Slayer
Reign in Blood

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The rage...

What is rage, how can we define it? What is the meaning of rage, the most human of emotions, and why is it condemned? The answer is simple: because rage generates violence, and violence leads to hatred, cruelty, and suffering. And here arises a question that humanity has tried to solve for centuries, no, for millennia. How can rage be channeled so that it does not harm other human beings? Rob Halford of Judas Priest once said: "Rage is a very honest human emotion and if you can channel it into music, so much the better." Perhaps this is the best phrase to describe the music of Slayer and what is universally considered their masterpiece, Reign In Blood.

No words would suffice to describe this album, which goes beyond thrash, beyond metal, beyond universal music. We are faced with a sublime infernal fresco, reflecting the visionary genius of Jeff Hannemann and Kerry King, projecting us directly to the brink of the infinite fiery abyss of human hatred. It’s twenty-nine minutes of solid riffs, supported by Dave Lombardo’s fantastic drumming and Tom Araya’s grotesque vocals, offering an indescribable experience unless experienced firsthand. It is something hard to put into words, because you only realize it when Angel Of Death kicks in: the riff is one of the most damnably granite and devastating in metal history, a pure frontal assault on the listener’s ears, driven by Araya’s infernal scream: it’s the ultimate perfection of violence and rage. And after Angel of Death, a series of aggressive and lightning-fast tracks continue the started discourse, granting no pause. Describing them one by one would be solely self-serving, even if they were the best episodes such as Postmortem, Altar of Sacrifice or Jesus Saves, so I’ll jump straight to the icing on the cake, the final element, the ultimate frenzy: Raining Blood.

The song begins with the sound of an approaching storm, with thunder closing in and rain starting to pour heavily. It’s perhaps a banal intro on second thought, but the sense of unnerving anticipation it creates is phenomenal... because after nine tracks, each more relentless than the last, you manage to catch your breath for a moment, and suddenly you hear the storm arriving and you know the worst is yet to come, announced by those claps of thunder and those drum strikes... and suddenly it arrives: one of the most damnably malevolent and unsettling riffs ever heard, just a simple scale of notes strung together. Simple, basic, yet monstrously effective... then just a few seconds with another granite riff, leading into the final 3 minutes of pure violence, concluding with the chaotic final solo, abruptly cut off by the distant noise of thunder. The storm has passed and you can breathe normally again.

This is Reign in Blood, one of the most ingenious, most devastating, most powerful works ever conceived by the human mind. Even in its duration, Reign in Blood is perfect... a few more minutes and it might have been too much to handle in one sitting for listeners. In conclusion, I realize I haven't said much about the album, but it’s one of those records that can't be effectively explained with words. You have to listen to it and judge for yourself. Some will hate it and can't bear more than ten minutes; others won’t appreciate it immediately but will want to hear it again; others still will love it. I am among the latter...