Seasons in the Abyss
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| Seasons in the Abyss | ||
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| Studio album by Slayer | ||
| Released | October 9, 1990 | |
| Recorded | 1989 – 1990 Hit City West Hollywood Sound Record Plant Los Angeles, California, USA |
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| Genre | Thrash metal | |
| Length | 43:16 | |
| Label | Def American Records | |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin Andy Wallace Slayer |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Slayer chronology | ||
| South of Heaven (1988) |
Seasons in the Abyss (1990) |
Decade of Aggression (1991) |
Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by thrash metal band Slayer. It was recorded in 1989 and released in 1990 through Def American Records, and later through American Recordings after the company changed its name.
Although "War Ensemble" starts the album off at high speed, harking back to Reign in Blood, the album mostly continues the melodic growth and slower pace, as seen on South of Heaven. "Seasons in the Abyss" ends the album in a similar fashion to "Spill The Blood" from South of Heaven, with a clean guitar intro.
Contents |
[edit] Recording
"Born of Fire" was for a long time just an instrumental leftover song from South of Heaven with a working title "Stress" due to the fact that Kerry King could not write any good lyrics for it during the South of Heaven sessions. Eventually it was the last song completed for Seasons in the Abyss.
The somewhat strange vocal arrangement on the track "Temptation" was unintentionally done that way. If you listen to the track, you actually hear Tom Araya singing the song twice: once the way he thought it fit and for the second time on the insistence of Kerry King the way he thought it should be sung. The haunting end result came to be because the first vocal track was not erased between the takes. When the producer played the track and heard both vocal renditions simultaneously on the instrumental background, he liked it so much that both vocals were used on the album. Nobody is sure which vocals are the original ones.[1]
[edit] Lyrical themes
The song "Dead Skin Mask" was inspired on the murders and habits of serial killer Ed Gein. "Blood Red" deals with oppressive communist governments and the way they "Enforce truth through a gun".The song is an allusion, or at least has its inspiration, in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
[edit] Reception and significance
Seasons in the Abyss was released on October 9, 1990 and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[2]
[edit] Track listing
- "War Ensemble" (Lyrics: Araya/Hanneman) (Music: Hanneman)– 4:54
- "Blood Red" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 2:50
- "Spirit in Black" (Lyrics: King) (Music: Hanneman) – 4:07
- "Expendable Youth" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: King) – 4:10
- "Dead Skin Mask" (Lyrics:Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 5:34
- "Hallowed Point" (Lyrics: Araya/Hanneman) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 3:24
- "Skeletons of Society" (Lyrics & Music: King) – 4:41
- "Temptation" (Lyrics & Music: King) – 3:26
- "Born of Fire" (Lyrics: King) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 3:23
- "Seasons in the Abyss" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 6:42
[edit] Credits
- Tom Araya – Bass, Vocals
- Jeff Hanneman – Lead Guitars
- Kerry King – Lead Guitars
- Dave Lombardo – Drums
- Recorded at Hit City West, Hollywood Sound, and Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Produced by Rick Rubin
- Co-produced by Andy Wallace and Slayer
- Engineered and mixed by Andy Wallace
- Assistant engineered by Chris Rich, David Tobocman, and Allen Abrahamson
- Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York City, USA
- Illustration by Larry Carroll
[edit] References
- ^ 1990 issue of Metal Maniacs featuring Slayer and Megadeth talking about their then new LPs (Seasons in The Abyss and Rust In Peace)
- ^ Slayer's album chart history. Billboard.com. Retrieved on March 19, 2007.
- " Seasons in the Abyss" (1990) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- 28 second sample
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
| 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" |
