The Album by Album Challenge: Slayer

Welcome to another “Album by Album Challenge.” For those that are new here, the “Album by Album Challenge” is where I take a band’s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And in some cases, face melting is still just good ol’ face melting.

This time around I am trampling upon sacred ground as I dive into the discography of Slayer. For over 30 years, Slayer has been dominating the metal world with their own brand of aggressive, skull pounding, face melting metal. They went from being Huntington Beach (thanks, Keith!) underdogs to being a brand that you would see on everything from beer bottles to ugly Christmas sweaters but don’t let that fool you. Slayer is still band that takes their shit seriously. They are also a band I know very little of. Matter of fact, I’ve only every owned three Slayer albums in my lifetime so this challenge was really a great one for me as this was the first time I was hearing the majority of these albums for the first time. So hang tight, refrain from throwing shit at me, and see what I had to say about the Slayer discography.

Show No Mercy
Release Date: December 3, 1983
The Good: Evil Has No Boundaries, The Antichrist, Die by the Sword, Fight Till Death, Metal Storm/Face the Slayer, Black Magic, Tormentor, The Final Command, Crionics, Show No Mercy,
The Bad:
The Indifferent:

Released the same year as Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All, Show No Mercy without a doubt had Slayer standing tall as the leader of their own pack as opposed to just sounding like just one of the Metallica pack. I can honestly say that I never owned this album and this was my first time listening to it in full. After just one listen I couldn’t believe that a monstrous, classic metal masterpiece this is. Matter of fact, I’d even go out on a limb and say that this was a much better album than Kill ‘Em All in both playing and songs. If anything, it’s worth the price of owning it just to hear Tom Araya “sing” and hit those ridiculous high notes and to hear Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman actually playing really good lead solos. The opening track “Evil Has No Boundaries” is so fucking good and it really shows where Slayer’s influences were coming from as Slayer was definitely a band that loved Venom. This is such a great fucking album that it will definitely be one that I will be revisiting. How did I not know this album was this fucking good?

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Hell Awaits
Release Date: April 2, 1985
The Good: Hell Awaits, Kill Again, At Dawn They Sleep, Praise of Death, Necrophilliac, Crypts of Eternity, Hardening of the Arteries
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Praise of Death,

So I think it’s safe to say that this is the album where Slayer guitarists forgot how to play lead. This is the beginning of the freak out leads. This is also the album where I feel like Slayer sounds like Slayer. Maybe it was the couple of years on the road or something but whatever it was, Hell Awaits has what I feel is the defining sound of Slayer and a sound that the band would carry forward into their career. For some reason, this album also sounds a little rough around the edges as far as the playing. I thought they sounded much tighter on Show No Mercy. Song wise I found the songs to be pretty fucking ridiculous at times. It’s kind of like watching and Elvira Mistress of the Dark horror movie. I can remember at this point Slayer being one of the most feared bands on the planet but with songs like “Necrophilliac” and “Kill Again” you can see that the band was out for sheer shock value. I dug this album a bit but nowhere near as much as I liked Show No Mercy. Matter of fact, I could do without every hearing this one again to be honest.

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Reign In Blood
Release Date: October 7, 1986
The Good: Angel of Death, Piece by Piece, Necrophobic, Jesus Saves, Criminally Insane, Reborn, Epidemic, Postmortem, Raining Blood,
The Bad:
The Indifferent:

Holy fuck! My poor goddamn face. Yup. This album is every bit as amazing as I remember it being. This was really my first introduction to Slayer and to hear it front to back for the first time in years was like hearing it for the first time all over again. The band as a whole just sounds so fucking tight. They sound like a machine and it blows my mind how tight and cohesive of a unit they became. This is where I could easily use the term juggernaut as Slayer was on top of their game and stronger than all. Hell, this shit makes Metallica sound like Warrant at this point. I also want to take a moment to address how bad ass Tom Araya’s voice is. Take not death metal freaks. You don’t need to be all guttural and sound like you’re choking on a box of popcorn to be heavy. I love that you can hear every word he says while having one the heaviest voices of all fucking time. I also have to include the fact that the sequay from “Postmortem” into “Raining Blood” just may be one of the fucking coolest things on this planet. Song for song, Reign in Blood is a masterpiece and at this point, I’m even used to the fucking over the top ridiculous guitar solos as this is part of what made Slayer the legends that they are. Great album, great songs, great production. Timeless to say the least.

