Slayer - Reign in Blood

Techno for headbangers. Like one song, like them all, dislike one...

I had been toying with the idea of buying this band's cover of punk songs called "Undisputed attitude" and I took the plunge in doing so, as well as picking up "Reign in blood" because a heavy metal magazine had recently said this was undisputably the greatest heavy metal album of all time. Thought about returning both cds, but held on to "Undisputed attitude" as it has a few good punk tracks (reviewed that title here, last).

My main problem with this title, and most of Undisputed Attitude is the sheer breakneck tempo of the music. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a 'cool' effect in increasing a song's tempo, such that the faster it goes, the more you like it. Here however, the tempo is so fast that it actually diminishes your enjoyment of the music. That's why I described this album as "techno for headbangers" in my header. In other words, IF you REALLY love VERY fast temp music, in a heavy metal style, you MAY LOVE this album.

Now, if the music had struck me as interesting, I MAY have been tempted to hold on to this cd. What made dumping this album even easier was the nature of the lyrics in it. They dealt with horror themes...quite detailed at times. It wouldn't surprise me if the horrific nature of the lyrics have been surpassed in recent times (search You Tube for Australian satirists "The Chaser" doing a cabaret version of a Cannibal Corpse song which is even more sickening than the lyrics on this album). I'm not saying that the lyrics in this cd are beyond the pale, but it crosses the line enough for me to be turned off by them.

The magazine which rated this album the greatest heavy metal album ever did mention this album being chock full of riffs. Unfortunately, either we have different notions on what a riff is, or I just found the riffs on this album unmemorable. Someone I had been emailing remarked that a certain heavy metal band that they had been listening to had a lot of "noodling" lead guitar work. Had never heard of that word before, but it did resonate with me...some of the lead guitar work here just seemed to wander around aimlessly.

Can't really say that I am a fan of the genre in heavy metal called "thrash", of which this album is apparently a part. The ONLY thrash album that I rate as good, is Metallica's "Master of puppets" (which I've reviewed here). Even though both these albums have elements in common, such that you couldn't be sure which band was playing that bit of music (e.g. the lyrical Haiku of Slayer's "Angel of death" and something like Metallica's "Thing that should not be"), I find the tempo so extreme in this Slayer album that I find it impossible to lump together these two bands, they are so different in style and intent.

The worst thing for me about this album is just the sheer lack of variety in the music. Like I said in the header, if you listen to one song on this album and like it, trust me, you will like ALL of the album. The converse is true too...if you listen to one song on this album and don't like it, trust me, you won't like ANY song on this album. I'm sure fans of this album will be able to point out instances where in fact Slayer DO change tempo or some such, but for me, the effect is never memorable. Their cover of "Violent pacification" is a shining example of how to change tempo to memorable and cool effect (on Undisputed Attitude).

Back to thrash metal, of the albums I've heard, mostly by Metallica, I tend to find them musically uninteresting for me...and those include albums that many heavy metal afficionados would undoubtedly call 'classics', like "Kill 'em all", "Ride the lightning" and "And justice for all". So...I would say that "Reign in blood" is superior to "Kill 'em all", which I regard as a bad album. It's just that I ditched BOTH albums. Would have ditched "And justice for all", if I could have, too. "Reign in blood" is not a bad album, musical proficiency wise, as I consider "Kill 'em all" to be...it's just that I find it one paced and uninteresting.

There really isn't a song on this album that I find "listworthy", as in Metallica's magnificent "Fade to black" on the otherwise unintersting "Ride the lightning" album. If pressed, I could say that some of the songs are SORT of interesting...e.g. "Angel of death", "Piece by piece" and "Raining blood", but they're not the kind of songs that I would really want to listen to for 'pleasure'. Which is not to say that I hate breakneck speed metal. In another album I briefly owned, the 20th Anniversary Nuclear Blast compilation, I did find myself liking the black metal song "Sanctus perversum" by Belphagor, which had interesting guitar work...melodically and texturally speaking. That song was also REALLY fast.

All I can say is that if you like absurdly fast heavy metal music with some gruesome lyrics (murder themes, occultish themes), you will find a lot to like in this cd. As I found the musical and lyrical tempo absurdly fast, I can't give this album any more than two stars. I'm rating this a better album than "Kill 'em all" but that is not saying much.

Of the kind of heavy metal albums I actually like, well, for thrash, I recommend Metallica's "Master of puppets", but my favourite album of theirs is "Reload". "Master of puppets" is a better album, overall, than "Black", but "Black" has two of my favourite Metallica songs "Enter Sandman" and "Unforgiven", so they almost break even, quality wise.

For those who like elements of hard-core music in their metal, my favourite such album is Coldseed's "Completion makes the tragedy" which is a brilliantly varied album combining what sounds like thrash songs to me, with power ballads, with grunge metal, with some guttural singing, with trippy songs. Reviewed all the albums mentioned above, mostly.

Fave metal songs:

Metallica: "Fade to black" and "Enter Sandman"
Megadeth: Prince of Darkness
Coldseed: "Burning with a shade" and "Low"

Also reviewed a lot of proto metal albums here and hard-rock. November 4, 2008

The Best Thrash Metal Album Ever?

