10 Criminally Underrated Thrash Metal Albums Of All Time

'Force of Habit' proved to be a vast departure from the four Exodus LPs that preceded it. Increasingly experimental and imaginative in their approach to the dying thrash scene of the early '90s, Exodus both won and alienated listeners with this one.

Grunge had swallowed up much of the metal scene by then, pushing sub-genres like thrash into the underground. For this more than anything else, creative headbangers like this one went largely unnoticed at the time.

The ear-rattling romps on offer here take thrash in some pretty wild directions. The album as a whole almost feels like an apology for the lacklustre work that proceeded it. Where 'Impact is Imminent' proved to be a painfully mediocre outing for the Bay Area madmen, 'Force of Habit' showcased just how wild their sound could get.

This was their final studio album for 12 years. While it failed to set the world on fire at the time, it's more than deserving of reappraisal. Had they managed to release it during the late '80s height of the thrash scene, it's difficult to comprehend what an impact it could've made.

The LP's lyrics, vocals and notably slower, more precise pace could've helped silence the critics dismissing the genre as just plain noise at the time.