Go to:
- Show No Mercy (1983)
- Haunting the Chapel EP (1984)
- Hell Awaits (1985)
- Reign in Blood (1986)
- South of Heaven (1988)
- Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
- Decade of Aggression Live (1991)
- Divine Intervention (1994)
- Undisputed Attitude (1996)
- Diabolus in Musica (1998)
- God Hates Us All (2001)
- Soundtrack to the Apocalypse (2003)
Show No Mercy (1983)
7
Evil Has No Boundaries / Antichrist / Die by the Sword / Fight Till Death / Metalstorm/Face the Slayer / Black Magic / Tormentor / Final Command / Crionics / Show No Mercy
Slayer’s
Show No Mercy is often considered to be the album that marked the
birth of thrash and death metal (although those kudos might also go to Venom’s
Welcome to Hell (1981), I guess). The legendary status of Slayer’s
Show No Mercy, however, is probably more due to its historical importance
than to its actual quality. Don’t get me wrong, the album does have
its fair share of excellent songs, and a lot of the hallmarks of the Slayer
sound are already present: the brutal riffs, outrageously chaotic solos, menacing
attitude and comic book lyrics about all things evil, war, and more …
uh … evil stuff. Slayer had been playing with the same classic line-up
(Tom Araya (bass), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar), Dave Lombardo
(drums)), since their formation in 1982, and although the members’ musical
prowess wasn’t as impressive as on later albums, they already show an
astonishing versatility, which would have been much more noticeable if the
production job hadn’t been so mediocre. While the solos sound ok, the
guitar riffs are often reduced to a buzzing grind, and Lombardo’s drumming
sounds as if it originated from the Muppet Show.
The album opens in a grand way with “Evil Has No Boundaries,” which has the earlier mentioned trademark Slayer ingredients, but they still sound a bit clumsy at this point. Certainly when you compare this album to a superior produced and tightly played album such as Reign in Blood, for instance, the differences become obvious. While the chorus (those chants give me the shivers) and lyrics (but who cares about those, anyway?) are often laughable, the band displays a ferocious and violent attack that must have been – and, to a lesser degree, still is – stunning. Other highlights are “Die by the Sword”, which borrows quite a lot from Judas Priest, and boasts a great grooving mid-section and a tremendous solo near the end. Equally impressive is the long multi-part introduction to “Metalstorm/Face the Slayer,” in which the band uses its twin-guitar attack to great effect. Other songs also give the impression that the band essentially threw Priest and Venom in a blender and came up with a tightened version of it. “Antichrist” definitely betrays a lot of 70’s metal influences, and has quite an accessible solo.“Black Magic” on the other hand (referring to Venom’s classic Black Metal?) has too much echo on the vocals and an hilarious high-pitched shriek by Araya, but also that typical viciousness of theirs, and a lunatic guitar solo to top it off. Some songs are really unremarkable, though, like “Fight Till Death” which is just your average 80’s speed metal song, and “Final Command,” which includes lightning-fast riffs, but which also has an unremarkable chorus and bizarre lyrics about “Blitzkrieg attacks of German Commands.” Fortunately, the album is saved by the last 2 songs. “Crionics” shows that Araya is still looking for his voice, but it also has a great galloping groove; and the title track, "Show No Mercy", pounds along at a frenzied pace and has a classic solo that will set the devil in you on fire, despite the awfully bad recorded vocals.A friend of mine told me that this is the Slayer album he listens to most, probably since he discovered them way back when they were still a ‘minor’ band. And I can certainly imagine that this record must sound great if you discovered it twenty years ago or if it’s one of the first metal albums you ever bought, because it does sound wild and brutal. On the other hand, if you, like me, discovered the band at a later stage, and started with the late 80’s albums, Show No Mercy might come as a bit of a letdown. So, definitely recommended for metal freaks and Slayer completists, but if you want to have a first taste of what thrash metal sounds like, start with Slayer’s later albums.Note 1: There seem to be dozens of versions available on the market, some just having the ten original songs, while other versions include the Haunting the Chapel EP (1984), or (like mine), a few songs from that EP and a few live cuts from Live Undead (1984)).Note 2: Another cool thing about the version I have, is that the ‘Thanks’-section ends with “Beware Europe, we are going to steal your souls.” I can’t wait.
Haunting the Chapel EP (1984)
7.5
Chemical Warfare / Captor of Sin / Haunting the Chapel / Aggressive Perfector
Hell
yeah! The boys are back in town, with an EP that immediately improves on their
debut album. Although there wasn’t that much time between the releases
of Show No Mercy and Haunting the Chapel, the differences
in sound and song-writing are noticeable, as this EP starts to sound more
like the ‘classic’ Slayer grind. The 70’s influences have
diminished, and have made way for their characteristic monolithic, often monotonous
racket. Take “Chemical Warfare” (no relation to the Dead Kennedys-
song) for instance, the EP’s best song, and for my money even their
best pre-Reign in Blood track. It’s cool to hear how one guitar
comes in one channel and is joined by an even louder one during the intro.
Then enter the amazing drumbeat, and we’re good to go. You immediately
notice their music has become even more brutal and heavy. Maybe it’s
also due to Araya’s bass, which is finally audible now, and which lends
that extra toughness to the sound. The song massively raves ahead, ignores
speed limits, fires off one riff after the other, and trashes everything on
its way. The lyrics still aren’t Dylan leftovers (“Gods of the
throne must be watching from hell, awaiting the mass genocide, soldiers defeated
by death from a smell, bodies lie dormant no life”), but as long as
they get the message across (hey, Slayer was thinking along pragmatic lines),
things are ok.
“Captor of Sin,” on the other hand, immediately starts off with chaotic guitar noodling (can anyone tell me, by the way, the difference between a Hanneman and a King solo?), but after a few sudden tempo changes, it finds its groove. It’s also during this song that I suddenly became aware of the still sub-par production, as Lombardo’s efforts are buried beneath the weird, murky sound, while Araya’s vocals are too prominent, in my opinion. Next is the title track, which I also like, although it can’t hold a candle to the opening track. There’s some powerful riffing though, and also on this song the band seems to have left the more classic hard-rock structure behind, and instead opts for a linear multi-part approach. By consequence, it makes songs like these much less accessible (because it takes more listens to get it), but it would become an essential ingredient of late 80’s thrash and speed metal. The EP closes with “Aggressive Perfector,” one of the earliest Slayer songs, and (I think) recorded the year before. The sound is much thinner during this song, especially the guitars sound really cheap while Araya spits out his expressive lyrics. Like lots of early stuff by bands such as Iron Maiden or Motörhead, the song almost seems more punk than metal, apart from the solo, that is. Anyway, Haunting the Chapel shows a more mature, focused, and confident Slayer, a band that slowly but steadily would become the quintessential thrash band. Worth checking out even for “Chemical Warfare” alone, this EP is a must-have for any serious thrash fan and religious discussion group.
