...or, "SLLAAYYYERRR!!!!" as they are fondly known by every black t-shirt wearing metalhead who still mourns the demise of KNAC. Part of the "Big Four" of heavy metal from the early '80s, they have remained true to their style and their sound, without selling out (as did Metallica), wimping out (Megadeth), or plain wearing out (Anthrax) In fact, they sound almost the same today as they did with their first recording, "Aggressive Perfector", which appeared on Metal Massacre III some fifteen years ago...Jesus, has it really been THAT LONG?!?

"Show No Mercy/Haunting the Chapel"

1. "Evil Has No Boundaries" (3:09)
2. "The Antichrist" (2:50)
3. "Die by the Sword" (3:35)
4. "Fight Till Death" (3:37)
5. "Metalstorm/Face the Slayer" (4:35)
6. "Black Magic" (4:02)
7. "Tormentor" (3:44)
8. "The Final Command" (2:31)
9. "Crionics" (3:29)
10. "Show No Mercy" (3:07)
11. "Chemical Warfare" (6:01)
12. "Captor of Sin" (3:27)
13. "Haunting the Chapel" (3:57)

Comic-book Satanism may be old hat now, but back in 1983, it was a REAL shocker. (I remember seeing pictures of the band, with their [now disposed-of] black mascara & spiked gloves, and thinking how eeeevil they looked...) The overall production and musicianship leaves something to be desired, although they do pull off several classics here -- "Die by the Sword", "Evil Has No Boundaries", "Black Magic" and "The Antichrist" especially. The last 3 tracks are from their Haunting the Chapel EP, which is only available as a separate CD these days...pretty cool, huh?

"Live Undead"

1. "Black Magic" (4:06)
2. "Die by the Sword" (3:52)
3. "Captor of Sin" (3:34)
4. "The Antichrist" (3:15)
5. "Evil Has No Boundaries" (2:59)
6. "Show No Mercy" (3:05)
7. "Aggressive Perfector" (2:27)
8. "Chemical Warfare"--studio track (6:01)

One thing I've noticed about Slayer fans is they take TERRIBLE care of their CDs...the used ones I find (when I can find them) are almost always torn up and scratched to HELL, as if they used them as bong coasters! So it was a real surprise to find this fun little live EP, used, in NEAR-MINT condition! (Even the store clerk remarked on what a rarity that was.)

"Hell Awaits"

1. "Hell Awaits" (6:12)
2. "Kill Again" (4:52)
3. "At Dawn They Sleep" (6:16)
4. "Praise of Death" (5:17)
5. "Necrophiliac" (3:43)
6. "Crypts of Eternity" (6:37)
7. "Hardening of the Arteries" (3:57)

Show No Mercy was merely comical, but on this album they sound downright EVIL. (I'm fond of saying how Ozzy Osbourne is the perfect music to kill yourself to, while Slayer's the perfect music to kill your girlfriend to!) The outright power & hack-em-up-to-bits energy of songs like "Hell Awaits", "At Dawn They Sleep", and "Kill Again" (which was ripped off in the song "Terrible Certainty" by Kreator) remains unmatched by any of their following albums.

"Reign in Blood" ("Expanded Edition" w/ 2 bonus tracks)

1. "Angel of Death" (4:51)
2. "Piece by Piece" (2:02)
3. "Necrophobic" (1:40)
4. "Altar of Sacrifice" (2:50)
5. "Jesus Saves" (2:54)
6. "Criminally Insane" (2:23)
7. "Reborn" (2:12)
8. "Epidemic" (2:23)
9. "Postmortem" (3:27)
10. "Raining Blood" (4:16)
11. "Aggressive Perfector"--'86 rerecording (2:30)
12. "Criminally Insane"--remix (3:17)

Recently picked up an "Expanded" edition of this CD, which contains two bonus tracks: a rerecording of "Aggressive Perfector", plus a remixed version of "Criminally Insane" (the only real difference is an expanded intro.)

This album gained a lot of notoriety when CBS Records refused to release it, due to pressure from the bad girls of the PMRC (Ha! Remember THEM?? I still can't believe that Tipper "Slut" Gore came within a Florida chad's width of becoming First Lady...) On this album, Slayer wisely disposes of the "O Praise Ye Satan" motifs, leaving only one song advocating the destruction of the Christian religion ("Jesus Saves") -- instead, they move on to more tangible, realistic horrors, such as serial killers (on "Criminally Insane"), a virulent epidemic (on...umm, "Epidemic"), and, of course, the depraved surgical monstrosities of Dr. Mengele on their signature piece, "Angel of Death"! The music itself is much tighter, both musically and production-wise, and in fact borders on punk rock. (One could say that this is album is really just two songs, "Angel of Death" and the rest...)

