5:04 As a Slayer fan, Kerry King getting a compliment for his melodic approach warms my heart. You don't have to make apologies for Slayer's solos. We don't.
The main reason the solo is hard to grasp is it’s usually chromatic. So while it may emphasize the key, a ton of the notes being played super fast are not in key. It gives it a really chaotic sound and works really good with those wild dive bombs and whammy work I feel that’s a large aspect that makes slayer sound like the sounds of hell. It’s very jarring and is more like a soundtrack to torture than a melodic memorable solo. Out of key chaos with the root note being tortured 😂
Dave Lombardo has such a distinct drum style, he’s so clean with separating his hits no matter how fast he goes and switches from rapid staccato to grooving on a dime. To my ear he’s an extremely patient drummer despite the speed lol
The thing I loved when listening to Slayer as a kid, was that the drums were mic'd from the perspective of the drummer. With your headphones on, it feels like you're in the band, not watching the band. Wouldn't be surprised if Rick Rubin had a hand in that.
With Slayer hard right is always Kerry King and hard left is always Jeff Hanneman. Dave Lombardos drum fills are bananas I.E. Ghosts Of War and Seasons In The Abyss among others
I always found 'Angel of Death' from the 'Reign in Blood' album to be the ultimate opener of any Slayer album (or any metal album for that matter), but this comes pretty close,; 'Seasons in the Abyss' being the last through and through TRULY great Slayer album... yesterday you reacted to Bill Ward tearing it up on Black Sabbath 'War Pig', and I really think Dave Lombardo is the Bill Ward of thrash metal; he's the one that propels the Slayer sound to dizzying speeds and intensity; excellent drummer, probably the best in the genre alongside Gene Hoglan... 🤘🤘
Dude, anytime I need a real adrenaline rush, I put on Angel of Death and just thrash it \,,/ have you seen Alex Terrible's cover of it? It's pretty damn sick also.
I love early Slayer, this is certainly one of the iconic ones. Slayer also shows that the US also had some more chaotic thrash metal akin to early European thrash, or I should probably say the other way around because I believe Slayer formed a couple of years before Kreator and the likes. The first Slayer album (Show No Mercy) is a little less chaotic though and has a couple of great tracks as well. I know selection for the theme has most likely already set, but I can't get myself to not mention the British Death Metal band Bolt Thrower. Most of their songs (if not all of them) are about war. Ranging from Warhammer 40k to real world wars. Their early stuff is more grindcore and a mix of grindcore/death metal, but for their later stuff they slowed down and it is more doomy death metal. They were one of the first death metal bands I really got into since I was coming from listening to a lot of doom metal.
To hark back on all the thrash commenting I've been making, and because there's a lot of thrash floating around, but Slayer were always a bit of an outlier in the US scene by virtue of their sheer ferocity. I'd say that only the tighter playing and recording separates them from german thrash, but if you picked up Kreator from the same era of this song (1990-1991), they had already tightened up immensely from their Pleasure to Kill days. Slayer always had this... "aura" about them, though. 1991 was when I slowly started getting into this music as a young kid and they always seemed on another level from your other thrash bands, for better or worse. They were pretty untouchable live, too. At this point there was this big deal tour called Thrash of the Titans which included 3 of the big 4 of US Thrash ( Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax; Metallica took no part) where the playing order was supposed to rotate from show to show. Slayer ended up closing every night because they'd just deplete the crowd of energy. Their decade of Agression Live album is one of those rare live cds that surpasses the studio work. ANd it's also funny to see that despite being some 30 years removed, and despite there being at least two subgenres, death and black metal, running the Slayer blueprint to higher extremes, that aura really doesn't fade. There's a timeless ferociousness to their music
Slayer has that 'it' factor that elevates them, even today (as you stated). There's something about their music that still feels fierce. Also interesting to hear that Kreator tightened up their playing by this point in time. I think most artists have that drive to improve their craft but I also get the feeling that tightening up the sound would be seen as a negative thing for fans of that type of thrash.
