1986: The Greatest Year in Metal
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The Class of 1986: Magnum Cum Loudly
"Everything that was good came out that year…"
"Oh man, it's like I'm 14 again…"
"They get the Magnum Cum Loudly for 1986."
Metal Nerdery Podcast Presents
THE CLASS OF 1986
40th Anniversary Reunion — Graduating Magnum Cum Loudly
About This Episode
When you think about 1986, it's almost hard to fathom that we are 40 years away from it. Four decades away from perhaps THE biggest year in metal — and we're not just saying that because we were still young and impressionable, but because it was quite literally THAT epic of a year.
March, September, and October of 1986 gave us Master of Puppets, Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?, and Reign In Blood — and that's only three albums of thrash greatness. There was also the now-classic documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot, showing a bunch of young metalheads pre-gaming for a Judas Priest show. And of course Crossroads — the favourite guitar movie of every young fledgling woodshedding shredder who became obsessed with mastering Eugene's bag of tricks to conquer the dark fretboard sorcery of one Jack Butler. "It's basically Karate Kid… but guitars."
We did do a 1986 episode about five years ago — but we were a different podcast then. This is the 40th Class Reunion. Everything that was good came out that year. Now, over 14,000 days later, 1986 is still being celebrated as one of the biggest landmark years in all of metal. Especially on this podcast.
The Big Three — The Graduating Class That Defined Thrash Forever
March 3, 1986 — tuned down to D standard
Library of Congress. 8× Platinum with zero radio airplay. The greatest thrash metal album ever recorded. And the album Cliff Burton was touring for when he died six months after its release.
Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?
September 19, 1986
"There's something about that record that's darker…" The MTV News bassline heard by millions who didn't know they were listening to thrash. The political metal anthem to end all political metal anthems.
October 7, 1986
29 minutes. 10 tracks. Rick Rubin. No filler. "They get the Magnum Cum Loudly for 1986." The unanimous Class of '86 Valedictorian. "Let it wash over you…"
Be sure to check out our 1986 Head-to-Head Death Match — Reign in Blood vs Master of Puppets. Two all-timers. One winner. The ultimate thrash debate.
The Full Class of '86 Setlist — From Opening Acts to Headliners
Here's every track played on the episode in order — from the opening acts all the way to the headliners who took the stage and never gave it back.
Pre-Show Highlights
Aussie Dave called in — with a thorough grammatical analysis of a particular Australian word and its surprisingly versatile usage. "G'day, cunts…" Geoff — apparently a long-time listener from the beginning — also checked in from Australasia.
Alien Weaponry — a taste of Te Ra (2025), track "Mau Moko." "Are they singing in English?" New Zealand Māori metal representing in the pre-show.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning — discussed at length. Along with "saddling" as a potential new life skill. The Metal Nerdery pre-show never disappoints.
The Big Debates
🏆 Was 1986 the single greatest year in metal history?
Master of Puppets. Reign in Blood. Peace Sells. Somewhere in Time. The Dark. Pleasure to Kill. Fatal Portrait. Orgasmatron. That is not a year — that is a miracle. Over 14,000 days later, nothing has come close to what 1986 delivered in a single calendar year.
🥊 Reign in Blood vs Master of Puppets — who gets the Magnum Cum Loudly?
The Class of '86's ultimate debate. Reign in Blood wins the Magnum Cum Loudly on this episode. But is 29 minutes of perfection really better than 54 minutes of perfection? Check out the Head-to-Head Death Match episode for the full breakdown.
🎸 Peace Sells — the most underrated of the Big Three from 1986?
"There's something about that record that's darker…" Master of Puppets gets the Library of Congress. Reign in Blood gets the Magnum Cum Loudly. Does Peace Sells get enough credit for being equally essential — and arguably the most politically relevant of the three in 2026?
🤔 Iron Maiden's Somewhere in Time — criminally underrated in the 1986 conversation?
"It hits you in the ball feels." In any other year, Somewhere in Time would be the year's defining album. In 1986, it gets overshadowed by three thrash masterpieces. Is that fair — or is the Class of '86 just that stacked?
🎬 Heavy Metal Parking Lot vs Crossroads — which 1986 film matters more to metal history?
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a genuine cultural document — metalheads in their natural habitat before a Judas Priest show. Crossroads is the guitar movie that sent a generation of young players down the rabbit hole. Which one had more impact on who metal fans became?
- Episode: Metal Nerdery #350 — published May 7, 2026
- The occasion: 40th anniversary of 1986 — over 14,000 days later
- Magnum Cum Loudly winner: Slayer — Reign in Blood
- Songs played: 14 tracks spanning the full Class of '86
- Headliners: Slayer (Jesus Saves + Epidemic) and Metallica (The Thing That Should Not Be + Damage Inc.)
- Best quote: "Oh man, it's like I'm 14 again…"
- Crossroads summary: "It's basically Karate Kid… but guitars."
- Master of Puppets tuning: D standard — now you know
- Stripper name of the episode: Juicebox 🤘
Related Metal Nerdery Episodes
Get ready to find out which movie is “basically Karate Kid…but guitars”, prepare for a grammar lesson from Down Under regarding the proper usage of one of their most popular words, discover the transformative power of “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”, find out how “saddling” might be just the thing to spice up your bedroom game, and then JOIN US as we welcome “Juicebox” to the mainstage while we celebrate those who graduated MAGNUM CUM LOUDLY from THE CLASS OF 1986!!!
