Reign in Blood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Reign in Blood | ||
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| Studio album by Slayer | ||
| Released | October 7, 1986 | |
| Recorded | 1986 Los Angeles, California |
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| Genre | Thrash metal | |
| Length | 29:03 (Original) 34:41 (Re-Issue) |
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| Label | Def Jam Records | |
| Producer(s) | Slayer Rick Rubin |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Slayer chronology | ||
| Hell Awaits (1985) |
Reign in Blood (1986) |
South of Heaven (1988) |
Reign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986. The album was the band's first with record producer Rick Rubin, resulting in shorter, faster song structures with clearer production. The album has been hailed by critics as "the heaviest album of all time" and a breakthrough in thrash metal.
Reign in Blood's initial release was delayed due to concerns regarding graphic artwork and lyrical themes. The opening track, "Angel of Death", a reference to Josef Mengele, detailed acts committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, provoking allegations of Nazism.[1] However, the band stated numerous times they do not condone Nazism, and are merely interested in the subject.[2] The album became Slayer's first to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at number 94 and attaining gold status in 1992.
Contents |
[edit] Record label changes
Slayer's producer and manager Brian Slagel realized the band needed to hit the "big time" with their next album. Slagel talked to several labels, including Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records, although he was hesitant about signing with a rap label.[3] Drummer Dave Lombardo heard about Rubin's interest in the band pursuing to contact him, while other band members were apprehensive about leaving Metal Blade Records to whom they were contracted.[3] Lombardo contacted Columbia Records - Def Jams distributor getting on touch with Rubin, who agreed to come to see the band play with photographer Glen E. Friedman.[3] Friedman produced Suicidal Tendencies's self titled album where Araya has a guest appearance pushing Suicidal Tendencies's vocalist Mike Muir, around this time Rubin asked Friedman if he knew Slayer.[3]
Guitarist Jeff Hanneman was surprised by Rubin's interest in the band, and impressed by his work with Run DMC and LL Cool J.[3] When Slagel traveled to Europe for a music convention, Rubin talked to the band directly, and convinced them to sign with Def Jam. Slagel gave Rubin credit; stating Rubin was the most passionate of all the labels the band were talking to.[3] Once the band was signed, Friedman took them to Seattle for two days for publicity shots, possible record shots, and photos for a tour book - as Rubin felt no good photos of the band existed.[3]
[edit] Recording
The album was Rubin's first under the metal genre, giving the band a drastic makeover resulting in shorter, faster songs with clearer production.[4] Guitarist Kerry King stated "Rubin really cleaned up our sound on that record, which drastically changed what we sounded like and how people perceived us. It was like, “Wow—you can hear everything, and those guys aren’t just playing fast; those notes are on time."[3]
Hanneman states the band was listening to Metallica and Megadeth, getting bored of the guitar riffs quickly. "If we do a verse two or three times, we’re already bored with it. So we weren’t trying to make the songs shorter—that’s just what we were into."[3] King states that hour long records seem to be the trend; “You could lose this part; you could cut this song completely, and make a much more intense record, which is what we’re all about."[3] On finishing the record the band met with Rubin who asked “Do you realize how short this is?” The members collectively looked at each other and said “So what?”[3] The entire album was on one side of a cassette; King stated it was "neat", as "You could listen to it, flip it over, and play it again."[3] The music is abrasive and faster than previous releases helping to push the gap between thrash metal and its predecessor hardcore punk.[4]
[edit] Reception
Although the album received virtually no radio airplay, it became the band's first to enter the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number 94.[5] The album reached a peak at number 47 in the UK Album Chart.[5] It was certified gold in the United States on November 11, 1992, along with the band's 1988 release South of Heaven.[6]
The album received overwhelming positive reviews; Kerrang! magazine described it as the "heaviest album of all time",[7] Metal Hammer magazine named it "the best metal album of the last 20 years",[8] and Q magazine ranked Reign in Blood among the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".[9]
King asserts the reason why Reign in Blood received its popularity; "the truth is, if you released Reign in Blood today, no one would give a shit. It was timing; it was a change in sound. In thrash metal at that time, noone had ever heard good production on a record like that. It was just a bunch of things that came together at once."[10]
