Slayer
Reign In Blood (1986)
To a non-metalhead like me, Slayer are probably considered the most controversial and extreme of the Big Four thrash metal bands of the 80s. They never had the commercial pulling power of Metallica (or even, I would argue, Megadeth) but what they lacked in relative 'commerciality' they more than made up for in sheer fucking brutality. You could also argue (and my research into the band prior to writing this review confirms this somewhat) that of the four, Slayer were the most influential in terms of the sound and playing techniques adopted by future metal musicians.
1986's Reign In Blood checks in just shy of thirty minutes. Ten songs (two of which run for close to five minutes), and not quite thirty minutes total run time, tells you everything you need to know. This album is short, punchy and, as said above, absolutely brutal.
Thanks to various video games, I'm well versed in the album's closing track, Raining Blood. I haven't heard anything else on the album though. So on this lovey-dovey smoochy-smoochy day, I can think of no better and more suitable thing to listen to than thirty minutes of what may very well be the most violent thrash metal I've ever heard.
The Album
Reign In Blood's ten songs all contain the following:
- brutal, chuggingly fast riffs
- guitar solos that sound like the screams of the eternally damned
- insanely angry vocals, with the occasional scream
- unbelievably lightning quick drumming, especially on the double bass drum
I realise that may make the album sound boring - ten songs, all the same thing. Believe me when I say this album is anything but boring because it refuses to let you relax enough to be bored. The short run time of tracks 2 to 9 help, of course - the songs end just when you think they're getting going. But the face-melting nature of Slayer's music here is frankly entrancing.
Additionally, the band should not be considered pure purveyors of YAY LOUD FAST LOL WOOO metal. There are times when the band include odd time signatures, off-beat drumming and riffing, as well as perfectly timed shifts in tempo to break up (albeit briefly) the million-miles-a-second intensity. Make no mistake, Slayer are serious musicians with the ability to give a semblance of complexity to their music.
The only negative to the band's songs following the same INSANE formula is that it can be tough to differentiate between the tracks when looking for standouts. This, however, is part of the album's strength - everything here has value. Opening track Angel of Death is straight up fucking insanity. It doesn't so much introduce you to the album, as it kicks you in the face, grabs you by the balls and shoves you into the speakers, screaming "FUCKING LISTEN TO ME YOU SHITSTAIN!" Araya's vocal is pure fire, screaming the crimes of Josef Mengele with such venom that you are left wondering how anyone could possibly mistake this song for a Nazi-sympathising tune.
Necrophobic, Jesus Saves and Altar of Sacrifice continue the trend - savage riffs, brilliant yet tasteful drumming and some ADHD soloing. Epidemic is the epitome of 80s thrash, and captures everything vital and important about the genre; the drum intro is erection-inducing, the riffs and tempo are pure headbanging thrash, and the solos are off the goddamned hook. Postmortem is similarly outstanding, but its crowning glory is the last thirty or so seconds, which lead perfectly into Raining Blood.
Now, I could write heaps about this final track....but I won't. Instead I'll say that this track (hell, the whole album if we're honest) is so evil, so vicious and so metal. Listening to Raining Blood allows you to forgive and understand those who are tired of Metallica being held up as some sort of kings of metal - compared to Slayer here, Metallica are (to quote Holzfeuer of ArnoCorps) fucking choirboys. The opening ten-note riff is instantly recognisable, and when it gives way to Dave Lombardo's double kick frenzy and the dual colon-stomping riffage of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, it seals the deal. To top it all off, my favourite section - as Araya sings "Awaiting the hour of reprisal/Your time slips away" the song suddenly adopts a crawling, ominous groove; and it's absolute genius. Finally, the song goes out with a typical frenzy of guitar solos that swell, and swell, and swell.....until the thunder cracks, the rain falls, and the album comes to an end.
Brilliant.
The Verdict
Just fucking listen to it. It'll only take thirty minutes of your time, and at the end of it, not only will you have an appreciation for Slayer's ability to produce viciously evocative thrash metal, you'll have heard two of metal's most classic and most important songs.
My rating: **** and a half
Standout Tracks
Angel of Death
Raining Blood
Epidemic
Tomorrow, an allegedly brilliant mid-2000s 'folk' (according to Wikipedia) release. Let's see how 'brilliant' and 'folk' it really is.
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