Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer

I’ve been debating about whether I should just review all of my favorite albums first and get them out of the way or if I should wait and savor them. In this case I just couldn’t wait. I love this album. I love this album so much. After Reign in Blood this is probably my favorite Slayer album. Some might argue in favor of South of Heaven but for some reason this album always calls to me. This may sound like condemnation, and it certainly is not, but this is basically Slayer’s Black Album. What I mean by that is that it is their most accessible album. But of course this is Slayer we are talking about. Their version of accesible is still lightyears away from pop. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Slayer melded their two previous albums together. And the end product becomes an album that’s part brutally fast thrash metal and part doomy melodic thrash.

Without a doubt the best track on this album is the opener "War Ensemble". It echoes the brutality and speed of both "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" while also throwing in the doom and melody of "South of Heaven". It’s followed by two great more melodic songs that really mesh well together: "Blood Red" and "Spirit in Black". "Expendable Youth" is probably the most likely candidate to get radio play but that doesn’t mean its not Slayer but it probably has the most melody. It’s a great song but I’ve heard it enough that it’s gotten a little tiresome.

Now for those of you who are looking for something that could have been on Reign in Blood then look no further than "Born of Fire". This is probably one of Slayer’s fastest songs, not to mention some of their most evil lyrics. It’s all to often overlooked but definitely one of my favorites.

The title track is a good song but I wish it didn’t take so long to really get started. The buildup sort of overstays its welcome but when the song finally gets going boy does it get going. It sort of comes full circle in that its almost as equal parts Reign and South as "War Ensemble" is, although I think this song borrows a little more from South.

This is just a great album. It’s definitely one of my favorite records of all time. If you have a stereo that goes up to eleven and need something to play at that number then this is the record for you.

War Ensemble

Born of Fire

Seasons in the Abyss