Slayer- Reign In Blood
“…probably the best thrash album ever recorded”
Slayer. Or even better, “FUCKIN’ SLAYER!”
Whenever there is a conversation about Thrash Metal, almost immediately one band comes to your mind (after Metallica), Slayer. This band with their classic line-up of Tom Araya, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, and Dave Lombardo, created one of the most brutal and “thrashiest” albums ever known to man, Reign In Blood.
The songs on this album introduced, or re-introduced, a lot of us fans to the darker sides of life. Angel of Death, the opening track, is probably the most brutal thrash song ever recorded, and has become a staple in Slayer shows and in thrash metal in general. It is also one of most controversial songs from Slayer (and there are a lot). I mean, if the main topic of the song is about the sadistic Nazi physician, Josef Mengele (aka the Angel of Death, search it up), then that song well most likely ruffle a few feathers. With Tom Araya’s piercing scream and growly voice, Kerry King’s and Jeff Hanneman’s complex and brutal guitar riffs, and Dave Lombardo’s mastery of the double-bass, Angel of Death proved to be a legendary song in the world of Heavy Metal.
After Angel of Death, us fans were blown away for what followed. Piece By Piece is in my opinion an underrated classic within the body of work that Slayer had recorded throughout the years. Even though Slayer has released a lot of songs about dismemberment, Piece By Piece was by far the best song that portrayed it (in my opinion, you may or may not agree). If you like short and sweet, Necrophobic probably satisfied your craving. With only a length of 1:41, it showed what fast and short music should be. With mesmerizing guitar riffs, and Dave Lombardo beating the shit out of his drums, Necrophobic made us all headbang quickly and intensely with our necks soar after it ends.
Altar of Sacrifice, Jesus Saves, Criminally Insane, Reborn, and Epidemic are all underrated thrash classics that help give the album a fast yet punishing adventure for the diehard metal fans who thrive off of the fury and intensity of Slayer.
Following all of those songs is the Slayer classic, Postmortem. With a heavy riff and groove of the guitars, this song has become a classic hit within the body of work of Slayer. Dealing with issues of death and horrors relating to it, Slayer strikes fear into the hearts of the weak with this song. Another reason of why Postmortem is such a classic within the community of Slayer fans is the fact that it serves a prelude to by far one of the most famous songs not only by Slayer but in Heavy Metal in general…
Raining Blood. Near the beginning of the song, you can hear rain and the creeping drums of Dave Lombardo. And then (many of you guys might agree or disagree) the most famous guitar riff in Heavy Metal ever begins playing. The classic Raining Blood riff. The one that forms mosh pits in every festival that its played at, the one that kicks every other metal songs’ asses. The extreme brutality of Raining Blood established itself as not only a Slayer classic, but a Heavy Metal classic, with many other bands covering it such as Vader and Anthrax to name a few. At the end of the song, the listener would be subjected to a crazy and intense battle of riffs between Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Exactly what Raining Blood is…crazy and intense.
With all of these songs packed into Reign in Blood, Slayer became a very important and prominent band within the genre of thrash metal. And certainly this album had kicked ass still continues to this day, with the old metal heads that have been there since the beginning, and the new generation, keeping the legend of Reign in Blood and Slayer alive to this day. (R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman)