Hell Awaits (1985)
7.5
Hell Awaits / Kill Again / At Dawn They Sleep / Praise of Death / Necrophiliac / Crypts of Eternity / Hardening of the Arteries…
And
the boys returned with their darkest, most diabolical album to date. Indeed,
they would make even louder and more brutal music than this later on in their
career, but they would never focus this much on the (literal) dark side again.
Hell Awaits is definitely not your average rock album, as it focuses,
amongst others, on murder and other sins, hell, and basically “death”
in general (especially as a result of murder). Make no mistake, with these
guys the torture never stops. The music fits the subject matter well, in that
it is even less compromising than Show No Mercy: loud and brutal,
but this time around they got rid of the excess clumsiness, and replaced it
with a more focused execution and elaborate song-writing, which resulted in
an average song length of more than 5 minutes. Usually, I’m not fond
of ‘thrash epics,’ but somehow it works on this album, which is
mostly due to the consistently challenging material and amazing musicianship.
Just imagine how this must have sounded at the time. Take Anthrax’ Spreading
the Disease, for instance, which was also released in 1985.
Anthrax’s album can hardly be considered a match for this album in terms of sheer intensity and power. Just to clarify things: Hell Awaits not a good album because it was the most extreme of its time (which it probably wasn’t anyway), but because it was so extreme, yet succeeded in being one hell (!) of an enjoyable album, despite the lousy production job (that would change with the next album, though).
The album boasts a classic intro, with guitar feedback, demonic sounds and other Exorcist-style sound effects, before Lombardo enters with a martial rhythm and takes the band into a plodding groove, which goes on for quite some time. After the third minute it becomes faster of course, and the band creates its trademark thrash racket again, while Araya delivers his lyrics ridiculously fast. It’s also on this track that the band pulls a James Earl Jones, with that guttural baritone (“Hell Awaits!”) representing Mr. Satan, I presume. During “Kill Again,” Araya has this awkward phrasing, which can be a bit off-putting at first (we want our thrash straightforward, don’t we?), but it’s the music that steals the show, especially Lombardo’s impressive drumming, alternating between bursts of machine gun-assault and more conventional drum kit harassment. The song also boasts a few solos, and the booklet even mentions who plays them. I have the impression that King’s solos are a bit more aggressive and chaotic, but I might be wrong. Anyway, the way these guys torture their fret boards is definitely something else. The next track, “At Dawn They Sleep” is probably my favourite, with its “Raining Blood”-intro, constant tempo shifts, and powerful last part (that really speeds things up). Usually, I’m not a sucker for a band’s more technically evolved material, as I tend to equate it with showing off, but it is simply one of the best tracks here, and for the first time, it’s Lombardo who gets to shine (double kick solo at the end). The rest of the album is good too, but my favorites are mostly in the beginning of the record. “Praise of Death” is thrash as brutal and effective as it comes, with a frenetic energy and an excellent vocal performance by Araya, and a great section where the silent, wailing guitar makes way for another assault. Somehow, I never got into “Necrophiliac,” one of the album’s most notorious tracks (for obvious reasons). Although it starts quite powerful, it soon slips into monotony, and also Araya doesn’t put on his best performance. “Crypts of Eternity” is another more complex song that really suffers from the amateur production, as the guitars are almost inaudible. Noteworthy are the Halford-shriek and the accelerating last section, though. “Hardening of the Arteries” closes the album with classic thrash material, while the end section seems to take us back to the beginning of the album. Hell Awaits shows a band at a transitional stage and during its darkest period. Hell Awaits also shows a more focused and mature (?) Slayer. While the evil that men do would stay a favourite theme, Slayer would never again make an album this obsessed with diabolical themes. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing depends on the listener, and some people actually listen to this all day long. As for me, I say: on with the next one!
Reign in Blood (1986)
9.5
Angel of Death / Piece by Piece / Necrophobic / Altar of Sacrifice / Jesus saves / Criminally Insane / Reborn / Epidemic / Postmortem / Raining Blood
There
it is, the album we had been waiting for. Reign in Blood
caused quite a stir in the metal world when it was released (yes, that is
an understatement). There had been bands around who were either as fast or
as heavy as Slayer (D.R.I., Dark Angel, etc) and who occasionally turned in
tremendous stuff, but the release of this album replaced the old standard
with an entirely new one. Incredibly aggressive and wild, but also accomplished
and advanced, Reign in Blood almost single-handedly revolutionized
thrash metal, and never before or since have I heard an extreme metal album
that sounds this brutal. Ok, I must admit I’m not even a metal specialist,
but this full-throttle assault beat all reasonable expectations. The band
had made more progress in one year than many other bands in an entire career,
with all the members getting the opportunity to show their strengths to the
fullest. Araya’s vocals and bass sound a lot more confident than before,
Lombardo once again displays an awe-inspiring technique at the drum kit, while
King and Hanneman prove they were metal’s prime guitar duo (although
the nod might also go to Hammett/Hetfield at the time, who were maybe less
violent but an awesome combination nevertheless), by providing enough riff
monsters for five albums (this is the moment to ask the Robert Fripp fans
in the audience to wipe that disdainful smirk off their faces). Especially
Hanneman shines on Reign in Blood, as it became obvious by now that
he was the main creative force of the band, and turned in most of their classic
tracks (and there’s only one track on this album he didn’t (co-)write).
Maybe the most decisive aspect of the album, though, is its unequalled sound.
Metal Blade’s Brian Schlagel had been replaced by Rick Rubin who did
a classic production job. Of course there were people who complained about
the result (guitars too loud, weird drum sound, etc), but it sounds just fine
to me, and ‘powerful’ is the key word.
