Slayer are one of the few and proud. A band that hasn’t diverted much from their original sound or image, they’ve stayed true to their metal fan base and to themselves for the most part without hardly any deviation. Often praised and criticized among the metal community for this, some love that one always knows what to expect when a new Slayer album drops, while others feel it’s a stale formula that produces repetitive uninspired songwriting. Personally, I’m sitting on the fence. While I do enjoy Slayer’s sound I do tend to gravitate towards the albums that changed things up a bit. Below are my top 10 favourite Slayer albums and the reasons behind my choices.
10. God Hates Us All
Following their brief foray into Nu Metal territory and changing their sound up drastically on Diabolus in Musica, Kerry King and co wanted to get down to brass tacks and release an evil, in your face, heavy as fuck record. Mission accomplished. This album sounds like it’s been dipped in a vat of seething rage that was bubbling up inside King. Kerry wrote the majority of songs and lyrics on this album and it shows. It’s christ hating/religion bashing anger in it’s rawest form. I wasn’t a huge fan of Tom Araya’s vocals at first when I bought the album, because it sounded like he was shouting the whole time as opposed to singing on previous records. I guess the vocal rage had to match the seething lyrics and musical attack. Slowly it grew on me.
9. Undisputed Attitude
This collection of cover songs come from various old school punk bands like Minor Threat, The Stooges, D.R.I & T.S.O.L. Even Jeff Hanneman’s old punk project have a few tracks with “Ddamm” (Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers) and “Can’t Stand You”. This album stands out to me because the trademark fast, aggressive Slayer sound is here only the songs are pure punk rock. This album was released in 1996 right in the middle of Slayer’s transitional period. A time when they were experimenting with their sound, something that began on 1994’s Divine Intervention and culminated on Diabolus in Musica in 1998. A lot of the Slayer community hated this album and regard it as their worst, but I do not. It’s so different and stands out in their Metal catalog. For someone just being turned on to Slayer, it’s not one I would recommend but for something different from the band it gets points.
8. Haunting the Chapel
I picked this album solely because it features two of my favourite Slayer tracks; Chemical Warfare and Haunting the Chapel. Both songs have awesome riffs and pacing. Tom’s clear and clean vocals sound brilliant on this album and the guitars and drums sound great also. This album marked a transition from the straight ahead thrash style of Show No Mercy to better, move groove infused songwriting. The riffs really move. Shame there wasn’t more tracks for my ears to enjoy!
7. Show No Mercy
This album sits upon this list because of the sheer amount of quality tracks on this debut and how awesome it must have been when it was released. I was far too young to be listening to it during it’s release but I can only imagine how mind blowing it must have been! The Antichrist, Die By The Sword & Black Magic are some of the bands best songs, and are still staples of their live shows. Incredible to think such influential and great songs were written on their debut album!
6. Reign in Blood
The album that blew the band wide open and dropped them on everyone in the Metal communities laps. Reign in Blood was a Thrash Metal masterpiece and is widely hailed by many as the best album the band has ever done. Angel of Death is still a widely misunderstood track and brings legions of skinheads to their shows that believe Slayer are white supremacists, a notion which is extremely ironic and incorrect considering the origins of it’s band members. Jeff Hanneman always had a interest in war and Nazi Germany in particular due to his military upbringing with his father. The song was merely an account of the horrors of Auschwitz told from a narrative perspective. Again peppered with amazing tracks, the aforementioned Angel of Death, Post Mortem, & Raining Blood are huge songs in the bands catalog. Disturbingly satanic and gory cover art by Larry Carroll make the album a real gem in the visual department also. Just how many cocks do those demons have on the cover?!
5. Decade of Aggression
The live album that lived in my CD player during the 90’s. All of those huge and awesome tracks from their back catalog that I mentioned previously are played on this album. It’s essentially a greatest hits record done live. Capturing the bands catalog from Show No Mercy up to Seasons in the Abyss it would be the last album the band recorded with it’s original line-up following Drummer Dave Lombardo’s departure to Grip, Inc. The sound quality isn’t the best and the vocals are a bit quiet and low, but overall the bands performance at this show captured lighting in a bottle. I got the drummer in my band into Slayer with this album, his Dad ruined it and he went out and re-bought it. He feels it’s the only one he needs to own as it has most of their big career songs.
4. Hell Awaits
This album is a paradox. I find it has some of the best songs Slayer have ever written but the production sounds like it was recorded in a strip club bathroom. Everything is extremely echoed and hollow sounding but the songs are badass and twisted. Hell Awaits, Kill Again, Necrophiliac and At Dawn They Sleep all rip and I can only imagine how good they would sound on an album with good production quality. It was a huge treat seeing At Dawn They Sleep performed during their Live Intrusion set-list in the mid nineties, it’s my favourite Slayer song hands down.
3. Divine Intervention
Slayer’s first album featuring new drummer Paul Bostaph. Following Slayer’s successful record Seasons in the Abyss, I was wondering what changes this new drummer would bring to their sound and songwriting style. As it turns out Paul Bostaph didn’t have any lyrical or songwriting input on the album and was mainly acquired to hit the skins and fill the spot vacated by Lombardo. I bought this album the day it came out and was immediately put off by the songwriting and production of the album. It was such a deviation from the usual Slayer sound reminiscent of older albums Seasons in the Abyss, South of Heaven & Reign in Blood. However upon repeat listens the album really grew on me and now sits very high up in my list. I think the production of this album is the best of any Slayer album yet. Paul Bostaph’s double bass was so loud and upfront in the mix it gave the album a really heavy, thick sound. The lyrics were so dark and dirty with the band tackling subjects like Serial Killers with 213 being about Jeffrey Dahmer and his infamous apartment of horror. Tons of the subject matter is rooted in real events and speaks to me louder than generic songs about Satanism and evil. Killing Fields, 213, Dittohead, Divine Intervention & SS-3 are my faves of the bunch. Not since have I loved the guitar sound of King and Hanneman as much either, it just all came together as an immense sounding album in my opinion.
2. Seasons in the Abyss
The first Slayer album I heard and was terrified of. When I first heard the lyrics to Born of Fire and Tom sang “Some have called me Satan’s son a name I cannot deny” I thought holy shit, should I be listening to this evil music? Between the awesome Larry Carroll artwork again burning images into my brain and the production and sound of Tom’s voice, this album had me both terrified and enthralled by the band. I soon took it upon myself to grab every album in their back catalog and learn a shitload of their songs. Still to this day my guitar repertoire is comprised of Slayer songs. I still haven’t learned to play much else! The album is packed full of gems from beginning to end, there are no weak tracks on this album in my mind. If someone asks for quintessential Slayer this is one of the albums they are getting from me.
1. South of Heaven
My favourite Slayer album of all time. Every song on this album is a complete burner and it’s slowed down and quality riff heavy. I know a lot of Slayer fans were disappointed by this release, as it did slow down a lot coming off of Reign in Blood but that’s precisely why I like it. I find the songwriting is better, the guitar riffs are better and the overall sound of the album is great. Spill the Blood still stands out in my mind as one of Slayer’s most demonic sounding tracks, one that I wish they played live more often. It opens with that classic South of Heaven riff and closes out with masterpiece Spill the Blood, the whole album is awesome from beginning to end and the one I recommend and listen to the most.
What are your top Slayer albums and why?! Let us know in the comments below.
