World Painted Blood [PA]

Performer: Slayer
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Of the "big four" original thrash bands (the other three being Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth), Slayer was the least compromising and most consistent. As such, 2009's WORLD PAINTED BLOOD recalled more than the title of Slayer's 1986 masterpiece REIGN IN BLOOD; it shared the earlier album's ferocious aggression and trademark speed metal-meets-hardcore sound. Throughout, the sound is lean and mean, with bassist/vocalist Tom Araya's vocals mixed relatively dry and upfront, giving the album a bracing, fist-to-the-face force. Jackhammer tracks such as "Hate Worldwide" and "Psychopathy Red" are short, no muss-no fuss blasts of double kick drum, minor key-riffing fury, with an unrelenting intensity that requires little in the way of sonic or textural variation. The title track, on the other hand, is a somewhat slower dose of classic chugga-chugga head-banging which showcases Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman's shrieking, emotive guitar work. Remaining true to Slayer's defiantly old school sound, WORLD PAINTED BLOOD carried the torch for pure thrash.

Alternative Press (p.117) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "WORLD PAINTED BLOOD is the most raw and punked-up Slayer album this decade, and a vital addition to the band's catalog." Q (Magazine) (p.126) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "WORLD PAINTED BLOOD doesn't disappoint....Such cold-blooded consistency should be commended." Record Collector (magazine) (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he passing of the years has seen the LA foursome refine their original brand of streamlined thrash metal into a subtler, heavier formula that covers most bases."

When death metal is mentioned, you can't help but automatically think of the genre's originators--Slayer. By merging brutal speed metal and scream-singing with disturbingly dark tales of death, the occult, and serial killers, the California quartet hatched a zillion copycat bands after its formation in 1982. Despite accusations of Nazism and instigating violence, the band continues to play, and outrage, into the 21st century.

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