On their 1984 debut album, Venice, California’s Suicidal Tendencies were already more metallic than their hardcore punk peers. By the time they made this, their third album and major label debut, they were full-on thrash, mostly thanks to the guitar team of Mike Clark and Rocky George (one of the few Black lead guitarists in ’80s metal). Frontman Mike Muir’s lyrics were more introspective than those of his peers, eschewing the apocalyptic fantasies of Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer and opting instead to dive deep into angst and self-doubt. The title track is one of the most despairing and emotionally vulnerable songs in metal history, and “Hearing Voices,” “Trip at the Brain,” “The Feeling’s Back” and “If I Don’t Wake Up” travel the same dark pathways. But he’s got a sense of humor (“I never said I don’t like religion, I just don’t like TV”), and the music is fast and furious, pure moshpit fuel.

– Phil Freeman