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South of Heaven
Release Date: July 5, 1988
The Good: South of Heaven, Silent Scream, Mandatory Suicide, Ghosts of War, Read Between the Lines, Cleanse the Soul, Dissident Aggressor,
The Bad: Live Undead, Behind the Crooked Cross,
The Indifferent: Spill the Blood

It really has been years since I listened to this album. I am honestly really surprised at how differently I heard this album. Back in high school I thought this album was the shit but I just didn’t share that sentiment now. Reign In Blood was such a massively powerful album that I think I had my hopes set that this one would be as great as I remembered it but now it just kind of sounds like Slayer was somewhat going through the motions. The title track is still every bit as awesome as it ever was and the good songs are fucking great. “Mandatory Suicide”, “Ghosts of War” and let’s not forget their killer Priest cover of “Dissident Aggressor.” I loved that for that song they totally made it a Slayer song and if you didn’t know better you’d probably never know it was a cover. There are a couple of duds on here that I just couldn’t make it through and “Spill the Blood” was just a bad way to end this album There’s a reason this is one of Kerry King’s least favorite Slayer albums and as of now, it’s one of mine as well.

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Seasons in the Abyss
Release Date: October 9, 1990
The Good: War Ensemble, Blood Red, Expendable Youth, Dead Skin Mask, Hallowed Point, Skeletons of Society, Seasons in the Abyss,
The Bad:
The Indifferent:

So it’s weird and I don’t really know how to put this but here it goes. Ok, so Seasons in the Abyss. I really liked this album but to be honest this seems to be to be the most boring Slayer album to date. With the exception of “War Ensemble”, “Blood Red”, and the title track, none of the songs really seemed to be really exciting. They just seemed to be good yet somewhat forgettable. Ok. “Dead Skin Mask” is kinda creepy but it’s definitely not one of the songs I would think of as a “go to” song when talking about Slayer. I feel like this is the album were Slayer showed the world that there was more to them than just playing at break neck speed. They could really play with a lot of versatility and groove and I think the title track really showed that more so than anything. I just didn’t love this album like I remembered doing so as a kid yet I’m not ready to write it off just yet. Maybe this one deserves another listen but as it stands now, it’s just for the most part a good album and nothing more.

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Divine Intervention
Release Date: September 27, 1994
The Good: Killing Fields, Sex Murder Art, 213, Mind Control
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Fictional Reality, Dittohead, Divine Intervention, Circle of Beliefs, SS3, Serenity in Murder,

This was without a doubt one of the most difficult albums to listen to yet. This is where I can attribute to myself dropping off of the Slayer fan bus and I’ll tell you why. Up to this album I felt like Slayer really worked hard at constructing great songs and trying to exercise a level of versatility in their playing. On this album, it almost sounds like they just decided to see just how fucking fast they could play. The album starts out strong for me but after the songs just sound so chaotic and aggressively fast. I know that this is what a lot of their fans love but for me I just kind of felt like it was hard to listen to. There are some great songs though and “213” just may be one of the creepiest Slayer songs I’ve heard to date. The production of the album is very thin and it sounds like there is no bass in the mix. Zero. Nadda. That alone mixed with the breakneck speed of everything just about gave me a fucking headache. I know, I sound old and I am old so fuck off. The album didn’t suck but as I said, I just felt kind of dusted and didn’t feel that there were many songs that I could grasp on to.

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Diabolus in Musica
Release Date: June 9, 1998
The Good: Bitter Piece, Stain of Mind, Overt Enemy, Perversions in Pain, In the Name of God, Screaming From the Sky, Point
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Death’s Head, Love to Hate, Desire, Scrum,

After listening to Divine Intervention, I really had no idea of what to expect but all I can say is that this album completely exceeded my expectations. It’s almost like as if Slayer took a step back, looked at Divine Intervention and chose to correct all wrongs with that album. This album in all honesty sounds more like the album that should’ve come out on the heels of Seasons in the Abyss. First off, the mix is fucking stellar and secondly, the songs are just so much better. “Bitter Piece” is a great fucking song and “In the Name of God” just may be one of the greatest Slayer songs of all time. The songs I was indifferent on just didn’t seem to do much for me but the good songs are fucking stellar. “Point” is an amazing album closer that almost sounds like it would’ve fit perfectly on “Seasons in the Abyss.” Diabolus in Musica was a total fucking surprise for me and so much so that I want to listen to it again just to take it in and see if there might by anything to those songs that I was indifferent to. What a great and unexpected surprise with this one.