The album is book-ended by two of my all time favorite thrash songs: the notorious “Angel of Death” and equally disturbing “Raining Blood.” Those two tracks are also the album’s two longest tracks (both approaching the five minute-mark), while in between them, 8 short bursts of fury are crammed, none of which reaches the three minute-mark. From the first seconds of “Angel of Death” it becomes clear that this isn’t your average album, as the band - after a short introduction and Araya’s high-pitched scream - launches a frantic pace that leads to the first verse that introduces the song’s morbid concerns. Often criticised for its extreme graphic lyrics (“Surgery, with no anaesthesia, feel the knife pierce you intensely, inferior no use to mankind, strapped down screaming out to die” isn’t exactly what you might impress your parents-in-law with), the song focuses on the horrible experiments of Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele, without conveying any message or judgement, stressing the elements of torture instead. While the first section of the song is awesome in all its ferocious velocity, it’s probably the mid-tempo midsection which made it so beloved, sounding massive but also quite accessible at the same time, and proof of the fact that Lombardo, besides being a speedy hard-hitter, could keep a groove going as well. It isn’t funk, though. The last section picks up the initial speed again, but this time the heavy riffing is replaced by the mind-blowing guitar torments of Hanneman and King, who make their six-stringed victims scream, neigh (anyone agree that it often sounds as if they were mimicking horses?) and screech. “Raining Blood,” the final song, is another bulldozer-track, but it’s (apart from the classic intro) even faster than the opening track, and another treatise on joyful matter such as ‘souls of a treacherous past’ and ‘the hour of reprisal’. The staccato mid-tempo section that follows guarantees some head-banging pleasure before the track and album collapse into an apocalyptic noise that closes the album (unless you also listen to the rain storms after it).
As I mentioned before, the eight tracks in between are usually short and incendiary pieces of thrash that obliterate most other metal albums with an unseen viciousness. None of them is as impressive as “Angel of Death” on a composition level, but as a 20-minute slab of violence, it’s unsurpassed. It’s no use giving a detailed description of all the songs, as there happens so much during so little time (sudden accelerations galore), but if highlight elements need to be pointed out: “Necrophobic,” the fastest of ‘em, which has enough lyrics to keep J.J. Cale busy for 10 minutes, clocks in at 1:40, “Criminally Insane” is the one song that begins with a silent (ouch) section, “Epidemic” starts off with a thrilling drum solo before it offers great galloping guitar parts, and “Postmortem” is as thrash as thrash can be. Certainly not for the faint of heart or those unfamiliar with metal’s louder products, Reign in Blood works best as a bone-crunching aural assault, due to its focused musicianship, extraordinary production and brevity. While the shorter songs in between are probably too much for most of us in their mind-numbing pace and brutality, the first and last track prevent the album from sounding to monotonous, and show that by 1986, a bunch of Californian bums had become the reigning thrash outfit.Note: again, several editions are available. Currently, the most available edition is the original album, plus a remix of “Criminally Insane,” and a version of “Aggressive Perfector” that is about twice as heavy as the original (included on most editions of Show No Mercy and Haunting the Chapel). Oh yeah, one more thing: the photo on the back of the LP and expanded CD-edition (Hanneman, King and Araya fighting over a few beer cans (Stella Artois) and Lombardo seducing the photographer) was taken in Belgium. So far Belgium’s contribution to the pantheon of thrash greats.
South of Heaven (1988)
8.5
South of Heaven / Silent Scream / Live Undead / Behind the Crooked Cross / Mandatory Suicide / Ghosts of War / Read Between the Lines / Cleanse the Soul / Dissident Aggressor / Spill the Blood
While
Slayer’s albums generally are quite hard to take (unless you’re
a die hard thrash freak who collects Japanese picture discs and rare Bulgarian
pressings, of course), South of Heaven is probably a little bit more
accessible than most of their output. Often a somewhat forgotten release,
the album that was sandwiched in between their most extreme and their most
popular (?) album, South of Heaven is a highlight in their catalogue,
and in my book a terrific Slayer album is a terrific metal album as well.
Like I said the songs aren’t nearly as aggressive or fast as the ones
on Reign In Blood, but velocity is adequately replaced with more
mid-tempo grooves and conventional lengths (between three and five minutes),
while also the sound is less extreme. Whereas the trip from “Angel of
Death” to “Raining Blood” was one huge beating to the head,
the guitars are much less dominant here. If anything, this is Lombardo’s
album, since he gets to shine during all of the songs, with a very drumming-friendly
production. I’ve heard lots of people complain about the production
values of these Slayer albums, but that’s something I don’t get:
OK OK OK, Araya’s vocals are sometimes barely audible (during “Live
Undead,” for instance), but give this album a fair chance, and then
endure Metallica’s …And Justice for All, which
was released in the same year, and you’ll know what I mean.
As for the songs: if I gave the impression that this is easy listening, forget it. These guys still created an incomparable racket, were still one of the heaviest bands around, and their lyrics – although no longer as infatuated with satanic subject matter as before – are still as bleak as ever, dealing with death, religion and war. “South of Heaven” has a slow and creepy guitar introduction, but then suddenly BAAMM!!!, Lombardo is there, and lays a foundation for that upcoming groove that’s made to bang your head to and it almost makes me wish I had long hair. Araya’s vocals are less abrasive than during the thrash-meets-hardcore of the previous album, but that’s compensated by Lombardo’s violence at the drum kit. “South of Heaven” is another track in a long series of metal classics written by Hanneman, who basically is the mastermind behind Slayer, responsible for most of the music, and lots of the lyrics. A typical Hanneman-contribution is also “Behind the Crooked Cross,” with its lyrics about war and ideologies that lead to them. It starts off rather slow, but like “South of Heaven” it soon settles into another mid-tempo groove. “Mandatory Suicide,” one of the album’s very best songs has one of their most memorable riffs, and succeeds in recalling the atmosphere of “Raining Blood.” Hanneman churns out his best solo during this song (barely on this side of chaotic) and hearing Araya yell “BUUUURNN” after that first verse is a total blast. The second side of the album contains more excellent thrash in the guise of “Cleanse the Soul” (those drum fills are sheer excitement) and the album closer “Spill the Blood” that had the first ever Slayer intro that sounded acoustic (I think).
