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Slayer is not for the faint of
heart. In an age when "metal" has become little more
than a marketing tool for bands who could pass for pop if you
took away their heavy guitars, Slayer breaks away from the fray
to storm the gates of hell and beg Satan to tour with them.
Their latest release, "God Hates Us All," is perfect
evidence of the band’s disdain for religious, social and
musical conventions. While many "Nu Metal" bands have
taken the traditional metal elements and mixed in the more
commercial elements of modern pop music (song structure,
sing-a-long choruses), Slayer has remained true to the
thrash/punk/metal style of early Metallica, Death, and Pantera.
The music on "God Hates Us
All" is exactly what fans have come to expect from what
just may be the world’s loudest band. Pounding double bass
assault. Lightning fast wah-wah solos out the wazoo.
Seven-string riffage that’s heavier than all the diesel trucks
in America combined. Pissed off yelling that hurts your throat
just to hear it. The record’s lyrical themes are dark,
covering such topics as murderous priests on "God Send
Death", being on the verge of exploding on
"Threshold", and drug-pushing fallen angels on
"Cast Down." Just reading the song titles will tell
you what to expect from the album. The band describes the songs
as trimmed down musically compared to their other albums, though
they still reek of sort of musical innovation. The band is
constantly switching feels from fast to not so fast, keeping the
listener interested. That is unless, of course, their ears are
bleeding too badly to hear anything.
Although a crucial element of
metal, Tom Araya’s screeching vocals are likely too harsh for
anyone unaccustomed to this style of music. His monotone howls
are feather-ruffling harsh and somehow manage to sound the way
that sandpaper feels. On "New Faith," he screams,
"I keep the bible in a pool of blood so that none of its
lies can affect me." Not something you’re likely to hear
on pop radio any time soon. The choruses to many of the songs
consist of Araya yelling the song title at full tilt several
times in a row.
Dark. Morbid. Angry. Heavier than
a ton of caskets. Slayer fans will no doubt be overjoyed at the
band’s twelfth album. Though the band has never come close to
the commercial success of bands such as Korn or Metallica,
Slayer is more than just an underground metal band. With its
long saga as one of metal’s heaviest and angriest acts, Slayer
shows no sign of relenting now. If you had to pick a CD to piss
off… well, just about anyone, "God Hates Us All" is
it.
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| Artist |
Slayer |
| Title |
God Hates Us All |
| Label |
American Recordings |
| Reviewer |
Shelby Rushing |
| Rating |
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| website |
www.slayer.net |
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