The Days of Lore

Black Friday (the 13th): Slayer still slays

Friday, November 13th, 2009 | musiX | 2 Comments

How can the members of Slayer—now in their mid-40s—still manage to scare the shit out of me? I don’t know, but let’s look at the rest of the Big Four, shall we? Metallica: Harmless. Megadeth: Whiny. Anthrax: Bush-less.

Yes, Slayer still brings it—and in the almost 30 (!) years they’ve been around, have not so much as twitched as new trends and new bands and new serial killers and new wars and new presidents have come and gone. The latest World Painted Blood sounds like it could have been released during the Reagan administration … except, thankfully, it’s the Obama administration … and Oliver North is reporting for Fox News instead of, ya know, lying to Congress.

So. Slayer. I guess the only time critics have complained about the band veering from its direct path to Hell was ironically during Divine Intervention and Diabolus In Musica. But, I say to hell with the critics. Those are great records. You can actually hear Tom Araya’s bass. And the drums sound like your head is inside the double-kick. And I actually liked Paul Bostaph, who replaced original drummer Dave Lombardo in 1992.

But I like Lombardo more. No one’s faster. At 44, he still pummels the skins like he did decades ago on “Angel of Death” and “War Ensemble” (Lombardo returned in 2006). The riffs still gallop at blinding speeds (see “Psychopathy Red”). Solos squeal like slaughtered pigs (the intro to “Snuff” … wow). And there’s still plenty of dark and creepy imagery courtesy of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, who I think these days are just trying to out-gross one another. Which is what fans want. I mean, metal is the only category of music where exploration and experimentation are not welcome … see where it got Metallica.

Above all, Slayer still pulls it off convincingly—probably because they/we don’t know any differently. Put them next to Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth and it’s like sicking a pit bull on a chihuahua … which, if I’m not mistaken, was the inspiration behind the song “Silent Scream.”

“Psychopathy Red” - Slayer

“Hate Worldwide” - Slayer

Tags: Anthrax, Black Friday, Dave Lombardo, Diabolus In Musica, Divine Intervention, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, The Big Four, Tom Araya, World Painted Blood