‘Reign in Blood’ was one of the first albums I ever bought and it still sounds good today. Loud, brash, fast and ultimtely brutal, ‘Reign in Blood’ was the album that confirmed Slayer as a leading light on the thrash scene. Opening with the uncompromising ‘Angel ... Read review
Advantages: awesome album for thrash fans Disadvantages: sucks for everyone else
...not fail to respect in terms of its sheer power and technical prowess of its authors. Absolutely mindblowing, Reign In Blood is a worthy addition to any record collection, although be warned, that this is not a pretty experience…and it’s a shame about the lyrical content as well.
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‘Reign in Blood’ was one of the first albums I ever bought and it still sounds good today. Loud, brash, fast and ultimtely brutal, ‘Reign in Blood’ was the album that confirmed Slayer as a leading light on the thrash scene. Opening with the uncompromising ‘Angel of Death’ and roaring through to the superb ‘Raining Blood’, this album is a supreme piece of speed metal.
Despite appearances of being the usual satan obsessed death/thrash album typical of the early 80s, the band claim that it is more a tongue in cheek look at Christianity and a test of people’s beliefs rather than anything else. With an album sleeve packed with pentagrams, fire, a goatheaded protaganist etc. coupled with lyrics which invite you to ‘enter to the world of satan’, ‘praise hell, satan’ etc. you might question the honesty of this statement. Add to this insensitive references to Nazi germany and the Jews, and just about everything else which can be tackled to provoke a reaction and ultimately cause maximum offence and you have an album which is at best ‘lyrically misguided’ at worse damn offensive and guilty of everything it has been charged with. This is 80s thrash from a genre packed with snotty-nosed white-trash, ranting about stuff they have little comprehension of and vying to be the most brutal and most offensive, to provoke the biggest reaction and thus acheive notoreity and sell records to those impressed by such things. Hence its aimed at spotty teenagers and impressionable hard-of-thinking adults, yet get past the stupidity of the message, whatever it is, the basic numbskull lyrics and open up your mind, and you are ready to receive the 30 minutes of total aural intensity which is Slayer’s breakthrough album.
Your experience opens with the superb Angel Of Death, which is still Slayer’s best loved track. Guitars open up completely unaccompanied, with an amazingly fast riff, before Araya’s piercing scream assaults your ears, accompanied by thunderous drums and a blisteringly fast lead attack. This track is fast, brutal and unrelenting, nothing short of technically excellent and amazingly tight considering the sheer pace of the track. Clean breaks, screaming leads duelling over the thunderous drum cachophany and brash vocal barking, rising to bloodcurdling screams mark one of the most impressive displays of thrash musical excellence ever commited to vinyl. Araya’s final cry decends into a low guttural death rattle before a brief respite from the assault is smashed by the opening bars of Piece by Piece, continuing in wave after wave of aural assault from an album which Q Magazine declared as being “officially the heaviest album ever made” before the mysterious intro to the final track Raining Blood offers a little breathing room. But its not a pleasant time to relax. Thunder rolls, lightning flares in the distance and the heavy sound of the sky bleeding on gravel accompanied by the sound of stressed metal and distorted electric wailing torments your already battered senses. A final crash of thunder and your moment of respite is over. The guitars kick in, low and chugging, menacingly luring you into the madness which awaits. Then all hell breaks loose again, pounding drums, breakneck riffs, poisonous lyrics delivered with venomous gusto, once more into the maelstrom. Battered and bruised you hear Araya’s gurgling scream ‘Raining Blood’ one last time before a complete piece of lunacy, with leads played at breakneck speed in a full on assault aimed one last time at beating you into submission and then STOP! As quickly as it began it ends to a peel of thunder and the sound of distant rain…
I can not express just how powerful this album is in terms of its musical delivery. Q magazine voted it the heaviest metal album to date and I would have to agree. This is completely uncompromising from start to finish, not even the hint of a ballad, or even time to catch breath, it’s a full on sonic assault from start to finish and one which even if you do not appreciate the music from, you can not fail to respect in terms of its sheer power and technical prowess of its authors. Absolutely mindblowing, Reign In Blood is a worthy addition to any record collection, although be warned, that this is not a pretty experience…and it’s a shame about the lyrical content as well.
