Slayer: Reign in Blood- 1986
 

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Slayer Reign In Blood- 1986
RMR Album Rating- 5
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On paper, Slayer’s 1986 release “Reign in Blood” has all the elements of a winning thrash metal album; however, for all it has working for it, it has just as much working against it.

“Reign in Blood” was my first Slayer album, and I had read quite a bit about it before I picked it up. Based on what I had read, I had very high expectations for the album. It was released in 1986, which is commonly considered the peak year for thrash metal. It was a Slayer record (Slayer is one of the “Big-4” premier bands of thrash metal). It was supposed to be the fastest thrash metal album ever recorded at that point. It was produced by Rick Rubin, who is extremely talented and one of my favorite producers. I also knew that Slayer had great players: Dave Lombardo is considered one of the greatest metal drummers of all time, and Kerry King is considered one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time. I was also aware that the song formats were very short, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of thrash metal, but I was hoping the shorter songs would produce an album that sounded like a cross-pollination of Bad Religion and Metallica. Therefore, I was really excited to hear the album because all this sounded great in theory.

Well, the album does have all the winning ingredients mentioned, but it has some serious flaws as well, and— for me, these flaws far outweigh its winning recipe.

The album run time is about 28-minutes, which is not a problem in itself, but when all the songs basically sound the same, the whole album really just melts together into one short blur, and because it is so fast all the time, there is very little song development at all. Anytime an interesting section starts to develop in a song, the song either changes or ends, so they never really capitalize on any of the songs. Thus, there is never any real impact for the listener, with the exception of the amazing speed at which the album is played. Aside from the lack of song development, the other major problem is that Slayer sacrifices most melody, harmony, and emotional impact for speed, so I quickly found that I didn’t get the Bad Religion/ Metallica hybrid that I was looking for on “Reign In Blood.” Bad Religion (although not a metal band) put out albums that were just as fast as “Reign In Blood,” but they were also jammed packed with melody and harmony, so they worked, and they were memorable. Whereas “Reign In Blood” certainly has the speed, but none of it ends up being memorable or impactful.

For anyone with progressive rock knowledge, there’s a great analogy between Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” and Gentle Giant’s “Octopus.” “Reign in Blood” is to thrash metal what “Octopus” is to progressive rock. The albums couldn’t be more different in sound, but they share the same flaws in their respective genres. Where “Reign in Blood” sacrifices melody and harmony for speed, “Octopus” sacrifices melody and harmony for overly complex time signatures and crazy instrumentation. Both albums look like 10-star albums on paper, but neither is memorable or ultimately impactful for me.

As mentioned, the sound of the album is super speedy. The rhythm guitar is played at the pace that most guitar solos are played, and the guitar solos are played even faster, which is admittedly impressive. The drum work also really shines on this album, and Dave Lombardo certainly earns his reputation as one of the best metal drummers to ever sit behind the kit. There are problems, though. Aside from the underdeveloped song structures, much of my problem with the sound of this album comes from the vocal delivery. The music is delivered so fast, it sounds like Tom Araya is constantly struggling to keep up, and his vocals don’t strike a chord with me at all. For the record, I have no problem with blood and gore themed lyrics, but even when singing about blood and gore, you still have to deliver the lyrics with some resonance, and this just doesn’t happen on “Reign in Blood.”

Although there are 10-songs on the album, none of them are really fully developed, and they all pretty much sound the same, frankly I’m surprised the band can keep track of which song is which because they all sound so similar. The opening track “Angle of Death” and the closing track “Raining Blood” are exceptions to this.

“Raining Blood” is by far my favorite track on the album because they actually develop an organized song structure for it. The main guitar riff actually repeats a few times, making it memorable and impactful. “Raining Blood’s” run time on the album is over 4-minutes, which makes it one of only three songs to break the 3-minute barrier, but there are live versions of the song that near the 10-minute mark, and some of those are, in my opinion, the best versions of the song, but this short version here is great nonetheless.