After their second studio album "Hell Awaits" Slayer did their best album so far, "Reign In Blood". This album is not just thrash metal - it is speed metal - AND I Mean SPEED. It has 10 songs and it lasts less than 30 minutes. The songs are so heavy and upbeat. The band plays really fast and perfectly and the vocalist sings as fast as he can! Many of you argue that is this or Metallica's "Master of Puppets" the best thrash metal album of all time. Well, I don't know. They both are great and have no fillers. I still think that Megadeth's "Rust in Peace" is also a perfect one. This album has so many great songs: "Angel of Death", "Piece by Piece", "Altar of Sacrifice", "Jesus Saves", "Raining Blood" that are still in Slayer's live set. In fact, it's really shame that they all cannot be played in their every gig. This album is really evil! I should say that only Megadeth was more evil than Slayer in 80's. But argue also about that... Anyway, I think every real metal fan should have this album.
Stars: Raining Blood, Angel of Death, Jesus Saves October 14, 2008

Essential metal album, influential and still scary to this day

I am a musician, and over the years I have grown to enjoy and play most genres of music from rock n' roll to jazz to electronic music, but I have never lost my love of heavy metal. I am 35 now. I first heard this album as a mullet-headed, scrawny, pimply 16 year old a few years after it came out. I dubbed a cassette copy from a friend and completely wore it out.

There are nearly 600 other Amazon reviews here, so there's not much to say that hasn't already been said about Reign In Blood. Still, indulge me - I just want to make a few comments about how influential and timeless this album is.

To me, Tom Araya's vocals have always been one of Slayer's greatest assets. He can't really "sing" per se, his voice of more of an aggressive, unhinged bark, full of aggression and rage. Within his limitations he has a surprising range, too. To me his vocal style is more effectively aggressive than the standard cookie cutter, Cookie Monster-like cookie cutter death grunts and shrieks that are now a hackneyed cliché in metal bands. Plus, you can understand most of the lyrics by just listening - a lyric sheet is required for most metal bands.

Also, at the time this came out, with the possible exception of Venom, nobody was as blasphemous as Slayer. I don't think the band has ever really been Satanists, and I think they would probably describe themselves as atheists more than anything else. I look at the satanic imagery as more of a broadside against organized religion, Christianity of course in particular. In fact the lyrics of lot of the more Satanic songs, particularly on this album, would be quite cheesy if not for the raw rage with which they were delivered. Slayer is interested in showing us the darker corners of human nature, not in converting us to any one worldview. But if you've got a grudge against religion, Slayer is the band and this is the album for your angry moments.

Lombardo's drumming on this album is phenomenal, too - the guy practically invented the double kick drum technique that is now such a standard element of death metal. He's a little looser here than on most of their other albums. This was the mid 80s - no one had ever heard a drummer play so fast. There were a few English grind bands like Napalm Death doing blast beats, but blast beats at the time were more of an expression of punk aggression, not really a metal thing.

A few of the criticisms of this album are justified. For one, there is little bass presence to speak of, the same problem that plagued Metallica's otherwise excellent ...And Justice For All. For another the unrelenting attack makes these tunes sound kind of similar at times - the familiar "all the songs sound the same" critique. That can be true of metal bands in general, particularly in the years since Reign In Blood and with the personalityless grunts and inhuman roars have become the norm for metal. There is also a case to be made that some of the satanic stuff can seem a little ridiculous, again true for a lot of metal bands in general.

It's good that they made this Reign so short - I don't see how keeping this level of intensity couldn't start to grate if it went on much longer. After this record they began to explore more varied tempos.

But to this day, Araya's demonic shriek at the beginning of "Angel Of Death" still chills my blood. He sounds like a scaly, horned demon swooping down from a lightning-filled black sky to devour souls! The aggression and intensity do not let up from there. There are hardly even any gaps between the songs. It's a blistering, full-frontal assault from beginning to end. Some metal albums can be a little cheesy, but not this one. It's genuinely scary and perfect for frightening your parents, as it certainly did mine. It's an album whose legendary status is entirely justified, and continues to inspire new generations of metalheads to raise their hands in the "devil horns" salute. It's that good.
August 31, 2008

Simply the best

What else can I say? Simply THE definitive Thrash album of all time. Reborn is the only track I consider less than 5 stars on this one. August 17, 2008

An album no metal fan should be without

I'm just shocked on how a lot of people prefer those sellouts Metallica to Slayer. There are no orchestras here, no Bob Seger covers, just 28 minutes of pure, classic thrash metal. Other than the epic "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" (5 and a little over 4 mins. respectively) every song here is short, fast, and right to the point, and with Tom Araya's rapid-fire vocals, that's the way they should be. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman trade their guitar solos nicely, and Dave Lombardo's blistering double bass puts him in a league of his own. Although Araya's bass is barely noticeable, his high-pitched screams and vocals more than make up for it. I listen to this album constantly and never tire of it; you won't either. August 2, 2008

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