The second studio album by the German thrash metal band, originally released in November 1986. The album is widely considered a thrash metal classic, as well as a landmark album in the history of thrash metal along with 'Master of Puppets' by Metallica, 'Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?' by Megadeth, 'Reign in Blood' by Slayer, 'Eternal Devastation' by Destruction and 'Darkness Descends' by Dark Angel, all released in 1986. The album played a considerable role in the development of many extreme metal subgenres, and death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse cite the album as an influence.