[edit] Significance
- "Raining Blood" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Angel of Death" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
The record is regarded by critics as one of the most influential and extreme thrash metal albums of all time.[4] MTV states "Their downtuned rhythms, infectious guitar licks, graphically violent lyrics and grisly artwork set the standard for dozens of emerging thrash bands, and Slayer's music was directly responsible for the rise of death metal."[11] The album ranked number 7 on IGN's "Top 25 influential Metal Albums".[12] Since the band's 1994 release Divine Intervention band members were asked in interviews; “How does it feel to keep trying to outdo Reign in Blood? How does it feel to have made the best thrash metal album of all time?" King asserts the band does not to try out do it, and just wish to make music.[3]
Former Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera was influenced by the album and stated "the 80s, when shit was pure,"[13] Ektomorf vocalist Zoltán Farkas also cites the album as one of his biggest influences in music.[14] The album was the first Jari of the death metal band The Scourger had listened to, exposing him to an all new genre and influencing the band's style.[15] Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse stated that the drum performance on the album helped him play faster throughout his career.[16]
Guitarist Jeff Hanneman cites the album as his favorite, and declared it's "so short and quick and to the point."[17] Araya states that Slayer's 2006 album Christ Illusion "comes close, but, in my opinion, nothing can surpass Reign in Blood for intensity and impact. No one had heard anything like it before. In the 20 years since then, people have got more desensitized. What was over the top then might not be now.”[18]
[edit] Lombardo's departure
The band embarked on the Reign in Pain tour, with Overkill in the US, and Malice in Europe.[19] The band was added as the opening act for W.A.S.P.'s US tour in 1987. After a month of touring drummer Lombardo quit the band; "I wasn’t making any money. I think I had just gotten married, and I figured if we were gonna be doing this professionally—on a major label—I wanted my rent and utilities paid." Slayer enlisted Whiplash drummer Tony Scaglione as his replacement.[3]
Rubin called Lombardo daily persisting he return; “Dude, you gotta come back in the band.” Rubin offered Lombardo a salary, but was still hesitant about returning. At this point Lombardo had been out of the band for several months. Lombardo's wife convinced him to return in 1987, Rubin came to his house picked him up in his Porsche, taking him to Slayer rehearsal.[3]
[edit] Live performances
The tracks "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" have become permanent additions to Slayer's live set list played at every show; these two tracks are also Hanneman's favorite to perform live.[17] The band played the album in its entirety throughout the fall of 2004 with original drummer Lombardo, under the tour banner "Still Reigning". In 2004 the band released a live DVD under the same name, with a finale featuring the band covered in fake blood while performing "Raining Blood".[20]
The band stated they enjoyed playing the album in its entirety, Hanneman asserts; "We still enjoy playing these songs live. We play these songs over and over and over, but they´re good songs, intense songs! If it were melodic songs or some kind of boring 'clap your hands' song, you´d be going crazy playing those every night. But our songs are just BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, they´re intense."[21] Although, many dates missed out due to the short set the band had. The band was on stage for 70 minutes, which only allowed seven or eight additional songs to be played following the album's play. King stated this arrangement "alienates too many people".[22]
King reported that the idea was originally suggested by the booking agency a long time prior to the DVD, but gained little support. Eventually, the band decided that they would like to add more excitement to their live shows to avoid repetition and fulfilled the suggestions.[23] When was asked about further performances with the fake blood, King responded with "I would imagine we did it and it’s time to move on, but never say never. I know Japan never saw it, South America and Australia never saw it. So you never know."[24]
[edit] Controversy
Def Jams' distributor, Columbia Records, refused to release the album due to its controversial lyrical themes and cover art.[3] It was eventually distributed by Geffen Records on October 7, but due to the controversy did not appear on Geffen Record's release schedule.[3]
[edit] Album artwork
The artwork was designed by Larry Carroll, who at the time was creating political illustrations for The Progressive, The Village Voice, and New York Times.[3] On finishing the artwork a member was not happy with the final product, until one member showed their mother, who said it was disgusting.[3] The band decided to keep it as they thought they were "onto something".[3] The cover art was named in the "Top ten heavy metal album covers of all time" by Blender magazine in 2006.[25]
