Reviews (page 5 of 8)
One thing I respect about this album: the sound. Nevermind whatever extremes you can find in obscure black metal demos, this is heavy! Also, I respect any band that makes their albums short and concise. But besides those things, I have never particularly cared for the songs themselves. Slayer doesn’t have the songwriting chops of Metallica or Megadeth. They make up for it with a more aggressive presentation, but it doesn’t take me all the way to the same heights that those bands reach.
It will never be my favourite genre, but I can listen to this and appreciate it.
Found this one quite difficult to rate. Definitely have to be in the right mood but the beginning of the album is good... it does drag a little. Its probably somewhere between a 3 and a 4.
3.5/5
Speed for speed’s sake. I like when they slow down to a sprint with riffs that give my brain time to comprehend and bob my head like the last 5 seconds of Necrophobic, the middle of Altar Of Sacrifice, and the opening of Jesus Saves. The opening riff of Postmortem is dope too. I went back to my metal baseline, Metallica, to figure out my thoughts. I like the slower tempos and musicality of Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets over the SPEEEEEED of …And Justice For All and this album. They are still heavy and fast, but not just hastened, notes per minute, flashes of lightning.
#44 - Was fully expecting to hate it, and I feel like I've been put through a washing machine, but I kind of enjoyed it. I see how thrash is the next step to hardcore Punk. Lyrics are disgusting but at least not satanic. Top musicianship tho - both performance and composition.
It’s a thrash metal record.
Reign in blood is great, what a riff. In general, the thrash metal gets a bit tiresome and the album blended into one a bit. Also, would it hurt to sing some metal without talking about the devil and that? Maybe something a bit more mundane? Makes me think about how good Blakfish's preparing for guests is, screaming about tidying up. I wouldn't say I had a bad time listening to it, it's a great example of what it is, just not really my thing. 2.5.
Know a couple of slayer tracks but never listened to an album before. Don't think I was aware that they were releasing stuff in the 80s, would've put this as mid 90s. Don't mind a bit of thrash metal, I don't think this is as good as master of puppets Raining blood is the only track I knew and it's the best one imo. Angel of death is pretty good too 3.5 but 3 I think
can be described as consistent it was enjoyable, not overbearing or hard to listen
This was a solid metal album entry, but it didn't feel or sound like anything more significant than other albums that were released around the same time period in the 1980s. While I didn't grow up listening to thrash metal, I've grown to enjoy it over time. Unfortunately, due to my upbringing, I still find the satanic imagery and lyrics unsettling, even if the band is doing it in ironic fashion.
Angel of Death - 3 Piece by Piece - 3 Necrophobic - 3 Altar of Sacrifice - 4 Jesus Saves - 2 Criminally Insane - 3 Reborn - 3 Epidemic - 3 Postmortem - 3 Raining Blood - 4, a Guitar Hero classic Aggressive Perfector - 3 Criminally Insane (Remix) - 3 Slayer is too trashy for me. Beyond my taste for Metal.
Rip and Tear? Rip and Tear,
Raining blood is great.
1or 5 stars would be the artists' intended effect, but that was at its time. Did not age too well and today leaves me rather lukewarm. Three stars nonetheless for it being genre defining...
Great riffs
I don't like this, but it's also really good. It's excellent execution on everything it tries to do, but I don't enjoy much of it. It absolutely shreds, and doesn't resonate with me at all.
SLAYER. Sounds the same to my untrained ear, but there's some good stuff here. As usual, mystified by Rick Rubin.
pretty sick actually. listening to this while playing modern warfare 2 was probably awesome
I didn’t think that it would enjoy that as much as I did. That being said, I don’t think I’ll listen to it again!
Thrash metal. Ni fu ni fa.
prehc
Points for some serious riffage, though I’m not sure these guys have done enough to prove they aren’t actually nazis. It’s fun while it lasts but if you’re not mad for it you’ll forget how it goes. Raining Blood is an all timer, mind.
This seems very love-it-or-hate it, but I'm in the middle. I don't dislike metal (love the energy) but I want something that will make it stand out to me. This didn't, it all sounded the same.
Am I a poser if I say that I like thrash metal but wish it had more melody or progression? I would definitely go to this show though.
Quite the pick for #400. 3/5
This...was quite good! My heart was in my boots when I got it, but I went out for a brisk run and listened to it, and it was way better than I'd feared. Obviously it starts with a 10 second long scream, which (a) is very funny, and (b) meant I set off at about four times my usual pace like I'd been shot out of a cannon. But after that, while it's really heavy and not my thing at all, there's, y'know, melody and skill to the music. A lesson to lots of other metal bands that it's OK to write actual songs that don't make people want to cut their ears off.
I swear, if I had been a bit cooler as an 11yo kid… That melted my face. What I caught of it, I enjoyed. Some of it definitely sounded like an iron cage of cookware and angry bears falling down a flight of stairs.
Eh. Not my thing, but i definitely get what I paid for
It's very well played/produced and these guys are all very talented but it's probably not my cuppa tea.
Pues no me ha disgustado
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Didn’t listen all the way through, but from what I did this is pretty good Speed metal.
3.5 for me, really. I love it and it's also kinda just the same song sorta. Lyrics sure are rainbows and sunshine too lol
It sounds a bit like a take off on Metallica's Kill 'Em All if there wasn't anything catchy or very interesting. Most of it sounds like the same song, either sped up or slowed down by 25%. Every once in a while there is a totally "this doesn't fit with the rest of the song" speed metal solo. Towards the end, there is a little more groove and uniqueness, definitely Raining Blood and parts of Postmortem and Reborn.
Slayer? Don't even know er! Seriously though you shouldn't slay people you know. Or people you don't know, for that matter. Unless you're slaying them with the scintillating sounds of 80s thrash, of course. Taken individually, each song is a kickass metal song. As a whole though the album finds a way to drag on even though it's just 28 minutes long.
重金属听不了一点
It's hard to believe people really like this kind of 'singing'. I get the music though. Like too many rock and pop bands though - way too comfortable with satanic and Luciferian stuff.
Enough already!
Favourite tracks: raining blood; angel of death
This album definitely has the energy I look for from heavy metal but it all felt a little generic to me. Maybe another listen will tip the scale...
This project can be quite a ride. This week I had Yes then Big Star then Joni Mitchell and now Slayer. I suppose that's why I'm here! Love the energy here, Slayer is fully committed to what they are doing and they do it well. However it starts feeling repetitive just a few songs in. If you love it then you are in luck. If you only like it, as I do, then it is too much. Any single song or two I'd probably give 5 stars. But the sum is less than the parts.
I am not well versed in the genre of Thrash Metal but I do know that Slayer is a landmark band and this a landmark album. I went in thinking maybe a couple of songs would stand out but I was pleasantly surprised when I finished the album I was ready to start it again.
The guitars and the drums sound awesome! The lyrics though... Not something I want in my brain, even as a passive listen. I don't know how anybody in the 80s would've known what these guys are saying at a concert or listening on speakers. But that's how they getcha.
