The Class of 1989: No Big Four — No Problem
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"It was sort of the introduction to death metal… thrash was becoming more extreme…"
"No Big Four releases during 1989… it's like a buffet of metal."
"For those of you wondering… it still didn't touch '86."
"What is YOUR favorite album of 1989?"
About This Episode
1989 was the very first year EVER that The Recording Academy recognized hard rock and metal music with the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental. And other than the completely insulting slap in the face to Metallica — think Will Smith and Chris Rock, but even more childish, petty, and completely unnecessary — there were no other Big Four albums or happenings in 1989.
The Grammy sidebar: The way Metallica "lost" that Grammy… it's like they were literally "deleted from the mix" of nominees. Not unlike a certain bass player from a certain mix on a certain album. Moving on…
As we are all aware, metal — especially thrash — is far more than just the Big Four. And 1989 was actually quite an excellent year. As thrash was nearing the zenith of its popularity, Wrathchild America's debut album Climbin' the Walls hit the shelves, Exodus, Testament, and Sepultura each released legendary third albums, and Nuclear Assault released arguably one of the most revolutionary lyric videos in the history of music for "Critical Mass" — featuring a one-eyed smiley face saying "Follow me!" and a required nasty bit courtesy of Jessica Hahn.
Fire up the time machine. Welcome to THE CLASS OF 1989 — live from the Bunkerpoon Metal Center for Excellence. 🤘
The Albums — Class of 1989
Fabulous Disaster (1989)
🎧 Played: "Fabulous Disaster"
Exodus's third album and the first with vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza fully established — a thrash monster. Zetro described as having "Udo, Brian Johnson, and a little bit of Bon all slammed together." Kirk Hammett leaving may have been the best thing to ever happen to Exodus — the band built something that stands on its own.
"That's why thrash metal is the Olympics of music…"
Testament
Practice What You Preach (1989)
🎧 Played: "Envy Life"
The strongest case for Testament as the Fifth member of the Big Four starts here. "Envy Life" is where Chuck Billy does the death metal vocal growl for the first time — heavy, creepy, and a glimpse of where things were heading. Listen to this and then listen to their 2026 album — a completely different band.
"Get ready for the heavy harmonies…"
Blessing in Disguise (1989)
🎧 Played: "Badlands"
The Mike Howe era begins. "They don't have any problem picking excellent singers" — and Badlands is proof. A perfect ten dismount. #MCTentacleChoice and #notenoughriffs. For more Metal Church on Metal Nerdery, check out our full Metal Church episode and our review of the 2026 album Dead to Rights.
"That's a dismount right there… stuck the landing… ten out of ten…"
Obituary
Slowly We Rot (1989)
🎧 Played: "Slowly We Rot"
Florida death metal at its most primal. John Tardy's vocals on this debut were unlike anything anyone had heard — not quite Death, but definitely death-y. If Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness was death metal for the coven, Slowly We Rot was death metal for the cemetery.
"It's like a more death-y sounding Death…"
Sepultura
Beneath the Remains (1989)
🎧 Played: "Beneath the Remains"
Back in the day, many considered this to be "the next Master of Puppets" in terms of thrash greatness. Max Cavalera said they had "really found their style" — and it shows. Metal Nerdery actually did a dedicated episode for Beneath the Remains way back with the Mighty Mixon. A full-on thrash clinic from Brazil.
"I almost thought you said 'a little bit of diarrhea'…"
Blood Feast
Chopping Block Blues (1989)
🎧 Played: "Chopping Block Blues"
The deep cut of the episode. Blood Feast were a New Jersey thrash act whose rehearsals were apparently a complete bitch — and the music sounds like it. Raw, aggressive, and one of the more obscure picks in a Class of 1989 full of underground gold. #thrashy
"Look at all the #cokelines…" / "I'll bet their rehearsals were a bitch…"
Overkill
The Years of Decay (1989)
🎧 Played: "Time to Kill"
New Jersey thrash closing out the 80s with one of their finest albums. "Time to Kill" prompted one of the episode's most reflective moments — "that little dash between your birth year and the year you die… that's all your time to kill." Overkill criminally underrated in the Big Four shadow.
