If Satan has a favourite band, it's Slayer. A sublime union of furious chops and graphic imagery, they didn't just perfect thrash, they opened up metal to whole new vistas of extremity. They burst onto the scene with 1986's Reign In Blood, a screaming fever dream that torments ears with chilling riffs at whiplash speed. Their attack has since undergone many tweaks: 1998's Diabolus In Musica is a chugging bulldozer powered by downtuned guitars. Yet thanks to Tom Araya's feral bark and Kerry King's dive-bombing guitar, Slayer's sonic imprint forever remains their own.