@@CriticalReactions Yeah, Kreator's was a kind of tightening very much on par with Slayer's at this point in time. Slick, well oiled, but still dirty and in your face. The Extreme Aggressions and the Coma of Souls albums are more or less in the pinnacle of that simultaneously raw and tight Kreator sound was like. They would go on to be wildly experimental in the 90s, releasing Industrial sounding albums and even a very goth album at some point before deliberately going back to the roots ( and progressively stuck in a rut) for the 21st side of their career. Lots of great songs, but clearly a band that decided to stay in their lane. People reacted to bands maturing and tightening up much in the same way people reacted any genre maturing, ie, sometimes very poorly and in silly ways. But many just decided if their favourite bands wouldn't do classic thrash anymore, they'd do it themselves. By the end of the 90s seemingly every black metal musician had a "retro" thrash side project with wildly varying degrees of intentional irony. Having a song called "Tormentor" is actually one of those things that are memes before they became memes. Both Slayer, Destruction *AND* Kreator have songs called Tormentor on their debut albums, and suddenly it became established thrash etiquette. The band that provided Mayhem one of their singers was called Tormentor, for example, and of course it had a song called tormentor as well. Now, THAT is a wild idea for a theme week, songs called Tormentor. Would be the perfect crash course in punk influences in metal.
@@thegrimner That sounds about right. Lots of retro revivals are about bringing back the music you're not hearing as much any more. I'll try out a Tormentor week and see how it goes. We might end up having another Thrash dominated theme lol
Hello hello.... Classic Slayer...RIP JEFF...I saw them in 2017 or 18 on the Mayhem Fest and they made it a 1/4 way thru the first song when Tom's voice blows out.. End of show!!!! It sucked they were headlining..Part of the Big 4...'nuff said...✌️✌️🤘🤘
Slayer is one of those bands I have a ton of respect for due to their influence, which was incalculable on all of extreme metal, but whose music I can only listen to in short doses. Of all the major thrash bands, Slayer were the band that really pushed the speed/aggression angle as far as it could go and in which technical complexity took a backseat (though Dave Lombardo certainly gave them a much-needed stability in their sound). I do tend to prefer the Slayer songs/albums that have more dynamic contrasts, groove, and complex structures; so I'm more of a Hell Awaits/Seasons in the Abyss guy rather than Reign in Blood. This is the opening track from Seasons in the Abyss and I think it shows that nice mix between the pure speed/aggression to start that evolves into more of a groove later. Definitely a super solid thrash track.
Slayer is very much anti war even if their lyrics seem to be passive in stance when depicting horrible things. When they made the song Angel Of Death, which lyrics are pretty gruesome depictions of Mengele's human experiments, and were confronted about it in interviews (which hinted that they were somehow in support of this stuff) they said "We shouldn't have to tell people that these things are clearly evil" or something around those lines in idea. Their stance is that any normal thinking human being should be able to understand what is good and evil without them clearly preaching which is which and if not then there is something wrong with you. 😅
In the end it's art so I'm not too upset if there is a passive stance on it but I do find a bit of relief in featuring their message on the channel knowing it was done to showcase the horrors of war. 1990 was a different time too so I think a more passive stance worked better then than now. Sadly, today you've gotta be clear in your message or it'll get co-opted.
thank you for putting into words why i dislike slayers solos in general. i to like that more spaced out solo because it flows with the song. Instead of 'lets stop the song here for the guitar solo"
There may be stuff faster especially with today's double foot technique getting twice as many kicks per leg movement and more technicality Etc but as far as pure aggression and energy not much beats Slayer especially live . After seeing many bands live, none really exceed the pits you'll find at a Slayer show!
5:04 As a Slayer fan, Kerry King getting a compliment for his melodic approach warms my heart. You don't have to make apologies for Slayer's solos. We don't.
The Rhine is a river through Europe where many bloody battles were fought in WW2
The main reason the solo is hard to grasp is it’s usually chromatic. So while it may emphasize the key, a ton of the notes being played super fast are not in key. It gives it a really chaotic sound and works really good with those wild dive bombs and whammy work
I feel that’s a large aspect that makes slayer sound like the sounds of hell. It’s very jarring and is more like a soundtrack to torture than a melodic memorable solo. Out of key chaos with the root note being tortured 😂
Good explanation
Dave Lombardo has such a distinct drum style, he’s so clean with separating his hits no matter how fast he goes and switches from rapid staccato to grooving on a dime. To my ear he’s an extremely patient drummer despite the speed lol
Their best song! So aggressive with a real drive! Lombardo is amazing on the drums!