Exactly what I thought Slayer would sound like
Talented and ground breaking. When the drops hit and the guitar is chugging that’s the peak. The vocals are screamy and just ok. A little repetitive. Good but not my type.
Gonna start with a neutral 2.5/5 grade because of how supposedly groundbreaking for the genre of thrash metal this album was in 1986. Then I'm gonna add bonus or penalty points depending on the flaws and assets I perceive when I listen to this record. We'll see where that leads me in the end (I honestly have no idea of the final grade as I'm writing those words): Incredibly virtuosistic guitar solos: +1. I'm not keen on gratuitous virtuosity, but I have to admit those solos are impressive and even pretty fun to "follow". One critic even compared them to Jackson Pollock's "drippings". An apt comparison. Current score: 3.5. Rick Rubin's *dry* production values: +1. A welcome corrective to the awful overblown production values in this genre during the eighties. It would take years for similar acts to catch up. This allowed *Reign In Blood*'s *sound* to age quite well (as "dated" and "cliché" as the *music* on it is today, admittedly). Current score: 4.5. The lyrics of *Angel Of Death*: -1. The real issue here is not to say that Slayers are "nazis". They collaborated with Ice-T's Body Count, for instance, and I don't think that collab would have gone on well if they were indeed admirers of the swastika. As Wikipedia points out, the band's members stated that they did not condone Nazism and were merely "interested" in the subject. Here is the sort of fascination for "evil" you can find in Joy Division and Motörhead, and I have no real problem with it, as limited and immature as that behaviour is. But it's the "way" that Slayer tackle that particular subject that is pretty stupid and, let's face it, totally irresponsible. Current score: 3.5 (A quick aside on that subject: "Angel Of Death" being a *first-person account* of Dr. Mengele's atrocious acts in Auschwitz, Jeff Hanneman's lyrics did not need to establish that Mengele was a monster, as Hanneman himself remarked. Everyone with a shred of intelligence and decency left in their souls knows it, of course. But just going for cheap thrills with a detailled account of Mengele's infamous tortures of his "patients", without anything in said lyrics conveying the bigger picture that the Holocaust is, is turning this heavy subject into a scary joy ride at Six Flags, or into an entertaining spectacle found in a cheap horror/gore B-movie. Worse, it can allow *genuine* nazi scums with brains the size of a pea to have fun and celebrate the memory of Mengele. Which is dumb as a bell. I'm not saying music should always be "moralist" or fully "responsible". But there should have been something in the lyrics preventing real nazis to enjoy the song. Like, I don't know, presenting Mengele as an inadequate character for a normal job, and who had no real "power" apart from the pain and death he inflicted on his victims. A couple of lines about that would have been enough, and they wouldn't have veered the initial "provocative" tone of the song off-course. This is not something Hanneman had given a lot of thought about, unfortunately. I know *some* metalheads are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but jeeze, connect you brain cells a little. Unless you have no problem being associated with nazism. But in that case, you have no brain cells left in your skull anyway. So don't complain if outsiders of the genre call you out with a few unpleasant monikers, please. You reap what you sow). Back to my bonus points / penalty points now... The odd meter of the lyrics, not fit for the bars that welcome them (and the resulting lack of enticing or merely effective rhythm in the vocal parts): -1. In all honesty, this is an issue pestering a lot of "classic" thrash metal albums (see the early Sepultura LPs, for instance). But it's not because fans of the genre are notoriously deaf to that aspect that I'm gonna refrain from giving that penalty point. Please, Slayer fans, understand that this is probably one of the features of thrash metal that are always gonna be off-putting for most listeners, even those interested in "extreme", aggressive genres. It's a problem that has been solved by other sub-strands of metal, fortunately... Current score: 2.5. The lack of variation in the compositions: -1. Always the same tonic for the chords, aside from a few lazy modulations, always the same fast-paced pattern on the drums and the muted-palm thing on the guitar... And most chords are interchangeable anyway. It's annoying as f*ck. Other "repetitive" styles can be redeemed by other elements in the songs (example: the energy of the vocals for punk and hardcore-punk). But as said earlier, the vocals are just meh here. Nothing to save most cuts between "Angel Of Death" and the title-track from oblivion. What you have here is basically the same song *times ten*. Current score: 1.5. The evocative, expressionistic artwork of the cover: +0.5. Can't give a full point for that, because it doesn't change anything to the music... but metal albums covers showing *genuine* artistic flair are quite rare. So I had to take that artwork into acount somehow. Current score: 2. Can't see any other redeeming elements in this album, though. Is 2/5 my final score? Maybe not, because I found this on Wikipedia: "When asked why *Reign in Blood* has retained its popularity, [Slayer's Kerry] King replied: "today, no one would give a shit. It was timing; it was a change in sound. In thrash metal at that time, no one had ever heard good production on a record like that. It was just a bunch of things that came together at once." We're going back full circle to my first bonus point about the album's production values, and I could almost give a 0.5 point to King (and by extension, to Slayer) for being so lucid and even humble about the whole situation. Indeed, no one would give a shit if this album came out today. And this avowal also suggests that *Reign In Blood* sounds pretty dated by today's metal standards, which is a little problematic for genres supposed to thrill or even "shock" their audiences--as if the edge of your knife wasn't so sharp anymore, to use a metaphor I've already used before, albeit for different reasons... Adding that 0.5 point, actually. Just to state that I understand that this record is "objectively" important, even if I wll probably never listen to it again.. Do I round up to 3, now? I will, only to underline how fitting the current global score of this thing is, as "important" as *Reing In Blood* is to some ears. Because this record's existence doesn't elicit anything to me beyond giving it bonus and penalty points. It makes me "feel" nothing. Which is why, in the end, a "neutral grade" is perfectly suited for it. To paraphrase "Piece By Piece", "No emotions, *maths* are all I see". Number of albums left to review: 288 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 314 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 174 (mostly for "historical" importance, but I doubt there will be rrom left for it ine the end). Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 231
Musically and lyrically, I must be in a specific mood for this. And right after K-pop while sipping a cup of hot tea isn't it unless you want some form of musical whiplash? I wouldn't turn it down, but I wouldn't necessarily seek it out. The guitar work was cool, though.
Thrash Metal at its finest? I dunno, it certainly upped my energy levels for the half hour or so it lasted. First track hits hard and it doesn't slow down, all gas, absolute gas, no brakes.
Musically, I'm into this. Hard, fast, rhythmic noise is very much my jam. But, I have to be honest, the basic Satanism 101 and death vibes leaves me ... bewildered. I don't get it. That aside, I very much enjoyed it.
Not a thrash metal fan at all, but the shredding is absolutely insane here( especially on Raining Blood) which rips hard. I never sit down and listen to this, but if slayer was at a rock festival is was at, I might take a peak for a few mins
Overall, impressive musical skill level and dark themes stood out. I now have another band to listen to when I’m speeding down the highway.
A decent thrash album. The title track is easily the best on the album but it’s also the second last track on the album, making it feel like it peaks a little too late. 3.5/5.
