SLAYER

PAGE UPDATED IN 2022

Reviewed:
- Show No Mercy (1983)
- Haunting the Chapel (1984, EP)

- Live Undead (1984, live album)
- Hell Awaits (1985)
- Reign in Blood (1986)
- South of Heaven (1988)
- Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
- Live: Decade of Aggression (1991)
- Divine Intervention (1994)
- Undisputed Attitude (1996)
- Diabolos in Musica (1998)
- God Hates Us All (2001)
- Christ Illusion (2006)
- World Painted Blood (2009)
- Repentless (2015)


SHOW NO MERCY          1983          (Metal Blade)

- Standouts: Everything! 

If you've only heard Slayer's biggest, most widespread songs such as 'Angel of Death', 'Raining Blood', 'Dead Skin Mask', 'War Ensemble', 'South of Heaven' etc., then Show No Mercy might come as a surprise for a first-time listener. Anyone who's a fan of all that early speed and thrash metal, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene etc., will take one look at this album's cheesy artwork and know exactly what they're in for. I'm not gonna call Slayer 'intellectual', but in terms of lyrics and image, it didn't take 'em long to stray away from all the cliché satanic lyricism of this record. Thing is though, the silly words and imagery of this record actually work in it's favour. I dig it! This was 1983, and there weren't a whole lot of other bands at the time doing this sort of thing anyway. Venom are the most obvious rival contender, as they pretty much started this whole schtick. I've always found the often-stupid album and poorly painted album covers, raw production and juvenile lyrics of all these early speed and thrash metal albums to be a part of what makes 'em cool in the first place. Look at the first Megadeth and Anthrax records (Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! and Fistful of Metal). Both sport terrible artwork and often dumb lyrics... but guess what, both are awesome! And the same can be said for Show No Mercy, which is a one-of-a-kind record in the Slayer discography.

The album begins with the blistering opener 'Evil Has No Boundaries', and the first line of the entire record is Tom Araya angrily shouting and screaming his head off "Blasting our way through the boundaries of hell, no one can stop us tonight!!". I mean, come on! What's not to love?! And a song simply titled 'The Antichrist' has gotta be good too, right?! It is of course, in fact, it's one of the few songs from this record that saw regular action in the live setting. 'Die by the Sword' is a classic, and also brings down the tempo slightly, focussing on surprisingly catchy riffing, more than anything. Unlike 'Fight Till Death' that is, which again cranks up the speed and intensity once again. 'Black Magic' too, is another fan favourite from this album and a ferocious song for it's time. 'Crionics' is a really cool tune too, with more more melody than you might give the band credit for. The title track thrashes it's way to the end of the record.

Slayer are a thrash metal band first and foremost, but you can really hear the New Wave of British Heavy Metal influence on tracks like 'Metal Storm/Face the Slayer'. Understandable, because the whole NWOBHM movement was still a recent phenomenon in music history back in '83, and had played a huge role in the development of metal as a genre. Although heavier than the average band from that era (save for Venom that is), some of the galloping tempos and hooky riffs from bands such as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Diamond Head seep their way into the riffs on this track. And that's no bad thing! Like I said, I love this album for the fact it doesn't necessarily sound feel like any other Slayer album, sitting closer to speed metal than thrash at times. And for 1983, it was still one of the heaviest fucking things available at the time. The old-school British metal influences can also be heard on the excellent 'Tormentor' and 'The Final Command' - the latter of which is a blazingly fast tune with strong Iron Maiden 'Phantom of the Opera' vibes in it's riffs.

There ain't a whole to complain about here. I'm a huge fan of all that first-wave, old-school metal so to me this is easily one of my favourite Slayer records. You can argue stuff like the production being weaker, Dave Lombardo's drumming not being as tight as later releases etc., but you can't blame the band for that. In fact, one of the things I've never been so keen on regarding this band was always Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King's guitar solos - they always seemed kinda tuneless to me on later albums, but on Show No Mercy, they actually have more structure, in a way.

Overall, this is a superb little debut that I still enjoy hearing more than half my lifetime later. Of thrash metal's 'Big Four', Slayer were probably always my least favourite (yeah, yeah I know... I must be in the 0.1% of metalheads that actually has more favourite Anthrax records than I do Slayer...), but I can honestly say that almost all the early stuff they were doing is still top-tier shit. Put simply, these songs, although one-dimensional, are all excellent. To be fair though, I just finished redoing the Megadeth page, and now I'm starting to wonder if those guys are actually my least favourite of the Big Four...

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

HAUNTING THE CHAPEL (EP)          1984          (Metal Blade)

One of those rare EP's that's actually pretty essential. The only other one that springs to mind for me right now is AC/DC's '74 Jailbreak. Anyway, Haunting the Chapel see's Slayer moving away from the speed/NWOBHM-infused thrash of Show No Mercy and into a more relentless, brutal sound that would become their signature touch. I'm not gonna say that the three songs (well, technically four if we're counting the reissue) on here are any better than what your heard on the debut - that album rules, I don't care what anyone says - but the band were definitely displaying themselves as more accomplished songwriters and musicians here. I mean, 'Chemical Warfare' is an absolutely classic, raging thrash metal monster that is simply Slayer at their finest. As is 'Captor of Sin', which is less ambitious than 'Chemical Warfare', sure, but it kicks ass on all levels. You can hear why the band had such an influence on death metal even on early tracks such as this. 

