Reign In Blood

back in stock and cheaper - slayer took the leap to the big leagues with this, in the same way metallica, megadeth and anthrax all did with their second albums. the only difference was this was slayer's third album, the previous two, 'show no mercy' and 'hell awaits' both plagued by rough production which thwarted slayer from sounding as brutal as they should have been. 'reign in blood' put matters straight, as rick rubin's production put them over the top, with a precise and clean sound few have ever topped. this is the way to make a thrash album. ten tracks clocking in at twenty eight minutes, all fast, an easy way to make an impact and a point. overnight acts like celtic frost, bathory, and destruction were made to look as crude as they were, while exodus, metallica and anthrax seemed tame by comparison. hanneman and king established themselves as thrash's premier guitar duo, and rightfully so, the level of twisted genius running through 'necrophobic', 'criminally insane' and 'angel of death' something they themselves had trouble topping. i once read one seasoned metal scribe remark how no one had heard drumming like lombardo's up until 'rib', and the drum sound is crisp and clear, always fast and banishing memories of lombardo's efforts on the first two albums. the main reason slayer distinguished themselves from most was their ability to retain melody amongst such a vicious rampage. every song has a discernable hook and melody line, something that was lacking from many, particularly euro bores. whether this is the greatest thrash album i don't know, it's in the top five certainly, slayer equaling this in many ways with 'divine intervention'. but it's still thrash's key point, a glorious reaffirmation of how superior 80's metal was.