Nothing incredible, a fine metal album.
they seem like nice young men but with rare exceptions metal just sounds lame to me, it’s never actually heavy or scary
Fine.
Not bad, can see the technical history but not my style
High intensity
Very high energy and frenetic. Not sure about the nazi song opener. Enjoyable, but it wears me out even with only being a half an hour long. Maybe I am just not built for metal.
Great band, just not my jam
- It's one of those "you can either love it or hate it" albums. It's a heavy/power-metal classic, but not everyone is cut for listening to metal.
I can appreciate the skill, but I'm not likely to choose to listen to a whole album of it.
Rocking
slayeeerrrrrrrr
Never liked the vocals on Slayer but the music was good. I just need to follow the story!
3.25
Yesterday was Master of Puppets, today is my first listen to Slayer. Not a metal head but have to say I enjoyed both.
Not my kind of music but I can recognize the foundational importance of this record, setting the tone for the multitude of metal bands and genres to follow. The musicianship on this record is paramount, but I just wish there was more variety. Each song sounds pretty same-y to me and would like a bit more melodic variance. Judging this based on the time it was released though, I can see why it's deemed a classic.
Thrash Metal was never my thing. But, listening to this now - really for the first time - I can see how it would have really banged back in the day. Great guitars, pounding drums. But, it's a lot to take, song after song.... Standouts: Angel of Death, Jesus Saves, Postmortem 3/5
Why not? WHY NOT?
Wow, harder than I'm used to
I like metal. That's it. It has cathartic value. And it's fun for the whole family. And I'm sure it's fun for the band to play.
A classic trash metal album.
I’ve never heard this album. I only came to thrash late and when I did eventually hear Master of Puppets it was not 1986 and that band had matured into something of interest to follow. I always knew Slayer were the competition but I never felt inclined to try this album. The cover was off putting and the Satanic overtones seemed distasteful. So it was with some trepidation that I gave this the metaphorical spun today. It’s alright. It’s 1980s thrash innit? Faster and harder hitting than Metallica but the satisfying rhythm is there although there may be too many words. Tori Amos did a cover of the title track. Her version was quite different.
I thought this might be a bit much for me, but I enjoyed it. Heavy and loud and didn't outstay it's welcome. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Angel of Death Date listened: 18/10/23
I've had this album for years but today was the first day I was able to get through the whole thing. It's a lot. And every song sounds the same. So, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to hang for this. But I don't know. I kind of dug it. By the fourth song, I just found myself engulfed in it and let it take me away. I'm never going to be a metal fan, and the lyrics—when I could understand them—left me wanting. But I didn't hate it, and there were definitely moments, like in the fantastic title track, where I got caught up in it.
Favourite songs: Angel of Death, Raining Blood, Postmortem, Altar of Sacrifice, Agressive Perfector Least favourite songs: Criminally Insane 3/5
I'm a metal neophyte but I can see how this is an archetype for so much of what came after.
Like... Slayer
Good ol' fashioned Satanism
2.8
5/10. Fine, but not really my thing
its the same metal sound all the way through then just stops it'd be good if I liked metal more
This was an interesting one. I've never spent much time listening to Slayer but definitely knew of them. I'm not a big metal guy but this was a good, quick thrash metal album. I enjoyed the listen and there were some catchy riffs on it but in honesty know that I probably won't come back to this one very often, just because it's not really my world. Glad I gave it a listen though. Standout Tracks: Angel of Death, Jesus Saves, Postmortem, Raining Blood
Not a fan of metal and knew I wouldn't like this, but Slayer isn't your typical heavy metal hair band and it's music isn't too heavy or depressing. They play at breakneck, superfast speed, definitely a thrash metal sound that leans more towards fast punk than metal, at times, which I can appreciate. Not horrible and I found it mildly amusing and listenable, in small doses.
I still think that the vocals are sub-Metallica, which is what lets this down.
Bij uitzondering maar eens de 'expanded edition' geluisterd, want tja, dat is nog steeds maar een half uur. Wij Hollanders klappen altijd met elke tel mee. Wellicht heeft de zanger Nederlandse roots, want hij moet en zal op elke drumslag een lettergreep droppen. Met het hoge tempo van de muziek (lekker hoor), wordt het daardoor wat geforceerd.
Krankjorum snelle metal, waarin de hypersnelle solo's prima uitkomen op een rakketak hampestamp ritme. Maar ik vind juist de tragere stukken gaver, omdat die meer grooven en de drummer daar meer laat zien dat hij gevoel voor ritme heeft, door een ander ritme te drummen dan de gitaar speelt. Ik snap heel goed dat dit album in deze lijst hoort en ik kan het ook wel waarderen, maar na een klein half uur ben ik toch weer blij dat ik even op adem mag komen. Dan nu naar het eindoordeel. Er zitten stukken bij die ik wel 5 sterren durf te geven, Raining Blood bijv. Maar is dit een album wat ik vaker zou draaien? Een enkel nummer tussendoor kan ik heel goed hebben. Ik twijfel tussen een 3 en een 4, maar om een 4 te geven, moet ik het dus uit mezelf ook wel eens op willen zetten. Die neiging heb ik eigenlijk niet. Leuk als het af en toe langskomt, maar ik ga niet een half uur achter elkaar luisteren, dat is dodelijk vermoeiend. 3 sterren is mijn conclusie. En daar zullen ze het mee moeten doen.
I remember being scared of this kind of band when I was a kid. It's almost comical listening to it now though. I wonder if the band members were in on the joke or if they took it serious. Anyway, not my cup of tea, but the guitars were really impressive all the way through. Would have been nice if even one song sounded different than any of the others.
Well that’ll wake you the fuck up, damn. I don’t think my speakers were ready for such aggressively loud satanism at 8:30am on a Wednesday. But, I'm into it. I don't care for the first track, the controversial one, Angel of Death. The Nazi fetishism to court public outcry and backlash feels a bit too desperate and too deliberate to be taken as actual artistic expression. Other than that, you've got a classic thrash metal album that checks all the right boxes: searing guitars, annihilating drums, and breakneck furious pacing.
Gister lichtte het machtige algortime al een tipje van de zwarte Slayer-sluier op, via de sample op het Public Enemy album. Vandaag schat hen in dat ik klaar ben voor een compleet album van deze band. Keurig. Ik sta redelijk neutraal in deze wedstrijd. Ik heb weinig met de meeste (oude) metal, maar ik laat me graag een beetje opvoeden. Het begin van de openingstrack vind ik erg lekker en daarna word ik bij 'Raining Blood' pas weer echt enthousiast dankzij die iconische riff. De zang irriteert vrijwel niet, wat ik normaal wel vaak heb bij dit genre. Veel nummers onderscheiden zich niet echt van elkaar, maar bij een album van 30 minuten wringt dat niet echt. Tussen de 3 en 4. 90% van dit album ga ik nooit meer aanzetten. Als ik een 4 geef zou dat vooral voor de riff van Raining Blood zijn.