The title track is, again, prime Slayer. Fast, ugly, violent and critical of Christianity. And Tom's vocals have gotten more unhinged too. The reissue adds 'Aggressive Perfector', which is tame by comparison! It's a cool song, but it actually has quite a hardcore punk sound going for it if you ask me. It wouldn't fit on the debut album, nor would it fit on the upcoming Hell Awaits for that matter. Still, it's a good track in it's right. Of course, any melody that was left on Show No Mercy has been thrown out of the window and replaced with sheer aggression on this EP. It's a fine sign of what was to come over the next couple of years.
Adam's rating: 9/10

LIVE UNDEAD          1984          (Metal Blade)

Always thought it was a bit weird to release a live album when all they had at the time was just one LP and an EP, but there you go. Actually, there's some debate over just how 'live' this album actually is. I mean, it is live, but it was recorded live in a studio setting in front of about a dozen people - and even then, most people think the audience sounds were faked. Hell, they've gotta be if there were only twelve people watching! No matter, this is an enjoyable CD from start to finish, albeit a short one at just twenty-three minutes long. Five of the seven tracks are from Show No Mercy ('Black Magic', 'Die by the Sword', 'The Antichrist', 'Evil Has No Boundaries' and 'Show No Mercy'), with 'Captor of Sin' and 'Aggressive Perfector' remaining. I wouldn't necessarily call this essential Slayer, but it's still a lot of fun and worth checking out. What it does, is crank up the intensity of those Show No Mercy songs to match the ferocity of the Haunting the Chapel EP. Still odd that they didn't play 'Chemical Warfare' though.
Adam's rating: 8.5/10

HELL AWAITS          1985         (Metal Blade)

- Standouts: The entire album. 

This album is heavier, darker and edgier than Show No Mercy, and that comes as no surprise if you listened to the Haunting the Chapel EP prior. And while Tom's still screaming about Satan, death, anti-Christianity, murder and whatever else on Hell Awaits, he's doing it in a way that's less tongue-in-cheek this time around, somehow. It helps that the bend had toned down the whole leather n' spikes image, and the fact this album in general is just more unhinged by comparison. Don't get me wrong, I love Show No Mercy, partly for the fact it is goofy as fuck. But in terms of the actual music, then I have to say that this follow-up is still a marginally superior record. There may only be seven tracks on here, but nearly all of them are longer than what you heard on the debut, and the musicianship has improved across the board. Any of the traditional/NWOBHM styles have gone too - this was 1985, and thrash was starting to become an established subgenre with a sound of it's own.

So, the title track is the first number on here. That incredibly slow-building introduction should be cheesy on paper, but there's something genuinely menacing about that repeating, whispering "Join us" phrase played backwards that is unnerving! There's a shit ton of slow, heavy, killer riffs to sit through before the song really gets going - and when it does, it's a monster of a thrasher. So is 'Kill Again', with it's predictably violent lyrics about a homicidal maniac. 'At Dawn They Sleep' has one of the most twisted opening riffs of any Slayer cut, while the rest of the song is a pummelling sledgehammer to the face. 'Praise of Death' is maybe my least favourite number here purely because the overall feel of this track is kinda by-the-numbers Slayer, but when you look at it from a contemporary point of view, it would have been very fresh at the time. Still a fine thrasher, just not quite as strong as the rest of the album in my honest opinion.

'Necrophiliac' is obviously a messed-up song lyrically, but if you listen to an album called 'Hell Awaits', with demons tearing people to shreds on the cover by a band called fucking Slayer and expect lounge music, then you need to reassess your musical knowledge, or lack thereof! This tune kicks ass though, obviously. Dave Lombardo's drumming on 'Crypts of Eternity' is mighty impressive, and this lengthy number is full of all the tempo-changes, fast and slow heavy King/Hanneman riffing you could ever want. Classic material. 'Hardening of the Arteries' is a scorcher to go out on, that also ends on some of the opening riffs of the title track. I think it's actually kind of a clever way to wrap things up.

The only thing that never quite did it for me regarding this record, is the production. I mean, it's not bad by 1985 standards or anything, it's just that these songs are so heavy and aggressive that I wish the guitar tones were beefier. The drum sound is very organic and natural-sounding however, something you just don't get on modern metal albums these days, plus Tom's bass is clearly audible from start to finish. So at least the music itself sounds human, and not digitally-enhanced in any way.

Overall, a stonker of a record, and a fine example of what a metal album should fucking sound like. And there's people out there that think Five Finger Death Punch kicks ass!!

Adam's rating: 9.4/10

REIGN IN BLOOD          1986          (American)

- Standouts: All of 'em! 

