October 9, 1990 - Seasons In The Abyss

On the same day as my last release and two years after "South Of Heaven", Slayer released their fifth album "Seasons In The Abyss" on October 9, 1990. This album is a bit of a cross between Slayer's last two albums as it features some slower, groovier music (like their previous album) as well as plenty of the blistering fast thrash metal from their third album "Reign In Blood". Even with the marked decline in speed on the last album, I thought it was still great and I'm excited to hear Slayer mix their slow and fast styles. Let's check it out!

The album opens with "War Ensemble" which would become a concert mainstay for Slayer. It begins with a nice Slayer-tempo speedy main riff and it continues to tear things up while Tom Araya yells a quick verse overtop. It's nice and heavy and Dave Lombardo's fast drums sound fantastic as usual. After the chorus we hear our first solo which is solid and Lombardo ends it with an awesome drum fill. After another verse they nicely slow things down and this sets the stage for the next guitar solo. I'm not sure which solo is Kerry King and which is Jeff Hanneman, but this second solo is the superior one and it sounds unsurprisingly awesome. It's great to see Slayer back to their face-melting ways and this is one sweet album opener! The next song "Blood Red" is at a much slower pace and sounds more like their last album, but the lead guitar riff still sounds very cool and heavy. Like last album, Aray's vocals sound a little toned down on this one and I find it much less energetic when he's not yelling in your face. The highlight of this short song is easily the back-to-back-to-back-to-back (yes that's four!) solos and both King and Hanneman play some wicked fast guitar that certainly spices up this song. Track 3 is "Spirit In Black" and it has a pretty catchy main riff that isn't fast or slow, but it still sounds plenty heavy. The pace is more like their last album, but the sound is still somehow very thrash-y as Slayer combine the two styles really nicely on this song. After a couple solid verses and choruses the pace quickened and they move into a sweet super fast riff with guitar, bass and drums all going balls to the wall. Araya sings a fitting verse overtop and this sets the stage for another blistering back-to-back solo as both guys give us an awesome taste of powerful metal. They end the song very nicely as well as things seem to be fading out before Lombardo ends things with another wicked fast drum fill. Up next is "Expendable Youth" and it has a very slow pace for a Slayer song, but Lombardo still uses the double bass pedal to keep the slow pace and some offbeat low-to-high guitar leads the way. Lombardo plays some excellent drums in the chorus of this song and he seems really on point this whole album so far. Hanneman and King treat us to another wonderful back-to-back solo and the hits keep on rolling as Slayer have blended their slow and fast styles very well on this album. Side one ends with "Dead Skin Mask" and it's lyrics are about serial killer Ed Gein, who liked to make trophies out of his victims skin and bones. That's some pretty dark and twisted subject matter, right up Slayer's alley. King and Hanneman trade slow guitar riffs to open the song and Araya sings very creepily, perfectly fitting the mood of this horror song. They slowly make their way through a couple verses and choruses before each guitarist quickly rips off a few solos. There are a lot of solos in thos middle section and all of them sound phenomenal; just pure metal bliss! They hit reset and go back to the beginning of the song and after another verse the final chorus is the creepiest of all as we hear a young boy talking in the background  saying " Mr. Gein? Please let me out, I don't wanna play anymore". Dark stuff man, but done expertly; a creepishly awesome way to end the first side.

Side two opens with "Hallowed Point" and they immediately kick into a lightning-fast main riff that sounds very Slayer as Araya sings overtop about the damage bullets can do. They zip through a verse and chorus before firing right into an awesome solo, then repeat the process nicely. The pace slows down a bit for the second half of the song as Araya sings a slower verse before each guitarist gets a chance to play a slower solo. It's not as electric as the blinding solos, but things still sound pretty good. Track 7 is called "Skeletons Of Society" and it has a pretty slow pace for Slayer, but it still sounds nice and heavy as they slowly chug along and Araya yells overtop. Lombardo plays some solid drums as usual and what seems like the middle of the chorus, a solo erupts out of nowhere, sounding typically pretty sweet. After another verse they actually do finish the whole chorus this time, then it's time for a classic back-to-back solo. The first solo is much slower and while not bad, is pretty tame by Slayer's standards. The second solo is a bit more like it but still not top-level Slayer stuff. They then proceed ro lazily jam out the slow main riff until the end, a surprisingly dull ending to one one of the lesser songs on the album. Up next is "Temptation" and they're back to a much faster main riff and Araya's vocals echo in the verse of this song, but I'm not a big fan of just hearing every line twice. The chorus sounds more standard, but I really find the vocals take away from what are still some great riffs from the guys. The solo in the middle is pretty freaking great and it ties beautifully into an awesome heavy new riff with Lombardo playing a couple amazing drum fills. They really turned things around once they hit the solo midway through this song, as the second half was pretty sweet! Track 9 is "Born Of Fire" and there's no let-up as they fire right into a super fast main riff that sounds pretty great. Araya sounds great yelling overtop and the guitars are incredibly fast throughout this short song. The solo starts off blistering fast but devolves nicely into some classic Slayer guitars that sound crazy! After another verse, it's the other guitarist's turn to solo and this second solo is pretty fucking amazing! Hanneman and King can just rip off these amazing solos over and over and this song was easily one of the better ones on the album. The final song on the album is the six and a half minute title track "Seasons In The Abyss" and it begins with a very slow main riff that sounds pretty dark and epic. After a long opening they finally shift to the main riff and it too is on the slow side, but it's heavier than the light opening and makes for a great main riff. Lombardo plays some phenomenal drums throughout the whole song but Araya sings in his more toned down voice which personally is not my favourite. The back-to-back solos in this song might be the best on the album; especially whoever goes second, what a phenomenal guitar solo! They play a final verse before nicely closing out the song and the album.

That is the end of "Seasons In The Abyss" and I thought it was another great album by Slayer. Their previous album "South Of Heaven" was slower and more toned down (which is why it remains on the bottom rung for me), and this album still had some elements of that, but for the most part it was a triumphant return to what Slayer do best: yell in your face while also melting it! I thought it was better than their debut "Show No Mercy" as well but I draw the line there as I don't think it was better than "Hell Awaits" and certainly nowhere close to "Reign In Blood". Third place amongst Slayer's catalogue is still an impressive feat and I look forward to seeing where Slayer goes from here! This also happens to be the last album of the year, and so begins the year-end wrap-up! 1990 is a very odd year indeed on my library as I had the same number of single songs and albums: just four! Despite just four new albums this year, three of them were pretty great and so a top three is still warranted!

Favourite song of the year: this year just keeps getting weirder as I think my favourite song of the year is one of the single songs! There were several great songs on each of the top three albums that follow, but I think the best song of they year goes to Judas Priest's "Painkiller", which is one crazy metal song!

Top 3 Albums of the Year

1. Cowboys From Hell by Pantera
2. Seasons In The Abyss by Slayer
3. Facelift by Alice In Chains

That is it for 1990 and next year is a special one because it's the year I was born! Everything after January 25, 1991 is in my lifetime and this decade is just getting started! Onward to 1991!