Boy, that sure hit different than it did when I was younger. I still love the music, but these lyrics... they're so try hard. They're working so hard to be so spooky that it just comes off really really lame. I t's a shame because, as far as speed metal goes, Slayer is the best in the game. At the end of the day, I'm always going to be a metal head, so this is always going to work for me on some level. Unfortunately, it didn't work on every level. Those lyrics, man.,. sheesh.
Je préfère le thrash metal (slayer) que le heavy metal (iron maiden). Dans les 2 cas, ça brasse sur un moyen temps. On dirait que je remarque plus le drum que la guit non stop dans le thrash et c'est ce que je préfère. À la longue, ça rend agressif. J'irais me pousser dans un mushpit. Ciboire que les paroles sont religieusement dark et violentes.
So glad to get to this one after hearing another of their albums a while back. This has the infamous Raining Blood on Reign In Blood, a play on words. Very satantic, and even a song about the the nazis. Apparently they were interested in that at the time and seems like a very metal thing but that first song rubbed me the wrong way a little. But it's the 80's right? Either way, this was a fun album to go through my email inbox after being gone for a week.
Of all the "Big Four", Slayer was really the only one I never got into.
3/5. Quite heavy and a serious change in the type of music coming out. Not really a repeated listen but some songs do stand out. Best Song: Angel of Death, Raining Blood
Slayer was very big among my edgier high school cohort (edgy not in the sense of hip people with an edgy vibe, these were troubled youth who went on to things like serious entanglements with the justice system). Clearly this is significant in the evolution of thrash and speed metal, and on the instrumental music side it delivers. I never like this kind of vocal delivery and I never will. But the real obstacle for me is how unpoetic the lyrics are. The subject matter... well I'm not particularly sensitive in that area, though I do think it's even more than usually for this genre shock for shock's sake. But it also is just basically a prose recitation of darkness and atrocity. No meter, no structure, no rhyme. Maybe that's the point? Well, it's a dumb point.
100 miles per hour groundbreaking metal album, deserving of being on the list, but have to deduct a star for angel of death, feel uneasy listening to that song.
Pretty good, if not my stuff at all. Surprisingly melodic in the middle of the screaming and thrashing.
это было тяжело. 3 подхода и я его послушал. но тут все не так однозначно: с одной стороны, такую музыку не люблю и по возможности не слушаю с другой, ну она, черт побери, хороша. и при всем внутреннем сопоставление сопротивлении она забирает тебя с собой. жанрово 1, но поставлю 3. это правда хорошее музло
This is a seminal thrash metal album and I’m not going to criticize the musicianship; it is top notch and is genre defining. I will push back in the lyrical content especially the first song. Slayer have denied having nazi sympathies and have stated that they shouldn’t have to state that they are against it. However, this leaves their work open for interpretation by bad actors. Furthermore, using the gruesomeness of medical experimentation in an extermination camp for the shock value seems rather callous.
Slayer slayin' things.
Just think, produced by Rick Rubin & Def Jam Records.
Raining Blood est vraiment la meilleur toune de l'album, et probablement de Slayer, avec Season in the abyss. L'album est vraiment pas moauvais et est dans on style, très assumé. J'ai bien aimé et c ame rappelle beaucoup de souvenirs de ma jeunesse. Cependant, aujourd'huim ke facteur de réécoute est presque inexistant pour moi. 3.25
This is so crazy lol. I enjoyed listening to this, idk if I will again, but hell yeah I’m glad this is exists
Much better than I expected, but would benefit from being a shorter, so more powerful, album. It does get a bit samey.
Finally a bit more heavy metal. This is a blistering record designed to test the limits of finger dexterity (and aural endurance at points). I have a lot of time for this sort of music, and there’s no denying the infectious energy derived from music played at a million miles per hour. The staying power of this record is actually quite astonishing given that even the “expanded” version clocks in at barely half an hour long. The riffs are frantic and sometimes hooky. The soloing is generally just a random assortment of notes splurged together on the track. Couple all of that with the overtly iconoclastic lyrical content, hell bent on saying and illustrating the most obscene images possible, and it’s a good time all round. But I can’t take it all that seriously as a record, simply because it takes itself too seriously for its own good. Nevertheless, I can get behind it. 3.5/5
Metal isn't my favorite genre. This album is fine for what it is... a little repetitive, the songs really start to sound the same after a while.
Ætti kannski að kalla Reign in Blood snilld og klassík en fíla stóran hluta varla. Angel of Death er klassík.
Bon disc de tralla!!
Thrash metal. Ni fu ni fa.
Don't consider myself to enjoy heavy metal at all, but that was pretty good. Still couldn't handle a whole album of it 3.2
This album was good and kinda heavy but at ascertain parts not as heavy as I would expect. A little underwhelming honestly a bit of this git repetitive but uhhh weeeeeeeee
Not a big slayer fan
I felt bloodsplatter listening to this metal album
This was wild to me. The parts that were “tough” just seemed cute to me. But the drums and guitars are 100%
Too bad that that dude is probably a n*zi
Does the job when you feel like some thrash metal (if I have the right sub-genre)
BLOODburylifesmellyourDEATHasitburnsdeepinsideofyouAbacinateeyesthatBLEEDpraying fortheendofyourwideawakeNIGHTMAREwingsofPAINreachoutforyouhisfaceofDEATHstaringdownyourBLOOD’srunningcoldInjectingcellsDYINGeyesfeedingontheSCREAMS Then yeah, it does that for half an hour or so. Lighten up lads.
Metal
A brutal, thrashy classic. Lacks the musical sophistication or versatility of Metallica or Megadeath, but still powerful, hard driving music that grabs you from the start and does no let go. The lyrics are vividly extreme and intentionally repellant. If you can get past that, this is one of the best metal albums out there. Undeniably belongs on this list.
To be honest I put this on and it hit the spot on a rainy October morning. Blows the cobwebs and everything else away. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than it is.
Slams one in the face with all the power and subtlety of a wrecking ball. The speed of the guitar work is impressive.
Reign In Blood, and Slayer as well, is a good example of my musical taste drastically changing over the years. Once beloved band (fifteen years ago, but still), I could listen to certain songs on a loop, like "Reign In Blood" for example. Today, after listening to the album, I honestly couldn't tell when does one songs end and another one starts. It was all one very quick and constant mash-up of extremely oppressive drums (I still have a lot of respect to Dave Lombardo for Fantomas though), sometimes catchy, but generally fast-paced riffs and quick solos by King and rounded up by tagged-along bass and vocal of Araya, which in my opinion works only in small doses. Listening to his shouting for full half an hour is very exhausting, it is suited much more into one or two songs filled in-between your usual playlist. Something that can't be overlook - Slayer was very brutal and honest in their approach to music. There was no cutting corners, it was as rough and spiky, as the minds and idea of music of those four young boys. The bar for extreme music (but still being somehow in mainstream) was raised once again. The only song that I still like is obviously afrometioned "Reign in Blood". Very characteristic riff is probably recogised by people all over the World. It's also not as linear as other songs, with few pauses here and there, some small breakdowns and a very in-tone solo by King. A very good song in a somewhat monotonous album, when listen to nowadays.