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God Hates Us All
Release Date: September 11, 2001
The Good: Disciple, God Send Death, New Faith, Threshold, Exile, Seven Forces, Blood Line, Deviance, Here Comes the Pain, Payback
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Cast Down , War Zone,

Much like its predecessor Diabolus in Musica, this album completely caught me off guard by how fucking great it was. God Hates Us All just may be Slayer’s angriest fucking album up to this point. I feel like Slayer really dipped deep into their punk roots on songs like “Exile”, “New Faith”, and “War Zone” but then they reach back into their past a bit on songs like “Disciple”, “God Send Death”, and “Seven Faces” capturing that classic Reign in Blood/Seasons in the Abyss vibe. I didn’t know what to expect with each passing song but with each one I was blown away. “Here Comes the Pain” is such a cool fucking song and proves that Slayer could groove with the best of them and “Payback” totally reminded me of an Exodus song. What an amazing way to close out the album. I felt exhausted by the end of this album and that’s a good thing. It shows just how powerful of an album it is. Even the songs that I was indifferent about I didn’t hate but just didn’t love like the others. There is just something about this album that seems to have really captivated me. Slayer as a band sounds as tight as they ever were and the songs themselves were well done and they just seemed to really capture everything Slayer is about. This was a really good listen and one that I will be revisiting for sure.

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Christ Illusion
Release Date: August 8, 2006
The Good: Flash Storm, Catalyst, Skeleton Christ, Eyes of the Insane, Jihad, Consfearacy, Catatonic, Black Serenade, Cult, Supremist
The Bad:
The Indifferent:

So this was the first album to feature Dave Lombardo on drums since his departure after the Seasons in the Abyss album. Here’s the funny thing. When Lombardo left and Paul Bostaph stepped in I remember thinking, “Wow, this guy is fucking great. Maybe I won’t miss Lombardo.” Well, it wasn’t until I heard this album that I realized just how much he was fucking missed. Lombardo plays this kind of metal with a serious groove that many drummers lack. While “Flash Storm” opens up with an old school thrash thing, that groove is totally heard on “Catalyst”, “Eyes of the Insane” and “Jihad.” It still blows my mind that just by getting Lombardo back in the band, Slayer managed to capture that vibe of their earlier albums yet present some of their most groove laden, versatile material to date. This album was every bit as enjoyable to listen to as Reign in Blood and I might even have to say that up to this point this is my favorite post- Seasons album. This was a real fucking treat and this album will DEFINITELY be getting more spins from me in the future. What a fucking masterpiece.

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World Painted Blood
Release Date: November 3, 2009
The Good: World Painted Blood, Unit 731, Beauty Through Order, Hate Worldwide, Americon, Playing with Dolls,
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Snuff, Public Display of Dismemberment, Psychopathy Red, Not of this God

So I have to say that I really didn’t love this album. I know that this album got a ton of attention and praise but in all honesty this album is nowhere near as great as Christ Illusion. This album just seemed like it wasn’t thought out at all and that it was just a “let’s play fast as fuck” kind of album. There are some good songs on here and without a doubt the best song is “World Painted Blood” which has pretty much been opening their live shows since 2009. Even the good songs just didn’t seem to do enough for me to make me want to go back and revisit this one. The fact that Slayer almost seems to be an “every other album” kind of band for me leads me to believe that this next album will be a fucking monster of an album. This was also the last album to feature Jeff Hanneman on guitar (RIP) which does bum me out a bit. I can only hope that Gary Holt in the mix will add a fire and some depth to Slayer that may have them dipping a bit more into their classic thrash roots and maybe giving us an album more like Christ Illusion in that it will feature a bit more versatility and groove. Then again, with Lombardo out of the mix, that groove may be something that will be sorely missed until his inevitable return sometime in the future.

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