As for the faster stuff, there’s “Silent Scream,” which unfortunately comes after a highlight like the opening track and - despite the incredible powerful drumming - is one of the album’s lesser tracks (or perhaps, the album’s only lesser track). Much better is “Ghosts of War” which starts off very fast, has some of those priceless lyrics (“Violence inflicting of pain, savage morticians deny, drive salt in the wound, arouse the subconscious to lie”), and soon transforms itself into another riff-monster, much like “Cleanse the Soul” did. Finally, there’s also a cover of Judas Priest’s “Dissident Aggressor” (from ‘77’s Sin After Sin) that allows the Californians to pay tribute to some of the founders of metal, and they do it with style and aggro. Apart from “Silent Scream,” there are hardly any weak songs, although “Live Undead” and “Read Between the Lies” might be a bit one-dimensional. The ideal Slayer/thrash album if you’re longing to get a first taste of that despicable and utterly evil genre, South of Heaven offers a few of the band’s classics, and shows why they were considered the reigning kings of thrash (and still are). The riffs are made of concrete, the lyrics are fairly conventional (what do you want? they helped creating it in the first place), the production powerful, and the musicianship (certainly from inhuman drumming machine Dave Lombardo) top-notch. Definitely an album worth banging your head to. BUUUUUUUUURRRRNNN!!!
Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
8
War Ensemble / Blood Red / Spirit in Black / Expendable Youth / Dead Skin Mask / Hallowed Point / Skeletons of Society / Temptation / Born of Fire / Seasons in the Abyss
While
Reign in Blood caused a sensation in the metal world and South
of Heaven confirmed the band’s genre-defining creativity, Seasons
in the Abyss is the album that introduced Slayer to a slightly wider
public. Speed and thrash metal had reached a popularity peak during the late
‘80’s and many bands (Anthrax, Metallica, Nuclear Assault, etc),
including Slayer, finally got some recognition from the outside world (until
the emergence of Nirvana and all things related, that is). Musically, this
album is a nice blend of the band’s early aggression and the less abrasive
grooves of South of Heaven. Some of the songs are among their most
accessible yet (“Blood Red,” “Expendable Youth”),
but contrary to the previous album, Seasons also has its share of
complex and lengthier metal opuses. For the fifth (!) time in a row,
Slayers starts off an album with one of their best songs, in this case “War
Ensemble,” which is simply one of their most impressive compositions
ever. Combining lethally fast sections driven by lightning-fast riffs,
and double bass-drumming with more plodding and galloping sections that are
guaranteed to awaken the evilest thought that reside in your mind, it aspires
to the greatness of “Angel of Death” and almost pulls
it off.
“Blood Red” and “Spirit in Black” have much humbler structures (especially the first one, which basically stays in the same convenient groove for almost three minutes) and rely on bone-crunching riffs while Araya utters his lyrics of horror, deceit and death. The title track that closes the album is much more ambitious as it consists of several sections, the first of which create this typically unsettling atmosphere of pending doom and violence. It takes the band a while to pick up their speed, but once they’re off they settle into another of those hypnotic tempos, while the dark and multi-layered vocals are further instances of the band’s infatuation with the ‘dark side’ (on a more amusing note: put on your headphones and try to pick the guy out who delivers a slightly false vocal contribution). There is also a conventional solo by one of the guitarists while Lombardo proves that even during the ‘slower’ songs he’s the absolute king of thrash drumming – that guy simply blew away our friend Lars Ulrich. All the songs I mentioned before stay either mid-tempo or are lengthy tracks combining slower and faster sections, but don’t let me create an impression that this album hasn’t got its share of menacing velocity. “Hallowed Point,” for instance, proves where these guys got their reputation from, with ridiculously fast playing by all the musicians and Araya’s barked vocals. Also “Temptation” and “Born of Fire” thrash ahead at illegal speeds, and while Araya’s conversation with himself in the former comes off as a bit silly, the second one is effective as hell (ha!) and contains some more great diary entries like “Prince of all darkness initiation, rituality baptized in flames, next to life throne my abomination, spreads terror throughout the domain” (any interpreters willing to “explain” this?).
Whereas the former comments all suggest a classic status (and by many people it’s seen as the pinnacle of thrash), there are also a few songs that don’t work that well for me. “Expendable Youth,” for instance, constantly seems to be too slow, and the riff isn’t exactly one of their best, but what bugs me more than that is that “Skeletons of Society” basically copies the same riff and groove. Now, I might not be a smart guy, and I might not be an example since my musical skills are nearly extinct, but if you’re gonna rip off yourself, then rip off your best track, and not the least interesting one on your album. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not painful either, just a bit disappointing compared to “War Ensemble.” The album’s other slow song, “Dead Skin Mask” - the one with the spooky children’s voices in the background - succeeds in creating a bit of a scary atmosphere, but has a bit of an unimaginative chorus that drags like uninteresting goth-metal. Luckily these ‘lesser’ tracks are surrounded by another batch of excellent songs so that by the time you’ve heard the six and a half impressive minutes of “Seasons in the Abyss” (the song), you’ll have forgotten about that. The opening salvo of “War Ensemble,” “Blood Red” and “Spirit in Black” already made sure sitting down on a chair is not an option for a day or so. Seasons in the Abyss is slightly overrated in my opinion, but don’t let this keep you from purchasing it, because it sure beats Marilyn Manson’s theatrical opiates, as well as an average game of premier league soccer.
Decade of Aggression Live (1991)
8.5
Hell Awaits / The Anti-Christ / War Ensemble / South of Heaven / Raining Blood / Altar of Sacrifice / Jesus Saves / Dead Skin Mask / Seasons in the Abyss / Mandatory Suicide / Angel of Death / Hallowed Point / Blood Red / Die by the Sword / Black Magic / Captor of Sin / Born of Fire / Postmortem / Spirit in Black / Expendable Youth / Chemical Warfare
Just
imagine a dark, barren landscape. There is sand, lots of it, and there are
the shapes of rocks, and in the distance you can make out – despite
the lack of sunshine and the abundance of sulphuric smoke – a weird-shaped
stone-formation that’s just too uncanny to have ended up there by itself.
Save for the whistle of a piercing wind, there’s no sound whatsoever,
just emptiness. But then, just when you’re getting accustomed to it,
there’s a faint rumble in the distance, and with it, the earth starts
shaking. The rumbling sound seems to intensify and soon it becomes obvious
it’s produced by thousands of live beings chanting, moving, preparing
themselves in unison. The image of blood-lusting Uruk-hai conjures itself
up, but then you realize you were wrong and panicked too early. The roar of
the masses was produced by thousands of Slayer-fans welcoming their godlike
heroes. The yelling of all these mullet-ed worshippers and other assorted
longhaired scum is simply chilling, and when their enthusiastic hollering
is joined by the otherworldly noises that precedes the band’s early
classic, “Hell Awaits,” the gathering of the thrashers and their
worshippers can start. And boy, is the audience in for one huge mastodon mindfuck.
