October 7, 1986 - Reign In Blood

8 days after my last release and a year and a half after "Hell Awaits", Slayer released their third album "Reign In Blood" on October 7, 1986. Since their last album Slayer left their original label Metal Blade and signed with Def Jam recordings. They were mostly a hip-hop label at the time and Slayer would work with new producer Rick Rubin. This album is quite different from their last one which had several longer songs and the total running time for the whole album is just under 29 minutes! These seem like some odd decisions but this would result in a much cleaner sound, better production quality and would end up being Slayer's big commercial breakthrough. Let's give it a listen!

The album begins with "Angel Of Death", the nickname given to Josef Mengele, one of the notorious Nazi scientists who performed experiments at Auschwitz during World War 2. The lyrics are about the dark and twisted things that happened there and it's certainly not for the light-hearted. Several Christian groups dubbed Slayer as Nazis themselves and many stores refused to sell the album due to it's controversial subject matter, but as always Slayer are not Satan-worshippers or Nazi supporters, they are merely interested in these sorts of extreme behaviour. One of the guitarists starts up a typical fast-paced riff and Tom Araya lets out one of his classic primal screams that starts out very high but he nicely lowers his tone as the scream goes on. After his yell finally finishes, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman sync up for a brutally fast main riff that sounds pretty sweet and as usual Dave Lombardo keeps the pace with some furious drumming. Araya begins the first verse and his first lines are "Auschwitz. The meaning of pain, the way that I want you to die". They jump right in to the horrific lyrics written by Hanneman from Mengele's point of view as we also hear Araya sing "400, 000 more to die!" It's very dark indeed and the insanely fast riff has a sinister feel that matches the mood of the lyrics. They move into a similarly fast chorus, but it's pretty short as it's right back to the blazing main riff. After they shoot through another verse and chorus it gets very quiet as one guitarist breaks away and starts a cool new riff. This new riff is much slower than the last one but it still has some pretty sweet guitar and Lombardo's drumming is still pretty damn quick despite the slower guitars. Araya sings a new verse overtop this riff and he continues to tell horror stories from Auschwitz in a dark but cool and very metal part. After this part things seem to come to a sudden halt, and then they explode into a guitar solo played at a usual lightning-fast Slayer pace. I don't know which parts are King and which are Hanneman but they both show off their amazing guitar skills in this solo. They trade solos and as only Slayer can these two guitarists perfectly cover for each other and it's pretty freaking impressive how perfectly on time they switch from rhythm to lead guitar considering they are playing at an intense pace. Whoever goes first gets 3 mini solos and the other guitarist gets 2 as we're treated to a TON of awesome guitar in a very short period of time. These 5 solos, all back to back, sound incredible in my opinion and Lombardo plays a really fast and cool drum fill that brings us to a sweet final chorus as Araya yells out the name of the song a few final times. A pretty intense intro to the album, but there's no let-up with Slayer as the intensity continues on the short two minute song "Piece By Piece". They it start out with a solid opening part that is a little on the slower side for Slayer but still way faster than most bands play, but it's a brief little part and they move quickly into a more standard furious Slayer main riff with everyone contributing some cool, fast music. Araya sings a quick verse to match the mood and in a rarity for Slayer there isn't a guitar solo in this song. The main riff is pretty sweet though as it's really fast and technically sound as any solo! They storm through several quick verses and Araya sings some really fast vocals in one verse that it's difficult to make out what he says he's spewing words so quickly! It's not long before this song is over and while this seems like it would be the beginning of a longer song on their last album, on this record Slayer are happy to just run through their lightning-fast songs! This couldn't be more true than with the next song, "Necrophobic" which is the shortest on the album at just 1:40. Slayer outdo even themselves on this one as words don't do justice when I say the riff for this song is insanely fast. The most impressive thing about Slayer is that even a riff played as quickly as this one doesn't sound like noise; it's absolute precision of the highest level and King, Hanneman, Araya and Lombardo all play their respective instruments (and Araya's vocals as well) not just fast, but all on time with each other. One line of the verse takes about two seconds and I love this unreal speed as they blitz through several short verses. They nicely slow things down to a much slower but nice and heavy riff, but this only makes the following solo sound even faster! They explode out of nothing as we hear some great face-melting calibre guitar and they do another wonderful switch as the other guitarist takes over and plays another pretty awesome blistering solo! This leads right back into the terribly fast main riff and Araya delivers another nice primal yell before they quickly finish off this shortest song. It certainly didn't lack for quality despite it's short running time! Track 4 is called "Altar Of Sacrifice" and once again words don't do proper justice to the different creative riffs Slayer come up with. Some people might think "all these riffs sound the same" and they are all extremely fast but each one of them brings it's own fervor and unique shredding guitar. I love the relentless onslaught of heavy music and it continues here with another great super fast main riff. Araya yells in his usual style in a couple fast verses and they switch to a different but equally furious riff for the chorus, which lasts only a dozen seconds or so but manages to fit in lots of cool stuff. They do a great job of misdirection as it seems another verse is about to start, but instead they explode into a guitar solo. The lead guitar is pretty fucking sweet but the rhythm guitar, bass and drums are all pretty awesome as well in this unbelievably fast solo and there's no time to catch your breath as it leads right into the chorus. We hear some pretty cool, very distorted guitars inbetween a few final verses and they do a nice job with the ending of this song as the guitar gets slower and slower until it stops and the next song cues right up, titled "Jesus Saves". The two songs connect really nicely and this one begins with a slow but solid chugging guitar riff. This is easily the slowest they've been yet but it's still a nice and heavy riff and everyone sounds great. This slow opening lasts over a minute (in a song under three minutes long) but they nicely ramp things up for the first verse and they're once again playing at insane speeds. There are great contributions from everyone as they storm through another awesome verse and chorus and they Alice things up the next time round as they go verse-solo-chorus-solo! Each guitarist gets a chance to solo and they both do a fantastic job and between these amazing solos and the equally furious main riffs I don't know how King and Hanneman's (and Araya's for that matter) fingers don't just fall off! They play another chorus (which is pretty insane in it's own right) and they end the song and the side with a final solo! We're treated to another class of face-melting 101 and Slayer are just relentless in their heaviness on this pretty sweet first side.

