Friday, June 1, 2012

Metal Friday: "Raining Blood" by Slayer

I have a threshold when it comes to heavy metal. At some indefinable point of heaviness I personally find that the music loses its artistry and appeal. "Cookie Monster" lyrics and a cacophonous wall of thudding, high speed drums and screeching guitars turn me off, thus I personally have no use for bands like Cannibal Corpse and their ilk.

Slayer is about as far on the "heaviness" scale as I like to go, but I do like them a lot. "Raining Blood" is a classic featuring one of the all-time great metal riffs. The sound of rain and those drums kicking in still gives me a chill, decades after I first heard it. In my opinion this is heavy metal at its most brutal and primitive (played live the bit from 2:10 to 2:38 results in an instant mosh pit; I've seen these guys in concert and the reaction is pavlovian). Yes, there are "heavier" bands, but Slayer still remains recognizable as music--a savage and scary brand of music, but one performed by talented musicians. Your mileage may vary, of course.


Turn it up, but not too loud, lest you frighten your household.

6 comments:

Falze said...

This album really hasn't lost anything over time (unlike the band themselves following Seasons). Another good choice this week.

Brian Murphy said...

I agree, its an ageless album.

Andy said...

I think it's rather overrated, to be honest. It's got two outstanding songs at the start and end, and some good stuff in between but a lot of the middle runs together for me. Thankfully it's such a short album that I don't really resent it too much for that, but I think Hell Awaits, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss are all superior.

Brian Murphy said...

Andy: No!

But seriously, my favorite Slayer album in Seasons in the Abyss. I just happen to think that Raining Blood is their most iconic song.

stargazer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stargazer said...

hi brian

slayer's going to perform for the first time in india on oct 20

hell awaits!

cheers
ranjit