Review by Ken
4 stars out of 4
Slayer put the full stop to breakneck thrash metal with this 1986 classic,
which brought new definitions to speed and fury in music. 10 tracks surge
by in just 25 minutes or so; seeking to cripple your hearing with their
uncompromising heaviness and all-out aggression. The albums contains
such classics as 'Postmortem', 'Raining Blood' and the incomparable 'Angel
Of Death'- which features what is possibly one of the most sampled guitar
riffs of all time: Public Enemy used it for their "She Watch Channel
Zero" track, Senser worked it into their "What's Going On" song and it
was even featured during the spider-transformation sequence in the movie
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH. The album created a lot of controversy upon
its release because of its heavy Satanic imagery as well as for song
topics dealing with blood sacrifices and Nazi horrors. But Slayer have
always denied such claims; and even admitted years later that their whole
Satan-worship outlook was just an image they manipulated in order for
the band to "look" evil. In any event, the deranged aggression of the
music on display here is so forceful and undeniable in its blood-pumping,
adrenaline-inducing delivery that all you can do is allow yourself to be
swept up by the manic currents of livid energy and uncontrollable
excitement. No other speed metal album in rock history has sounded like
this- or even come close to it. Even Slayer couldn't repeat the formula
on all their subsequent album releases. Reign In Blood is truly one-of-a-kind.
Reader Feedback
I haven't heard all of "Reign" but sometimes play the '91
double live Slayer album when I'm in a foul mood. I thought
the review was very fair and informative; let's face it,
you know whether you want to listen to Slayer or not, so
there's not much point in a reviewer complaining about
the noise, morbidity etc.!
--Graham
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