I almost feel like some sort of hypocrite in that Slayer are probably my least favourite band out of the so-called 'Big Four', yet they're also the same guys that spawned what I consider to be the best album of the lot. And it's this, Reign in Blood. 

Let's be honest here, you don't need me to tell you why this album is so legendary and influential. Chances are you already own it, and have listened to it a billion times. The music on here is relentless, and only one step away from death metal. Hell, death metal probably wouldn't be the same beast if it weren't for Reign in Blood. Savage, twisted, nasty thrash metal, and that's the whole point of this record. Ten songs, and it's over in less than thirty minutes, which is treading into punk rock album-length waters. But it doesn't need to be any longer. Slayer comes, kicks your ass, then leaves.

Musically, many of these songs kinda merge into one demented animal, almost always focusing on speed. But then on tracks like 'Piece by Piece', 'Postmortem' and 'Jesus Saves' you also get crushing mid-tempo riffs to break up the intensity of songs like 'Necrophobic', 'Criminally Insane', 'Reborn' and one of my personal favourites, the utterly maniacal 'Altar of Sacrifice'. The big ones however, are opener 'Angel of Death' and closer 'Raining Blood'. 'Angel of Death' is an absolute classic, with dark lyrics all about Nazi scientist Josef Mengele's human experimentation in Auschwitz concentration camp. The latter was (and possibly still is) one of the fastest fucking songs in history. Yep, the songs truly are a case of 'all killer, no filler'.

The production is amazing too, and I feel kinda dirty saying that 'cos it was handled by Rick Rubin. Maybe I really do have a chip on my shoulder about this guy (and it mostly stems from the whole 'loudness war' bollocks, and also the fact he produced Sabbath's 13, Metallica's Death Magnetic and AC/DC Ballbreaker, all of which sound like shit), 'cos the man's also produced a lot of great-sounding albums back in the day, and Reign in Blood is one of them. It's one of the only classic metal albums I can think of that would actually lose a lot of it's intensity if more reverb was noticeable. The album sounds much tighter and more professional sonically, and honestly, I always thought that if Hell Awaits sounded the same way, it would almost be as good. Even the album artwork is one of the most metal things you've ever seen.

And there you have it. Probably one of the best metal albums of all time. They would never reach this height ever again.

Adam's rating: 9.7/10

SOUTH OF HEAVEN           1988          (American)

- Standouts: 'South of Heaven', 'Silent Scream', 'Behind the Crooked Cross', 'Mandatory Suicide', 'Ghosts of War', 'Read Between the Lines', 'Cleanse the Soul', 'Spill the Blood'

Whenever I think about this album, my first thought is almost always 'overrated' or 'disappointment'. And yet, when I do hear it, I think "what a cracking record"! In my head, this album is slow and lightweight next to Reign in Blood. Truth is though, Reign in Blood was such a tour de force that it makes a lot of other Slayer albums seem tame by comparison. In reality, South of Heaven is a fine Slayer record full of well-crafted, competent thrash metal.

It's pretty well-known that the band deliberately weren't trying to sound as ferocious here as they did on Reign in Blood; they seemed to accept the fact they were never gonna make another barnburner of a record like that. Now this does bug me; it's like they were having low self-esteem issues! Thankfully though, as I said before, the music here is still great stuff and certainly more than heavy enough to satisfy the metalheads out there.

The title track is a dark and brooding cut with some outstanding guitar riffs - it's a slow start to the album, but it sets the mood perfectly and has a genuinely foreboding vibe that just works on all levels. 'Silent Scream' however, is a breakneck slice of thrash metal in the way you've come to expect from this band. It's awesome. 'Live Undead' is a mostly chugging mid-tempo cut, but it does speed up into full-speed Slayer towards the end. Not really a favourite of mine per say, but still quality overall. King and Hanneman absolutely kill it with their riffage on 'Behind the Crooked Cross' though. I remember the first time I heard this one as a school kid... the intro sounded strangely familiar to me. Yeah, I knew those intro riffs from one of my favourite PC games, Doom (E3M3: Pandemonium)!! To be fair, the majority of Doom's soundtrack was inspired by real-life metal songs from Slayer, Pantera, Black Sabbath etc., and I can't help but love 'Behind the Crooked Cross' for it's Doom connection. I don't play a ton of games these days, but Doom is still one I go back to quite often.

'Mandatory Suicide' actually sounds more Metallica than Slayer in my books, in terms of it's mid-tempo riffing and the way Tom sings it. Sounds like a bad thing on paper, but it's really not. Metallica were still one of the best metal bands on the planet in 1988. As for 'Ghosts of War', this is prime Slayer for sure. All the fast and slower riffs you could ask for. And there's nothing special going on with 'Read Between the Lines', yet it still kicks major ass. And so does the blistering 'Cleanse the Soul'. The Judas Priest cover, 'Dissident Aggressor' actually works well too. I'm a Priest fanboy, so obviously I prefer the original - that song was ahead of it's time, and really heavy for the 1970's, but Slayer's take on this classic is a respectable effort. 'Spill the Blood' ends this album on an almost creepy note. It's fairly similar to the opening title track in that it's slow and foreboding, and again, it's classic material.

