Anthrax's sound can be heard all over the East Coast sound as well as in crossover bands. I guess I should add that I consider SOD to basically belong to Anthrax even though it was basically just a brief side project. Dark Angel was very influential too, but Slayer kind of usurped a lot of that. I'd say that Dark Angel's primary musical innovation was in their use of indistinct, speed-over-everything riffs with minimal pedal-point chugging. I perhaps hear more direct Dark Angel ideas in bands like Incantation than I do Slayer, but overall Dark Angel just had a rarer, harder-to-imitate sound.
Death Angel has basically everything Heathen has and more by any objective standards. Same scene but earlier, better selling, and on a major label. Sacred Reich sold many more copies and were on a major label. My dad owned Sacred Reich albums before I started downloading more obscure stuff, he didn't own any Heathen. Annihilator wins on the popularity of the first two albums alone, even if it took longer for them to be signed (note that their first demos predate Heathen's). Bulldozer is among the earliest European thrash bands and a notable influence on the early black metal scene. All of those bands clearly beat Heathen in an objective power ranking.
