by what you just heard. There's so many young kids even today learning it on guitars. This album turned 40 years old this year, and it's still one of the most celebrated albums in rock history. You still hear songs like "Runnin' With The Devil", "You Really Got Me", "I'm The One", "Jamie's Cryin'", "Feel Your Love Tonight" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" on the radio and will continue to do so for years to come.
07. ALICE IN CHAINS - Facelift
When Alice In Chains appeared on the scene with their landmark debut album Facelift, it was around the time that the grunge scene was starting. Songs like "We Die Young", "Man In The Box", "It Ain't Like That", "Bleed The Freak" and "Sea Of Sorrow" all help solidify Facelift's status as not only one of the best debut albums in hard rock and metal, but one of the best albums in hard rock/metal history, period. Nobody harmonized like Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley. To this day, grunge is looked at by many people as the "killer" of metal. Nirvana may have blown the doors open for the grunge scene, but Alice In Chains was the most metal out of all the grunge bands, and it shows on both Facelift and Dirt. I would also throw Soundgarden in that mix as well. We all know about the story of when Alice In Chains opened the Clash Of The Titans tour in 1991 with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, and the reception they got with jugs and cups of piss and beer being pelted at them every night, but when "Man In The Box" broke on the radio, all those detractors went out and bought Facelift. Nowadays, if Alice In Chains were to play Wacken Open Air, they would easily be accepted, but I digress.
When Alice In Chains appeared on the scene with their landmark debut album Facelift, it was around the time that the grunge scene was starting. Songs like "We Die Young", "Man In The Box", "It Ain't Like That", "Bleed The Freak" and "Sea Of Sorrow" all help solidify Facelift's status as not only one of the best debut albums in hard rock and metal, but one of the best albums in hard rock/metal history, period. Nobody harmonized like Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley. To this day, grunge is looked at by many people as the "killer" of metal. Nirvana may have blown the doors open for the grunge scene, but Alice In Chains was the most metal out of all the grunge bands, and it shows on both Facelift and Dirt. I would also throw Soundgarden in that mix as well. We all know about the story of when Alice In Chains opened the Clash Of The Titans tour in 1991 with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, and the reception they got with jugs and cups of piss and beer being pelted at them every night, but when "Man In The Box" broke on the radio, all those detractors went out and bought Facelift. Nowadays, if Alice In Chains were to play Wacken Open Air, they would easily be accepted, but I digress.
06. SAVAGE MESSIAH - Insurrection Rising
There's no way I'm going to do a list of my favourite debut albums and not feature the awesome debut from my boys in Savage Messiah. Insurrection Rising is a straightforward thrash album with gigantic riffs smashing you in the face and monstrous grooves pounding you into dust, but at the same time, there's an abundance of melody. The Megadeth and Testament influences shine brightly throughout, especially on tracks like "Insurrection Rising", "In Absence Of Liberty", "Enemy Image (Dehumanization)", "Vigil Of The Navigator", "Silent Empire" and "He Who Laughs Last". The vocal delivery is pretty similar to Chuck Billy's, but the vocals themselves are more melodic. Speaking of Testament, the intro riff to "Insurrection Rising" sounds kind of similar to Testament's "D.N.R.".
There's no way I'm going to do a list of my favourite debut albums and not feature the awesome debut from my boys in Savage Messiah. Insurrection Rising is a straightforward thrash album with gigantic riffs smashing you in the face and monstrous grooves pounding you into dust, but at the same time, there's an abundance of melody. The Megadeth and Testament influences shine brightly throughout, especially on tracks like "Insurrection Rising", "In Absence Of Liberty", "Enemy Image (Dehumanization)", "Vigil Of The Navigator", "Silent Empire" and "He Who Laughs Last". The vocal delivery is pretty similar to Chuck Billy's, but the vocals themselves are more melodic. Speaking of Testament, the intro riff to "Insurrection Rising" sounds kind of similar to Testament's "D.N.R.".
05. RUSH - Rush
When Rush released their classic debut album, it picked up steam real quick. It painted the band as just a straightforward rock band or a Canadian version of Led Zeppelin before they became more widely known as a progressive band with the later albums. "Finding My Way", "Need Some Love", "What You're Doing", "In The Mood", "Here Again" and of course "Working Man" are all classic tunes. An interesting story with this album is that the late John Rutsey was the band's lyricist at the time. When the band was due to record the vocals for the record, they were waiting for John to finish the lyrics, but he turned out to be unhappy with them and he ripped them up. Due to the time and money limits the band were facing, Geddy was assigned to write lyrics. Over the course of two days during the recording process, Geddy pretty much wrote the lyrics as he was singing them. Interesting, eh?
