Lyrics are really not the reason why this record is amazing. The lyrics don't really need to be mentioned, because there is not a lot of meaning behind them. Everyone on the record is putting on a show. It is true that his vocals have been the same for decades, but I freaking love his vocals, so to me, it is no problem.
Besides his well-fitting bass lines, his vocals are excellent as well. Tom Araya's bass is very audible, which is one sentence you will not often read. His understanding of what would and would not work when the riffs change, and when the tempo changes is very high. Though the style of the music did not allow him to go above and beyond what was expected like later (insane filling and brutal double-bass sections with some ultra-high BPM just don't go well with melodic speed metal, not that I know of) you can tell that he really knew what he was doing. Dave Lombardo was an outstanding drummer even back in this time. They are actually really well-written, advanced solos.īesides the excellent, melodic, clever guitar work, the rest of the band is not bad either. Listen to the solos of "Tormentor", and/or "The Final Command". Here, the two guys actually put some real meaning, some sense behind those solos. The riffs are very well thought out, well-articulated and they work magnificently with the theme and atmosphere of the record. Some of the catchiest Slayer songs can be found on this record, including but not limited to "Fight Till Death", "Black Magic", "Tormentor". The riffs are the most sophisticated and most melodic out of all of Slayer's records. The guitar work, if you look at it from a reasonable, objective point of view, is the best guitar work in all of Slayer's history. The first actual, LP-appearance of the legendary quartet, Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King, and Dave Lombardo. Having the importance and significance of the record out of the way, let's talk about the musicianship. The signs of thrash metal, the fast pace, the destructive riffing, the continuously crushing, loud hi-hat, the barking vocals appeared on this record, for one of the first times in the history of music. If you are aware of the origins of the genre, you can not deny (unless you are stupid) that this album played a major role in the evolvement of thrash metal music. Nobody "created" any genre, they all evolved. It's highly controversial who "created" the genre, so it's not worth talking about it, because there really is no right or wrong answer. Back in 1983, the style was not yet completely defined. The band with this album started out playing speed metal with some occasional thrash metal-like elements.
It is a different type of Slayer that is just as memorable and amazing as the later, hatred-based Slayer. This record, in terms of style and sounding, is completely disconnected from Slayer's later discography, but it is not a problem at all. If to you, Slayer is just "another" band that you like, you may be only thinking Reign in Blood.
You think Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, perhaps Seasons in the Abyss do that, if you are a die-hard Slayer fan, like me. However, when you read that previous sentence, you do not think "Oh, yes, I agree. There is a great reason for that, no band in the history of metal has been able to capture the suffering of the human soul, the torturous pain that it goes through during difficult stages of life. Slayer has been a favorite band for hundreds and thousands, if not tens of millions of people worldwide.