Slayer- Reign in Blood
Release Date: October 7, 1986
This mind-blowing, furiously aggressive album has indeed set the standards for thrash metal. Clocking in at a ridiculous 28 minutes and 25 seconds, Reign in Blood is one of the fastest playing albums of all time. Reign in Blood was described as "the heaviest album of all time" by Kerrang! magazine, and I couldn't agree more.
Here goes my second review! ^^
1. Angel of Death~ 10/10
I can't describe what I felt when I heard Tom Araya's spine-chilling, glass-shattering falsetto scream for the first time. I had never heard anything like it. The only though in my mind was, "Damn, they couldn't have began the album better." This song was also the song in which I fell in love with Dave Lombardo and his insane double-bass skills. Angel of Death almost makes the other songs on this album mediocre in comparison- in my opinion, it is superior even to the mighty Raining Blood.
2. Piece by Piece~ 8/10
A pretty good song on it's own, but had the great misfortune of being placed right next to Angel of Death, causing it to be overshadowed. While it is still a good example of Slayer (the crazy speed and violent lyrics), many are going to listen to it and think, "This is okay. This is just okay."
3. Necrophobic~ 10/10
Forget Piece by Piece. THIS in my opinion is one of the best examples of a Slayer song. Necrophobic is insanely fast, and listening to it, I was worried Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King's fingers were going to break. It is almost impossible to sing along with Tom, even with the help of lyrics. The screeching guitar solo is one of my favorites on the album, and there is a classsic Tom Araya scream that is often overlooked!
4. Altar of Sacrifice~ 9/10
Man, what a goofy song. Altar of Sacrifice WAS voted the second most goofy song in the Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal, but that makes it more awesome. The lyrics are just epic and are probably my favorite on the album. Very underrated song in my opinion.
5. Jesus Saves~ 9/10
This song took me awhile to get used to. Jeff and Kerry will confused you with the slow, chugging intro, but you will quickly be relieved when they break into yet another killer riff. After listening to this, I formed a very strong opinion that Tom should become one of those people that announce the side effects at the end of medicine commercials. This isn't my favorite track on the album, but I still approve of the slaytanicness. (Yes, that's a word now.)
6. Criminally Insane~ 10/10
Time to take a break from insane intros. Criminally Insane opens with only Dave Lombardo tinkering away on his cymbals. This song is one of my favorites, and the sole reason being Tom Araya's aggressive, psychotic serial killer voice (He gets into character ;)). The ending has to be my favorite- "I'll make you FOLLOW!"
7. Reborn~ 7/10
Sorry, guys. This one just doesn't grab me. At this point, I need a bit of variety. Reborn is still a decent song, but it sounds so familiar to every other damn song on the album.
8. Epidemic~ 8/10
Puts me in the same position as Epidemic, except it gets extra points for Lombardo's drum shredding.
9. Postmortem~ 10/10
YES!!! One of my favorite Slayer songs of all time. It is perfect in every way, despite the fact that it lacks a solo- but it is so awesome, it doesn't even need one. Tom's famous falsetto scream emerges one last time, and we sure as hell are going to miss it. If you listen to Postmortem on it's own, the abrupt ending will confuse you, but it is actually going right into...
10. Raining Blood~ 10/10
...Slayer's most famous song. Slayer didn't even need GH3 for this song to be a massive hit. The opening riffs are unforgettable and bone-chilling, and every aspect of the guitar playing is amazing. The solo is often overlooked, seeing as many are used to the Decade of Aggression version of this song, which doesn't include the solo. Why the hell not, I ask?
Overall Rating~ 10/10!
That was my review, I hope you liked it. ^^
