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Slayer
Question: What's the greatest Thrash Metal album of all time?
A. Metallica - Master Of Puppets
B. Slayer - Reign In Blood
C. It has yet to be recorded
Answer: Hey, take your pick. The point is, Slayer's a contender.
Death, annihilation, destruction and an Iron Butterfly cover are all in the Slayer mix. Numerous Metal groups have released the power-ballad single. A pop hit is always good for sales and name recognition. Gets the group on the cover of Rolling Stone and in People magazine (mainstream stuff). It also picks up the nerdy kids who might have missed the buzz. But since the late '70s, there's been a Metal sect led by Judas Priest, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer that refused make such a concession. They haven't suffered for their decision.
Slayer formed in L.A. (OK, Huntington Beach), starting out as a Judas Priest/Iron Maiden covers band. They found Satanic references really wowed the crowd. Two years later they were signed by Metal Blade and released "Show No Mercy." The group nursed its act on Metal Blade before moving to Rick Rubin's Def Jam/American label. There they launched "Reign Of Blood" ('85), "South Of Heaven" ('88), "Seasons Of The Abyss" ('90), "Divine Intervention ('94) and "Diabolus In Musica" ('98).
For "The Less Than Zero" soundtrack Slayer covered "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (what, no drum solo?). Basically, they ripped that old chestnut a new one.
In '01 Slayer released "God Hates Us All." Thanks for the blinding flash of the obvious.
While on tour to support "God Hates Us All," Slayer played San Francisco's Warfield Theater in December '01. Two years later, the DVD War At The Warfield arrived containing "South Of Heaven," "Angel Of Death" and "Seasons In The Abyss."
In August of '06, Slayer delivered another blistering studio set, "Christ Illusion."
Late '09 saw Slayer unleash, "World Painted Blood," their tenth studio effort. "Things were kept as pure as possible, and I think it shows on this record," said Lombardo. "Things aren't polished. It's great. I am so proud of this record."
Shortly after the album dropped Slayer had to postpone concert dates with Megadeth and a TV appearance (Jimmy Kimmel Live) because Araya was under the care of a physician and had to undergo emergency surgery for a back injury.
"What is foremost in our minds right now is that Tom do whatever he needs to get this taken care of," said King in a statement. "While all four of us are disappointed that we won't be able to see through all of our commitments set for the next few weeks, the most important thing is Tom's health." But that wasn't the end of Araya's health issues.
Slayer announced the postponement of the band's '10 American Carnage Tour of North America because Araya was receiving minimally invasive treatments for what was diagnosed as a cervical radiculopathy - a condition linked to the incessant headbanging.
As Araya recovered, Hanneman went on the mend due to a near-fatal spider bite he suffered in early '11. Araya stated that the band was waiting for Hanneman to recuperate. But toward the end of the year, Lombardo tweeted that "SLAYER is writing a new record."
Studio Albums:
1983 Show No Mercy
1985 Hell Awaits
1986 Reign In Blood
1988 South Of Heaven
1990 Seasons In The Abyss
1994 Divine Intervention
1996 Undisputed Attitude
1998 Diabolus In Musica
2001 God Hates Us All
2006 Christ Illusion
2009 World Painted Blood
Here's the Slayer that counts.
1. Reign In Blood ("Angel of Death," "Criminally Insane" and "Altar of Sacrifice")
2. Seasons Of The Abyss ("Dead Skin Mask" and "Born of Fire")
3. Diabolus In Musica ("Stain Of Mind" and "Overt Enemy")
4. Divine Intervention ("Circle of Belief")
5. South Of Heaven (The title track and "Crooked Cross")
If you want (need) more "Undisputed Attitude" ('98) has Slayer covering Punk classics ("Guilty Of Being White" and Iggy's "I Wanna Be Your Dog"). Also, check out "God Hates Us All." Actually, God hates Rock, shallow celebrities and the evening news (they always get it wrong); but not in that order.
Any concerns that Slayer had slowed between "God Hates Us All" and "Christ Illusion" are unwarranted. The torrid opener "Flesh Storm" is just what you'd expect; spitting vocals and rapid-fire guitar/bass/drums. As if that weren't enough, they crank it up a notch for "Catalyst." "Eyes Of The Insane" has a screaming guitar and a march-like cadence while "Skeleton Christ" is pure Speed Metal. Even the slower tracks, "Catatonic" and "Cult," which aren't all that slow, have intensity to burn. These songs have more power than most groups going full-tilt.
"World Painted Blood" has great riffs, smoking solos and deep throated/rage infused vocals. In other words, Slayer's "stock and trade." It's most pronounced on the title track, "Human Strain," "Not Of This God" and "Unit 731." They get political with "Hate Worldwide" and the critical "Americon" but the lyrics don't slow the torrent.
Just for the record, the guitar solo on "Snuff" is worth the price of admission.
From their early Metal Blade period go for the EP "Haunting In The Chapel" or the full-length "Hell Awaits." The later material is better, but this is where it all began.