At this point (we’re talking 1991 – right before the emergence of a new paradigm would change the rock landscape quite thoroughly), Slayer were probably the most popular and best (my words) extreme metal band around, having released three albums (the impossibly brutal Reign in Blood, the fairly accessible South of Heaven and the lauded Seasons in the Abyss) that still are considered classics of the genre. In other words: the band was perhaps at the peak of their malevolent powers and this double album is an excellent reflection of that. Simply put, it’s one of the essential live metal albums out there: not only because the band delivers the goods with an exceptionally focused force (it’s simple baffling how they can keep that pace up for so long), because it’s also one of the very few good-sounding live thrash albums. Of course, the balance is not as excellent as on the band’s seminal albums, but producer/studio wiz Rick Rubin once again did a terrific job. The insane riffing and senseless solos of Hanneman and King are prominent in all their evil glory, Araya’s howling vocals go to show he’s improved immeasurably since the mid-‘80’s, and Lombardo was probably the standard for thrash drumming at this point: his double bass-drum playing, the sheer velocity and tightness of his overall performance, it’s nothing but amazing. More than these arguments, however, it’s the song selection that turns this release into a success. There are tracks from all their albums (up to that point) and most of their notorious songs are included: the early work is represented by “The Anti-Christ,” “Black Magic” and a surprising “Chemical Warfare.” Unavoidably, both the opener and closer of Reign in Blood are present too, and both are undisputed selections in the Slayer-canon, with “Angel of Death” sounding particularly standard-setting. Inevitably, most songs from Seasons in the Abyss (1990) are included, but all my favorite ones (“War Ensemble,” “Spirit in Black,” “Seasons in the Abyss,” “Blood Red”) surely compensate for the presence of ‘lesser’ tracks (“Dead Skin Mask,” “Expendable Youth”). Throughout the performance, the show remains utterly violent (it must’ve been great to attend Slayer shows at the time, and it probably still is), the audience delirious, and the performances possessed, despite a few slips in Araya’s vocals (which are covered up by their unholy racket). Decade of Aggression Live lives up to its promise, then adds some more, and is an excellent introduction to Slayer’s brutal brand of metal that constantly threatens to collapse under its own immensity, but never does. Highly recommended for those who don’t suffer from migraine and like to cut up and torture little pet animals (supposedly, Slayer fans do it all the time).
Divine Intervention (1994)
6.5
Killing Fields / Sex.Murder.Art / Fictional Reality / Dittohead / Divine Intervention / Circle of Beliefs / SS-3 / Serenity in Murder / 213 / Mind Control
45
seconds of thrash a month x 48 = one thrash album of 36 minutes in 4 years.
Well, they also released a double live album (Decade of Aggression
(1991) which kicks all kinds of ass), but live albums don’t count, so
there we go. Now, I don’t mind that the album is only 36 minutes long,
because I’d rather have a short one that’s exciting from start
to finish than a bloated one that just goes on and on without any sense of
direction. The problem, however, is that Divine Intervention isn’t
really satisfying, despite the fact that it may be the least accessible
and compromising of all their albums. Where all that violence comes from,
I have no idea, but this is one heavy album. Araya seems angrier
than ever, constantly trying to wreck his tonsils, while the guitars constantly
have that exaggerated industrial buzzing sound. During lots of the songs,
especially the faster ones, Bostaph proves himself to be an admirable force,
but elsewhere he hasn’t got his own personal style like Lombardo had.
But that’s perhaps also to blame on the peculiar production, which often
gives the drums this fake clicking sound, while there’s still no bass
to be heard. But even if it had the sound of Reign in Blood or South
of Heaven, it wouldn’t have come close to being a classic.
Why? Because none of the songs are classic Slayer stuff in my book, that’s why. OK, there’s a lot of energy here, and some of the songs are quite elaborately structured and have great performances from all the members, but they lack hooks and memorable riffs. “Killing Fields” starts off with this ultra-complex intro by Bostaph and then goes from one rhythmic change to the other, but it’s such an awkward song (is it just me, or does Bostaph style just not go together with Araya’s singing?). Tracks like “Fictional Reality,” “Circle of Beliefs” and “Serenity in Murder” all have sections that easily obliterate much of the competition’s classic, but from a band that managed to put at least 3-4 thrash classics on their previous albums, you come to expect more, and just because “Serenity in Murder” has singing instead of yelling doesn’t mean it’s inventive. The title track and “SS-3” are decent tracks, but in the past their title tracks all were highlights with incredibly focused power or thrilling grooves that inspired legions of copycats to repeat the same riffs over and over again. The best songs on this album (in my opinion) are the faster ones, during which the band doesn't have time to come up with lesser ideas, and in which the sound refers more to their hardcore punk roots (further explored on the next album). “Sex.Murder.Art” and “Mind Control” start with this conventional riffing, until they transform in blasts of speed-thrash that are effective as hell. Even wilder is “Dittohead” (the first minute at least), one of their few songs that directly deals with current society and perhaps their fastest song since Reign in Blood. Finally there’s also the notorious “213,” another exploration of sexual aberrations/necrophilia with rather sick and graphic lyrics (but so is the picture of the bloodied arm with “Slayer” carved in it that you find inside the case). It’s an effective track though, as the band succeeds in building up this really creepy atmosphere. I liked this album a lot when I just bought it, but I guess it was its sheer aggression that did it. After a while, however, I noticed that the aggression was also its most interesting aspect and that it covered up the fact that it just doesn’t have the first-rate song-writing of the previous three albums. I mean, I often love albums that are really menacingly wild and dangerous-sounding, but there should be a sense of purpose underneath it all. While their previous albums were blasts of controlled force, Divine Intervention sounds like 36 minutes of noise made by deaf and blind maniacs who are desperately trying to prove they’re the heaviest band on earth.