Side two opens with "Criminally Insane" and Lombardo plays the first ten seconds by himself, setting the tone with a cool drum beat before the rest of the band joins in. Araya sings a brief verse overtop this slower (for Slayer) riff but then it kicks into high gear as we some usual thrash-y stuff. They zip through a couple solid verses and there's no chorus in this song as they jog from there right into the guitar solo. Words don't do justice as we have another phenomenal solo with King and Hanneman each getting a turn to melt our faces. They both do a fantastic job and the second guitarist's solo ends with a nice high final note as Lombardo resumes the opening drum beat. They play a new riff overtop that is not super speedy but still pretty fast and it sounds really sweet as Araya sings a new verse to match this brutal riff. They ramp up the speed for a final verse and suddenly end another short song packed with awesomeness. The next song is also around the two minute mark, titled "Reborn", and the non-stop thrashing continues as they go right into another furious main riff with great contributions from everyone. My neck is getting sore from all the headbanging, but it's just one lightning fast and wicked riff after another! Once again there is no chorus in such a short song as they storm through several verses, with Araya spitting some very quick vocals, and go right into a solo. I bet you know what comes next, as I say that we hear some amazing stuff as either King or Hanneman shred the crap out of their guitar. There's no time to rest as they go right back into a couple final verses and the other guitarist gets his turn now as he solos right until another sudden ending. Track 8 is "Epidemic" and Lombardo starts it off with one hell of a fast drum fill that leads into another cool main riff. Araya sings slower in this song and his voice is much clearer than when he is spewing words. It's another sub-2:30 song and they continue the no chorus trend, but who needs choruses when every verse is so enticing?! They follow the same formula and after a couple verses we hear another blistering and wicked solo. They slow things down and segue into a decent new part and Araya finishes off a brief new verse with another nice primal yell as another great solo erupts to finish us off. The next song is actually over three minutes, titled "Postmortem" and it sounds more similar to their last album: it's still very heavy and pretty fast, and "lighter" is not the right word but it packs less of a punch than the previous few zingers. It's pretty catchy for still being a thrash metal riff as King and Hanneman sync up for some cool harmonized guitars. They jam through a couple solid verses and Araya sings "fatality, reality, await the final caaaaaaaaaall"! It's a pretty nice ending to the verse as he does another classic high yell and things lead into a nice faster part with some great guitar and drums. The song shifts very suddenly as they abruptly change to a new riff that is extremely fast with some excellent guitar and after a loud crack of thunder, we move seamlessly into the album's final track "Raining Blood". The sound of rain and smaller bits of thunder continue in the background as we hear some distorted guitar that sounds pretty cool overtop. They snap into a heavy and pretty catchy guitar riff that sounds sweet and quickly move into a standard thrashing main riff. Lombardo's double bass pedal sounds great and they seriously complicate things with some guitar that's pretty insane, even for Slayer! Of all their great verses this album, this one might be the best and most iconic of them all! Things are really rocking with tons of great guitars drums, bass and some solid vocals by Araya. He finishes off another verse nicely as he sings "your time slips away" in a great low voice and they shift into a new part. Araya plays a simple but heavy backing bass riff and King and Hanneman come in and out with bits of cool guitar. After a bit of jamming Araya sings a brief new part: "Raining blood from a lacerated sky. Bleeding it's horror, creating my structure, now I shall reign in blood"! and what follows is indescribable. King and Hanneman both just go off, soloing their own stuff with no regard for one another in an absolutely insane and noisy part. It's difficult to understand what's going on with so much happening, but it sounds like absolute mayhem and Iove every second of it! All this craziness ends with another humongous crack of thunder and the remainder of the song is just the sound of rain, raining blood that is. What a way to end things! A phenomenal finish to an absolutely mind-blowing album!

That is the end of "Reign In Blood" and I thought it was an amazing album! I think all of Slayer's work until now is really good, but this 29-minute album is the most efficient way to get your face melted you could ever ask for! Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman are both so amazing at what they do and they also work together perfectly as they astound and amaze on every single track. Tom Araya and Dave Lombardo are pretty great themselves and altogether I think this is not just a phenomenal album and the epitome of what thrash metal is, but I think it easily surpasses their last album "Hell Awaits", and that is no easy task in itself! Slayer are shredding high and it'll be extremely tough to top this effort, but I look forward to hearing them try!