There are a couple of other things I do need to mention however. The worst thing about this album for me is not the music itself, but probably Tom Araya's vocals this time around. He sounds far more restrained here than he did on any previous Slayer record. That's not to say he gives a poor performance - far from it - it's just that most of these songs are still fucking heavy overall and there's times where I just don't think Tom's singing quite matches the intensity of the riffs (especially on 'Spill the Blood'). I also used to think the production was kinda weak too, but again, I think this is just me comparing it to the GOAT thrasher that is Reign in Blood. Really though, South of Heaven's production is just fine, Rubin handling it once again.

Another superb album that you should own then. It is something of a downgrade after Reign in Blood, but when you've broke new ground on your previous album, it's never gonna be easy to keep up that momentum. 

Adam's rating: 9/10

SEASONS IN THE ABYSS          1990           (American)

- Standouts: Honestly, everything.

Yet another Slayer album that's generally regarded as a classic metal record. It's got 'War Ensemble' on it, which is a face-ripping thrasher and probably one of their more popular songs in general. It's definitely one of their best album openers that's for sure. I really dig the riffing on 'Blood Red', which add an element of groove to the thrash norm. When I say groove, I don't mean in a Pantera-esque kind of way, the riffs on this one are still as heavy as you'd like them to be, they just end up being a bit hookier than usual - in a good way. 'Spirit in Black' is another vicious ass-kicker that's pretty hard to fault in all fairness. 'Expendable Youth' uses the same blueprint as 'Blood Red' - really cool, heavy mid-tempo riffing with more groove and catchiness than most previous Slayer tracks. The reason it works is because the band still manage to preserve their signature tone and heaviness. They're not selling out just because the intensity's been toned down slightly! Along with 'War Ensemble', the Ed Gein-inspired 'Dead Skin Mask' is also one of the bigger numbers from this record. Honestly, it's a great track, but it's not one of my personal favourites. There's an overly simplistic feel to some parts of this number (by Slayer standards), more-so than normal. Then again, maybe that's why people love it. 'Hallowed Point' on the other hand, is classic Slayer in full-speed mode once again. 'Skeletons of Society' is one of those chugging kind of thrash tunes, but a perfect example of how to do it properly, and with style. 

'Temptation' is great too, especially all those double-kick drum fills from Dave Lombardo. Certainly better than this Metal Archives review I just found, where some guy had this to say about it: "And then there's 'Temptation'. Piece. Of. Shit. If Slayer, for you, died in a horrible gardening accident after 1991, then this is by far their worst song. I can't hit the skip button fast enough when this turd starts. They kept this in the setlist after their American Carnage tour where they played Seasons in the Abyss front to back live. Talk about a need to exit piece by piece. From the anus.". Eh?! At no point does this bellend actually say why 'Temptation' is such a so-called 'Piece. Of. Shit.'!! Some users on that site really are strange little people. Even weirder is the fact he actually gave the album in general a positive 82% review. Well, 'Temptation' sounds like Slayer to me, and good Slayer at that. As does the speedy 'Born of Fire'. Ironically, the worst track for me is the title track finale - but this isn't really a big deal. It's still a fine song of course, with some great soloing - there's just a couple of modern-sounding vocal arrangements that don't quite settle with me for some reason. Otherwise, it's top-notch.

 

Seasons in the Abyss manages to just creep past South of Heaven in terms of enjoyment for me. Sonically, both these albums are pretty similar. But in terms of the songs, this one is the heavier of the two. That doesn't automatically make it better, but the songwriting is just as strong this time too, so the fact it's heavier is only a positive thing to take away. Plus, Tom's singing isn't as restrained this time either. More importantly though, is the fact it's a very strong record from start to finish (once again). Some consider it to be the last classic Slayer album. Well, let's find out shall we?

Jeez, I've just upped the score from an 8.7/10 to a 9.1. I did the same thing with South of Heaven, which I originally scored an 8.2/10. I'm starting to think that maybe Slayer are secretly the best band of the Big Four, and I'm too afraid to stick Metallica and Anthrax below them!
Adam's rating: 9.1/10

LIVE: DECADE OF AGGRESSION         1991          (American)

Tom Araya could still headbang when these live performances were recorded, so the energy's definitely still there! It's two discs of live Slayer, with songs from every album up until this point, and the music speaks for itself. It also comes in one of those thicker, big-ass jewel cases with two different opening sections you rarely see these days. Whatever happened to those things? Yeah, I suck when it comes to talking about live albums.
Adam's rating: 9/10

DIVINE INTERVENTION         1994          (American)

- Standouts: 'Killing Fields', 'Sex. Murder. Art.', 'Fictional Reality', 'Dittohead', 'Circle of Beliefs', 'SS-3', 'Serenity in Murder', '213'

Generally speaking, people seem to like this record, but to nowhere near the same extent as any of the previous five. I don't recall seeing many reviews or videos of people trashing it, but it doesn't exactly rank as many fans' favourite Slayer album either. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this is, because Divine Intervention sounds like Slayer alright; in fact, the production has more of a hard-edged feel compared to either South of Heaven or Seasons in the Abyss. I suppose all I can really shift the blame onto is the songwriting itself, but even so, the music here is as violent and nasty as ever. In fact, I'd argue this CD is more aggressive than either of the last two, with less mid-tempo moments overall.