This is the metal music
For an album that I remember really enjoying back in the day, I didn't enjoy it as much now. I think my tastes have become a little bit more melodic.
Was listening to this in the car on the way home from work and it sounded alright, finished the album with headphones on it was much better. Another album that I can appreciate without being a huge fan of.
Wild
The cover is great. I want to like this album more than I do but only because so many teens wear Slayer shirts now and I want to say to them "You don't know what Slayer is all about! I do!" But I don't. What I do know is that I really like the production here and I like Tom Araya's voice. Metal vocals can sometimes really ruin your whole day, but these sound great. Still - at a certain point it feels like a pummeling and not in a good way.
I played this at my nieces 5th birthday party. Instead of having cake we drank the blood of the innocent and played sacrifice the cat for prizes.
listened to before a heavy classic
Wow. This was a surprise, actually kind of over the top fun. Great drumming, lots of tempo changes to keep things interesting. Not really my style of music but I could find a lot to like.
hasn't aged well, used to sound menacing when I was 13 now just sounds silly. tuneful enough but not essential
hmmmmm
3.5
The almighty Slayer, who reign in blood to this day and forever
One of the milestones of heavy metal. However, I am unfortunately not a speed/trash metal fan... (5/10) FT: Raining Blood
Below Megadeth and Metallica on my Big4 thrash list - not quite melodic enough for me.
Intense metal. Makes Master of Puppets sound like Barney the dinosaur. Incredibly athletic musicians with freaky nervous systems.
Somehow manages to not be very exciting, despite them absolutely obliterating that poor poor guitar and yelling 30 words a second. There's not enough diversity. Most songs are just: SATAN SUMMONS BLOOD, DEATH COMES AND HELL WILL KILL US ALL *10 second guitar solo*. There were some moments when I didn't even catch that one song ended and another had begun. The best song is definitely "Raining Blood". It's so cool when that iconic riff kicks in.
I dunno man, in some ways this feels so played out I can't even properly evaluate this since this sound has been so overplayed throughout a ton of thrash/death metal bands. It's interesting that this was their first well-produced album and set a standard for metal production going forward, I think that's neat. Beyond that, I can't say I really enjoy it a ton, but I can also highly respect the brevity; I actually listened to it 3x just to make sure. Live however, I'm sure it would be super fun.
Next time I need to get really pumped up I'll be reaching for this album. Thrash metal is usually a little heavier than I prefer but I did enjoy listening to this.
I have to appreciate the technicalities of the guitar riffs and drums in this album. But it is not my genre at all. Very heavy metal, would be great to lift heavy weights to.
3.5
Reign in Blood by Slayer (1986) For a thrash metal album that is mercifully short (under 29 minutes), Reign in Blood packs plenty of variation, compositional innovation, and enough moral turpitude to offend pretty much everybody. From the Hannibal Lecter/Josef Mengele School of Cultural Excellence, Slayer indulges in an orgy of pain, gore, insanity, blasphemy, sadism, Nazism, disease, Satanism, torture, and (need I mention?) death. It is all done very well, with highly commensurate composition and arrangements, and stellar guitar performances by Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, a demented duo that also wrote the lyrics and the music. Blazing dual riffs dominate whatever melody might be found on this record. The alternating lead solos between these two guys at 3:34 on the opening track “Angel of Death” dazzle and astonish. And the drumming by Dave Lombardo is not just impressive—it is superlatively elaborate and energized. His dual bass drum rolls are unsurpassed (Do an image search for “Dave Lombardo Drum Kit” and prepare to gasp). Added to this musical excellence, we get the driving bass of Tom Arraya (How can he keep up with Lombardo?) and his genre-bound non-melodious rapid-fire screaming vocals, yelling and enunciating simultaneously. Try this sometime when no one’s around; it ain’t easy. We hear the band performing rhythmic halts, jarring stops and starts, inexplicable tempo and time signature changes, requiring long preparation and rehearsal. All four musicians had to be supremely disciplined and in sync. It is really quite amazing. The blasphemous “Jesus Saves” is performed at such a blinding speed that one suspects the band needed to lay it down on tape quickly, lest He return suddenly and spoil all the fun. The last two stanzas of “Epidemic” prompt interesting reflections in this era of the Covid pandemic (cf. the hauntingly predictive “Years will pass before it can be cured”). The guys who listened to this as teenagers likely grew up to interrogate captured Al-Qaeda operatives. This is not to claim that the art is necessarily good or bad, but one does note the marginal utility. 3/5
5/10
Refreshing change from a run of mediocre albums
Track 01 - 2.25/5 Track 02 - 2/5 Track 03 - 1.5/2 Track 04 - 2.5/5 Track 05 - 2.75/5 Track 06 - 2.5/5 Track 07 - 1.5/2 Track 08 - 2.25/5 Track 09 - 3.25/5 Track 10 - 3/5 Track 11 - 1.5/2 Track 12 - 2.5/5 Overall: 2.5/5 Album Art: 3.75/5
Let's play everything as loud and as fast as we can. Nailed it! Oddly, I enjoyed listening to this in the background while I did the dishes. As background music, I appreciated it and found it weirdly calming. But, I don't think I could ever enjoy it the way it's meant to be enjoyed - live, in the pit, with a bunch of angry bikers. Still, Slayer is Slayer.
Un dels grans clàssics de la primera onada de thrash. Dec ser l'únic que sempre m'ha semblat sobrevalorat, i he preferit, de lluny, l'increïble, aquest sí, 'Seasons in the Abyss'. Potser a la seva època va ser demolidor i sorprenent, no ho vaig viure. Però dels grans clàssics en el génere als '80, és dels que menys he entés
I guess I've never really "gotten" Slayer. To me, it always just sounds sloppy. Thrash is pretty far from my preferred style of metal, but even in thrash, they never really struck a chord with me. They're better than Metallica, I can say that at least.
3 stars. Some of the tracks are interesting and filled with classic riffs (angel of death, postmortem, raining blood) but most of the album is just fast thrash. Not incredibly satisfying. It has its place but not usually my thing.
REIGN IN BLOOD is very far out of my wheelhouse both musically and lyrically. This listen started out rough… then I ended up listening to it several times. “Jesus Saves” and “Reborn” were two of the songs I appreciated most. Slayer plays at almost superhuman speeds. On the negative side I never did get into “Piece by Piece” or “Necrophobic”. “Raining Blood” is a surprise. I was previously familiar with the Tori Amos cover of it. I did not realize they were the same song until I read the Wikipedia page. I had to play them back to back to believe it. One has to wonder what inspired her to do the cover, or how she became aware of the song in the first place… I ended up liking this more than I ever thought possible. REIGN IN BLOOD took me somewhere I didn’t want to go, yet inexplicably I found myself not hating being there. While I don’t see Slayer as part of my daily routine, this gets an extra half star for its expansive effect on my musical Overton Window.
