Classic Album of the Week - Slayer - Reign in Blood

[hellboy]

Reign In Blood - a classic Thrash Metal album from the 80s.

I got into Slayer rather late in my music listening career. I was well aware of their work via friends and magazines since the 90s, but they never really did much for me. Then, for some inexplicable reason I purchased their then new album God Hates Us All. It was a great album (and it still is) but I moved onto acquiring more of Slayers work. Reign in Blood was eventually purchased, from memory for about $5 and I loved it immediately. Catchy riffs, stellar drumming, wailing solos and cheesy as fuck lyrics - it had it all. On my rating scale, it'd get a 9/10.

For your listening pleasure and discussion, I present Slayer's Reign In Blood...

[MOG]

Lombardo is a great drummer. Beyond that Slayer does nothing for me. I respect their contribution to metal though. Thankfully metal has grown up significantly over the last 15 years. As for this album specifically I can't stand it. I despise Thrash metal. Always have, always will. Again Lombardo is the only thing that makes it even marginally palatable.

[Ravenpig]

That's funny, just the other night I re-downloaded this on rhapsody cause I wanna hear it again...

Reason being, I actually only gave this a real listen a few months ago for the first time. Since I am planning on hearing it today anyway I'm gonna save my rating for layer.

[UndKeineZwEier]

Was just listening to this not too long ago. Great album. I'm not much of a headbanger, but damn does this album bring it out in me.

[Kittaan]

Slayer is a one trick pony. For me, you hear one song, you've heard most. When they do step out of their box, during sections of certain songs, I can start getting into it, but they invariably kill whatever moment they started to achieve. The cheesy lyrics and vocals are by no means a draw for me. I can definitely dig humor in music, but this doesn't rate for me. Re: Lombardo - again, too samey. He clearly has chops, I just don't dig what he does with them.

I listened to most of this, but I'll likely never subject myself to it again.

[hellboy]

Not every album needs to be a collection of fantastic musicians playing brooding pieces with pretentious songwriting. Live in the moment. Embrace the work that these guys did as pioneers of the metal scene rather than judging them on who can masturbate their instruments better.

[Kittaan]

Not every album needs to be a collection of fantastic musicians playing brooding pieces with pretentious songwriting.

.

Sure, and I agree. I like ALL kinds of music that doesn't fit that description, and I've shared a lot of it here. Most of it you weren't into, iirc.

Live in the moment. Embrace the work that these guys did as pioneers of the metal scene rather than judging them on who can masturbate their instruments better.

Now that's bullshit. I can't change how I perceive music. I gave you my honest take, based on my opinion of THAT album (which is also how I feel about Slayer in general btw).

The same thing happens to you (all of us really), as you've pointed out numerous times. I could have just said "I didn't dig it" but I wanted to support my opinion. Sue me you music Nazi.

[hellboy]

Not trying to be a Nazi or offensive in any way. I'll leave that up to the guys in Slayer.

I'm glad you supported your opinion and have no problem with it. My opinion is that too many here are to caught up in the musicianship behind bands and often leave behind the passion and emotions that drive it.

[Kittaan]

caught up in the musicianship behind bands and often leave behind the passion and emotions that drive it.

For me (and I don't think I'm unique in this), reaction to a piece of music is visceral [Not the literal def, but: characterized by or proceeding from instinct rather than intellect: a visceral reaction.]

I either like it or I don't. I don't analyze the musicianship and THEN decide whether or not I like it. Often, the music I gravitate to is made by musicians who have mastered their instruments, but it's not a prerequisite for me to like a song.

I hear what you're saying and agree with you. MANY times mastery of an instrument is accompanied by wankery, with zero emotion. I definitely prefer to listen to someone with a bit of talent and a ton of emotion than vice versa.

[Ravenpig]

Ok so I heard it again and I got the same feeling from it as before: it's good stuff, you can turn your brain off while listening to it, and it rocks.

Having said that, it's also something I'd listen to only every once in a while. If I heard it(or any of Slayer's stuff) on a regular basis it would get old really fast.

