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By RYAN MAVITY
There are certain things in life that just bring a smile to my face. Ravens victories, hockey fights, Jessica Biel in a bikini and the movie Point Break are just a few things that can always make a bad day good. Added to that list is the music of thrash metal’s preeminent band, Slayer. After releasing three of the best metal albums of all-time in a row (Reign in Blood, South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss) the band fell off a bit in the ’90s after the departure of drummer Dave Lombardo. While the band’s material in the ’90s wasn’t bad, the chemistry with drummer Paul Bostaph wasn’t the same as it had been with Lombardo and the band seemed to be waning.
However, a funny thing happened in the new millenium. Thanks to shows like Jackass and Viva La Bam, as well as the Lombardo’s return to the fold, the band has seen an unexpected surge in popularity (backed up by the fact that their new album had their highest chart debut in nearly 10 years). Christ Illusion, the band’s first batch of new material in five years, is a loud, fast punch to the face that shows that after all these years, Slayer is still the best at what they do. The band doesn’t break any new ground here; the album is more a celebration of where they’ve been than anything else. Still, this is the album that St. Anger wanted to be.
The album starts with the frenetic “Flesh Storm,” a four-minute blast which would have fit right in on Reign in Blood. It’s a track that makes you want to get in a fast car, crank the volume loud and fly down the highway like Vin Diesel in The Fast and The Furious. This is followed by another speedy metal track, “Catalyst,” with its fist-pumping “All that I fucking am!” chorus. It’s clear the band is in top form. The track also introduces the album’s primary themes, religion and war, which have been common in Slayer’s material before. “Eyes of the Insane,” with Lombardo’s relentless double kick drum is more on par with their ’90s material, but still a good track.
Then comes the album’s best and most controversial song, “Jihad,” which was written from the perspective of an Arab terrorist. Musically, it starts with a slow intro before launching into a furious metal assault. The track is a bit reminiscent of “Jesus Saves” from Reign in Blood. It’s also the best song lyrically, as it conveys the insanity and commitment to violence of a terrorist before he kills because “this is God’s war.” The song got quite a deal of ink for its subject matter, but I think it accurately portrays the hypocrisy of extremism.
The band then goes back to its more conventional style with the blistering “Skeleton Christ” with a classic metal “hail Satan” thrown in for good measure. “Consfearacy” is a song that could be interpreted as a shot at the Bush administration with its “light the fuse/impose your views” chorus. The album starts to run out of gas a little with “Catatonic” and “Black Serenade,” two tracks that aren’t bad but don’t have the same energy and urgency of “Jihad” or “Flesh Storm.” Not that that’s too bad of a knock; even Reign in Blood seemed to run out of gas toward the end.
The band redeems itself at the end, though, with another strong track dealing with religion, “Cult,” which, like the best Slayer songs, makes you think AND want to smash a beer can over your head like the Sandman from ECW at the same time. The album’s closer, “Supremacist,” is a good way to wrap things up as the band goes through a mind-blowing amount of time changes with some great work from Lombardo on the drums.
As mentioned before, Christ Illusion is more a celebration of where Slayer has been than where they are going. Still, people love what they are, so why not embrace it? Bands that reach the stage Slayer is at can do one of two things. They can try to do something different (like Metallica) and get killed for it because they “sold out” or they can stick to a formula that has been successful before (like Motorhead or AC/DC) and get knocked for not changing. Either way, the band can’t win, but I think Slayer made the right choice of reembracing their thrash roots after the sludgy, nu-metal experimentation of their ’90s material. There’s a little something for everyone here. Those who liked the fast tempos of Reign in Blood get some of that, and those that like the slower and more intricate songwriting of South of Heaven will find that here as well. And at only 39 minutes the band doesn’t overstay its welcome (unlike St. Anger, which seemed interminable).
In conclusion, Christ Illusion is a nice new addition to the Slayer discography. While it’s not quite on par with the great trilogy of albums they released from 1986 to 1990, it’s not too far behind.
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