Still Reigning

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Still Reigning
Home video by Slayer
Released	October 26, 2004
Recorded	July 11, 2004
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	1:16:03
Label	American Recordings
Producer(s)	Dean Karr
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link IGN link

Still Reigning is a home video by thrash metal band Slayer released in 2004 through American Recordings. Filmed at the Augusta Civic Center on July 11, 2004, the video showcases the 1986 album Reign In Blood, played in its entirety with the four original band members on a set resembling that of their "Reign in Pain" tour.

The finale features the band drenched in a rain of fake blood while performing "Raining Blood", which led to a demanding mixing process plagued by production and technical difficulties. Kevin Shirley, who produced the DVD, spent hours replacing cymbal hits one-by-one. He publicly aired financial disagreements between himself and the band and criticized the quality of the recording, and as a result was allegedly subjected to death threats. However, the DVD was voted "best live DVD" by Revolver magazine, and received gold certification in 2005.

Contents 1 Conception 2 Recording and mixing 3 Reception 4 Track listing 5 References

[edit] Conception

The band had thought of the idea playing Reign in Blood in its entirety for several years.^[1] Guitarist Jeff Hanneman asserts "We've talked about that for years, because its [sic] only 28 minutes we thought it would be cool to just throw it in a set".^[1] When original drummer Dave Lombardo rejoined the band after ten years, it renewed Hanneman's interest in the idea: "Dave’s back in the band? We should do it."^[1] The band were going to enter the recording studio to record the album Christ Illusion, which was released in 2006. The band's producer, Rick Rubin, insisted the band not enter the recording studio, deciding to record a live DVD due to problems between Rubin and the band's record label (American Recordings).^[2]

The final track of the DVD, "Raining Blood" culminates with band drenched in a rain of fake blood. Hanneman initially came up with the idea two years after Reign in Blood's release, but lacked the funding to do so.^[2] The intro to the film Blade features a "bloodbath" with vampires dancing in a club with blood coming from the roof. The scene revived Hanneman's and Kerry King's interest.^[2] The band had released a DVD the previous year entitled War at the Warfield. Deciding to add something different for the new video, the band used raining blood.^[2]

[edit] Recording and mixing

The DVD was recorded at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine on July 11, 2004. A ten man camera crew under the direction of Dean Karr was on hand to document the show, backstage action, and exclusive interviews inside the band's tour bus.^[3] The interview, "Slayer: In their own words" is a seventeen minute piece that features the band talking about their early years, influences, writing lyrics, Lombardo's return and the band's eventual retirement. At one point Lombardo rejects the possibility of a future "good-bye tour" for Slayer. If the band ever realizes they have "lost a step," he states, they will simply "call it a day."^[4]

The set was converted to resemble the band's 1986 "Reign in Pain" tour, featuring the Slayer eagle, and inverted crosses as part of the lighting rig.^[5] The stage also had to be modified to absorb the "blood" and have it recirculate back down upon the band, allowing for easier clean-up and lowering the chance of injury by slipping.^[6] Kevin Shirley, who has worked with Iron Maiden and Dream Theater, produced the DVD, issuing a statement on the mixing process at his New York Studio: "It's OK — some places it rocks hard, and others are a bit sloppy, but I'm sure they won't use the whole concert. It was tough to mix."^[3] The following day Shirley apologized for his "unprofessional comment" towards the band, altering his post on his personal website: "The rest of the week I finished mixing a live Slayer set for a DVD, in stereo and surround, and it's great — it rocks hard, but it was tough to mix."^[7]

On September 30, 2006, Shirley issued another statement charging that he had not yet been paid, and had received death threats from people associated with the band:^[8] "I've just mixed a really wonderful band with one of the worst sounding recordings ever. It's kinda disgraceful that they won't spend anything on a decent recording! I won't say who, because last time I commented on a sloppy recording (on this page), they refused to pay me and I got all manner of threats and insults from people associated with the band, so I'd best be quiet!"^[8]

The fake blood used caused technical difficulties soaking the microphone, guitars and cymbals, which sounded like "coffee mugs being tapped with a spoon." A review of the DVD asserts "If it wasn't for guitarist Jeff Hanneman being out of position and missing all of the blood, the guitar might have sounded pretty bad."^[4] Hanneman missed the initial downpour due to a technical problem with his guitar, and was deluged by a light shower when coming back on-stage.^[9]

Shirley replaced thousands of cymbal and drum hits with those from previous recordings; the process taking days.^[8] After the DVD the band used a sprinkler system rather than a bucket. The water was also diluted, as it was like tar when recording the DVD. King stated that "My guitar didn’t like it, that was the last time I played it,"^[10] donating it to the Hard Rock Cafe after the show.^[10] Araya felt the same way, "It was messy. I couldn't play because the initial dump at the beginning of the song got all over me. I couldn't hold my pick. I was slapping my bass trying to get sound out of it."^[11]

[edit] Reception

Originally set for release on September 28, 2004, the release date was pushed back to October 26, 2004.^[12] In its week of release it debuted on the Billboard DVD chart at #7 - selling 9813 copies,^[13] becoming the band's second DVD to receive gold certification after War at the Warfield, selling over 50,000 units.^[14] The readers of Revolver magazine's 2005 readers poll voted it "best live DVD", making the second consecutive year the band had topped the category.^[15]

Andy Patrizio of IGN awarded the DVD six out of ten; commenting "Tom Araya lost his piercing shriek that opens 'Angel of Death' and the end of 'Necrophobic'",^[4] praising Lombardo's return by saying the drummer "hasn't lost a step at all. With barely any breathing time between songs, the underground drum legend shows that an impending 40th birthday (next month) isn't going to slow him down."^[4] Patrizio also stated that the production was not the highest caliber, as the rapid "MTV style" cuts were distracting, as was the switch from black and white to color shots.^[4] Patrizio ended the review with the comment "This is what you get for letting Uwe Boll direct your music video."^[4]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Angel of Death"
2. "Piece by Piece" (King)
3. "Necrophobic"
4. "Altar of Sacrifice"
5. "Jesus Saves"
6. "Criminally Insane"
7. "Reborn"
8. "Epidemic"
9. "Postmortem"
10. "Raining Blood"
    Bonus
11. "War Ensemble"
12. "Hallowed Point"
13. "Necrophiliac"
14. "Mandatory Suicide"
15. "Spill the Blood"
16. "South of Heaven"
17. Interview - Slayer: In their own words

[edit] References

Slayer
Tom Araya | Jeff Hanneman | Kerry King | Dave Lombardo Tony Scaglione | Paul Bostaph | Jon Dette
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"