The thing I loved when listening to Slayer as a kid, was that the drums were mic'd from the perspective of the drummer. With your headphones on, it feels like you're in the band, not watching the band. Wouldn't be surprised if Rick Rubin had a hand in that.
I melted into my seat the first time I heard this song. Judas Priest - Painkiller came along and knocked me right out of it.
With Slayer hard right is always Kerry King and hard left is always Jeff Hanneman. Dave Lombardos drum fills are bananas I.E. Ghosts Of War and Seasons In The Abyss among others
I always found 'Angel of Death' from the 'Reign in Blood' album to be the ultimate opener of any Slayer album (or any metal album for that matter), but this comes pretty close,; 'Seasons in the Abyss' being the last through and through TRULY great Slayer album... yesterday you reacted to Bill Ward tearing it up on Black Sabbath 'War Pig', and I really think Dave Lombardo is the Bill Ward of thrash metal; he's the one that propels the Slayer sound to dizzying speeds and intensity; excellent drummer, probably the best in the genre alongside Gene Hoglan... 🤘🤘
Dude, anytime I need a real adrenaline rush, I put on Angel of Death and just thrash it \,,/ have you seen Alex Terrible's cover of it? It's pretty damn sick also.
@@juhaloukaja5078 No, but I will check it out! 👍
The playfulness in Dave's drumming is because he's Latino. And that's why he's so good. He swings and plays even on the hardest parts.
His ethnicity has nothing to do with it. He's just a great percussionist... period.
Un abrazo bro a la distancia 💪💪💪 tom araya es un duro del metal en esta banda de prestigio musical y chileno que deja huella en la historia 🇨🇱❤️🇺🇸
Soon, I suggest either James Morrison or … Jak Progresso’s ‘ War Machine’ … it’s horrorcore rap, that he produces as well. 🖤🖤🖤
I love early Slayer, this is certainly one of the iconic ones. Slayer also shows that the US also had some more chaotic thrash metal akin to early European thrash, or I should probably say the other way around because I believe Slayer formed a couple of years before Kreator and the likes. The first Slayer album (Show No Mercy) is a little less chaotic though and has a couple of great tracks as well.
I know selection for the theme has most likely already set, but I can't get myself to not mention the British Death Metal band Bolt Thrower.
Most of their songs (if not all of them) are about war. Ranging from Warhammer 40k to real world wars. Their early stuff is more grindcore and a mix of grindcore/death metal, but for their later stuff they slowed down and it is more doomy death metal. They were one of the first death metal bands I really got into since I was coming from listening to a lot of doom metal.
I usually don't like guitar soloes except for Slayer. They're always great.
BTW, did you say "Anthrax" at 25:15 mark?
Whoops.....yes I did 😅Good catch!
Great song.
Angel of death
To hark back on all the thrash commenting I've been making, and because there's a lot of thrash floating around, but Slayer were always a bit of an outlier in the US scene by virtue of their sheer ferocity. I'd say that only the tighter playing and recording separates them from german thrash, but if you picked up Kreator from the same era of this song (1990-1991), they had already tightened up immensely from their Pleasure to Kill days.
Slayer always had this... "aura" about them, though. 1991 was when I slowly started getting into this music as a young kid and they always seemed on another level from your other thrash bands, for better or worse. They were pretty untouchable live, too. At this point there was this big deal tour called Thrash of the Titans which included 3 of the big 4 of US Thrash ( Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax; Metallica took no part) where the playing order was supposed to rotate from show to show. Slayer ended up closing every night because they'd just deplete the crowd of energy. Their decade of Agression Live album is one of those rare live cds that surpasses the studio work.
ANd it's also funny to see that despite being some 30 years removed, and despite there being at least two subgenres, death and black metal, running the Slayer blueprint to higher extremes, that aura really doesn't fade. There's a timeless ferociousness to their music
Slayer has that 'it' factor that elevates them, even today (as you stated). There's something about their music that still feels fierce. Also interesting to hear that Kreator tightened up their playing by this point in time. I think most artists have that drive to improve their craft but I also get the feeling that tightening up the sound would be seen as a negative thing for fans of that type of thrash.