Reader comments: Shaun D (Australia):
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Undisputed Attitude (1996)
7
Disintegration/Free Money / Verbal Abuse/Leeches / Abolish Government/Superficial Love / Can’t Stand You / DDAMN / Guilty of Being White / I Hate You / Filler/I Don’t Wanna Hear It / Spiritual Law / Sick Boy / Mr. Freeze / Violent Pacification / Richard Hung Himself / I’m Gonna Be Your God / Gemini
While
previous albums (especially the generally fast Reign In Blood and
Divine Intervention) already hinted at influences of hardcore punk
in Slayer’s music, Undisputed Attitude is their covers tribute
to that fast and furious American offspring of the late ‘70s punk boom
(although it also contains three self-penned tracks). Some of the choices
the band comes up with are surprising (The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be
Your Dog” turned into ‘I’m Gonna Be Your God”), a
few were pretty predictable (a few cuts by early ‘80s hardcore legends
Minor Threat and one by D.R.I., quite possible the fastest band on earth in
the mid-80’s), but it beats me why they included three tracks
by Verbal Abuse and two by D.I., bands that never rose above obscurity
(and apparently for good reason). On the other hand, it is to their credit
that they haven’t chosen the easiest or most obvious path, the downside
being of course that some of the songs here impress by their sheer energy
and velocity, but not much else. Some of the songs follow a convenient punk
pace (faster than average, but not ridiculously fast), like the TSOL-medley
“Abolish Government/Superficial Love” or Dr. Know’s “Sick
Boy,” but more than half of the songs qualify as very fast thrash-punk.
Several of the high-energy punk blasts (including Hanneman’s “Can’t Stand You” and “DDAMN,” two tracks he allegedly wrote for an 80s punk project of his) are too one-dimensional to be memorable, but the cover versions of the Minor Threat songs, for instance, maintain the focused indignation and passion of the original ones, while the hilariously over-the-top version of D.R.I.’s classic “Violent Pacification” (which doubles the speed of the original) is simply something you gotta to hear to believe it. The advantage of covering mostly aggressive and fast tunes is of course that it’s not that easy to screw it up – if you can play, but considering that these guys can play that’s not a problem to be reckoned with. By consequence, the one cover that’s disappointing is “I’m Gonna Be Your God,” in which the perverse tone and droning music of the original is turned into a less successful metal failure, with a silly vocal performance by Araya. Finally there’s the bonus album closer, which basically has nothing in common with the rest, as it’s just a hint (but a good one) of the band’s next direction. Undisputed Attitude is of course essential stuff for any Slayer fan, but both as an introduction and a punk tribute it’s less recommended. The band plays for what it’s worth, the sound is good (an impressive job done by David Sardy) and the album contains some truly incendiary stuff, but if they’d chosen a bit more interesting tracks the album would’ve been more than just a fine one.
Diabolus in Musica (1998)
7.5
Bitter Peace / Death’s Head / Stain of Mind / Overt Enemy / Perversions of Pain / Love to Hate / Desire / In the Name of God / Scrum / Screaming from the Sky / Wicked / Point
Diabolus
in Musica is probably the first of their albums on which Slayer makes
concessions. Well, sort of. It’s not that their music has mellowed (although
it’s more “massive” than “vicious” on this one),
but the sound has made a turn of 180 degrees. On the downside this means that
Slayer suddenly has much more in common with alternative ‘90’s
metal (Machine Head, Pantera, Korn, etc, who are all inferior to Slayer, in
my honest but irrelevant opinion)), while before this one they always kept
faithful to their original sound. We all know this also implies they
became trendy sounding for the first time (you can’t be trendy
if you’re groundbreaking or stubbornly hold on to your ideals, right?).
On the positive side, however, this may very well be the first time we actually
hear some bass playing on a Slayer album! Indeed, Araya’s not only a
vocalist, he plays a mean and muddy bass as well. Luckily, the band also regained
some of its former creativity, which they had lost a bit on their previous
regular album, Divine Intervention, since several tracks on Diabolus
simply obliterate the better tracks on that album. On the other hand, this
album also contains the first few Slayer songs I really can’t stand,
but fortunately they’re only a minority.
Album opener “Bitter Peace” has a cool mid-tempo intro of one and a half minute, before the revitalized Slayer is back to kick your ass with a speedy and lethally intense track. The grinding “Death’s Head,” during which Araya delivers thrilling screaming and mumbled growling, and “Stain of Mind,” a modern metal track with (gasp!) hit potential continue the winning streak. While those tracks already made clear that the lyrics are as edgy as ever, “Perversions of Pain” adds more graphic detail, an almost catchy chorus and repetitive riffs and thundering drumming during the verses (and check out that great break halfway the song). Also the duo of “Scrum” and “Screaming from the Sky” offers first-class mayhem; just check out that vicious tightness in the bass-led (!) sections of the first or the plodding bounce of the second, that makes you wanna snap your fingers, break someone's neck and go totally overboard. A final highlight is the album closer “Point”, which has some more variation in the guitar sounds (because King and Hanneman don’t play similar lines all the time), and boasts an aggressiveness that’s great to end an album with. On the other hand, “Overt Enemy” and “Love to Hate” may be among my least favorite Slayer songs ever, the former because it has an unnecessarily dragging vocal melody that simply gets on my nerves, while the latter reminds me too much of those hardcore/metal crossover bands that just randomly scream over third-rate riffs with lots of attitude and nothing more. In fact, the middle part of the album contains some more tracks I don’t really care for (“Desire,” “In the Name of God”), simple because they don’t do anything to me or don’t rise above their contemporaries’ efforts (and those devilish backing vocals in “In the Name of God” are just plain silly). But like I said before: despite the full-bodied and laboured-over sound that might suggest they’re trying to cover up their lack of top-notch material, the reigning quartet has once again come up with an album that shows what they’re worth. If it weren’t for the few missteps – in other words: if it was 15 minutes shorter – this would be a superb album, while now it’s only a highly enjoyable album, marred by a few sub-standard tracks. That doesn’t prevent that this release is Slayer's best effort since 1990, though.
Note: “Wicked” wasn’t on the original edition. The original edition is the better one.
God Hates Us All (2001)
7.5
Darkness of Christ / Disciple / God Send Death / New Faith / Cast Down / Threshold / Exile / Seven Faces / Bloodline / Deviance / War Zone / Here Comes the Pain / Payback
God
Hates Us All was probably one of the most anticipated metal albums of
2001, and rightly so. Of the generation that reigned in the mid-‘80’s,
Slayer was by far the band that tried to uphold its original aggressiveness
and invention. Diabolus in Musica already marked a move towards a
more modern sound, and by consequence, many people accused them of selling
out after this album had been released (they had to continue in that
direction, right?). Well, I never knew I was a ‘nu-metal’ fan
to begin with. If this can be compared to the endless strings of releases
by so-called energetic bands that recycle the same idea over and over again,
add some silly raps and bleeps and think it’s interesting, then I’ll
go to work tomorrow wearing a pink bra and fisherman’s boots. This album
is loud. No, it’s LOUD. OK, I hear you coming: “they
do sound like Slipknot now, don’t they?”. Well yeah, because Slipknot
knew whom they were ripping off, didn’t they? Well, I’m exaggerating
again, but it’s pretty obvious Slayer is a major influence, and let
it be clear that although some Slayer members are Slipknot-fans, the album
doesn’t sound as if Slayer is the follower here. Suddenly I don’t
even remember why I’m typing all of this….