Show Notes:
(00:01): “Step away for a second and we’re talking about shaving our balls…”/ “That’s the noise it makes…”/ Impossible Baby Maker Legend / “It reminds me of the old Crone story…”/ ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “This clinky, sponsored by, Evil Bean, coffee liqueur…”/ “The world’s largest micropenis…”/ “Somebody’s got the title of the world’s smallest macropenis…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!***/ “The Hog Story is hard to beat…”
(05:27): ***PATREON US at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** /
***SOCIAL MEDIA US ON #YouTube #Facebook #Instagram and #TikTok & EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com & VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** / “G’day, cunts…”/ Aussie Dave’s grammatical analysis of the word ‘cunt’ / “Geoff is apparently a long time listener ‘from the beginning’…”/ “Let’s just say he’s from Australasia…”/ “Let me go kill the dog…”/ “I’m starting to run out of gas doing hand solos…I need a lady…”/ #AlienWeaponry (Te Ra – 2025) MAU MOKO / “Are they singing in English?” / “Speaking of Swedish…”/ #Waipu / #TheGentleArtOfSwedishDeathCleaning
(17:13): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: THE CLASS OF ’86 / “Wait, don’t paint THAT picture…”/ “Everything that was good came out that year…”/ “We did do a 1986 episode about 5 years ago…but we were a different podcast then…this is the 40th class reunion of 1986…”/ The Top Rock Radio songs of 1986 / “Big bands…big logs…”/ “That’s Dave wearing tribal face…”/#DavidLeeRoth YANKEE ROSE (Eat ‘Em and Smile – 1986) / “Remember that movie Crossroads?”/ #EugenesBagOfTricks / “I was trying to learn how to finger correctly…”/ “It’s basically Karate Kid…but guitars.”/ “Don’t you think Get Up is bordering on thrash?”/ #VanHalen GET UP (5150 – 1986) / “It’s more CFH than thrash…”
(28:38): “What do you think was the favorite…and the deep cut?” / “It’s the one I don’t like the most…”/ #IronMaiden WASTED YEARS (Somewhere In Time – 1986) / “It hits you in the ball feels…”/ NOTE: Patronizing = condescending / “It’s not a greatest hits…it’s a soundtrack…”/ #MaximumOverdrive / #ACDC WHO MADE WHO (Who Made Who – 1986)/ #ColumbiaHouse / “Speaking of ’86, y’all know David Allan Coe passed the other day, at 86…”/ #DavidAllanCoe #RIP #RebelMeetsRebel
(37:40): “Don’t let the cokelines fool you…”/ #MetalChurch PSYCHO (The Dark – 1986) / “They always had THE best logo…”/ #KingDiamond THE CANDLE (Fatal Portrait – 1986) /
“That’s the only one that’s not really a concept album…”/ “How about some stuff we don’t listen to a lot…”/ #CroMags WE GOTTA KNOW (The Age of Quarrel – 1986) / #NYHC
(47:47): “Let’s listen to some Whiplash…not the song…the band”/ #Whiplash POWER THRASHING DEATH (Power and Pain – 1986) / “Sounds like Rigor Mortis…”/ “I thought of a new sexual position the other night…saddling…the saddle horn…”/ #TheAccused MARTHA SPLATTERHEAD (The Return of Martha Splatterhead – 1986) / “Since you’re in the YouTube space…”/ #Motorhead MEAN MACHINE (Orgasmatron – 1986) / “We know what the headliners are…”/ “Is that short for Blowjob Hussein or Anal Hussein? Buttfuck Hussein?” / “Everything is fucking ragebait…”/ “Shitcunt Hussein and the Whittlers…”
(58:03): #Sodom VOLCANIC SLUT (Obsessed by Cruelty – 1986) / “Let’s get to the main event…”/ #Megadeth THE CONJURING (Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? – 1986) /
“There’s something about that record that’s darker…”/ “Before we hit the main stage…”/
“If you were gonna be a stripper…what would your stage name be?” / #Juicebox /
#Kreator RIPPING CORPSE (Pleasure To Kill – 1986) / “I will say…I’ve missed Millie…”/
“We’re closing in on the headliners…”
(1:06:36): #Slayer JESUS SAVES (Reign In Blood – 1986) / “Let it wash over you…”/ “C’mon, one more…”/ “You know, we haven’t done the Psychic Slayer of the Episode in a minute…”/
EPIDEMIC / “The ultimate COVID soundtrack song…”/ “Coronavirus, Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID…they had to rebrand it a few times…”/ “They get the Magnum Cum Loudly for 1986…” / ***Be sure to check out our 1986 Head-to-Head Death Match*** / #Metallica THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE (Master of Puppets – 1986) / “Oh man, it’s like I’m 14 again…wish I had that 14-year-old boner…”/ “That’s got to be a button…”/
NOTE: It’s tuned down to D standard / “That’s where I was going…”/ DAMAGE INC. / “Once you’ve done that…you can’t do it again…you’ve gotta move on…”/ “It’s like a reverse mohawk…”/ “Did you see the bangs on that dude?”/ “We are so stupid…I love it…”/ “Honorable Mentions…”/ “We’ve got episodes for all this stuff…”/ “What was your favorite album out of this list?” / #markthetime / #MagnumCumLoudly / “The Billboard Top 100 for ’86…”/ “You know what my new move is?”/ #thememusic #walkonmusic /THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext / Class of 1986 – Magnum Cum Loudly / #outroreel