[edit] Lyrical content
Araya stated the record marked Slayer's evolution. The band decided to ditch the satanic theme used in their previous album Hell Awaits, and focus on more of a social level.[26] The album's lyrical themes include death, insanity, and murderers. The lead track "Angel of Death" details the human experiments conducted at the Auschwitz concentration camp by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, whom inmates dubbed "the Angel of death".[27] The song led to the band facing accusations of Nazi sympathizing throughout their career.[1]
Hanneman's inspiration to write the lyrics came from reading several books about Mengele while Slayer was on tour.[17] Hanneman states people often misinterpret the lyrics, and "nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man, because to me - well, isn't that obvious? I shouldn't have to tell you that."[17] The band used the controversy to gain publicity, later utilizing Nazi imagery by changing their logo to one similar to the eagle atop swastika and writing a song titled "SS-3" about Reinhard Heydrich, second in the Schutzstaffel organization's command.[28]
[edit] Appearances in media
[edit] Covers
In 2001 "Raining Blood" was covered by Tori Amos on her album Strange Little Girls. King states the cover was odd; "It took me a minute and a half to find a spot in the song where I knew where she was. It's so weird. If she had never told us, we would have never known. You could have played it for us and we'd have been like, "What's that?" Like a minute and a half through I heard a line and was like, "I know where she's at!"[29] The song was also covered by Malevolent Creation, Chimaira, Reggie and the Full Effect, and Erik Hinds who covered the entire album on a H'arpeggione.[30]
[edit] Other appearances
"Raining Blood" was included in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in-game radio station V-Rock.[31] The game also featured songs by other "Big four" thrash metal bands, such as Megadeth's "Peace Sells" and Anthrax's "Madhouse".[31]
The song was also featured in the 127th South Park episode Die Hippie, Die aired on March 16, 2005.[32] The plot centers on the town of South Park, which has been overrun by hippies. Eric Cartman proceeds to drill through a hippie concert onto the main stage and change the audio to "Raining Blood", making the hippies run away stating "Hippies can't stand death metal". King found the episode humorous and expressed his interest in the show ending the interview with "it was good to see the song being put to good use, if we can horrify some hippies we’ve done our job."[24]
The song "Angel of Death" has appeared in several movies, including Gremlins 2 when the gremlin Mohawk is turning into a spider.[33] Jackass: The Movie during the car stunt,[34] and in the 2005 Iraq War documentary Soundtrack to War, creating an account of the role of music in the contemporary battlefield.[35] The half-time riff was sampled by Public Enemy in their song "She Watch Channel Zero",[3] and featured in the multi-platform video game Tony Hawk's Project 8. Nolan Nelson, who selected the soundtrack for the game asserts; "one of the greatest Heavy Metal songs ever recorded. Don’t know who Slayer is? I feel sorry for you."[36]
[edit] Track listing
- "Angel of Death" (Hanneman) – 4:51
- "Piece by Piece" (King) – 2:02
- "Necrophobic" (Hanneman/King) – 1:40
- "Altar of Sacrifice" (Lyrics: King; Music: Hanneman) – 2:50
- "Jesus Saves" (Lyrics: King; Music: Hanneman/King) – 2:54
- "Criminally Insane" (Hanneman/King) – 2:23
- "Reborn" (Lyrics: King; Music: Hanneman) – 2:11
- "Epidemic" (Lyrics: King; Music: Hanneman/King) – 2:23
- "Postmortem" (Hanneman) – 3:27
- "Raining Blood" (Lyrics: Hanneman/King; Music: Hanneman) – 4:17
- "Aggressive Perfector" (King/Hanneman) 1998 reissue bonus track - 2:30[I]
- "Criminally Insane (Remix)" (Hanneman/King) 1998 reissue bonus track - 3:17
- I^ : "Aggressive Perfector" was shorter, with clearer production than the previous version featured on the reissue of Haunting the Chapel. The reissue also fixed a problem with early CD pressings which set the beginning of "Raining Blood" into the blank pause in "Postmortem".[23]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hess, Mike (2003-7-23). Kerry King: Maniac. Guitar Legend. Botanist?. Nighttimes.com. Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
- ^ Cummins , Johnson. Slayers Tom Araya on Satanism, serial killers and his lovable kids. MontrealMirror.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u An exclusive oral history of Slayer. Decibel Magazine (2006-8). Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c Huey, Steve. Reign In Blood - Slayer. Allmusicguide.com. Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Slayer's 1985-1986 discography. Rockdetector.com. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
- ^ RIAA - Artist Slayer. RIAA.com. Retrieved on February 14, 2007.
