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Slayer: Reign in Blood
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Back in the 1980's, while everyone else was
taken in by bands like Duran Duran and that entire wave a British synth-pop,
I was more into the heavier end of the spectrum. Bands like Metallica,
Destruction, Venom, and so on were a part of my daily listening. The irony
is that back then, all of the jocks and honor students that criticized
bands like Metallica, claming they would never amount to anything are the
same ones that worship them today while I sit and can't quite understand
what the fascination is. Around 1986, I would here what would be the most
brutal, heavy, and downright fast album I'd ever heard in my life. Of
course, bands like Dark Angel would later break those boundaries; then
again they would be challenged by Napalm Death, and even more recently by
Origin.
The band was Slayer, a band I had been listening to since their debut, and
the album was Reign in Blood, a release that even today still has a great
impact and has held up very well after nearly two decades since it's
release.
Slayer had won fans over with releases like Show No Mercy and those
legions had grown with Hell Awaits as well as their EP's that had show up,
but no one was prepared to what was to come, and Reign in Blood gave us
the same Slayer, but heavier, faster, and so much more aggressive that the
boundaries were drawn with those that loved the release and those that it
was simply too fast for.
"Angel of Death," the opening cut from the disc, is perhaps one of the
most well known tracks on the disc, and a fan favorite of course, with
lyrics discussing the horrors and atrocities committed by scientists in
Nazi Germany. The brutality written about here would be a theme, more or
less, throughout the disc. "Piece by Piece," the following track,
discusses bodily dismemberment whereas the next track, "Necorphobic,"
looks at various ways in which a person can die, and not all of these are
pretty. With lyrical content such as this however, it would be one more
thing that would cause parents, religious groups, and the PMRC to point
out why Slayer was such a bad influence, especially with tracks like
"Alter of Sacrifice," an obvious ode to Satanic ritual.
Grim or not, the pure speed, crushing and powerful guitar riffs and sheer
heaviness of Reign in Blood make it a classic. Even with references to
Satan however, that's the path many bands had taken back in the day to
gain an edge and make themselves that much more noticeable. While bands
like Metallica may not have written about such subject matter, Slayer,
Sodom, and of course Venom made it a part of their lyrics, although it's
not quite used as much today, bands such as Nile taking the path of evil,
but towards Egyptian mythology and others singing about either politics or
murder.
Aside from "Angel of Death," some of the other standout tracks include
"Jesus Saves," a blatant (but needed) slap to the face of religion, the
heavy "Criminally Insane," "Necorphoic," and in all honesty, just about
every single song on the CD. Reign in Blood is one of the greatest Slayer
albums ever recorded, but sadly, would be a last hurrah for many fans as
the follow up, South of Heaven," lacked the speed and viciousness that is
contained here. More recent Slayer endeavors, like God Hates Us All,
returns just slightly to these glory days, but perhaps not to the same
degree. Regardless though, for any that have been into metal for quite a
few years, if you were to ask them what albums they would deem as being
classic, there's no doubt that Reign in Blood is going to be on that list
and is a must have CD for any metal collection.
-mike-
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Line-Up:
Tom Araya - vocals/bass
Kerry King - guitars
Jeff Hanneman - guitar
Dave Lombardo - drums |
Track Listing:
01. Angel
of Death
02. Piece by Piece
03. Necrophobic
04. Altar of Sacrifice
05. Jesus Saves
06. Criminally Insane
07. Reborn
08. Epidemic
09. Postmortem
10. Raining Blood
11. Aggressive Perfector (bonus track)
12. Criminally Insane (remix)Running Time:
35 Minutes
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