Oh yeah, ever see the movie Gremlins 2: The New Batch? Wasn't it TOTALLY COOL how they used part of "Angel of Death" during one of the mutation scenes?? I sure thought it was...I suppose it goes without saying that's their most popular song ever, it's even been sampled by Public Enemy in "She Watch Channel Zero", and they did a live version (Slayer, not Public Enemy) on the Ozzfest Live album. There's also a hilarious cover of "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.

"South of Heaven"

1. "South of Heaven" (5:00)
2. "Silent Scream" (3:02)
3. "Live Undead" (3:51)
4. "Behind the Crooked Cross" (3:12)
5. "Mandatory Suicide" (4:03)
6. "Ghosts of War" (3:55)
7. "Read Between the Lies" (3:21)
8. "Cleanse the Soul" (3:01)
9. "Dissident Aggressor" (2:34)
10. "Spill the Blood" (4:48)

Slayer tripped up their fans here by slowing things down QUITE a bit..."South of Heaven" and "Mandatory Suicide" are haunting, doom-metal rockers, and Tom Araya actually SINGS on several songs! (The L.A. Times review, written in the form of a high-school student's note confiscated during detention, says "My parents hate this album even more now, because they can understand the lyrics!") Personally, I think this is one of their best albums, although many people will disagree.... "Dissident Aggressor" is a cover of the Judas Priest song, which made things interesting when they played it on their opening gig for Priest; sadly, Halford n' company didn't take up the challenge. Oh yeah, next time you play Doom, skip to level 3 of Inferno...doesn't the music sound oddly similar to "Behind the Crooked Cross"?

"Seasons in the Abyss"

1. "War Ensemble" (4:52)
2. "Blood Red" (2:50)
3. "Spirit in Black" (4:07)
4. "Expendable Youth" (4:10)
5. "Dead Skin Mask" (5:17)
6. "Hallowed Point" (3:24)
7. "Skeletons of Society" (4:41)
8. "Temptation" (3:26)
9. "Born of Fire" (3:08)
10. "Seasons in the Abyss" (6:32)

Funny thing, even though many songs on here are absolute classics, I think the album as a whole doesn't work as well as the songs taken separately (usually, it's the other way around.) They really hit their peak here, mixing sounds from their previous four albums while still forging ahead. The title track, in particular, is their BEST SONG EVER, even though it took a few listens to realize it...

Well, the only bad thing I can say about this live set is that IT DOESN'T CONTAIN ENOUGH SONGS!! I mean, come ON, there's 30 minutes of free space at the end of each CD, they could have filled them up with "At Dawn They Sleep", or "Live Undead" or other live classics?? Ah well. I'm not usually fond of live metal albums (since they often give away the deficiencies of the band), but this one is OUTSTANDING. The production is crystal-clear, and the band plays flawlessly from track to track (hmm, can one say "overdubs"? Naah, I won't...) The part I love the most is how Tom Araya bitches at the audience for moshing too hard & tearing the joint up, in total contrast to the music's message: "Hey all you guys in the front, keep an eye on each other, alright? If you see someone going down, help 'em out...okay, this is WAAAARRR ENSEMBLLLLLE!!!!!!!"

"Divine Intervention"

1. "Killing Fields" (3:57)
2. "Sex, Murder, Art" (1:50)
3. "Fictional Reality" (3:37)
4. "Dittohead" (2:30)
5. "Divine Intervention" (5:33)
6. "Circle of Beliefs" (4:29)
7. "SS-3" (4:06)
8. "Serenity in Murder" (2:36)
9. "213" (4:52)
10. "Mind Control" (3:04)

Looooong interim between albums...at least four years since Seasons, if I remember correctly. And during that time, the whole thrash metal scene fell apart -- Exodus and Nuclear Assault broke up, Testament degenerated into a third-rate grindcore act, and Overkill became a parody of itself by releasing album after album of undistinguished schlock (to say nothing of the other "Big Four" metal acts, whose fates were described at the top of this page.) So it's at least mildly refreshing to see that Slayer has remained true to their roots. A bit too true, in fact. This album's basically a carbon copy of Reign in Blood, right down to the song lengths! And even after several listenings, I just can't get into it the same way I adore all their earlier works. Don't know if it's because I'm getting too old (shudder!) or what, but this is the first album where I look at the song titles and can't instantly recall what they sound like....

Oh yeah...drummer Dave Lombardo, whose girlfriend convinced him to quit the band for a whole three days sometime before Seasons in the Abyss was recorded, left the band for good at this point, and formed the band Grip, Inc. His replacement was Paul Bostaph of Forbidden.

"Serenity in Murder" (CD single)

1. "Serenity in Murder" (2:35)
2. "At Dawn They Sleep"--live (6:27)
3. "Divine Intervention"--live (5:08)
4. "Dittohead"--live (2:44)

Just a rare CD single with some kewl live tracks. This was a 2-part single, but I'm not sure which part this is or even what live songs were on the other half.

