Recipe for Metal: Slayer
By: William Koester
Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: Entertainment
Thrash metal, a genre of music that combines the heaviness and intricate musical structure of heavy metal with the speed and aggression of punk rock, came to prominence in the 1980s. The most well-known band to emerge from that scene is Metallica. But no thrash band has ever even come close to the speed, the intensity, or the sheer craziness of Slayer.
Slayer's recipe for metal includes blazing fast guitar, thundering drums and lyrics about war, murder, and Satanism. Really, it's amazing that guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman can play such intricate riffs at supersonic speeds, with drummer Dave Lombardo pounding along every step of the way. Singer and bassist Tom Araya doesn't sing so much as yell the lyrics to keep up. He's not the greatest singer, but his voice fits right in with the overall musical assault.
In other words, Slayer's music is the perfect stuff to send a concert crowd into a screaming, moshing frenzy. If it weren't for Slayer, many death metal and metalcore acts wouldn't exist, and few that have come along after can even touch the band's style.
Slayer's big break came with their 1986 album "Reign in Blood." They followed it with two more great albums, 1988's "South of Heaven" and 1990's "Seasons in the Abyss." In the 1990s, though, the band seemed to hit a snag. The albums during this period were still fast and loud, but seemed too routine when compared to what had come before. It seemed like something was missing --- that something may have been drummer Lombardo, who left the band to work on other projects.
In 2006, though, Slayer reunited with Lombardo and released "Christ Illusion." This was said by some to be the band's comeback album, as it sounded more on par with their work from their 80s heyday. The album was well-received by critics and fans, and even won the band a Grammy for the song "Eyes of the Insane."
The band recently followed up "Christ Illusion" with their tenth studio album, "World Painted Blood." Released on Nov. 3, the album has everything one would expect of Slayer, with King and Hanneman still punishing their guitars, Lombardo pounding his drums, and Araya screaming out the lyrical gore. The album isn't quite as hard-hitting as some of the band's best work, but then again, it's hard to think of very many albums that are. Also, they deserve credit for not succumbing to recent metal trends, such as dopey, growling, "Cookie Monster" vocals. The band has stuck to their guns, and it still sounds great.
Slayer's music is kind of an acquired taste. While metal bands such as Metallica have written more mainstream material, Slayer has never tried to branch out to other listeners. Their music is pure, loud heavy metal for true metalheads.
"World Painted Blood" is no exception. For headbangers young and old, this is one album not to miss. It won't win over any fans of other genres, but that idea is far from the band's mind.
Slayer's recipe for metal includes blazing fast guitar, thundering drums and lyrics about war, murder, and Satanism. Really, it's amazing that guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman can play such intricate riffs at supersonic speeds, with drummer Dave Lombardo pounding along every step of the way. Singer and bassist Tom Araya doesn't sing so much as yell the lyrics to keep up. He's not the greatest singer, but his voice fits right in with the overall musical assault.
In other words, Slayer's music is the perfect stuff to send a concert crowd into a screaming, moshing frenzy. If it weren't for Slayer, many death metal and metalcore acts wouldn't exist, and few that have come along after can even touch the band's style.
Slayer's big break came with their 1986 album "Reign in Blood." They followed it with two more great albums, 1988's "South of Heaven" and 1990's "Seasons in the Abyss." In the 1990s, though, the band seemed to hit a snag. The albums during this period were still fast and loud, but seemed too routine when compared to what had come before. It seemed like something was missing --- that something may have been drummer Lombardo, who left the band to work on other projects.
In 2006, though, Slayer reunited with Lombardo and released "Christ Illusion." This was said by some to be the band's comeback album, as it sounded more on par with their work from their 80s heyday. The album was well-received by critics and fans, and even won the band a Grammy for the song "Eyes of the Insane."
The band recently followed up "Christ Illusion" with their tenth studio album, "World Painted Blood." Released on Nov. 3, the album has everything one would expect of Slayer, with King and Hanneman still punishing their guitars, Lombardo pounding his drums, and Araya screaming out the lyrical gore. The album isn't quite as hard-hitting as some of the band's best work, but then again, it's hard to think of very many albums that are. Also, they deserve credit for not succumbing to recent metal trends, such as dopey, growling, "Cookie Monster" vocals. The band has stuck to their guns, and it still sounds great.
Slayer's music is kind of an acquired taste. While metal bands such as Metallica have written more mainstream material, Slayer has never tried to branch out to other listeners. Their music is pure, loud heavy metal for true metalheads.
"World Painted Blood" is no exception. For headbangers young and old, this is one album not to miss. It won't win over any fans of other genres, but that idea is far from the band's mind.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
HumanRejection
posted 11/20/09 @ 8:10 AM CST
"metal trends, such as dopey, growling, "Cookie Monster" vocals."
Yeah its not a trend, its a different genre to thrash metal. It is called brutal death metal or death metal either one expresses the technique of growling in one form or the other. (Continued…)
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