Maybe because right at the time I was thinking about the bad rep the band got, “Payback” was almost ruining my ears. You guessed it, “Payback” isn’t the James Brown song. It’s the bafflingly intense final track of an album that’s one exhausting listen. ‘Exhausting’ because the band doesn’t seem to care about creating a soft/loud or slow/fast balance. God Hates Us All is a relentless rush of adrenaline, and while the production makes it quite inaccessible too (it’s quite sludgy with the guitars sounding especially dirty all the time) it also helps turning it into an extremely pissed off record. What distinct this album the most however, are probably the completely insane vocals by Araya, who delivers his most maniacal performance ever. This might not be your thing, if you’re into melody, guitar solos (even the chaotic ones have almost completely disappeared!) or sing-along choruses, but they have never been about that in the first place. As for the songs: I already mentioned “Payback,” one of the unquestionable highlights. Because of the uncompromising production that turns each song into a brutal slab of noise, and the relentless attack of Slayer, it’s not easy to pick out stand-outs (OK, deduct from this that some of the songs are quite similar), but some of them deserve to be mentioned. “Disciple,” for instance, the first ‘proper’ song on the album, immediately announced they were back with a lethal combination of incendiary metal and screeched hardcore vocals. It’s violent, confrontational, and when Araya screams “I’ll never be the one to wear the cross” he does it with utter conviction. Indeed, the boys are still singing about religion, with loads of biblical references, and even the songs that don’t deal with religion (oppression, war, death) get their share of biblical imagery (what a great source of reference it is).
“War Zone” is a nice addition to their series of war songs (“Ghosts of War,” “War Ensemble,” etc.) and the rampant and near-apocalyptic “Exile” boasts some charged drumming courtesy of Paul Bostaph, a remarkably tidy solo and some light-hearted poetry (“My hate is contagious, anyone else need to vent?, you’ve tried my tolerance, I just want you to die”). They don’t forget to satisfy the classic thrash-fan either: “New Faith,” another song dominated by Araya’s venomous bile and King’s anti-religious lyrics (“I keep the bible in a pool of blood, so that none of its lies can affect me”), is great to bang your head to, while the slower “Bloodline,” besides being the most accessible track on the album, keeps up a cool mid-tempo groove. Not all the songs are effective here: “Deviance” is easily my least favorite song on the album, a weak composition that has less successful vocals, while “Threshold” and “Here Comes the Pain” lack the ingredient that would make them excellent. But most of the songs have something going for them, whether it’s the Seasons-styled dragging pace of “Seven Faces” or the more conventional staccato riffs of “God Send Death,” it’s simply undeniable that the band has come up with an amazingly powerful album that proves that they still have the capability and the urge to be the best of their game. Like I said above, the sometimes inaccessible production and high level of intensity make this one hard album to consume, but the quartet thrashes with so much focus and aggression (and that nearly twenty years into their existence) that for me the album easily eclipses, say, Divine Intervention and even Diabolus in Musica, making it perhaps (in my opinion) their best album since their golden period (’86-’90).
Soundtrack to the Apocalypse (Box Set) (2003)
8 (9.5 + 8 + 6.5 + 8)
CD 1: Angel of Death / Criminally Insane (Remix)/
Postmortem / Raining Blood / Aggressive Perfector / South of Heaven
/ Silent Scream / Live Undead / Mandatory Suicide / Spill the Blood
/ War Ensemble / Dead Skin Mask / Hallowed Point / Born of Fire / Seasons
in the Abyss / Hell Awaits / The Antichrist / Chemical Warfare
CD 2: Sex.Muder.Art / Dittohead / Divine Intervention / Serenity in Murder / 213 / Can’t Stand You / DDAMN / Gemini / Bitter Peace / Death’s Head / Stain of Mind / Disciple / God Send Death / New Faith / In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida / Disorder / Memories of Tomorrow / Human Disease / Unguarded Instinct / Wicked / Addict / Scarstruck
CD 3 (“Shit You’ve Never Heard”): Ice Titan / The Antichrist / Fight Till Death / Necrophiliac / Piece by Piece / Raining Blood / Angel of Death / Jeff Hanneman home recording: Raining Blood / Jeff Hanneman home recording: South of Heaven / Seasons in the Abyss / Mandatory Suicide / Mind Control / No Remorse (I Wanna Die) / Dittohead / Sex.Murder.Art / Bloodline / Payback
DVD (“Shit You’e Never Seen”): Die by the Sword / Aggressive Perfector / Praise of Death / Haunting the Chapel / Necrophobic / Reborn / Jesus Saves / War Ensemble / South of Heaven / Dead Skin Mask / Gemini / Heaviest Band Award: home footage / EPK for Diabolus in Musica / Stain of Mind / Bloodline / Disciple / God Send Death
Slayer
is the ultimate thrash band. Ever since they concocted their mix of classic
hard rock, hardcore punk and the macabre metal of European predecessors such
as Venom and Merciful Fate a bit more than twenty years ago, they’ve
been a wholly unique band that always stood by its principles. Even without
the major support other leading metal acts of the time (Metallica, Megadeth,
and to a lesser extent Anthrax) received, Slayer became a household name,
the biggest cult band in the world, a force to be reckoned with or, –
if you’re of the conservative camp – a morally bereft, violence-obsessed
bunch of Satanists. Of course, this wouldn’t have happened if the music
hadn't been that spectacular in the first place. When they, aided by producer
Rick Rubin, unleashed Reign in Blood on the world, a whole new paradigm
became decisive and changed the course of extreme metal. They not only took
things as far as possible (the classic’s ferocity is still stunning
– just try to find any metal album from that period that can match it),
but also helped to create and define both thrash and death metal in the process,
and while the metal scene caught up with them in the early ‘90’s,
they never altered their stubborn attitude. Even though Diabolus in Musica
at least acknowledged new trends that had become popular since their previous
album (1994’s Divine Intervention), they haven’t mellowed
a single bit, either. You gotta give them that. You might even argue that
nowadays the band is more uncompromising than ever before. Listen to God
Hates Us All. Then listen to St. Anger. And listen to God
Hates Us All again…. RIGHT.