Advantages: Furious and terrifying Disadvantages: Over too quickly
Ahhh…this is it folks, the thrash bible, so listen and learn. This is what thrash metal is all about - it’s fast, aggressive music concerned with little other than violence and death. It’s tight and technically astounding, while maintaining the raw, dangerous edge that made Slayer hated by the moral majority.
To begin with, we have to look at this album in a historical perspective. When I look at British metal in the eighties, ... ...when I think of America in the same period. They invented thrash metal and continue to be its best representatives today - they haven’t calmed down and they haven’t slowed down.
Slow is certainly the last word you would think of to describe this album - it clocks in at only a little over 29 minutes, and this is a full album. The frenzied pace of the songs keeps them from getting too long. The guitars rage about you in a swirling maelstrom ...
Spongly 17.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Reign In Blood [PA] - Slayer
Advantages: Released in the height of its popularity Disadvantages: strictly monotonous
...stuff to this). Furthermore, on Reign In Blood's album cover artwork illustration of Satan, Astoreth (sitting on the throne), the catholic pope (see Revelations 17:1-6) along with decapitated heads and sacrificed human carcasses in the surrounding of Hell itself- there on the lower RIGHT corner is a warped picture of someone whom my friends/relatives would automatically ask me how'd my 21-yr old picture got in there whenever i show it to them (the ...
CrutcHead 04.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Reign In Blood [PA] - Slayer
Advantages: way ahead of the rest Disadvantages: 1 or 2 filler tunes
...by now everyone hears that Reign In Blood is the #1 Slayer or even metal release of all time. I'm not so sure to be honest. I can't even say what Slayer album is the best (which is why I need them all), but this album is certainly fantastic, if just overhyped. I've heard the complaint that it sounds like the same stuff over and over again. Honestly, that's the point. This is not so much a song by song experience as it is an experience of the sound ... ...know it's Slayer.. that's why I love them. Reign In Blood really helped define this band. If you like metal you will love this album. If you don't like metal or only like it somewhat (you nu-metal posers) avoid this like the plague...you'll get an ear ache. ...
anti-nickelback 30.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Reign In Blood [PA] - Slayer
Thrash metal can be summed up by this one album. This made Slayers career. Without this the world would be over run with pop bands and the likes of me would be depressed. Every song on here is a masterpeice of metal and no fan should be without it.
In my opinion, this album features Slayers strongest line up, Paul, Tom, Kerry and Dave. Dave has been replaced as you probably know, but I always though Dave hit the drums better than anyone.
Stand ...
wellso 23.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Reign In Blood [PA] - Slayer
Product Information for "Reign In Blood [PA] - Slayer" »
Product details
Title
Reign In Blood [PA]
Performer
Slayer
Genre
Heavy Metal
Sub Genre
Speed / Thrash Metal
Release Date
18/03/2002
Recomended Retail Price
14.99 GBP
Original Release Year
1987
Label / Distributor
American/Universal / Universal Music
Engineer
Andy Wallace
Producer
Rick Rubin; Slayer
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
731458679622
Catalogue Number
5867962
SPAR code
AAD
Additional notes
Album Notes
Slayer: Tom Araya (vocals, bass); Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman (guitar); Dave Lombardo (drums).
Album Reviews
Q (7/01, p.91) - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time". Q (8/00, p.127) - Included in Q's "Best Metal Albums Of All Time" - "Officially the heaviest album ever made....displaying an overwhelming preoccupation with death and Satan..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Angel Of Death
2.
Piece By Piece
3.
Necrophobic
4.
Altar Of Sacrifice
5.
Jesus Saves
6.
Criminally Insane
7.
Reborn
8.
Epidemic
9.
Postmortem
10.
Raining Blood
11.
Aggressive Perfector (bonus track)
12.
Criminally Insane (remix, bonus track)
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
30/09/2000
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