1986 was a landmark year for thrash metal in more ways than one. Much to everyone’s joy, Metallica released Master Of Puppets in the spring, closely followed by Megadeth’s Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? in September.
Surprisingly, thrash metal was making its way into the charts. This explosion took metallic aggression and speed to new heights and cleared the way for even more ferocious groups who rushed to fill the breach.
SLAYER, a key group in the revolution, unleashed everything in one track: ‘Angel of Death’. The song opens the album “Reign in Blood” with bassist/singer Tom Araya’s scream – something that’s gone down in history.
The band keep up this same level of intensity and speed throughout the album thanks to razor-sharp rhythms and powerful drumming from the often-imitated but never-equaled Dave Lombardo.
“Reign in Blood” was more aggressive, brutal and fast-paced (it’s all over in barely 28 minutes!) than the albums released by their peers. It was the result of a collaboration between the group and producer Rick Rubin, who founded the rap label Def Jam at just 23 years old. This was the first time that Rubin had worked with a metal band. He made Slayer’s music more intelligible without ever watering it down.
Today, “Reign In Blood” is being reissued 2024 in remastered form by American Recordings LLC.
CBS, who distributed Def Jam albums, had refused to handle ”Reign In Blood” despite the fact that it was already paid for. Their issues were down to two things: the cover art, and the song “Angel Of Death” (they demanded that Slayer remove the song). Columbia refused to release it because of “Angel of Death”, and Geffen released it but without their logo present.
“Reign In Blood” is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time, and was certified gold (500,000+ sales) by the RIAA on November 20, 1992 (six years after its release). It reached #94 on the Billboard 200 and produced four singles: “Raining Blood”, “Angel Of Death”, “Necrophobic” and “Criminally Insane”.
Founder Tom Araya said: “Our guitarists Kerry and Jeff said that they didn’t want to do a slow record – they wanted to do something fast. We were young. We were hungry. And we wanted to be faster than everybody else.” And about the now famous openening song “Angel Of Death”: “That scream took two takes…”
Co-producer Rick Rubin told them that they didn’t need any reverb on the guitars or vocals. The result was a sound that was as dry as a bone and heavy as granite; it instantly set Slayer apart from the other kids on the thrash metal block.
“It’s very close to being a live album, very well recorded in a studio. Slayer didn’t sound like anyone else, that’s why the album sounds different than other metal albums. They really were creating their own genre.”
Everything pulsed at over 200 bpm. The guitar solos flirted with an unsettling dissonance, the themes shook up the United States’ apparent prudishness (tackling subjects such as religion, death, war and the holocaust…) and the Dante-esque finale of ”Raining Blood” ensured that it would be remembered as one of the greatest thrash albums ever made. ‘Raining Blood’ is like Slayer’s Highway to Hell or Ace of Spades. It’s one of their most popular songs and permanent addition at live concerts.
Even if you don’t like Slayer or thrash that much, “Reign In Blood” belongs to any self-respected metal collection.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01. Angel Of Death (4:51)
02. Piece By Piece (2:03)
03. Necrophobic (1:40)
04. Altar Of Sacrifice (2:54)
05. Jesus Saves (2:51)
06. Criminally Insane (2:23)
07. Reborn (2:12)
08. Epidemic (2:23)
09. Postmortem (3:27)
10. Raining Blood (3:42)
Slayer – Reign In Blood (1986) (2024 Reissue) (Remaster), MP3+HiRES
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