I will always have a love for rock and metal. The riffs are there and the album is a great run time, but with 2021 eyes, the corny lyrics, the lack of melody, similar song formula throughout, simply make the album less than exceptional.
Bit too raw and aggressive for my liking, would have appreciated bit more singing than yelling but overall not as bad as imagined which probably is aided by the short runtime
Über große Strecken besser zu hören als ich es in Erinnerung hatte. Aber trotzdem zu krass für mich!
Every song is the same.
I have no criteria to judge this album
43. Eu faço o que quiser. Corro, ando, grito, falo bem, falo mal, penso, mordo, existo, sou, estou, vou, controlo, descontrolo. Não compro missa nem compromisso. Já te disse, faço o que quiser. Passa-me o bisturi. Estou numa fase minguante. MotA: Raining Blood "Auschwitz, the meaning of pain"
Estaba bien la energía, aunque me ha cansau un poco según continuaba. pero guay, bien
Well performed but feels sort of aimless until Raining Blood kicks in and it starts to RIP. still good enough that I could revisit the whole thing
I was surprised by my enjoyment of this. First song was the standout. Vocals shouty obviously but not to the point where its incomprehensible guff
Still strong riffs after all these years.
3.6 - Took a minute to get accustomed to the thrashy sound. By the 2nd track I was hooked. Screeeeeammming guitar! Towards the end of the album, I’d lost my stamina and was starting to get a headache.
I know many of Slayer's songs from my teenage years and I like them and listen to them today made me realize how much they influenced the metal scene forever. Their songs from this album are a little bit repetitive, but it's cool.
not for me, metal simply does not work
bamabrabarbabababm - 3
\m/
Fuckin shread
Not my cup of tea
Cool metal album. Good riffs, good tracks. Nothing mind blowing. Lyrics are like they're written by a teenager but other than that not bad
BURN
A subtle and nuanced composition. Jolly good This is actually my least favorite Slayer album, it’s a high 3, but a 3 nonetheless.
Mättöä /,,/
It was more interesting than the Iron Maiden album, but not really my cup of tea.
Not my thing.
2/4
2.5, rounded down
I had to listen to this album at very low volume because it was hard on the ears, but I didn't hate it. I think the fast drums was my favourite part about it. I could go without the vocals though.
Most of the songs sound the same. I only know Raining Blood from when I was younger. I found it cool back then. I don't need a whole album like it though.
There’s clearly talent there, but I didn’t enjoy listening to this in the slightest.
Well 3 tracks in and we've only really had lyrics about gruesome violence. Not really what I want to listen to. I wonder if this album will take a radical change of direction with 'Altar of Sacrifice'? Oh... Gonna just about give 2* because there is clearly some skilled musicianship here. The drumming is good but I have no desire to return to this
Está guapo pero no estoy en el mood
Not for me at all, but it’s a well constructed album
Too hard rock for my tastes.
Like thrash metal? You’ll love this. You’ll already know that though. Insane lyrics relentless energy massive power. But I can’t like what I don’t like.
It wasn't really good but hell I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy blood, guts, and forsaking Jesus christ
I understood how controversial this may have been at the time. Now, it just seems like they're trying too hard to shock with their lyrics, which really come across as aggressively spoken words. The speed of the music is impressive, but maybe I'm just too jaded for the angry, growling sound-alike songs to impact me otherwise. It's actually kind of a yawner for me.
it kind of all sounded the same to me ... little bit too messy (?) sounding for my taste as well... i don't think it's objectively Bad but it's just not for me I'm the slightest
Le mal de tête.
Red meet for the converted, a bunch of noise for the rest of us
Writing a song about Josef Mengele is ballsy. Making it the opening track is metal as fuck. I respect it, because much of the music I love was made by people who realized heavy music was possible by listening to this album. But it’s…not very good.
I think I would really like this as an instrumental record. There are some very cool metal groves on here - in that respect exactly what I was hoping from my knowledge of the popular tracks. Unfortunately I can't really get on with the vocals. No melody particularly. No particularly interesting rhythms. A bitey shoutey style of scream/growl that really pulls my ear and doesn't sound good too me. Then the lyrics have some pretty basic, immature sounding, deathly themes - again in find this distracting from the apparent depth of the music. I know I'm wrong from the point of view that so many people love this band exactly as they are - but I kind of wish it was a keel haul style instrumental record
I had the same excitement to listen to this album as I did Megadeth, since I never really gave either band a full listen, but was disappointed. They've got a similar vibe but it feels a little more reckless and more blindly aggressive. Feels like splitting hairs with Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer probably sounding indistinguishable from each other to a lot of listeners, but I do think I enjoy slayer the least of the three. 2.5 rounded down bc I was kind of annoyed by the end of the album
Noisy
I personally just don't trash metal. Very cool for the times.
ugh....
Ay yay yay... I just have so much trouble with this heavy metal stuff. The playing is exciting and impressive, but the musical experience is mostly just a headache. I feel old when I listen to stuff like this cuz I just don't understand it.
This like...isn't bad. But this definitely isn't for me and feels like noise at times. They do what they want to do well, but it is a lot. Perfect 2.5/5 album Liked Songs: "Angel Of Death" , "Piece By Piece" , "Altar Of Sacrifice" , "Jesus Saves" , "Criminally Insane" , "Epidemic" , "Postmortem" , "Raining Blood"
I guess the idea is to depict what long and inescapable suffering is. In this regard the album is a success: I was fed up after two songs. All kiding aside, this is formulaic speed metal: one bangs heavily, another one makes a guitar solo, there are some screamings and lyrics about the devil and the suffering. Repeat. Not my stuff at all.
Guitar riffs
The playing is tight (particularly the drums) but for me it's still mostly a bored yawn.
457/1089 - zZz... zZz...
Unfortunately, I just don't get this genre of rock. It's more like a headache than music.
lots of fun , but never going to listen to again . 2.3
the only good thrash band is Progagandhi
I dunno man. Slayer doesn’t work for me. A band that sounds like this has got to have at least an inkling of fun, but these guys come off as 100% self-serious. I also think Angel of Death is one of the dumbest songs ever. I believe them that their intent was just to make a song about the Horrors. I just don’t think a thrash band is gonna select for guys who have the tact to make a meaningful artistic statement about the holocaust ya know
This was pretty influential within the realm of metal at the time.. buuuuuuuut, I don't think it's aged very well. Or maybe I just don't like Thrash Metal. Oh well
short album. I like metal but this unfortunately does nothing to me
Heavy metal meh
I feel worn out with trying to keep up with the speed of this, there is no respite throughout, I'm sure it isn't good for the blood pressure. There are some interesting melodies hidden amongst the frantic riffery but it's all overwhelmed by the sonic panic attack.
glasno i brzo
Es ist schnell, hart und kompromisslos, aber auch erstaunlich eindimensional. Die 29 Minuten rasen ohne echte Dynamik vorbei, mehr Sturm als Struktur. Historisch wichtig, musikalisch jedoch eher ein monotones Brett als ein vielseitiges Werk.