Right, well, the album kicks off with two face-tearers - 'Killing Fields' and 'Sex. Murder. Art.'. Honestly, I don't have a whole lot to complain about 'em. Maybe the riffs aren't quite as memorable as the bulk of the guitars on the last bunch of albums, but the intensity and energy is 100% still present. Speaking of riffs, the guitars on 'Fictional Reality' bear resemblance to the brutality of 'Piece by Piece' from Reign in Blood, so surely that's a good thing? Well, it is! And 'Dittohead' is one of most frantic songs they'd ever recorded up until this point. Again, what's not to like?

The music does slowdown with the title track, which is a mid-tempo number which features generally more melody than the other songs. Of course, when I say 'melody', I mean Slayer-melody. So when they do try to write any melodic guitar parts, it's done in a creepy and unsettling atonal fashion - not a pretty or majestic way. Cool song either way, although the use of those distorted, murky vocals is slightly off-putting. I don't really see how they improve this number in any way. Ah well. 'Circle of Beliefs' on the other hand, focuses on being as heavy as possible once again. There's some more modern metal elements - guitar effects and the like - thrown in to this one, but they're not necessarily implemented in a way that strays from the classic Slayer sound. The song still thrashes the way you'd want it to, it just moves away from the typical vintage thrash metal vibes of the 80's. Same thing with the raging 'SS-3'. 

'Serenity in Murder' has some weird, almost Fear Factory-like clean vocal parts which I guess could piss off any of the tr00 kvlt elitists out there, but jeez, the bits where Tom starts shouting again are as relentless as Slayer get. '213' has a cool, twisted introductory section. The whole song is relatively slow next to many of the tracks, but it has that unmistakeable, never-quite-in-tune vibe about it. By that I mean the music may not be as frenetic as usual, but never churns out any tuneful riffs either. The whole song is still twisted, in a good way. 'Mind Control' ends this whole thing on another crushing note.

I'm not gonna say this album is as good as anything out of the last bunch, but I will admit that I probably enjoy it more than the average fan, judging by a lot of the reviews online. Yeah the production's much more 90's-sounding at this point, and yes, Dave Lombardo is no longer present behind the kit (Paul Bostaph steps in - both these guys would leave and return for multiple stints throughout Slayer's history) - but dammit, this still sounds like the Slayer I know and love!
Adam's rating: 8.7/10

UNDISPUTED ATTITUDE         1996          (American)

- Standouts: Take your pick, oh, and make sure you choose 'Gemini' as well.

This is about as fun as Slayer ever got. Why? 'Cos they're covering punk and hardcore songs! Yep, this is Slayer's attempt at a covers album. These kinds of records often don't excite me - in fact, some are just terrible (look at all those Graveyard Classics albums by Six Feet Under...), but Undisputed Attitude is actually kinda cool. Definitely one of the few covers albums in my collection that I genuinely like. Here the band present their own renditions of songs originally from groups like Minor Threat ('Filler/I Don't Want to Hear It', 'Guilty of Being White'), the Stooges ('I Wanna be Your Dog', rebranded as 'I'm Gonna Be Your God'), T.S.O.L. ('Abolish Government/Superficial Love'), Verbal Abuse ('Disintegration/Free Money', 'Verbal Abuse/Leeches', 'I Hate You'), D.R.I.  ('Violent Pacification') etc., plus two originals from a former Jeff Hanneman project called Pap Smear ('Can't Stand You', 'DDAMM') and one actual Slayer number, 'Gemini'. 

I must admit, there's still a couple of tracks on here originally from bands like D.I. and Dr. Know that I'm still unfamiliar with, but in terms of these covers, they're definitely as good as anything else on this record. In fact, I've grown to appreciate this album more over the years. I didn't really get into punk rock until my early twenties, so I can enjoy it more these days. The reason this whole project works overall is because you can tell it's Slayer doing hardcore punk, as stupid as that sounds. The band's signature speed and aggression only works in it's favour, as does Tom Araya's raspy shouting. All of this means that the intensity's been cranked all the way up to eleven. Plus, that new track 'Gemini' is a nice bonus. It's surprisingly sludgy for Slayer, but I dig it.

The thing that holds back Undisputed Attitude is the fact it's, well, not a 'true' Slayer album. It's like an automatic disability in my eyes. It means I almost never listen to it, like it never even crosses my mind when I feel the urge to hear some Slayer. Still, give it a chance.