@@CriticalReactions Yeah, Kreator's was a kind of tightening very much on par with Slayer's at this point in time. Slick, well oiled, but still dirty and in your face. The Extreme Aggressions and the Coma of Souls albums are more or less in the pinnacle of that simultaneously raw and tight Kreator sound was like. They would go on to be wildly experimental in the 90s, releasing Industrial sounding albums and even a very goth album at some point before deliberately going back to the roots ( and progressively stuck in a rut) for the 21st side of their career. Lots of great songs, but clearly a band that decided to stay in their lane.
People reacted to bands maturing and tightening up much in the same way people reacted any genre maturing, ie, sometimes very poorly and in silly ways. But many just decided if their favourite bands wouldn't do classic thrash anymore, they'd do it themselves. By the end of the 90s seemingly every black metal musician had a "retro" thrash side project with wildly varying degrees of intentional irony. Having a song called "Tormentor" is actually one of those things that are memes before they became memes. Both Slayer, Destruction *AND* Kreator have songs called Tormentor on their debut albums, and suddenly it became established thrash etiquette. The band that provided Mayhem one of their singers was called Tormentor, for example, and of course it had a song called tormentor as well.
Now, THAT is a wild idea for a theme week, songs called Tormentor. Would be the perfect crash course in punk influences in metal.
@@thegrimner That sounds about right. Lots of retro revivals are about bringing back the music you're not hearing as much any more. I'll try out a Tormentor week and see how it goes. We might end up having another Thrash dominated theme lol
Kerry king whipping hair 👀
Oh no you chopped the glorious hair 😭
Yeah but it'll grow back fast. I've got some new ideas for it this time around though.
Slayer is just the Fucking best man
Hello hello.... Classic Slayer...RIP JEFF...I saw them in 2017 or 18 on the Mayhem Fest and they made it a 1/4 way thru the first song when Tom's voice blows out.. End of show!!!! It sucked they were headlining..Part of the Big 4...'nuff said...✌️✌️🤘🤘
the first solo is just chaos. on purpose though.
For the war theme, I suggest Avenged Sevenfold's Danger Line from the album Nightmare
Slayer is one of those bands I have a ton of respect for due to their influence, which was incalculable on all of extreme metal, but whose music I can only listen to in short doses. Of all the major thrash bands, Slayer were the band that really pushed the speed/aggression angle as far as it could go and in which technical complexity took a backseat (though Dave Lombardo certainly gave them a much-needed stability in their sound). I do tend to prefer the Slayer songs/albums that have more dynamic contrasts, groove, and complex structures; so I'm more of a Hell Awaits/Seasons in the Abyss guy rather than Reign in Blood. This is the opening track from Seasons in the Abyss and I think it shows that nice mix between the pure speed/aggression to start that evolves into more of a groove later. Definitely a super solid thrash track.
Lombardo is the fill master
Slayer disbanded in 2019... 😢
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR
Lombardo. Lombardo. Lombardo.
Do Manowar - black wind fire & steel
Slayer is very much anti war even if their lyrics seem to be passive in stance when depicting horrible things. When they made the song Angel Of Death, which lyrics are pretty gruesome depictions of Mengele's human experiments, and were confronted about it in interviews (which hinted that they were somehow in support of this stuff) they said "We shouldn't have to tell people that these things are clearly evil" or something around those lines in idea. Their stance is that any normal thinking human being should be able to understand what is good and evil without them clearly preaching which is which and if not then there is something wrong with you. 😅
In the end it's art so I'm not too upset if there is a passive stance on it but I do find a bit of relief in featuring their message on the channel knowing it was done to showcase the horrors of war. 1990 was a different time too so I think a more passive stance worked better then than now. Sadly, today you've gotta be clear in your message or it'll get co-opted.
thank you for putting into words why i dislike slayers solos in general. i to like that more spaced out solo because it flows with the song. Instead of 'lets stop the song here for the guitar solo"
Nope.
There may be stuff faster especially with today's double foot technique getting twice as many kicks per leg movement and more technicality Etc but as far as pure aggression and energy not much beats Slayer especially live . After seeing many bands live, none really exceed the pits you'll find at a Slayer show!