This is a release that I like with Paul Bostaph on drums. The guitar riffs are good on here, especially on 'Killing Fields'. The leads were a little lacking on Kerry King's side but he's always been in Jeff Hanneman's (RIP) shadow. The songwriting quality on here was top notch! Not as good as 'Seasons in the Abyss' though. A different production quality on here. It's actually better sounding than 'Seasons...' just the guitar riffs weren't as good on here. But they are pretty catchy. The title-track has a killer opening riff that just took everything away. Mind you, the whole song is incredible.

I just don't like Slayer without Dave Lombardo (drums) or guitar without Hanneman. But on here they did really well! I still think that this is deserving of anything higher. Tom Araya's vocals were a little annoying on here but not to an nth degree.

The 90's Slayer I wasn't much in favor with or the newer modern stuff. I'm for the older material such as 'Show no Mercy', 'Reign in Blood', 'South of Heaven' and 'Seasons in the Abyss' (1983, 1986, 1988 and 1990 respectively). It just seemed to be the "real" Slayer that the 90's stuff and modern didn't cut it.

As I say, the production quality was decent on here. Rick Rubin on 'Seasons...' did a great job on that one. But here the instruments were done in well despite the music not being as well as the 80's and 1990 Slayer. The leads were good and the rhythms were tight. The music fits with the vocals. Just they will never reach the status of how they were in the past. It's too bad they're gone for good but without Hanneman and Lombardo it just isn't Slayer to me! The music on here is catchy though. Probably the best Slayer of the 90's aside from 'Seasons...'. They are good on here in the lead department and the riffs are pretty OK.

This album is less than 40 minutes but it's still good musically. The aggression fact isn't as prominent as the 80's Slayer and up until the end they turned out to be horrible on 'World Painted Blood' (2009) and 'Repentless' (2015). Those two were flops. This one isn't nearly as bad as those. At least on here they have some catchy songs. Aside from the title-track and 'Killing Fields' I would recommend checking out 'Sex. Murder. Art' and '213'. Slayer retired too soon, they would've had more albums to release with Bostaph and Gary Holt. As Kerry King's anger about retiring too early, he misses the live shows. I don't blame him, but he's formed another band I think with an album on its way.

From the time that they formed in the early 80's, Slayer was a pivotal force in the thrash metal arena that basically never changed their style of music. Bands like Necrophobic got their name from a 'Reign in Blood' song. The whole community died when Hanneman passed on and, to me, Lombardo out. Though he's with Testament now. Old Slayer is gone, long live Slayer forever (RIP).

Rating: 8½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
01/15/2023 20:37