Adam's rating: 7.3/10

DIABOLUS IN MUSICA          1998          (American)

- Standouts: 'Bitter Peace', 'Death's Head', 'Perversions of Pain', 'Point'

According to some people, this is supposedly Slayer's attempt at doing a nu metal record. Nu metal was of course, all the rage in the late 90's and early 00's, but every time I listen to Diabolus in Musica (which admittedly isn't very often) I don't get the impression that they were jumping on the bandwagon at the time. I agree that this album isn't entirely normal by Slayer standards, but dropping the 'nu metal' badge of dishonour on it simply isn't fair. Sorry, but aside from the occasional hiccup here and there, I just don't hear it overall. If you wanna hear an actual nu metal album from a band that aren't really nu metal (and a fucking terrible one at that), go listen to Machine Head's Supercharger. 

Honestly, opener 'Bitter Peace' is basically just your typical full-speed opener - frantic, angry, aggressive... save for the slightly more modern production values, it's definitely Slayer alright. And good Slayer at that. 'Death's Head'... alright, this one's definitely more of a departure than usual, but it has more of a groove metal feel mixed with the band's trademark, twisted atonal sound. I don't skip it anyhow. There's some definite modern metal vibes on 'Stain of Mind's riffs, but again, they suggest more of a groove kind of attitude than the boring one-two fret riffs that is typical of nu metal. 'Overt Enemy' on the other hand, is much more Slayer-ish musically, but unusual in terms of it's vocals. Tom Araya has one of those distorted vocal filters that makes him sound like he's drowning more than anything. Not entirely sure why he insisted on this; the song would've worked just fine without it, but hey-ho.

'Perversions of Pain' is very good though. Classic Slayer in nearly every sense, which can't be said for 'Love to Hate'. Again, this is a very groove-influenced mid-paced number - that doesn't automatically mean that it sucks however, even if it's not particularly great. The riffs are still kinda fun and Tom still sounds like Tom. 'Scrum' starts off kinda janky, but when it thrashes, it thrashes hard. And while 'Screaming from the Sky' and 'Point' might as well be the band in autopilot mode, they do at least keep me interested enough to not skip past them. Actually, fuck it - 'Point' is pretty decent to be fair. The band are once again thrashing on it, and that's a good thing. Even though many of these songs are experimental for Slayer, most of them have their redeeming features. Not all of them work however. 'Desire' feels unfinished and cranky, though the drums are kinda cool. Also, 'In the Name of God' is pretty lame too, chugging wannabe-Pantera filler.

I get why a lot of people don't like this album, even if I don't agree with the nu metal label that's often thrown around regarding it. It's easily one of the band's weakest efforts, and while they do dabble with more modern metal touches on many of the tracks, to me Diabolus in Musica still sounds like Slayer at the end of the day. And that's why I don't hate it. It still feels like a Slayer record, even if they don't always comfortably sound like Slayer on it. That said, I can hardly call this 'essential listening', I just don't think it's quite the failure some fans do.

Adam's rating: 6.3/10

GOD HATES US ALL          2001          (American)

- Standouts: 'Disciple', 'New Faith', 'War Zone', 'Payback'

Did they go too far this time? As in lyrically? A lot of fans seem to find God Hates Us All's lyrical matter to be far too silly, even by Slayer's standards. Yeah, I mean, kicking off with 'Disciple', Tom's already screaming "GOD HATES US ALL!!" all over it, and I suppose it does come off as deliberately edgy. True, Slayer have always been deliberately edgy lyrically, but I guess some people just think they went overboard whereby edgy is no longer 'cool', but rather 'cringe'. Me personally, I don't really care. I will admit that the lyrics are definitely dumber than usual here, but they don't ruin this album for me. I've also seen some people continue to criticise the band for supposedly jumping on the nu metal bandwagon for God Hates Us All. Nope, this ain't true. I don't even consider Diabolus in Musica to be a fully-fledged nu metal album, let alone this one.

Nah, this is Slayer trying to be as offensive as possible lyrically, but musically I wouldn't say there's really any serious experimentation going on here. 'God Send Faith' is basically groove metal through-and-through, and 'New Faith' is certainly groove-tinged thrash, but you already heard stuff like this on the last album anyway. There's a whiff of System of a Down-style riffage on 'Cast Down', for better or worse, but with Mr. Araya on vocals, I always hear Slayer over anything else. Maybe that's some weird and biased fanboy defence mechanism I've formed over the years, but I can tolerate this sort of tune. 'Threshold' and 'Exile' are full of endless swearing and profanity; musically they're Slayer with more modern metal guitar playing techniques thrown in. 

'Bloodline' is a competent mid-tempo chugger, while 'War Zone' does at least speed things up a little once again. 'Here Come the Pain' continues to make use of groove-laden metallic riffs. The band end the album with 'Payback', which appropriately wraps things up on a thrashy, relentless note. One of the stronger tracks on here. 'Seven Faces' on the other hand, is probably the worst tune on here. It has too many spoken-word parts, and too many transitions from moody to heavy, and the whole thing just feels disjointed. But again, it's not outright terrible. 'Deviance' is similar in tone too, only slightly better in my books. One of my biggest complaints is simply the fact that the whole album just ain't fast enough. Heavy, yes, but speedy? Nah. Too many mid-tempo numbers for a Slayer album.