"That's all your time to kill… that little dash in there…"
Nuclear Assault
Handle with Care (1989)
🎧 Played: "Critical Mass"
Nuclear Assault released arguably the first and best lyric video in the history of music for this track — a one-eyed smiley face saying "Follow me!" with a Required Nasty Bit courtesy of Jessica Hahn. New York crossover thrash at its most direct. They always had the best shirts.
"OH listen to that! It's just dirty…" / "That's cool… that's metal."
Kreator
Extreme Aggression (1989)
🎧 Played: "Extreme Aggression"
Teutonic thrash at peak intensity. Look at that album cover — Mille Petrozza and company radiating literal hatred off their heads. Germany's Big Three (with Sodom and Destruction) at their commercial and creative peak. Pure aggression, beautifully packaged.
"Radiating hatred off of their heads…"
Conspiracy (1989)
🎧 Played: "Sleepless Nights"
The sequel to Them — King Diamond's concept album universe continuing in 1989. "Sleepless Nights" sounded so much like Zakk Wylde that someone asked if it was an Ozzy song. #ThemPartTwo. The King's falsetto remains completely otherworldly. We are not worthy.
"That sounds like Zakk Wylde… is this an Ozzy song?"
Ministry
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989)
🎧 Played: "So What"
Industrial metal ground zero. Ministry smashed industrial music into thrash in a way nobody had done before — and in doing so predicted where metal was going in the 90s before anyone else could see it. #IndustrialMetal. Al Jourgensen making something genuinely new and genuinely dangerous in 1989.
Headless Cross (1989)
🎧 Played: "When Death Calls"
The Tony Martin era — and if you weren't sure about it going in, "When Death Calls" might change your mind. The intro sounds remarkably similar to "Planet Caravan." Cozy Powell on drums. A full-on doom/heavy metal record that deserves more respect than it gets. "It's like Dio Sabbath kinda… in a way…"
"See? The Tony Martin era didn't hurt you…"
Also mentioned — W.A.S.P. — The Headless Children (March 21, 1989, Capitol Records): "Mean Man" got a spin and sparked the observation that the album cover looks kinda like Reign in Blood. Also prompted the eternal philosophical question: "Wouldn't it be weird if you put on KISS makeup to be able to go out in public and be yourself?"
The Big Debates
🏆 Was 1989 the most important year in extreme metal history?
No Big Four releases meant the underground had room to breathe. Obituary, Sepultura, Exodus, Testament, Kreator, and Nuclear Assault all delivered defining albums in the same calendar year. Death metal was becoming its own genre. Thrash was hitting its ceiling. Is 1989 the year the baton was passed — and nobody noticed at the time?
🎴 The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance — was 1989's winner the right choice?
The very first year the Recording Academy recognized metal — and they immediately got it wrong by snubbing Metallica in a way that remains one of the most talked-about moments in Grammy history. Does the Grammy even matter for metal credibility? Or did the snub actually help Metallica's image with fans?
🎸 Should Testament be the Fifth member of the Big Four?
Practice What You Preach is as good as anything the actual Big Four released in 1989 — which is nothing. Dark Angel, Overkill, and Exodus all have claims too. But Testament's 1989 run is the one that keeps coming up. Where do you land?
📅 1989 vs 1986 — which year was better for metal?
The Class of 1989 verdict on this one was unambiguous: "For those of you wondering… it still didn't touch '86." Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, and Peace Sells set a bar that 1989 — despite its many genuine classics — couldn't clear. Do you agree? Or is the underground richness of 1989 undervalued compared to the three-album blockbuster of 1986?
- Episode: Metal Nerdery #359
- Big Four albums released in 1989: Zero
- Grammy milestone: First ever Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance — 1989
- Albums played: 12 — Exodus, Testament, W.A.S.P., Metal Church, Obituary, Sepultura, Blood Feast, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Kreator, King Diamond, Ministry, Black Sabbath
- Episode verdict vs 1986: "It still didn't touch '86."
- Deep cut award: Blood Feast — Chopping Block Blues
- Philosophical moment: "That little dash… that's all your time to kill…" — Overkill, "Time to Kill"
- Tony Martin era verdict: "See? It didn't hurt you…"