Day 72: Slayer – Reign in Blood

Album cover courtesy of Def Jam Recordings

I was watching something metal-related recently with a pal and we were talking about metal music as a healthy way to express emotions as an angry young man. I’m neither very angry nor very young nor a man, but I am a little bit irritated today, so I thought I’d see if I’d see if listening to a bit of thrash metal makes me feel any less irked. I’m guessing no, but you never know if you don’t try.

I went for a classic of the genre, Slayer’s Reign in Blood. Slayer was formed in California in 1981 by Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo, Tom Araya and Kerry King, who started off doing covers of bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. They were signed to Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons’ Def Jam Records in 1986, and Reign in Blood was their first release under their new contract.

Apparently Rick Rubin was the one to help Slayer refine their sound on this album. He wanted it to be powerful without any of the sounds bleeding together or become “blurry”, but instead play fast and hard but strip it back and play shorter notes. Rubin says his lack of experience in metal helped him, as he wasn’t aware of how things should be done, so he just advised them on what he thought sounds good. Say what you want about Rick Rubin, and I am aware people have a lot to say about Rick Rubin, but that man really is the ultimate vibes guy.

I was advised by my metal-loving pal to zone out the lyrics to enjoy it more, but unfortunately I can’t really not listen to them. It’s kind of hard not to think about what they’re saying if the first word of the song is Auschwitz. Plus, some of the lyrics sound a little bit half-baked in their journey to having shock value:

Strangulation, mutilation, cancer of the brain
Limb dissection, amputation from a mind deranged
Asphyxiation, suffocation, gasping for air
Explain to me the feeling after sitting in the chair

How did we get from brain cancer to electric chair? No narrative whatsoever, that’s just word salad. Even I have to admit that “Raining Blood” is a bit of a tune, but that’s probably because of the comparative lack of lyrics. Every time I actually listen to what they’re saying, I feel like this.

I’m sorry but listening to songs about Nazi war crimes done to protect the Aryan race just does absolutely nothing for me. I can appreciate the musical talent, but jeepers. My Ned Flanders disposition can’t deal with the content and some of the lyrics are just bad. If I’m listening to metal, it needs to be more melodic with less chat about concentration camps. 6/10, not for me.