“Angle of Death” also stands out, but only because it is the opener, it the longest song on the album (at almost 5 minutes), and its lyrical content, which came under fire because people claimed that the song was promoting the events of the Holocaust. Slayer has said publically many times that the song is a document of the events that took place, but the song is in no way promoting the events that occurred, which would be clearly apparent to anyone who has actually read the lyrics.

Of the other 8 songs in between “Angle of Death” and “Raining Blood,” the only other song that I’ll highlight is “Jesus Saves.” it is somewhat unique in that the first half is instrumental, but the total track time is only 3-minutes, so that’s not saying much. To me, every other song just runs together, and they are all basically indecipherable from each other.

Ultimately, “Reign in Blood” was a let down for me for because everything is sacrificed for speed, and as impressive as the speed of their playing might be, there’s certainly more to music than just speed; however, with that being said, I think the album is worth hearing as a document of one of the fastest metal albums ever recorded.

i think this album is massively overrated

sure, it was good for its time, no other metal album was as fast, then in the 90s with Earache, bands like Napalm Death could play faster and the songs structures were much better than anything on Reign in Blood

these days, i think only Jesus Saves and Angel of Death still stand up as "good"

i'm also of the opposite camp that likes slower Slayer, which actually sounds "heavier", i.e. South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss

hey, just because it's slower/sludgier, doesn't mean it ain't better

I have to say I completely disagree with your review on this one. Reign in Blood is definitely one of those genre-defining classics that very much deserves its reputation. If you're looking for beautiful melodies and harmonies then, yeah, it's certainly not the album for you, but judging it using those metrics is also completely missing the point of what makes it so good.

Man... Duce, you are fast reader-- I just posted this. We agree, and I like that "Jesus Saves" sticks out for you as well. We only disagree on "Angel of Death," which I mentioned in the review as a stand out, but only because it's the first track on the album and all the fuss it created. So for me, it does stand out, but I actually think its the worst track on the album.

I think most people would agree with you, but "RIB" just never clicked with me. That's why I threw in my GG "Octopus" analogy. Many people consider that a genre defining album as well, but it just never worked for me.

Ultimately, my enjoyment of an album is based on how memorable it is and how much it resonates with me, and this one just never did either.

Me too. That's why I rate Reign in Blood so highly. :)

I felt the same way until I saw them do the album in its entirety live. Blew my mind to bits then raped those bits to oblivion. It's hard to top that.

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Thee best thrash album of all time, and very deserving of all the "all time" records lists it has made from major publications. This thread is the first I've even heard of a supposed thrash fan, thinking it's anything less than metal at it's finest

i can speed-read to some extent, Angel of Death is great, regardless of its subject matter or whether it's an opening track or whatnots

i'm hardly a "thrash" fan, but Voivod's Dimension Hattross or Sacred Reich's Surf Nicaragua rapes Reign in Blood and impales its head on a stake

-well there ya go. wouldn't expect my parents to like it either

heh! your parents won't like 3/4ths of the stuff i listen to

thrash is pretty wuss and too melodic for me

Nice

Good god, no they don't. They don't even come close.

Frownland, I can certainly believe that. My main two complaints with the studio version of this album is that they don't develop the song structures completely and the Tom's vocals can't keep up with the music. Every YouTube live clip that I've seen from any of the tracks on "RIB" have longer run times; therefore, the songs are better developed, and the tracks are played slightly slower so Tom can keep up on vocals, but that doesn't fix the problems on the studio version.

they are certainly better written, and the flow is better

on most of the songs on RIB, i can hardly tell which one's which, besides the aforementioned Jesus Saves and Angel of Death and the final slow one (Raining Blood?)

Dude, Surf Nicaragua only has four songs on it and the longest one of them is a cover. That means that means about a third of the album's running time was written by Black Sabbath.

First off, there is no such thing as the "Best" or "greatest." There are only personal opinions and favorites that when combined together-- create these best of "all time" lists... which depending on the publication normally don't mean much.

Second, I never say anywhere that "RIB" is a bad album, I just say that it doesn't resonate with me personally.