I know most people find this badass, but I just think it's so silly. 2/5
One song in and this might be my favorite metal album of all time...except for maybe all the Nazi lyrics. I generally like the music, I appreciate that the lyrics are intelligible. However, the content is ridiculous, Nazis, death, Satan, it's almost like a caricature of metal lyrics. This album is short though.
Ja cool ofzo maar iets too much
This album sounds like what I think Metallica sounds like. This is bit too heavy for me this morning, which isnt the albums fault. Today I learned Raining Blood is not a Reggie and the Full Effect original! WOW! Overall this was pretty rad, and when it finished it went right into a metallica song and I didnt even notice.
Thrash is just not my thing. I appreciate the musicianship though.
gotta get angry for this one. There wasn't enough variation for me to stay engaged, I found myself watching for the end
There are cool parts of this here and there instrumentally, but man I have never heard such a silly album take itself so seriously. Sure dude, hail Satan or whatever.
👿🩸👑? 🤮🤮🤮. “Hello? Is this the Catholic Church? My stereo needs an exorcism, please hurry!” Wow was this not for me… Great rhythm section, decent guitar work, but the lyrics and vocals were offensive and sounded awful. Thematically as vile an album as I’ve ever heard. And I like the Dead Kennedys. 1 upside down circumscribed star. But 1 more for at least being quality music.
Honestly, not very good
Not my favorite.
a worse sounding Metallica
Hey, remember that kid in high school that wore their Slayer jacket like it was part of their body? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the worst album I’ve heard from this list though.
I’ll probably never be a death metal fan. I just don’t get the appeal. This album is completely relentless from start to finish. While I can respect the intensity and its influence on the genre, it’s simply not enjoyable for me.
So glad that wasn't an hour long. Uninteresting, angry metal.
Some interesting riffs, but not much melody and it started to get pretty repetitive. Should have probably called the album Criminally Insane.
heftig
Slayer brings it every time with the musicianship without a shadow of a doubt. That being said, this type of music can get to be too much for me pretty quickly. Fortunately, this is relatively short. I like heavy music, but there's just really a lack of variety and vocal quality in these tracks. I can not emphasize enough how great the musicianship is. It just gets so mundane listening to someone yell in the same exact tone (not something that exactly requires a great deal of talent) for 10 straight tracks while rock music backs him. Now Raining Blood? 5/5. Perfection. Not enough to bring the whole album up to great heights though when the rest of the songs are not anywhere near that level.
El metal no me encanta.
I don’t really like it, but it’s listenable. Maybe I could even find some beauty in this kind of music… if I put the album on repeat for the rest of my days.
I like slayer like I like whiskey: a little goes a long way. I don’t know if this album needed to be on the 1001 to be honest. South of Heaven and Seasons of the Abyss are better albums. From a historical perspective, they cranked up the metal scene to 11, moving the genre to pure rage/ catharsis. There are sections of this album that also reflect their later more of a Groove Metal style which I preferred with slower beats and heavy palm muting, and dropped-D-tune. But most of this album is just speed, scream, solo, repeat. Dave Lombardo, the drummer, was truly the star of the show, doing what no other drummers were able to do during the time. Now his techniques at the kit are an industry standard. There are a few good songs on here, such as Angel of Death and Raining Blood, which if you ever get the chance listen to Li’l Jon /East Side Boys sample in Stop Fucking With Me. Of the Big 4 Metal bands, Slayer has always been my #6.
I think I like older school metal better. Guitars are fun but lyrics are cringe to me 2 stars
That was way too much for me
🤘🏻😄good ol' times 2/5, 4/10
not my thing
I had heard Raining Blood before, but this was my first time listening to an actual Slayer album. I can see why people like it, but I don’t think it’s for me. It’s just a bit too chaotic with not enough redeeming value to wade through the chaos. I can at least say that I tried even if I’m not coming back to it.
Luckily only 28 minutes. Liked the start but it got too overwhelming quickly
I like to think I can appreciate this for what it is. It's a Rick Rubin record, and I trust his abilities and judgement. However, it is impossible for me to enjoy it, so I can't give it much of a rating because I wouldn't seek to hear it again. I'm glad other people like it, though.
Not a metal guy, but i see why it’d get rated highly in the genre.
Not my thing at all.
16 year old me would've enjoyed this a lot more than current me did. Fast paced and in your face, but not a whole lot of variation between tracks.
No standouts except for sorta Raining Blood because of the South Park hippie episode
Det e så sykt bonat
Veldig edgy, veldig montont.
Sorry but this shit is just silly. This whole album sounds like something Cartman would compose on South Park to be as transgressive as possible but it's also ridiculous. We open with a song about the holocaust and then spend slightly under half an hour listening to what sounds like the same song over and over. I felt so much secondhand embarrassment listening to this.
10 top hits for when you need lyrics to write on your notebooks that upset your parents!!!! I kid but honestly there's stuff in here I do still like - I know it's very Not Their Thing to let the music breathe a little bit but I still wish they would. Listening to this as an album is ultimately a bit unpleasant so going to round down the 2.5
not my thing. like the music but the lyrics aren't my style. 2/5
Brings back memories when I bought this with allowance funds while in junior high when it was released. Interesting to listen to it almost 40 years later. I remember liking their earlier stuff more but this sort of put them on the map.
Thrash metal isn't really my jam. That's my main issue with this album- the style really doesn't do much for me. Plus, the speed/tempo here was a bit overwhelming. The best descriptor I can come up with is that it was a barrage of heavy music. I find speed overrated when evaluating musical ability. It takes a lot of work and talent to be intelligibly fast, sure. To me, though, slowing something down can be just as impressive and impactful as speeding up, and using both effectively is a trait of good artistry. Here, it felt like they were trying to play as fast and as hard as possible, whether it made the songs better or not. It made the music lose something for me. If they'd drawn out even a few of the tracks to show more of the feel and melody, I think I would've liked it a lot more. That's probably my main problem with thrash; it too often sacrifices feel in exchange for going faster. Parts of the album were good. I liked the guitar lines that started Raining Blood and Jesus Saves, probably because they were a bit less speed focused. But then they were gone, quickly taken over by something else. And then some raspy scream-singing. And then something else. And then the song was over. The structure made it hard to parse one song from the next since they were all just kind of included without much symmetry in themselves. The lack of diversity in tone and tempo was part of that problem. So, yeah. I can see why people would like this album. And it is impressive in some ways. It's just not really something I would say is good. Overall: 1.8/5
It's produced well for metal, but my untrained ears make every song sound incredibly alike. That works when you like the music but it makes it super uninteresting and aggressive if you don’t.
Every song sounds the same
You know what you're getting into with this one, and you aren't surprised by anything. This album is fine, but it kind of feels like if you have heard one thrash metal song, you've heard them all. That being said, a few of the tracks had kind of interesting combinations of loud noises. This one's fine. Favorite track(s): probably "Raining Blood"
Slayer... I hardly know her. I think this type of music is too fast for me, It doesn't fit my speed and it makes it hard for me to tell if it is good or not. There were a couple moments where I liked it but for the most part I did not enjoy this one.
