Emphasis on WHY because...I have no Bolt Thrower albums. The reason being money. I love Bolt Thrower, but I can only afford so many albums at a time and I won't download it. Now it's time for me to finally get some BT in my life and I need your opinions on which are the best. Again, please tell me WHY and I'll be sure to consider your opinion.

...For Victory is probably the album that got me into Bolt Thrower and the album that defines them for me. Groove, thunderous, start-to-finish fantastic, and riffs upon riffs that kill. To me it's the best produced (although I'd probably give Realm of Chaos the title for most appropriate production) and shows the band at their best. Not one bad song on it. Has enough of an epic feeling to match the later output.

I've always loved The IVth Crusade more than the others. The melodic riffs, the smouldering atmosphere, the drumming.... It has so much feeling. Also Where Next to Conquer is a god damn masterpiece of a song.

I really think that depends entirely on what style you prefer your Bolt Thrower. I, myself don't really have a preference of style for Bolt Throwers music as I love their early and later works. As far as my favorites go, I'd have to say either ...For Victory or Realm of Chaos. Realm of Chaos is a record where the grind influence is still quite noticeable. Not as much melody or many crushing grooves that they would later have; mostly just short, fast, aggressive, and heavy as hell. ...For Victory is where I believe the band truly reached the pinnacle of their songwriting ability. Memorable songs, a perfect implementation of melody, monstrously heavy riffs, and just the right amount of groove. The title track is probably one of my favorite Bolt Thrower songs, indeed, one of my favorite death metal songs ever.

You really shouldn't take our word for it though. I'd advise you to look up some songs from each of their albums and decide for yourself. Youtube is your friend.

Don't kid yourself people - it's Realm of Chaos. Why?

BECAUSE IT'S REALM OF FUCKING CHAOS. Best death metal album of all time, anybody who disagrees is WRONG and should be crushed under the tracks of a 60 tonne main battle tank.

Really though, you can't go wrong with any of them. Hell, post-Realm of Chaos they pretty much released the same album over and over with different production. Winning each time, of course. Mercenary is super-underrated, Honour Valour Pride kicks arse despite the lack of Karl. Just buy an album and revel in the glory.

Well I have heard some songs. Last.fm has given me quite a few listens, I was just looking for a starting point, as I will be buying all their albums.

Everything they've done is flawless, and upholds the same level of unrelenting brutality as the last. However if I had to narrow it down to one album it would be "In Battle There Is No Law." Why? This is the one album that sticks out from everything else they've done. There's something about Crust fringed Grindcore that hits very close to home and Bolt Thrower do it just right. Hell, compared to their peers at the time you would never expect them to be the band they are today because of that album.

I even have the album art sewn on to the back of my vest

I've heard all their albums at some point and the only one that I really bother with any more (and not much tbh) is Warmaster. They're a solid band, but almost every song sounds the same. They have sweet melodies, but they're not quite those amazing scando melodies. And the vocals are a little too bland & unrecognisable. But that's just me, they have a lot of fans for a reason So get Warmaster!

My personal favorite is The IVth Crusade. Mainly cause it was the first one I picked up from them. So I guess sentimentality plays more into why it's my favorite over the others. I've enjoyed everything they have released, they are amazing and consistent. Flawless band... aside from not releasing anything more.

I'd say Realm of Chaos or Warmaster, RoC for its punishing brutalilty or Warmaster for its crushing "midpaceness"

Easier answer would be "Anything besides Mercenary, Honour Valour Pride, or In Battle There Is No Law"

Those three albums are great, don't get me wrong, but they're kinda a step down from the rest if you ask me. Just blindly buy any of those other ones and you've got a winner.

I'm a big fan of Those Once Loyal.

The production is good, although relatively consistent with the previous album, but the songs just blow me away, without exception. From the first song to the last, they're packed with so much punch and energy, just waiting to explode through headphones or speakers - I know a lot of the bands material has that feel, but the way it feels on Those Once Loyal is mindblowing to the perfect degree. Of course, the fact that the band themselves believe that they can't improve upon it is quite a stamp of quality.

This man speaks the truth!

Hell yeah, IVth Crusade is a fucking great album. Pretty much you could buy any Bolt Thrower Cd and be happy but some of my favorites are IVth Crusade, War Master, and Those Once Loyal. But I also really enjoy Mercenary and Realm of Chaos to. Really you can't do wrong with Bolt Thrower.

Those Once Loyal. No questions asked. The band considers it their perfect album and so do I. It's got fantastic riffs everywhere, with the best songwriting of their career. To be honest, after I heard Those Once Loyal every BT album I heard afterward was a disappoint. I can't praise this album enough, probably one of my favorite death metal albums of the past decade.

Those Once Loyal hands down. The perfect combination of groove, brutality and excellent songwriting. There's not a single weak song, and more importantly, there's not even really a dull riff. Every single element is perfect, and it has this great sense of atmosphere. The length, the opening, the closing, the production, everything about that album is devastatingly perfect.