What this album is, is basically a continuation of Diabolus in Musica. It's Slayer taking influence from the groove metal that emerged during the 90's, and integrating it within their trademark brand of vicious thrash. It's not great, but depending on how much you like to gatekeep your favourite classic metal bands, it's not completely unlistenable either. I don't think there's anything on here that really stands up to anything from the first six records (although 'Disciple' is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, and a go-to Slayer number for me), but I really can't think of any song on here that is just downright awful either. Obviously this album has fans divided just like the last one, but I'm just gonna admit that I think it's okay, slightly stronger than the predecessor - 'nuff said. 

Oh yeah, this thing also released on 11th September 2001, but we'll gloss over that.

Adam's rating: 6.5/10

CHRIST ILLUSION         2006          (American)

- Standouts: 'Flesh Storm', 'Catalyst', 'Skeleton Christ', 'Jihad', 'Consfearacy', 'Supremist'

Although I don't actually hate either Diabolus in Musica or God Hates Us All like some fans do, I can't exactly deny that both those records were missteps in what was an impressive discography up until that point. In 2006 they reunited with Dave Lombardo on drums once again, and they seemed to be back on the right track with this resulting album, Christ Illusion. Lyrically they're still bashing Christianity, 'cos they're Slayer. Musically, they're thrashing once again - only this time with much less of the typical 90's/early 00's groove metal influences. And that's good!

'Flesh Storm' and 'Catalyst' set the scene quite nicely. Both are raging pieces of thrash with the occasional mid-tempo heaviness thrown in for good measure. 'Skeleton Christ' is a largely slower, heavily detuned chugging beast - sort of reminds me of the riffs in Strapping Young Lad's 'Love', which is kinda cool. The "Hail Satan!" lyric is bordering on self-parody, but then they basically made a whole album that lyrically may as well have been a self-parody before this one (aka God Hates Us All). 'Jihad' is probably my favourite track from this disc. It has all these cool little chopsy guitar techniques in it's riffs, and once it gets going properly, the song rips. It totally kicks ass and is probably the best song they'd recorded since anything from Divine Intervention.

'Consfearacy' is a fine thrasher that doesn't do anything particularly special or out-there, it just continues Slayer's brand of metal in the way you'd want it to. I think 'Black Serenade' is mostly solid stuff too, with it's nice mixture of fast and mid-tempo riffing. 'Cult', again, is another rip-roaring slab of nasty thrash metal that you've come to expect from Slayer. They don't slow down on the album's closer 'Supremist' either, for that matter. Except for that stupidly heavy, sludgy riff about two-thirds of the way in that is. Really cool song all-round. In terms of any noticeably weaker material on here, I'd have to say that 'Eyes of the Insane' is pretty dull and uninspired. It's listenable, just extremely generic. 'Catatonic' is slow and grimy - not really bad as such, but if you want to hear this sort of thing done far better, go listen to the entire Monotheist album by Celtic Frost.

Christ Illusion might as well be a return to form. Giving it an 8/10 seems a bit too kind, but this is a strong effort all in all. It's just another one of those latter-day releases from an iconic band that I rarely listen to, but when I do, I actually end up enjoying quite a lot.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

WORLD PAINTED BLOOD          2009          (American)

- Standouts: 'World Painted Blood', 'Unit 731', 'Snuff', 'Hate Worldwide', 'Public Display of Dismemberment' 

Like Christ Illusion, this is an album I've only listened to a handful of times over the years. There's something about these latter-day Slayer releases that just don't seem to ever cross my mind when I actually feel like listening to this band. The same thing goes for Megadeth; I recently redid my review page for them too, but I actually rediscovered that there's a handful of latter-day gems in their discography that I basically forgot all about. Christ Illusion is similar in that sense too. I mean, it's not a classic, but damn, that song 'Jihad' just fucking rules! And according to my original crappy review of World Painted Blood, I apparently gave it a 7.4/10, so I must have liked it a fair bit.

So, I'm listening to it again in 2022, and it starts off promisingly enough with the title track. It's thrashy enough, sure, but it's actually got slightly more melody than usual. Not enough to really be considered 'melodic', I think it's the way the vocals have been arranged. 'Unit 731' on the other hand, is much more frantic, and more in-tune with their signature sound. 'Snuff' pretty much follows the same formula, which is fine by me. 'Hate Worldwide' is a compact and well-crafted thrash piece. And 'Public Display of Dismemberment' - jeez, they're seriously kicking ass on this one! Considering they'd already been around forever even in 2009, this track is prime Slayer! 'Americon' is a solid, if unremarkable mid-tempo number, but it's followed-up by 'Psychopathy Red', which is yet another rock-solid thrasher. The album stops for another breath on 'Playing with Dolls', which opts for a creepier, moodier kind of tone. Like pretty much every Slayer album, they once again keep things manic on the final track, 'Not of This God'.