- ^ Lostprophets scoop rock honours. BBC News (2006-08-25). Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ Golden Gods Awards Winners. Metal Hammer (2006-06-13). Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ Q 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time. Q Magazine (2006-7). Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ Kerrang! interview with Kerry King about God Hates Us All album. Slayersaves. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
- ^ Why They Rule - #6 Slayer. MTV. Retrieved on January 18, 2006.
- ^ D. Spense, T. Ed (2007-01-19). IGN Top 25 Metal Albums. IGN.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2007.
- ^ Death-Rapper NECRO To Make European Live Debut In London. Blabbermouth.net (2006-11-27). Retrieved on January 18, 2006.
- ^ Yiannis, D (2006-11-12). Interview with Zoltan Farkas of Ektomorf. Metal-Temple. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
- ^ Lahtinen, Luxi (2003-03-21). The Finnish Speed - and Thrash Metal Special - Part 2. Metal-rules.com. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
- ^ David L. Wilson (1999-12-13). Interview With Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse. metal-rules.com. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Steffens, Charlie (2006-05-30). Interview with Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Knac.com. Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
- ^ It's carry on thrashing. Thesun.co.uk. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry. Rockdetector Biography - Years 85 to 86. Rockdetector.com. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ Patrizio, Andy (2005-01-11). Slayer: Still Reigning The landmark metal album performed in its entirety.. IGN. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.
- ^ Lahtinen, Luxi (2006-12-18). SLAYER - Jeff Hanneman. Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
- ^ Lahtinen, Luxi (2004-04-11). Kerry King of SLAYER. Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Kerry King of Slayer. Metal-Rules.com (2004-11-04). Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
- ^ a b Atkinson, Peter (2006-04-24). Songs about God and Satan – Part 1: An Interview with Slayer's Kerry King. KNAC.com. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
- ^ Popoff, Martin , Dunn, Sam and McFadyen, Scot (2006-6). The Top Ten Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers of All Time. Blender magazine. Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
- ^ Gargano, Paul (2007-1). Slayer - Tom Araya - January 2007. Maximum Ink Music Magazine. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
- ^ moreorless : heroes & killers of the 20th century - Josef Mengele. Moreorless.com (2001-4-30). Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
- ^ Master of Death - Heydrich. Auschwitz.dk. Retrieved on January 26, 2007.
- ^ Barker, Samuel (2002-02-09). A Conversation With Kerry King. Rockzone.com. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
- ^ Reign in Blood - album reviews. Artistdirect.com. Retrieved on January 25, 2006.
- ^ a b Vice City Radio - V Rock. Vicecityradio.com. Retrieved on February 9, 2007.
- ^ Die Hippie, Die. Southparkstudios.com. Retrieved on February 13, 2007.
- ^ Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Joblo.com. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
- ^ JACKASS CD. Cdunivserse.com. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
- ^ Soundtrack to war. Soundtracktowar.com. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
- ^ Electro vs. Metal – Music is the key of life.. IGN.com. Retrieved on February 18, 2007.
| Slayer |
| Tom Araya | Jeff Hanneman | Kerry King | Dave Lombardo |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Show No Mercy | Haunting the Chapel | Hell Awaits | Reign in Blood | South of Heaven | Seasons in the Abyss | Divine Intervention | Undisputed Attitude | Diabolus in Musica | God Hates Us All | Eternal Pyre | Christ Illusion |
| Live albums: Live Undead | Decade of Aggression |
| Compilations: Soundtrack to the Apocalypse |
| Videos and DVDs |
| Live Intrusion | War at the Warfield | Still Reigning |
| Songs |
| "Angel of Death" | "Raining Blood" | "Eyes of the Insane" | "Jihad" |