Agreed. Hands down. Absolutely thier best. Anti-Tank is Crushing. My favorite Bolt Thrower song by far.

You really can't go wrong with any Bolt Thrower albums, but I understand your cash flow predicament. That considered, you may want to go with 'Who Dares Wins' since it's a compilation of singles and rarities they did while signed to Earache Records. That way you can get a sampling of what they were like at various stages in their career. The 'Cenotaph' and 'Spearhead' single are included, which are both great, and both show the band as they were further refining their sound.

My personal choice will always be 'In Battle There Is No Law'. Such a perfect mixture of Death Metal and Crust. It brings back a lot of good memories for me as it was the first album I'd heard by Bolt Thrower. I picked it up when my brother purchased 'Realm Of Chaos', which would be my second choice.

Also, if you can spare the cash, get the 'Grind Madness At The BBC - The Earache Peel Sessions' triple CD package that came out in 2009. It's generally reasonably priced, contains the classic Bolt Thrower Peel Sessions, plus you'll get to hear equally classic sessions from Carcass, Napalm Death, Godflesh, Heresy, Unseen Terror, etc.

I've always thought in battle there is no law is the only weak Bolt Thrower album...

Get out. You are not worthy!

In Battle There is no Law, basically because of the faster, grinding songs. It really sounds like war. Second would be Realm of Chaos, for the same reasons. Fast, dirty, heavy - These are also the first two I heard, so this is the stuff that comes to mind when I think of Bolt Thrower.

My personal favorite has to be For Victory. Just incredible melodic death metal (do NOT confuse with wimpy melodeath, just old school death metal with TONS of melody that suits the crushing rhythms) Every single song is a winner, but Lest We Forget just sounds like the soundtrack to a tank rolling into fucking battle.

Be that as it may though, if you want their heaviest, i think that honor goes to Realms of Chaos.
Wooooooooooooorld Eeeeeeaaaaateeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!! One of the best DM riffs ever. Period.

While I love all the albums Those Once Loyal is the most epic/perfect album they ever released. Its the perfect mix of melodic and heaviness. I also love how prominent the bass is, Jo Bench did a great job. Like someone else mentioned, the band liked it so much they decided to not make another album afterwards because they consider it THE Bolt Thrower album.

Haha, it's Bolt Thrower man, have a pick! I don't have every album myself yet but I've listened all of them, and still do. If you have to pick one though, I'll support Those Once Loyal, pretty much for the same reasons everyone has stated already. Enjoy warring, err, headbanging!

My favorite is Those Once Loyal cause it simply has everything. Great production, awesome riffs and heavy fucking groove. My favorite song of the album is The Killchain.

Mercenary. I enjoy every second of that album when I put it on. The album itself flows perfectly riff by riff, track by track.

I really enjoy IBTISN, but I wouldn't say it is their best album, or even on the top tier of their music, but it is definitely a timeless classic. Many bands improve after their first album, that doesn't take anything away from where a band came from to get there.

This exactly. Also, because Those Once Loyal it's the only Bolt Thrower I dig.

Yes,our slight difference in opinion makes me scum of the earth.

Necro, iAm is obviously screwing with you.

Having met iAm in person many times, I can also agree with this.

I figured he was,that's why my response was sarcasm and not some intense ten paragraph personal tirade

It's just that the lack of a smiley made your response look pretty serious.

I get that,'tis the bane of text conversation. Things don't always come through as intended.

War Master

Because it was released the same day I was born.

Nah, Those Once Loyal is the ultimate Bolt Thrower, although I have a soft spot for Realm Of Chaos, as it was my very first Bolt Thrower.

Bolt Thrower.

As cool and tempting as the rarity material is, HELL FUCKING NO!

Bolt Thrower have stated in the past that they don't like this release, and see it as a label cash in. I'm pretty sure it was done without their permission. I also remember hearing some sort of dispute between the band and Earache and something about the band not getting paid. Not cool. Earache released some really good shit back in the day, but if this is true; fuck 'em. Buy the Earache releases secondhand if you have to. I bought the Realm of Chaos reissue before I found out about all of this and felt like crap.

As for their best release... fuck if I know. I sat down for a good five minutes trying to pick a favourite and narrowed it down to half the discography...

I just bought some of those reissues, I hope the band gets their cut..wtf? Anyways, awesome band!

thanks for all suggestions. I ended up buying Those Once Loyal and Mercenary, to be followed up later this week by either IVth Crusade or ...For Victory. Soon my money will return (paying for a wedding right now and it's expensive as all hell) and I can get back to buying more Bolt Thrower

WARMASTER. Has the crushing, mid-paced riffing w/ hints of melody of their later work, as well as some faster sections a la Realms Of Chaos; the best of both worlds. And the riffing and such is just generally the best on this one for me. Second best would probably be Those Once Loyal.

For me (and I can only speak for me), my favorite BT album is "The IVth Crusade." Why? Well, first, it was the first album I ever heard. Secondly, listen to the title track. 'Nuff said.