Customer Reviews

South of Heaven

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After "Reign In Blood" Slayer couldn't do anything than be slower and more evil. And that's what this album "South of Heaven" is all about! The songs like "South of Heaven", "Silent Scream", and "Mandatory Suicide" are still in Slayer's live set today. Why? Because they are CLASSICS! In fact all the songs in this album are great! At first I didn't like this album so much but after listening to it over and over again (after years of break) I realized that this album is awesome! It's no wonder that many think that this is one of the best albums ever. "Live Undead" is an interesting song. It seems like there's no chorus. Why? I don't know but the guitar solos are great. At first I thought I would give 4 stars but then I asked myself: "Why? This album has nothing but great songs!".
Stars: South of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide, Silent Scream

Another great album by Slayer and Rick Rubin. This album will grab you by the balls, and won't let go. Kerry King's guitar work is great as always!! This is a band that keeps giving you an assault of thrash and doom metal, that'll keep you comming back for more!!

Best Slayer record no doubt,and one of greatest Metal releases period. Every song on this disc is a classic Slayer,no fillers here.Brilliant musicianship and great production by Rick Rubin as always.

Since 1981, Slayer has waged an unapologetic campaign across the world: their mission, to create the fastest, heaviest, most brutal music possible. As one of the "Big Four" forefathers of thrash--alongside Anthrax, Megadeth, and Metallica--Slayer set a high standard with 1986's Reign in Blood. The 10-song, 28-minute record is nothing short of a technical marvel, one of metal's premier albums.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN, released in 1988, showcased slower tempos than its predecessor and more "breathing room" for Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman's guitar riffs. This change of pace led, initially, to mixed responses from critics and fans, who envisioned a faster, heavier follow-up to REIGN IN BLOOD. Much of this criticism eventually subsided, and today, vocalist Tom Araya regards SOUTH OF HEAVEN as Slayer's "late bloomer." The album proved to be the most dynamic, diverse album Slayer had released up to that point--not as fast as previous works, but more textural. From the opening track to the end, there is no questioning that the record, albeit slower-paced, is characteristically a Slayer record with its sinister themes and riffs.

Concert mainstays "South of Heaven" and "Mandatory Suicide" reach nearly universal consensus as two of Slayer's best live songs. "Silent Scream" and "Ghosts of War" feature riffs played at breakneck speed; exploding out of the gate, featuring little to no break-downs in the music--just aggressive, fast metal. Judas Priest cover "Dissident Aggressor" comes across as a respectable tribute to one of the founders of British heavy metal; not overdone, but unmistakably Slayer. I am also fond of "Behind the Crooked Cross," with its deceivingly simplistic guitar intro. The album is produced and remastered so that every note, every cymbal crash is heard with resonating clarity--a definite necessity for this style of music.

Many Slayer fans would agree that the band wouldn't reach its creative zenith until 1990's Seasons in the Abyss. I respect both albums immensely, but to me, the underrated SOUTH OF HEAVEN gets the nod for its voyage at the time into virgin territory. Regardless, any fan of metal couldn't go wrong with a purchase of either album--or even better, both. I rate SOUTH OF HEAVEN an emphatic 5 out of 5 stars without hesitation.

Just another great album by Slayer. Slayer is a band you either love or hate. If you like this album then you will probably like all of their other albums except perhaps for 'Undisputed Attitude' because it's mostly punk cover songs. Otherwise, every album by Slayer rocks and this one is just as great with songs like 'South Of Heaven', 'Mandatory Suicide' and 'Read Between The Lies.' Enjoy!

One of the best from SLAYER, if your a SLAYER fan and haven't heard this one then you aren't a true fan.
This album will grab you and never let go!!
I rate this CD a 5 of 5 stars!!

In many ways I find South of Heaven better than Seasons in the Abyss. It's cleaner sounding than Seasons, all the songs are great. On Seasons, theres a few places where there are some clumsy notes, which I hear all too well but no one else has picked up on. Pretty much you can't go wrong with Slayer, so I would recommend all their albums up through Seasons in the Abyss, and even the newer albums are not bad either.

After the masterpiece Reign in Blood, the Thrash metal gods produce this great piece of heavy music. South of Heaven is a bit more slower than the previous Slayer album, but Slayer was at the top and bring classics like South of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide and Ghosts of War. This is one of the best thrash metals you can find.

The production in this album is not excellent but it is much much better then their previous albums. All the songs are very very good which makes this album one of their best . The adrenaline is super high and you can easily hear this album from start to the end. I recommend this album to all metal fans. If you are new to Slayer this is a good place to start with Seasons in the Abyss. A huge bravo to the band for this amazing album.

This album has mind blowing guitar.
I have never heard a slayer album until this one. I never gave these guys a chance until now.
Now i can see what people are talking about when they say henneman and king are one of the best metal guitarists ever.
Ive have always since i was a kid loved metallica and megadeth now slayer is right there with them.
Im big time influenced by the riffs and killer solos not by the lyrics though i dont have atheist beliefs.
Kerry king and jeff hanneman should do a instrumemtal album thats how much i like their guitar playing.
Also what made me check slayer out was they are influenced by judas priest.
One of my all time favorite metal bands.
And they cover one of priest songs from the sin after sin album.
If you love guitar check this album out. Also my favorite song is mandatory suicide that song is awesome.