6.5/10

[not tyson]

There are certain media items I'll never watch, like titanic or avatar, this is the musical equivalent.

My classic of the week were it open to the public would be Vulgar display of power.

[N.Y.H.C.]

love them or hate them this is a classic album.

[hellboy]

There are certain media items I'll never watch, like titanic or avatar, this is the musical equivalent.

My classic of the week were it open to the public would be Vulgar display of power.

That's exactly how I feel about Vulgar Display of Power.

[MOG]

Not trying to be a Nazi or offensive in any way. I'll leave that up to the guys in Slayer.

I'm glad you supported your opinion and have no problem with it. My opinion is that too many here are to caught up in the musicianship behind bands and often leave behind the passion and emotions that drive it.

Did you really say live in the moment? Yeah I'm gonna go jump into my 1986 time machine right now.

Reign in Blood sucking massive dick has nothing to do with musical talent. It's boring ass thrash metal. It's dated and dull and inane. No one is discounting Slayer's importance and impact on metal. Some of us just hate thrash metal. Fuck today's Thrash, Grind, Crust scene makes me want to vomit did you think a thrash metal album from 1986 would be any different?

And don't give me this musical wankery/instrumentation bullshit. My two fucking picks in Listener club were Sunn O))) (Avant-Garde Drone Metal) and Omega Massif (Instrumental Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal).

As usual, Kittaan has it right.

[petemasterpete]

There are certain media items I'll never watch, like titanic or avatar, this is the musical equivalent.

My classic of the week were it open to the public would be Vulgar display of power.

I'LL SUCK YO' DICK

[not tyson]

But what do I get out of it?

[petemasterpete]

But what do I get out of it?

I'll do it in time with the tracks, all the while humming the rhythm in tune to Mouth for War, This Love, Rise, Live in a Hole and Hollow ... and pull off just in time to distract Mog from his titanic viewing and get in for a proper taste of your manliness? Sound all well and good to you

[not tyson]

Mmmm, I can imagine the head bops now

[petemasterpete]

Mmmm, I can imagine the head bops now

I've always held a warm, soft place in my heart for that song

for the record, it is a much better album than slayer has ever released as a whole ... and like them or not, over-rated or not, Pantera put and kept metal on the map at a time when most of it was being over-looked, watered down, lost and forgotten by the mainstream

[Kittaan]

much better album than slayer has ever released - (Pantera)

Yup.

[not tyson]

I'm listening to this objectively as I can, yeah no, I'm claiming VDOP classic album of the week right fucking now.

Thrash is trash. It's still better than megadeth 100%

[limeygringo]

My favorite Slayer song

[hellboy]

I'm listening to this objectively as I can, yeah no, I'm claiming VDOP classic album of the week right fucking now.

All jokes aside, I have no real problem with you doing this.

Thrash is trash. It's still better than megadeth 100%

I think we can all agree Megadeth are shit.

[Calfium Jay]

See....I don't really "get" Slayer. I guess that's how HB and I differ as individuals, if one were to break down and inspect our DNA (aside from the politics thing that is). To me they're just boring. There's nothing there. Just empty bravado, lots of cacophonous yelling and widdly diddly guitar virtuoso. I keep expecting them to break halfway through a "tune", chug a beer, and then resume playing. The musicianship is perfunctory at best but Tom Araya's voice is like the proverbial nails on a chalkboard to these ears. Atonal, monotonous yelling - and all in the same key (?) It's thrash by numbers played by halfwits hooped up on juice. Just really, really mediocre all round. I thought Angel Of Death (opening track detailing horrors of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele - a subject I have a noted interest in) would at least give me something to digest but it didn't. Apart from a garbled reference to "Auschwitz" this track could very well have been about goat herding or toilet training the retarded and I would have been none the wiser. And from there on it just got worse. This album failed to move me in any way.

I dunno. At least the cover art's good.

2/10

[Calfium Jay]

I think we can all agree Megadeth are shit.

True.

Still, Rust In Peace, shits all over Reign In Blood.

At least it's memorable.