To commemorate the 20 years they’ve been around, American released the box set Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, a generous offer of three CD’s (four if you can afford the limited edition version that comes with a bunch of gadgets) and a DVD, giving an overview of their eventful career. Unfortunately, they couldn’t include any songs from the Metal Blade-releases (except for three live versions taken from Decade of Aggression), making it already flawed as a career retrospective from the get-go. But hey, since these early releases are still available, let’s consider what did make it to the set. It contains no less than 29 tracks that you can find on the full-lengths, adds a bunch of soundtrack appearances, bonus tracks that previously only appeared on Japanese releases, and on top of that an entire disc of live stuff taken from the most important phases in their career. The DVD (which is a mere 70 minutes long, stingy bastards) works similarly, gathers amateur and professional footage and offers a telling significant perspective on the band’s unstoppable rise to becoming a major force in the metal world. The most impressive disc is undeniably the first one, which selects five songs from classic albums Reign in Blood (the ‘Big Bang’), South of Heaven (the underrated one), and Seasons in the Abyss (commercial breakthrough) and adds three live cuts taken from the early albums. Is there a better way to start things off than with “Angel of Death”? To this very day, I still admit honestly that I’ve never heard a better thrash song. By anyone. It defines thrash, its velocity, brutality, controversy and attitude, while it’s also memorable as hell: from the ear-piercing shriek during the intro to that mid-tempo groove halfway the song and Lombardo’s mind-blowing performance throughout it, it’s a track on a par with all the divine metal classics out there. The other tracks are for the most part fantastic as well (the only song I don’t really care for is “Dead Skin Mask,” a recurring fan favourite, while “Spill the Blood” (incorrectly switched with “Live Undead” on the tracklisting) is also a notch below the others), ranging from terrific mid-tempo grooves (“Mandatory Suicide,” “Seasons in the Abyss”), speeding motherfuckers (“Raining Blood,” “Hallowed Point”) and the classic that combines it all (“War Ensemble”). The first disc focuses on the band’s strongest material, released in the golden era of thrash. This implies it’s essential thrash: if you don’t like this stuff, forget about it forever, because it’s as good as it gets.
The second disc starts off with 14 studio tracks; five from Divine Intervention and three from Diabolus in Musica, the covers album Undisputed Attitude and their latest, God Hates Us All. At the dawn of the ‘90’s, alternative rock thoroughly changed the music scene, but not Slayer. With Paul Bostaph instead of Lombardo at the drum kit, the band turned in a gut-wrenchingly brutal album that maybe wasn’t any faster than Reign in Blood, but seethed with twice as much anger, as “Sex.Murder.Art” and (especially) “Dittohead” will testify. At this point, Slayer was the only of the ‘80’s greats still exploring the edges of extremity, and doing it successfully (though Divine Intervention is a bit too exhausting). They weren’t nearly as prolific in the ‘90’s though, as Undisputed Attitude contained only one original song (“Gemini”), which suggested the direction of the next album. Diabolus in Musica – again recorded with Rick Rubin – is their only release that finds ‘em following a trend (“Bitter Piece,” “Stain of Mind”), rather than setting one, but again, they’re doing it by their own set of rules, as 2001’s vicious God Hates Us All has them return to the good old all out-approach (just check out the brilliant “New Faith”). Added to these tracks are a bunch of bonus tracks that never made it to the European/American editions (“Memories of Tomorrow” and the last four tracks that basically continue the style and attitude of the album they were added to), as well as a few remarkable tracks that appeared on a few soundtracks: while “Human Disease” (The Bride of Chucky) is a decent but bludgeoning song, their brief take on Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and the Exploited-medley “Disorder,” recorded with Ice-T in the aftermath of the L.A. riots, are winners. The third disc, titled “Shit You’ve Never Heard,” offers more than an hour of live performances, recorded between 1983 and 2002. Obviously, the earliest recordings are barely listenable garage-quality tapes or have only one guitar in the mix (the otherwise fine “Necrophiliac”). The songs taken from the Reign in Blood-tour are of a better quality and impressively fierce, as the band realizes it’s on its way to reach new peaks in their (and metal) history. Despite the fact that Slayer became a kind of institution from 1986 onwards, the sound often leaves a lot to be desired (lacking the brutal attack of the studio versions). Fortunately, the band always gave their all which reflects on the performances (“Mind Control,” and “Dittohead” sound frighteningly possessed).
Finally, the DVD gathers stuff from 1983 to 2003. The earliest recordings are sheer fun to watch (wicked costumes and mascara?), despite the sub-par sound. It’s also an excellent opportunity to witness the band’s growing popularity, from the fierce performance during the Reign-tour in front of a small audience, to a large venue during the 1991 Seasons-tour (with Lombardo sitting on a separate drum-stage that seems 20 ft high), to, finally, the mega-festival size of 2003. The material is mostly excellent, with the stuff from 1991 (“War Ensemble,” “South of Heaven,” “Dead Skin Mask”) finding the best balance of good sound, visuals and performances. Interesting extras: Slayer’s appearance at the Kerrang! Awards and a (very) short documentary on the making of Diabolus in Musica. The only remaining question then, is: who is supposed to buy this? The first two discs are perhaps the IDEAL way to get acquainted with the band’s music, as it contains most of their classics and successfully shows their progress and uncompromising approach throughout the years, but I seriously doubt that a Slayer rookie is interested in the footage of the DVD or the live disc (especially Jeff Hanneman’s home recordings), because it’s exactly the kind of stuff that only hardcore fans crave. And hardcore fans, they already own the first 29 tracks (and probably the soundtracks on which the band appeared). Perhaps it would’ve been a better idea to release the first two CD’s separately as a kind of introduction (there hasn’t been any other Slayer compilation yet), and the third CD and DVD as a treat for the true Slaytanic Wehrmacht out there. But of course, what am I thinking? The music industry doesn’t work like that. They KNOW there are more than enough people who’ll buy it, even if it’s only because it, well, fits nicely in your CD-rack. Oh well, I guess there are still worse ways to spend 50 dollars/euros.
Note: The foldout package (the limited edition version comes in a “real” box) also contains a 72-page booklet, mainly written by a guy called Marc Paschke (an über-fan?), but also including loads of quotes, photos and elaborations on crowd violence, controversial lyrics (“Angel of Death,” etc.), getting booed during their first gigs, the rumour that “they can’t play their instruments” and the unfortunate release of God Hates Us All on 09/11/01.
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