I'm not a fan of 'Beauty Through Order', mainly because it feels unstructured and seems to be all over the place in regards to tempo. Whatever, at least some of the riffs on it have a Reign in Blood vibe going for them. Meh, 'Human Strain' is devoid of any real energy too, and isn't even that heavy. A song doesn't have to be heavy to be good, but this is motherfuckin' Slayer we're talkin' about here. And why do so many bands insist on going into stupid little spoken-word segments on top of simple, subdued riffing? This track has a transition like this of it's own. 

But the main thing about this record that I find very off-putting, is the production. It's dry as hell (and Rick Rubin didn't even touch it!), and takes away from the potential heaviness of the songs. There's very little in the way of any bass tones, and the guitars are lacking a rich, thick, heavy distortion sound. Like I said, it just makes the songs less heavy and weaker than they should be. It's not the worst-sounding album I've ever heard, but I'm really struggling to defend it in any way. Sucks, because most of these songs at core are generally as good, if not better than the one's found on Christ Illusion.

Even though I've upped the score, this album's also gone down in my books if you compare it to Christ Illusion. That album was a lot better than I remembered. The issue with World Painted Blood however, is not necessarily the songs (there's a handful of genuinely awesome one's to be found here, although 'Human Strain' is crap) but rather the production. The songs are stronger than I had in mind going back into this redux review, but the production is far worse. Like, I think this is a genuinely poor sounding album overall that sadly affects the music a little too much. Still, I do like this album overall. The fast songs are some of the best in a while, and maybe it's just me that has a problem with the production?

Edit: It's not just me who hates the production. A lot of other reviewers have pointed it out too.

Adam's rating: 7.5/10

REPENTLESS          2015          (Nuclear Blast)

- Standouts: 'Repentless', 'Take Control', 'Vices', 'Implode', 'Piano Wire', 'Atrocity Vendor'

After World Painted Blood, Dave Lombardo left once again and was replaced by Paul Bostaph... again. But more importantly, in 2013 Jeff Hanneman passed away, and he was one of the band's major songwriters and contributors. Nonetheless, the band soldiered on, recruiting Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. They toured up until 2019; I caught them live multiple times throughout the decade, including the final tour in 2019. 

99% of the music on Repentless was written by Kerry King, save for one Hanneman leftover, 'Piano Wire'. Does this negatively affect the album itself? Well, I dunno really. I think if Jeff had passed away sometime during the run of the first six Slayer records, then yeah, it really would have had a major effect on the quality of the music. But honestly - and I mean absolutely no disrespect to Hanneman, because I'm referring to the whole band in general here - Slayer haven't been truly great since Divine Intervention. I think the majority of their later albums are still pretty solid, but they haven't released a classic record since, yep, Divine Intervention. And with 2015's Repentless - the band's swansong I might add - they're basically just following on from where they left off with Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood.

Well, this album kicks off strongly with the title track (plus a short instrumental opener, 'Delusions of a Saviour'). It's as violent as any of the fastest material they've been writing over the past two decades, so that's cool. 'Take Control' is strong stuff too. Sounds like the Slayer I know and love alright. 'Vices' too, is actually pretty awesome. This is mid-tempo Slayer, but it's full of crushingly heavy riffs. Silly lyrics; according to Tom, violence is the ultimate drug. Yep, with that subject matter I'm obviously listening to Slayer then! 'When the Stillness Comes' has that classic, twisted atmosphere that the band like to pull off when they write slow songs such as this.

If I remember correctly, 'Implode' was released long before this album hit the shelves. And yeah, it's probably one of the better tracks on here. It has a nice mixture of fast and slow riffs, plus a surprisingly youthful vocal performance from Tom Araya, considering his age at this point. The Hanneman-penned 'Piano Wire' gives me South of Heaven vibes regarding it's slower riffs, which I like. This is another decent song all in all. And so is 'Atrocity Vendor', which is a truly pummelling cut among the tracklisting. I also like 'You Against You', even if it starts off in dull fashion.

There's a few 'meh' songs on this one. 'Cast the First Stone' is heavy, sure, but it's overshadowed by it's other mid-tempo predecessor, 'Vices'. 'Chasing Death' is pretty generic too, heard it a million times before. Listenable, but that's it really. I can't think of a lot of good things to say about 'Pride in Prejudice' either. Again, this is cookie-cutter mid-tempo Slayer, which is unusual for a closing track on one of their records. On the plus side, I like the production a lot more on this CD compared to the last one, even if the songs aren't necessarily any stronger. So there's that.

Overall I'd stick this one on par with World Painted Blood. The production is stronger, but there's not quite as many good songs on it. I must admit, as the band's final album, it could have been a lot worse given the loss of Jeff Hanneman. It's never gonna be a classic, but I can dig it. Well, apparently I dig it enough to the point where I actually own two copies of Repentless. For some reason I also have this on vinyl as well as CD, but I don't remember when, where or why I bought it in this format. I mean, I love Slayer, but I don't know why I'd specifically buy this album on vinyl, and not one of the classics such as Hell Awaits or Reign in Blood. Yeah, it's the only Slayer album I have as an LP, which is baffling.

Adam's rating: 7.5/10