The first thing that is noticeable is the production of Reign in Blood. Both of Slayer's first two albums, Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits are terrific albums, but both suffer on the side of production, and sometimes the guitars can feel as though they blend or blur into each other. Here though, every note played is crisp and clear, and can be determined apart from every other note. As well as showcasing each brilliant song, it also shows just how precise and magnificent both Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King are in their guitar playing, especially in those scintillating solos, because you can hear each note played, and can only listen in awe at how perfect their playing is, at that incredible speed. Then you only have to try and keep up with Dave Lombardo's drumming, which is just ludicrous. He is quite magnificent here, his timing is immaculate and every snare, tom, kick, cymbal and hi-hat motion is caught perfectly here. Tom Araya's vocals are clear, concise and above all understandable, even at the speed he has to sing at to keep up with his bandmates. This is magnificently put together.
I love the way that the album is constructed, book-ended by two of their all-time classic songs, and with barely a pause for breath throughout the whole album.
"Piece By Piece" is two minutes of mayhem, that has a half-second pause of silence before motoring straight into "Necrophobic", which careers along at a barely believable speed for half the song, before a five second respite at normal double time before we're back off at lightning speed for the rest of the song, a whole minute and 38 seconds in total. Pause for a (short) breath, and off we go again with "Altar of Sacrifice". There is no time for rest, no time to catch your breath. Sure, "Altar of Sacrifice" does actually slow down as we approach the end of the song, as it flows almost undetected into the awesome heavy riff of "Jesus Saves", which for the first sixty seconds allows you to resume normal headbanging duties, before the accelerator is pushed to the floor again. Awesome stuff.
"Criminally Insane" is the slowest start to a song on the album, but soon builds back to that double time drumming and riffing that binds this album together. "Reborn" may well be the simplest song here, but again at that devastating speed, which is followed by "Epidemic" which is highlighted by magnificent drum work from Dave, whose ability to throw in little rolls and fills between the frightful speed of his normal drumming is remarkable. "Postmortem" concludes things here at an amazingly sublime pace considering everything that has gone on before it.
Bookending all of this are the timeless "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood". "Angel of Death" starts the album, at a breakneck speed. It is a sensational way to start this album, with fire and fury. "Raining Blood" is perhaps still my favourite Slayer song. I love the first 60 seconds of the song too, that rarely gets a mention in the live set - not that that concerns me. When you get to the break with the rain and thunder, that is where anticipation is in its element, before we break back into the song and the elemental riff and the drums, and Tom's vocals, before the two solo breaks... oooohhhh it is just awesome. In almost thirty years I have never gotten sick of hearing this song. Genius. Immortality. Brilliance.
At a tick under 29 minutes in length, this is a half hour that never gets boring, never gets stale, and ticks every box in heavy metal greatness. All four members of the band are on song, it sounds brilliant, and it is just fast and freaking heavy. It is at the top of the tree for thrash albums, and whether it is universally loved or not, it cannot be denied that its influence goes beyond the heavy metal community. This is a beacon.
Rating: Raining blood, from a lacerated sky, bleeding its horror, creating my structure, now I shall reign in blood! 5/5
Listen to full album here
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