When Rush released their classic debut album, it picked up steam real quick. It painted the band as just a straightforward rock band or a Canadian version of Led Zeppelin before they became more widely known as a progressive band with the later albums. "Finding My Way", "Need Some Love", "What You're Doing", "In The Mood", "Here Again" and of course "Working Man" are all classic tunes. An interesting story with this album is that the late John Rutsey was the band's lyricist at the time. When the band was due to record the vocals for the record, they were waiting for John to finish the lyrics, but he turned out to be unhappy with them and he ripped them up. Due to the time and money limits the band were facing, Geddy was assigned to write lyrics. Over the course of two days during the recording process, Geddy pretty much wrote the lyrics as he was singing them. Interesting, eh?
04. DIO - Holy Diver
After Black Sabbath released Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules, and Ronnie James Dio left, many fans were nervous with what direction he would be taking with his solo career, but he came out with one of the most celebrated and most legendary metal albums of all time with Holy Diver. The album gave birth to two of Dio's most iconic anthems, which are "Rainbow In The Dark" and "Holy Diver", but then you got songs like "Stand Up & Shout", "Don't Talk To Strangers", "Caught In The Middle" and "Straight Through The Heart". This album would also be the first full-length album Vivian Campbell recorded. Ronnie James Dio can do no wrong, but while all the albums from the Dio band are amazing in their own way, I don't think any of them can compare to Holy Diver.
After Black Sabbath released Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules, and Ronnie James Dio left, many fans were nervous with what direction he would be taking with his solo career, but he came out with one of the most celebrated and most legendary metal albums of all time with Holy Diver. The album gave birth to two of Dio's most iconic anthems, which are "Rainbow In The Dark" and "Holy Diver", but then you got songs like "Stand Up & Shout", "Don't Talk To Strangers", "Caught In The Middle" and "Straight Through The Heart". This album would also be the first full-length album Vivian Campbell recorded. Ronnie James Dio can do no wrong, but while all the albums from the Dio band are amazing in their own way, I don't think any of them can compare to Holy Diver.
03. EVILE - Enter The Grave
"BOW DOWN TO THE THRASHER!" I'm pretty sure any band that had the opportunity to record an album at Sweet Silence Studios with Flemming Rasmussen, the same studio and producer that produced Ride The Lightning, And Justice For All and Master Of Puppets is a huge honour. In 2007, Evile got that huge honour when they signed to Earache Records to release their debut album: Enter The Grave. The album captures that old-school thrash spirit with adrenaline-inducing riffs and solos from brothers Matt and Ol Drake, and lyrics about death and war. Many of the lyrics were inspired by classic action and horror films. "First Blood" was inspired by the Rambo film of the same name, "Killer From The Deep" was inspired by Jaws and "We Who Are About To Die" was inspired by Gladiator. The album also got the band's its first few tours with support slots for Sanctity, Megadeth and 3 Inches Of Blood.
"BOW DOWN TO THE THRASHER!" I'm pretty sure any band that had the opportunity to record an album at Sweet Silence Studios with Flemming Rasmussen, the same studio and producer that produced Ride The Lightning, And Justice For All and Master Of Puppets is a huge honour. In 2007, Evile got that huge honour when they signed to Earache Records to release their debut album: Enter The Grave. The album captures that old-school thrash spirit with adrenaline-inducing riffs and solos from brothers Matt and Ol Drake, and lyrics about death and war. Many of the lyrics were inspired by classic action and horror films. "First Blood" was inspired by the Rambo film of the same name, "Killer From The Deep" was inspired by Jaws and "We Who Are About To Die" was inspired by Gladiator. The album also got the band's its first few tours with support slots for Sanctity, Megadeth and 3 Inches Of Blood.
02. TESTAMENT - The Legacy
For me, a debut album list would be incomplete without including Testament's classic debut The Legacy. I've already featured this album in a few of lists I've done of my favourite albums, so I've run out of great things to say about it. If you've read any of my lists from the past where I talk about this album, you already know how I feel about it. It would not only serve as the introduction of Testament as a whole, but the introduction of one of the best thrash vocalists with Chuck Billy, and one of the best guitar duos ever with Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick. The album also gave birth to one of the band's signature songs, which is "Over The Wall", but also other memorable tracks like "The Haunting", "Burnt Offerings", "Raging Waters", "Alone In The Dark" and "Apocalyptic City".