Not great. Everything sounds the same.
I am sure it is a legendary album for those that know but for me it didn't hit the mark. Fabulous fretwankery and spoken word singing but not for me
Opening riffs are quite good, then descends into a song being played on double speed. Angel of Death is super weird. Drumming is insane. Musically very gifted but pointed at the wrong direction for my tastes (today)
I always find slayer a bit too fast and aggressive. It’s ok in small doses and luckily this album is only 34 minutes long! I like a bit more melody and a little less shredding in my metal.
I enjoy a bit of metal, but this is too metal/thrash for me!
Earlier than I thought. Doubtless influential. Dig some of what they inspired for sure.
Change the costumes, cut the hair, skip the solos, and you’ve got bad Punk.
yeeeeeeh cling clang duang. Slay. 35 min heavy metal? hyperthyroidism moment.
not huge on the thrash metal... i think for a few of these songs i honestly wouldn't have been able to tell you if it was Metallica or Slayer. i know thats probably sacrilege, but this ain't really my genre
Is this all just one song? I can't tell where one starts and the other ends, and not in a good way like some other albums. If you like that one sound and tempo then you are in for a good time. Much like how I can't distinguish anything that is being said in the lyrics, I cant distinguish a single melody or distinct riff. The best that I can say for Slayer is that it is fun noise.
I feel like most of these songs followed too specific of a formula and by the end of the album that formula got a bit old. The couple songs on the album that diversified from this a bit and had some tempo changes, melody and different vocal styles I liked more than the rest. The playing style was definitely fast but I didn't find it as a impressive as some of the other metal albums I have listened to, mostly because it was missing an actual clear melody. I also feel like the guitar screaming pinch harmonic sound showed up in every song and felt overused by the end.
I can appreciate it for being technically well done, but this just isn't a genre I enjoy. It just sounds so repetitive to me with the pulsing guitar and drums.
I have listened to lots of heavy metal music and thrash metal. I didn’t look like this album. I couldn’t understand what the singer was saying. 2
10 songs in 29 minutes is impressive but too intense for me.
‘Enter into the realm of Satan”. No thanks.
When the opening lyric namedrops a concentration camp this is only going to go one way. Bonus star for keeping it under 30mins
Silda rates it 2 out of 5. I rate it 2 out of 5 also, wouldn’t listen again
Lmao I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t 😂 some very talented and innovative dudes but it was a tough listen
At least I can count on metal/punk albums being short.
Happy and Peppy and Bursting with Love! Not really .
Slay.
Not a fan of 80s metal
it was short
Being afforded the opportunity to listen to this the day after Metallica's Master of Puppets puts Slayer's Reign in Blood in sharp relief.
I would never normally choose to listen to thrash metal, and whilst this was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, the near unrelenting nature of this style just doesn't work for me.
If you're into Thrash Metal...I'm sure this is your jam. I am not that much however. 1.5/5
Amazed to discover I didn't completely hate this. It's fast drums like they've just discovered how to do the double kick bass and are going to use it all the time, man shouting and then a slightly incongruous twiddly guitar solo. Every time something interesting happens like in Angel of Death or Epidemic, it goes back to formula. Man shouting about mutilation, lots of fast drums and then twiddly guitar solo. Sometimes hilarious when he tries to fit too many words in for the speed of the music, special mention for Reborn here. The deliberately unpleasant lyrics just wash over you after a while. I didn't know them before today, but the two big songs are definitely a cut above the rest. Angel of Death especially - the lyrics are genuinely unpleasant and the music actually rocks.
Music was ok, lyrics suck 2.5
2/5
Not for me
Felt a little generic. I listen to a LOT of heavy music, whether that be old bands or new bands, but Slayer just isn't as pleasant to listen to compared to most bands imo.
This was hard, fast and unrelenting. Was it good though? Technically yes, the playing was really good but there was no melody to it. It was just how hard and fast can we play/sing every song. I guess that’s what thrash metal is but after a while it just becomes noise that blends into each song. I couldn’t tell you where one song ended and the other began half the time.
Really too loud and just a bit scary. could barely sit through 28 minutes :(
SNELSNELSNELSNELLLERRRRRRRRRRRRR Mijn god, ik ben doodop bij dit album en ik ben pas bij het 3e nummer. Elk nummer begint snel, versnelt halverwege en heeft een nog sneller einde. Ik ben een sucker voor snelle muziek, heb liever Frenchcore dan Hardcore, maar dit is voor mij echt te snel? Merk gewoon dat ik buiten adem raak door dit album. Elk nummer lijkt nog harder te gaan, nog dikker te gaan. Lyrics heb ik bij nummer 2 zo'n beetje al opgegeven. Dit is een instrumentaal album met af en toe wat geschreeuw maar de echte ster hierop is denk ik de drummer. Die man moet kuiten van staal hebben zeg, jezus. Of misschien de gitarist, die kan er ook wel wat van. Niemand die Slayer voor de lyrics luistert in elk geval. Althans, dat denk ik. Ik ga wel een beetje stuk om de zanger. Het klinkt alsof hij het eigenlijk ook allemaal niet bij kan houden en continue een beetje achter de feiten aan hobbelt. Tsja, rating? Ik denk geen 1. Daarvoor is de muziek gewoon best wel vet op tijden, maar pfoe deze band heeft maar een gas, dat is vol gas. FAVO: Reign in Blood is als nummer heel vet, als laatste nummer op een album met meer van het zelfde? Vermoeiend.
Who pissed in these guys cereal. Unhappy nerds masquerading as tough dudes, I think someone just needed a hug. Suffice to say I'm not a fan of whatever this is... speed metal? Too many snare hits, too many crashing cymbals, screaming people, screaming guitars. I get why people love this, but not me.
Fun metal but not one that I got into too much
Not for me.
En intens halv time, men overraskende behageligt at have i ørerne til en omgang rengøring. Det ændrer ikke på, at jeg nok ikke sætter den på igen, så det bliver en 2'er i stedet for 3.
Thrash Metal, not my thing. Definitely a very heavy metal sound and top metal song of a generation
2 // death/heavy metal. hasn't completely lost the plot with noise, but still disjointed enough to be hard to listen to
In this relentless 34 minutes there is no variance of tempo, no recognizable riffs or remarkable solos, and neither melody nor rhythm to any of the lyrics. I couldn't tell you which song is which upon hearing a sample. Yes, Slayer is one of the Big 4 thrash bands - but they are 4th, and there's a whole lot of room between them and Anthrax. Slayer is just fast, and just because you can doesn't mean you should. I mean, even Metallica evolved.
Slayer is lot a sort of copy cat pop act which follows after another which has become extremely popular ie Metallica. Appreciate the history is not that clear cut but Metallica are the superior band compared to this. They just play as fast as possible with some fairly poor lyrics 2*
Not my thing but wouldn't call it bad
If you squint your ears it sounds like TV Static
Didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Maybe I'm just an old man now but it mostly sounded like a lot of noise with edgy lyrics laid over top. I guess thrash isn't really my thing.