Anthrax is the band that took New York City, stuffed it into a pair of ripped jeans, doused it in cheap beer and comic book ink, then threw the fucking thing headfirst into the mosh pit. While Metallica was off being self-important prophets of doom, Slayer was channeling the Book of Revelations through a Marshall stack, and Megadeth was busy turning paranoia and technical riffs into a nervous breakdown on vinyl, Anthrax had the audacity to inject fun into the apocalypse. These guys made thrash metal sound like a cross between a Saturday morning cartoon and a prison riot—and it worked like dynamite soaked in Red Bull. Here’s the top 3 slabs of madness from these kings of the pit.

3. Sound of White Noise (1993)

With John Bush replacing long time voice commander Joey Belladonna, Anthrax suddenly sounded like they’ve been mainlining adrenaline in a back alley with Alice in Chains. Sound of White Noise started a new chapter of the band as they beat down the flannel shirt and Doc Martin boot wearing door of the ‘90s with a fucking battering ram. “Only” hits like a cement truck, “Room for One More” makes you want to headbutt drywall, and “Hy Pro Glo” is a shotgun blast of groove-thrash brilliance. It’s a darker, nastier Anthrax that traded the comic books for razor blades and left the moshing hordes bleeding in the pit.

2. Spreading the Disease (1985)

This is where Anthrax went from promising dirtbags to full-blown thrash gods. Spreading the Disease is the moment the New York crew made is place in the big four of thrash by escaping the shadow Metallica and started to wreck the place. Belladonna’s soaring vocals crash against riffs that hit like a chainsaw swung by a lunatic while Scott Ian’s rhythm guitar slices through skulls with surgical fury. “Madhouse” is the anthem of every beer-soaked basement brawl, “Armed and Dangerous” is practically a warning label, and “A.I.R.” is a barnburner that kicks your teeth in before you can say “mosh.” This record is thrash with a sense of humor mixing equal parts sledgehammer and slapstick comedy resulting a combination that is still lethal as Hell.

1. Among the Living (1987)

This is the goddamn crown jewel of Anthrax. Among the Living is a thrash metal holy book, written in sweat, beer, and cheap ink stolen from a Judge Dredd comic. From the opening riff of the title track, it’s like being dropkicked into a pit of denim-clad psychos. Dan Spitz’s leads ignite riffs that could set fire to your soul, Frank Bello’s bass rumbles like an angry freight train through your sternum, and Charlie Benante’s drums pummel your ribcage into pulp with unrelenting precision like a thrash demon ripping the world a new one. “Caught in a Mosh” remains the single most accurate depiction of metalhead communion of fists, feet, and elbows flying in perfect chaos. “Indians” has that war cry that will haunt stadiums until the end of civilization, and “I Am the Law” turns a comic book character into the patron saint of thrash. Every track is a circle pit detonator, every riff a grenade missing it’s pin. This isn’t just Anthrax’s best album—it’s one of the defining scriptures of thrash metal itself.

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Anthrax are the prankster gods of thrash. They were the band that proved you could have fun while simultaneously tearing flesh from bone. They’re the sound of sneakers squeaking on beer-soaked floors, denim jackets catching fire, and mosh pits swallowing entire generations. They even teamed up with the mighty Public Enemy to smash down the walls between metal and hip-hop, proving proving thrash riffs and rap rhymes could riot together in the same burning building. These three albums—Sound of White Noise, Spreading the Disease, and the almighty Among the Living are the sacred texts of thrash mayhem, instructions for living loud, fast, and dangerously fucking stupid. Put them on, crank them until your speakers bleed, and remember that in the church of Anthrax, the mosh pit is communion, and the riffs are holy water laced with battery acid.