Lastly, if you're referring to me as the "supposed thrash fan," I never stated anywhere that I was a fan of thrash. I would consider myself a moderate Thrash fan, in that i like Metallica, Megadeth, & some Slayer, but I have no experience with Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, or any of the other big names of Thrash, so I would hardly say I have the background to call myself a true fan of Thrash.

My review of the album is from an objective music fan perspective, not a thrash fan perspective, as all my reviews are

and RIB is only slightly over half an hour

yes i hate their War Pigs but Surf Nicaragua (song) beats almost all the songs on RIB

What's your point? Mine was that it's pretty hard to talk about album flow when you're referring a four song EP and pretty hard to talk about songwriting when a big percentage of the music consists of non-original material.

"Surf Nicaragua" is a good song but is not even in the same league as the tracks on Reign in Blood. That said, I think looking at Reign in Blood as simply a collection of songs is a mistake. It's a quintessential album album—a single, unified listening experience—and is best appreciated when consumed whole.

If remember correctly, I really liked Reign In Blood. It has been a while since I listened to it (and only once) but I think a 5/10 is pretty harsh.

my mistake, actually, i should have specified "flow" for Dimension Hattross, even if some solos were speeded up

Surf Nicaragua has better quality in its four songs

It's been a while since I've listened to that album but my recollection is that I was extremely underwhelmed by it. But imo it's pretty hard to beat the flow of Reign in Blood. The songs lead into each other incredibly well, just listen to the "Piece By Piece"/"Necrophobic"/"Altar of Sacrifice"/"Jesus Saves" flow for example. Or consider their decision to begin side two with the slow, menacing intro of "Criminally Insane". Most importantly, listen to how the entire pummeling experience of the bulk of the album builds it's way up to that one massive drum hit near the end of "Postmortem", a pause, a final blast of fury, and then the wide open expanse of "Rain in Blood".

As we discussed earlier, one of those songs is a cover that you don't even like, so that leaves three songs to compare to all ten tracks of Reign in Blood. Those three songs are good, albeit not very different from the music put out by other second-tier thrash bands of that time, but Reign in Blood, on the other hand, sounds pretty unique and pretty innovative compared to it's peers. The fact that it's actually two years older than Surf Nicaragua makes this contrast all the more stark.

For speedy music, I'll take Bad Religion any day over Slayer. Although punk and not at all metal, Bad Religion plays faster than Slayer with the same song lengths as those on "Reign In Blood," but Greg Graffin's vocals can keep pace with the music, where Tom Araya's just can't.

First part of Bad Religion's debut "Suffer"

Meh. It's apples and oranges. Slayer and Bad Religion are going for two completely different aesthetics. Reign in Blood succeeds at being an intense, vicious, pummeling album. The bit of Suffer that I just listened to succeeds at sounding like poppy punk rock. It's weird that you're comparing the vocals here though. Tom Araya's vocals, while certainly not the focus, work very well in the context of Slayer songs. Greg Graffin's vocals, on the other hand, are one of the main reasons I've never been able to get into Bad Religion.

Agree, definitely apples and oranges-- expect in terms of the speed of playing. And, you're also right in that Araya's and Graffin's vocals are very different; however, one of my main complaints with "RIB" is Araya's vocals can't keep up with the music, where Graffin's easily do, which is why I posted the clip.

Bummer that Graffin's vocals don't resonate with you. Bad Religion are one of my favorite bands, and they have a huge catalog of excellent music-- but if his voice doesn't work for you, the band's output definitely won't work for you because their sound is somewhat built around, not only his voice, but their multi-part vocal harmonies.

I can see your point here, but coming back to it after the concert it just helped me relive the experience. The rawness of it all that you described in a sense makes it more real though, like a true ejaculation of the rage and fury that Slayer really needed to release. But to each his own, I suppose.

