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RESPECT
SLAYER: Still Reigning
With the release of Slayer's new studio album, Christ Illusion we here at Live-Metal feel the time is right to honor one of the most influential and long-running metal acts of all time.
By RYAN MAVITY
August 2, 2006
I do not know where to start. I'm not sure how to make this sound without seeming like an ass sniffer? The fact is that Slayer has more rock in the dirt under their fingernails than most of us have in our whole bodies. What do you say to someone who rocks that much? Slayer has defied time, trends, age, and the ever shifting music landscape. All you have to do is say their name and you know, this band is not for the American Idol crowd.
I first knew that Slayer was not like other bands when I put on their 1986 classic, Reign In Blood. To hear the opening scream of "Angel Of Death" is to be hooked up to the flux capacitor and transported to when rock and roll was loud, crude and dangerous. I first put it on in my car and not long thereafter I felt the urge to speed up to 100 miles an hour, which Ii would have done, had I not been driving a Ford Taurus. Maybe its a good thing I didn't have a fast car or the Maryland State Police may have made my first Slayer experience a lot less memorable. And guess what? The energy of that record never wavered. 30 minutes of ear splitting solos, screaming vocals, and drums that pounded your head into submission. It was most excellent. I mean, does it get anymore metal than the opening riff and scream of '"Angel Of Death?" The sludgy riff of "Jesus Saves" is the first time the album slows down before assaulting you faster and louder than the previous 4 songs and the eerie intro to "Raining Blood' with its thunderclaps that morph into the song's punding opening riff.
While many out there remember Reign In Blood as Slayer's finest hour, they showed they were no one trick pony with the slower South Of Heaven, with maybe my favorite Slayer song, "Mandatory Suicide." Then they did Metallica's Black Album before Metallica did with the longer, more elaborate Seasons In The Abyss, then followed that with a kickass live album, whose opener of "Hell Awaits/The Antichrist' may rival '"Angel Of Death" for most adreneline pumping first song. With the advent of grunge, and the departure of drummer Dave Lombardo, Slayer adapted a more punk oriented tone and continued to kick ass well into the new century.
But there's more to love about this band than just the albums. How about the fact that the band has never aged. Well not much anyway. Not just in the music but in the guys themselves. Look at Dave LOmbardo and Jeff Hanneman in 1986 and now. They're like the Dick Clark of heavy metal. Kerry king is different looking only because he has a tattoo on his skull; How metal is that? Ok, so Tom Araya looks a older but they hasn't aged in dog years like Lars and Jjames from Metallica have. And for the most part they've had the same lineup (except for Lombardo's absence from 1992-2003) for their entire run.
When you talk about Slayer, you talk about a certain sound. In a nutshell, its the sound of hell. To quote Scott Ian of Anthrax, "If you went to hell, that's probably what it would sound like". Agreed. Listen to the track '"Hell Awaits" with its 3 minute intro that sounds like satan himself made a cameo. And the sound! A nonstop barrage of kick drums, whammy bars, and Araya's scream which was unlike any in rock in how it could go very high - to a growl inside of 1.5 seconds. The lyrics add to the choas as Araya spits them out at a machine gun like rate that dares you to keep up with him. I am also impressed by the way he can use words and phrases like "embryonic death" and "thorzine" and then rhyme "strangulation" with "mutilation" without ever breaking time. And what's great about Slayer is that, much like AC/DC or Motorhead, you knew they weren't gonna get all sensitive and slip a ballad in there. Slayer songs are about things like genocide, war, violence, torture, and murder. Now i'm sure all those things could be worked into a great ballad but Slayer isn't gonna write it. You either listen to Slayer on their terms or you don't listen.You're either with them or you're not and that's the attitude that's kept them strong for almost 25 years, without radio or MTV support.
So, I raise a glass to you Slayer - keep rocking, keep kicking ass, and leave the sensitive crap to Clay Aiken. Here's to ya.
www.slayer.net
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