Metal Hammer magazine is 30 this year. To mark this momentous occasion, we’ll be looking back over the last 30 years in metal – the legendary icons, the classic albums, the epic gigs, the most memorable milestones. Let’s face it, the last 30 years have been nothing if not eventful.

We’re kicking off by looking at the 30 greatest debut albums released during Metal Hammer’s lifetime. Since 1986, literally thousands of bands have taken a metaphorical bow on metal’s stage. Some of them promptly turned around and walked straight off, never to be heard of again. But many more stuck around for the long haul, building hugely successful careers on the back of their opening salvo.

These are the very best debut albums released over the last 30 years. From the feral hard rock of Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction, death metal’s groundbreaking brutality or the industrial revolution of Nine Inch Nails in the late 80s, through the era-defining 90s nu-metal of Korn and Slipknot, right up to current standard-bearers such as Mastodon, Baroness and Babymetal, these are 30 reasons metal – and Metal Hammer – has survived so long.

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30 Legendary Rock Stars Who Have Died In Metal Hammer’s Lifetime