Entertainment

Slayer punishes on new 'World Painted Blood'

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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REVIEW (WJRT) -- Question: Has seminal Big Four thrash unit Slayer essentially been making the same album over and over for nearly three decades?

Answer: Absolutely not. Only a metalhead who listens to Slayer with his or her elbows would even ask such a ridiculous and misguided question.

But has Slayer always stuck to its guns when it comes to making Slayer records that Slayer fans want to hear, regardless of whatever is trendy or popular in heavy metal?

Yep. And the Los Angeles-bred quartet should be commended for it, because Slayer has one of the most revered catalogs in the history of the genre, with good reason. The band built its audience and legacy over time because its members absolutely would not compromise.

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On anything.

Slayer defined is dynamic double bass work from drummer Dave Lombardo; horrifying lyrical themes involving war, dismemberment, serial killers and Satan; atonal riff chaos from dueling axemen Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman; and raging howls from bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, who whacks at his trusty B.C. Rich like he's having hand seizures.

Aside from a mercifully short close encounter with nu metal experiments on 1998's "Diabolus in Musica," Slayer mostly knows where its bloody and shredded bread is buttered. And it shows on the band's latest, "World Painted Blood."

Released Tuesday, "Blood" is fully loaded for bear with wholly vintage Slayer, which is tremendous news for the Slaytanic Wehrmacht, the legions of Slayer fans who don't think twice about carving their favorite thrash unit's logo into their flesh.

It won't supplant the group's apex, 1986's "Reign in Blood," but it's probably the closest the band has come to matching that classic disc's mix of pure unadulterated aggression and then-unmatched velocity in some time.

"Christ Illusion," the band's 2006 slab of sin, came close. But "World Painted Blood" is the real deal, kids.

Right off the top, "Blood" speeds to life on its jackhammer title track, which charges by at a semi-modest pace for Slayer. But "modest" for Slayer is still enough to handily induce brain hemorrhaging. The band's not even breaking a sweat.

"Unit 731" and "Snuff" certainly ratchet up the tension and acceleration, but "731" truly stands out thanks to Hanneman's increased involvement in the songwriting department.

The grisly tune explores in raw detail the covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army. Let it be said: "Unit 731" is downright scary, and that's what makes it a kicking-and-screaming newborn Slayer classic.

Songs like the weaker "Beauty Through Order" and "Human Strain" deflate affairs a bit, but they at least provide some varying tempos and additional intrigue when it comes to a few more heaping helpings of frightening subject matter.

The appropriately named "Hate Worldwide" proudly displays Slayer's roots in hardcore punk, but the album's centerpiece is without question "Psychopathy Red," the album's first single.

"Psychopathy " is frenzied and ferocious and seizes the jugular like a pit viper, and Hanneman and King are all over the map in ravaging their guitars. Araya wails a la "Angel of Death," and Lombardo's throttling of his drum kit cements his reputation as one of the most respected skins surgeons in the biz.

Some of the lead breaks pouring from the necks of King's and Hanneman's axes can't be ignored, either. Always playing their scattered solos like a couple of formerly stable dudes barreling full steam ahead toward unhinged, the pair dazzles with some trippy tremolo work in more than a few spots.

The creepy "Playing With Dolls" and "Not of This God" close the disc out in high style, leaving even non-believers thoroughly beaten and bruised. And while "World Painted Blood" isn't quite Megadeth's "Endgame," it's definitely one of this fall's meatier releases, and a lot of good stuff has hit store shelves this year.

"Blood" feels dangerous. And for all those Slayer fans who bear scars, that's killer. For everyone else, be sure to duck.

(As is often the case these days, the deluxe version of "WPB" comes with a bonus DVD. But this time out, you still get an extra video disc, but instead of a "making-of" documentary attached, you get a short film based on "Playing With Dolls," and it's interesting, to say the least. Check it out.) -- James Chesna

The ABC12 Listening Room staff: James Chesna, editor-in-chief; Josh Daunt, managing editor; Beth McEnroe, staff writer; Eric Fletcher, chief photographer; Randy Cox, photographer; Josh Daunt, photographer; Chris Carr, photographer; Jessica Reid, contributing photographer; LeeAlan Weddel, contributing editor, writer; Shawn Light, contributing writer.