"Undisputed Attitude"

1. "Disintegration/Free Money" (1:41)
2. "Verbal Abuse/Leeches" (1:58)
3. "Abolish Government/Superficial Love" (1:48)
4. "Can't Stand You" (1:27)
5. "DDAMM" (1:01)
6. "Guilty of Being White" (1:07)
7. "I Hate You" (2:16)
8. "Filler/I Don't Want to Hear It" (2:28)
9. "Spiritual Law" (3:00)
10. "Mr. Freeze" (2:24)
11. "Violent Pacification" (2:38)
12. "Richard Hung Himself" (3:22)
13. "I'm Gonna Be Your God" (2:58)
14. "Gemini" (4:53)

A collection of punk tunes, a la GNR's The Spaghetti Incident, although any comparison between the two is ridiculous. Slayer shows they still got it, even though the music they choose to cover is stuff I never found interesting in the first place. ("Richard Hung Himself" is the prime exception...I *love* that song!!) The bands covered include D.R.I. ("Violent Pacification", the only other song I recognize here), T.S.O.L., D.I., Minor Threat, The Stooges, etc., along with two pre-Show No Mercy original punk tunes ("DDAMM", which stands for "Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers", and "Can't Stand You") and a brand new Slayer original, "Gemini", which is awesome and at least gives one hope that their next album will be worth listening to...

...oh yeah, for some reason I remember hearing (a few years before this album came out) that Slayer was putting down a few punk covers with Ice-T, yet only one song ever came out of that project ("Disorder", appearing on the Judgment Night soundtrack)...whatever happened to the rest?? Or did I imagine the whole thing?

"Diabolus in Musica" (limited edition 2CD version)

I don't suppose I mentioned what BAD LUCK I've been having with Slayer CDs recently. For example, a few days after buying Undisputed Attitude, I found a whole bunch of copies packaged with a 3-track promo CD called Live Intrusion (which contains a cover of Venom's "Witching Hour", dammit!); plus the Japanese edition of that CD contains TWO bonus tracks, including Suicidal Tendencies's "Memories of Tomorrow"! (I'm gonna have to procure a copy of that one someday.) Also, there's a limited-edition version of Decade of Aggression floating around, with two bonus tracks...and now we come to this album, which I bought the first week it came out, and which I'm NEVER EVER EVER going to do again!! You see, there's two other versions out there: a Japanese import, with 2 bonus tracks, and this edition, with one bonus track ("Wicked"), plus a 2nd CD of live stuff!! I pondered long and hard about which edition I was going to upgrade to, and decided on this one after finding a reasonably priced copy ($17.99) at the local record store....

...and I should have saved my fucking money!!! The live tracks are badly edited, and sound indistinguishable from the versions on Decade (except "Dittohead", of course); and "Wicked" is just another annoying screamfest. As for the rest of the music...well, my glowing review which was posted here earlier was way, way premature. "Bitter Peace" is one of their best lead tracks ever, and "Stain of Mind" has the most unique riff since "Behind the Crooked Cross"...but they truly blew their wad on those two songs. The rest is a mishmash of Tom Araya's uncontrollable screeching over sloppy, muddy riffs. In fact, I can't even distinguish the differences between the songs, they all sound so much the same. And to make matters worse, I'll probably have to buy the Japanese version as well, in which case I'll probably just keep this crappy 2CD set, as tribute to a band that, if nothing else, is still flying the banner of thrash metal, even though they're well past their prime...

LATEST NEWS: Slayer contributed the song "Hand of Doom" to the Nativity in Black II tribute to Black Sabbath; unfortunately, their rendition does not fare well...they also massacre the song "Born to be Wild" on the 2002 compilation CD NASCAR on FOX: Crank It Up.

"God Hates Us All"

1. "Darkness of Christ" (1:30)
2. "Disciple" (3:37)
3. "God Send Death" (3:46)
4. "New Faith" (3:05)
5. "Cast Down" (3:28)
6. "Threshold" (2:28)
7. "Exile" (3:57)
8. "Seven Faces" (3:42)
9. "Bloodline" (3:36)
10. "Deviance" (3:09)
11. "War Zone" (2:46)
12. "Here Comes the Pain" (4:31)
13. "Payback" (3:05)

I was leery about buying this CD, since the last two Slayer albums were such dogs. Well, as soon as track 2 hit the speakers, all I could think was...HOLY FUCKING CHRIST!!! This is easily the most brutal, most progressive album Slayer has ever released, and their best since Seasons in the Abyss, possibly even Reign in Blood. The music pounds your skull until your brains are splattered all over the walls, and it doesn't let up for all 13 tracks. (And yes, I listened to it a few times before writing this review, considering how quickly the last two CDs grew stale.) Once again, the Japanese import contains two extra tracks, but thanks to AudioGalaxy, such quibbles are now moot. :)

By the way, I hardly think it's a coincidence that this album was released on Sept. 11th, 2001 -- the title speaks the truth, after all.

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