SLAYER - Reign In Blood (Reissue) - LP - 180g Vinyl

LP - Remastered Reissue On 180g Vinyl

Slayer took the leap to the big leagues with this, in the same way Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax all did with their second albums. The only difference was this was Slayer's third album, the previous two, 'Show No Mercy' and 'Hell Awaits', both plagued by rough production which thwarted Slayer from sounding as brutal as they should have been. 'Reign in Blood' put matters straight, as Rick Rubin's production put them over the top, with a precise and clean sound few have ever topped. This is the way to make a thrash album. Ten tracks clocking in at twenty-eight minutes, all fast, an easy way to make an impact and a point.

Overnight acts like Celtic Frost, Bathory, and Destruction were made to look as crude as they were, while Exodus, Metallica, and Anthrax seemed tame by comparison. Hanneman and King established themselves as thrash's premier guitar duo, and rightfully so, the level of twisted genius running through "Necrophobic", "Criminally Insane", and "Angel of Death" something they themselves had trouble topping.

The main reason Slayer distinguished themselves from most was their ability to retain melody amongst such a vicious rampage. Every song has a discernible hook and melody line, something that was lacking from many, particularly Euro bores. Whether this is the greatest thrash album, I don't know, it's in the top five certainly, Slayer equaling this in many ways with 'Divine Intervention'. But it's still thrash's key point, a glorious reaffirmation of how superior 80's metal was.

Tracklist: 

Side A
A1        Angel Of Death
A2        Piece By Piece
A3        Necrophobic
A4        Altar Of Sacrifice
A5        Jesus Saves

Side B
B1        Criminally Insane
B2        Reborn
B3        Epidemic
B4        Postmortem
B5        Raining Blood