For me, a debut album list would be incomplete without including Testament's classic debut The Legacy. I've already featured this album in a few of lists I've done of my favourite albums, so I've run out of great things to say about it. If you've read any of my lists from the past where I talk about this album, you already know how I feel about it. It would not only serve as the introduction of Testament as a whole, but the introduction of one of the best thrash vocalists with Chuck Billy, and one of the best guitar duos ever with Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick. The album also gave birth to one of the band's signature songs, which is "Over The Wall", but also other memorable tracks like "The Haunting", "Burnt Offerings", "Raging Waters", "Alone In The Dark" and "Apocalyptic City".
01. METALLICA - Kill 'Em All
Although Exodus was the first true thrash band, it was Metallica's Kill 'Em All that really set things in motion for the thrash scene back in the early 80s, and because of that, it earns the title as the first proper thrash album. As I mentioned before, when I was 12 years old, first getting into Metallica and metal in general, when I first heard Kill 'Em All, I was like "You gotta be kidding me, I never heard anything like this." I loved what I heard, but it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did, it was like rocket fuel. Kill 'Em All is up there with Holy Diver, the first Iron Maiden album, Appetite For Destruction, Blizzard Of Ozz and the first Van Halen album as one of the most celebrated debut albums in rock/metal history, especially with tracks like "Hit The Lights", "The Four Horsemen", "Motorbreath", "Jump In The Fire", "Phantom Lord", "Metal Militia", "Whiplash" and of course "Seek & Destroy". On a more celebratory occasion, Kill 'Em All is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.
Although Exodus was the first true thrash band, it was Metallica's Kill 'Em All that really set things in motion for the thrash scene back in the early 80s, and because of that, it earns the title as the first proper thrash album. As I mentioned before, when I was 12 years old, first getting into Metallica and metal in general, when I first heard Kill 'Em All, I was like "You gotta be kidding me, I never heard anything like this." I loved what I heard, but it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did, it was like rocket fuel. Kill 'Em All is up there with Holy Diver, the first Iron Maiden album, Appetite For Destruction, Blizzard Of Ozz and the first Van Halen album as one of the most celebrated debut albums in rock/metal history, especially with tracks like "Hit The Lights", "The Four Horsemen", "Motorbreath", "Jump In The Fire", "Phantom Lord", "Metal Militia", "Whiplash" and of course "Seek & Destroy". On a more celebratory occasion, Kill 'Em All is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (No Order)
| Black Sabbath Black Sabbath  Death Angel The Ultra-Violence  | Death Scream Bloody Gore  Trivium Ember To Inferno  | Mercyful Fate Melissa  Iron Maiden Iron Maiden  |
This is another list where we could go on forever with so many albums. Just for giggles, I'll just throw in a few extra ones in this paragraph like Ozzy's Blizzard Of Ozz, Motley Crue's Too Fast For Love, Venom's Welcome To Hell, Morbid Angel's Altars Of Madness, King Diamond's Fatal Portrait, Obituary's Slowly We Rot, Possessed's Seven Churches, Annihilator's Alice In Hell and Slayer's Show No Mercy.
I know some of you are going "No Appetite For Destruction?". As I mentioned in my list of albums in 1987, I will never deny what Appetite For Destruction has done for rock and the impact it has had on music, but it's not one of my favourite records. If you don't see your favourite debut album on this list, you need to remember that these are albums that appealed to me, not to the world.
There you have it, folks! My top 10 favourite debut albums. I got a list of my favourite sophomore albums coming in the next couple of days, so keep your eyes out for that. What are your favourite debut albums?
I know some of you are going "No Appetite For Destruction?". As I mentioned in my list of albums in 1987, I will never deny what Appetite For Destruction has done for rock and the impact it has had on music, but it's not one of my favourite records. If you don't see your favourite debut album on this list, you need to remember that these are albums that appealed to me, not to the world.
There you have it, folks! My top 10 favourite debut albums. I got a list of my favourite sophomore albums coming in the next couple of days, so keep your eyes out for that. What are your favourite debut albums?
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