I disagree with you about that too though. The music of both bands may technically be equally fast (though the end result doesn't sound like it to me) but I think Araya's vocals serve that better than Graffin's. Graffin tries, not completely successfully, to be sing-songy and melodic with his vocals and it tends to make the music feel slower, even if it really isn't. Araya, on the other hand, spits the words out in a very percussive way, almost like he's rapping, and it generally adds to the fast an ferocious mood of the music. Is it perfect and melodious? Not at all. It sounds raw and off the rails, but that's perfect for the music. The song "Necrophobic" is a good example of what I'm talking about:

As much as I hate the term and to admit it, I agree with you that Graffin's vocals could be described as sing-songy, but it just appeals to me more. It just sounds to me like Araya is just about out of breath trying to keep up with the music.

One additional point, Araya does not sing as fast live, where as Graffin does, but I'm taking us way off topic now, and like you said originally-- apples and oranges really. One more BR clip just for kicks. One of my favorite tracks, "Modern Man," which is super fast and melodic.

Could be. When I saw Slayer in concert I don't remember noticing one way or the other really. I do remember them being damn good though. And fast. :)


This is definitely one of the better Bad Religion tracks I've heard. Though ironically it sounds like Graffin's kind of struggling to squeeze all those syllables into the chorus. :D

Further off-topic still: Do you listen to 7 Seconds at all? If not, you might want to check them out. They're a good band very much in the same musical ballpark as Bad Religion, especially in terms of the bass playing. You might like them.

Napalm Death were faster. Obituary were heavier. Autopsy were filthier.

Doesn't matter. I love those three bands but Reign In Blood sounds as fresh today as the day I bought it on vinyl in 1986.

I think every single song has it's own identity. The production is the cleanest sound you can ever get from such an intense album and every band member is on top form.

I still cannot find one single fault with this album after 25 years. Maybe I am being biased because of my age but I couldn't really give a flying ****!

I will say though that I genuinely do appreciate the OP review and it is well written and cohesive and sacred cows do have to be choped down now and again.

The only other album with that sheer intensity but still retaining control is Infest's Slave. They should put these albums in music class!

i'll go totally out on a limb here and say the best Slayer is Show No Mercy

About GG's Octopus as being genre defining, I may be incorrect in writing this, but I thought MB was a bit special in hyping that record. When I look at progarchives, both In A Glass House and Free Hand are more highly rated. I don't think it's particularly genre defining as it features GG experimentations similar to what they'd put out before and it was released in 1972 when prog had had time to mature a bit.

In regards to your review, I get Jans' point about judging RIB by the criterias that it should be melodical and harmonious to be good a little unfair. However, I can't say I fully disagree with you as I too quite like melodies and harmonies. ;)

I've never even heard of that Infest album before. I'll have to check that one out!

Tore, when I mentioned "Octopus" as genre defining, I was alluding to many of the commenters here-- primarily from when I posted my "Octopus" review. I used to live on progarchives, and you are correct that some other GG albums are rated higher. For me, and I mentioned this in the comments after my "Octopus review, I like "In a Glass House" better.

And, per your recommendations from that thread, I am going to give GG another shot and give "Free Hand" and "The Power and the Glory" a listen.

melody is not a very good yardstick for metal, unless if it's power metal

it's got to make your hormones burn

yes, RiB is fast and brutal, but it's a huge massive blur, because the song structures and arrangements just aren't very good, and a lot of the songs sound like each other

Agreed 100%... my original point in my review

I'd agree with you, but I think you're wrong. ;)

Well, the album really isn't meant to be listened to song for song. The fact that the songs sound alike can be seen as a strength depending on your point of view. It's an album that's supposed to be the epitome of thrash, and as such it's supposed to deliver the most pure, visceral, thrash experience possible. Different sounding songs would make you think, "Hey that song sounds different" which will only take you out of myopic, head banging mode by making you think, even if only for a second. RIB is supposed to induce a frenzied bout of brain dead head banging and nothing else, and that's exactly what it does.

i use Metallica's Kill 'Em All for that, even if it is just basically speeded-up Diamond Head

^Now that's a thrash album I think is overrated.