Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Slayer! Slayer! Slayer!", November 18, 2004
This 2 disc live set is absolutely killer. Any big Slayer fan Needs this set. On disc one, we have most of their classics, Hell awaits, South of Heaven, Raining Blood, Dead Skin Mask, War Ensemble, Seasons in the Abyss, Angel of Death etc. The second Disc is filled with other great songs that are still great, plus it has Chemical Warfare and Black Magic some all time favorites. The only thing that most people fail to mention here is that in the Imports, disc two also contains Skeletons of Society and At Dawn They Sleep; two songs that would fit perfectly here. Some songs shown here sound better then they do on the records, an example would be anything off show no mercy and haunting the chapel, as well as the song Born of Fire (the only song that I feel the urge to skip on the Seasons in the Abyss record). The packaging is great, and there are no complaints. Sure Tom's introduction to War Ensemble may seem a little strange, but the pit must have been getting out of control and the concert may have gotten canceled if anyone was seriously hurt. Wouldn't you warn the audience if you were on stage and if it did happen, you might get sued or worse, or a riot starts or the show might get cancelled by the arena owners or whatever. I'm also just really ticked off at what the reviewer Slyne said about Tom Araya's vocals and so I'm just going to blow off some steam right now.
"The singer - Let's start with the lyrics: a pile of garbage. This guy can't sing, and he's not even convincing. If you want something scary, go listen to Dimmu Borgir, for instance (Same satanic theme, but much more believable)." - Slyne
Now for my response. Are you F***ing Nuts?! Dimmu Borgir? Tom's vocals are so much more believable in comparison it's not even funny. An angry guy yelling is a lot more believable than, a guy making gurgle sounds like a pathetic angry hamster. See the Dimmu Borgir songs Burn in Hell and Devils Path for proof. I'm not saying that listening to Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth is a bad thing, there is far worse. I'm just saying that comparing Dimmu Borgir to Slayer just isn't right. Slayer and Pantera or Morbid Angel or Sepultura, or Vader, or hell, there is so many other bands that make for a better comparison, but because the guy chose Dimmu Borgir it isn't a surprise that he got 2/20 helpful votes.
Well, all in all this 2 disc set is worth every penny. Tom's voice and bass is great here, the guitars are great(if you notice something Kerry controls one speaker and Jeff will control another, they work together flawlessly), Dave's drumming is phenomenal, and the quality is excellent. Hoped this helped.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satans speed kings crush the competition, August 20, 2004
I've always liked live albums because it shows what a band are really capable of. Stripped of all the studio trickery and aids such as looping and endless overdubbing, a band actually has to play in order to make a performance worth listening to. Listening to a live album is not the same as seeing the band because the visual element can compensate for crap musicianship. This is a very good live album. Slayer play with a furious intensity throughout and many of the songs are better live. For example all the songs from the wretched sounding "Show No Mercy" album sound MUCH better on DOA. They're faster, more agressive and don't have that early '80s reverb on the vocals (whoever thought that was a good idea should be flayed alive) In fact all the songs prior to Reign in Blood sound better on DOA. Overall the playing is topnotch, props to Dave Lombardo who plays with a single minded agressive purpose: take no prisoners. And Kerry and Jeffs' guitar solos have to be heard to be believed. I think guitarists everywhere whether they're metal heads or not would appreciate their musicianship.
The only complaint is that the sound/mix just isn't as good as it could be. The drums are muddy, the bass is far too low and the guitars when soloing are clear, but the rhythm playing lacks definition and volume. So I gotta kick off a star for that. Otherwise DOA is a great live album and worth getting even if you have the studio albums.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrash's best live album, January 5, 2006
Slayer are indisputably one of the best ever live heavy metal bands, and, after dominating the thrash circuit for most of the 1980's and the early part of the Nineties, Slayer released their first live album. Unlike many live discs at the time, "Decade of Aggression," which was recorded on the band's "Seasons in the Abyss" tour, features no overdubs or other studio repairs. But, even still, the difference between these live songs and the studio versions is always very small, and sometimes these live songs are indistinguishable from the originals. Since this album is 100% pure, all live material, it's a great testament to the band's superb and awe-inspiring musicianship. Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman play as fast as a NASCAR racer and as technical as a heart surgeon. They rip through your speakers and tear through every song with smoldering, fret-board smoking riffs and wild solos, making "DoA" the most energetic and scorching album I've ever heard. Plus screamer Tom Araya's vocals are usually in top form, here, and drummer Dave Lombardo may struggle to keep up with the rest of the band during "War Ensemble" and "Angel of Death," but his playing is usually great and very precise, as well (see "Chemical Warfare"). Slayer just push the pedal to the metal and, save for a couple of mid-tempo numbers (i.e. "South of Heaven"), don't let up for the duration of both discs (which combine a total of almost ninety minutes in length). Every famous Slayer song, from 1991 and before, is covered over the course of these 21 tracks (i.e. "Raining Blood," "Jesus Saves," "Dead Skin Mask," "Angel of Death," "Chemical Warfare," etc). The first disc, which was entirely recorded at the Lakeland Coliseum in Florida, begins with "Hell Awaits." Both guitarists begin playing moderately fast, chugging riffs, before changing gears and launching, full blast, into breakneck guitar riffs. Other highlights (on the first disc) include the careening "War Ensemble" (which begins with Tom lecturing the mosh pit on "helping each other out"), the blistering "Altar of Sacrifice," "Jesus Saves" (which races by so fast, you barely hear any actual notes-just a flash flood of guitar noise), and the five back-to-back guitar solos on "Angel of Death." Standout tracks on the second disc (which was mostly recorded in California) are the heavy, pounding "Hallowed Point," the blindingly fast "Captor of Sin," the chug and churning "Postmortem," and "Spirit In Black," which is brutal and almost out of control. "Decade of Aggression" is a great, viscous album (probably the best live speed metal album ever recorded), and an essential inclusion in your Slayer collection. Plus, since the live versions of the songs on this album are about as good as the studio cuts, and since "Decade of Aggression" has a greatest hits track listing, this is also a great place to start if you're new to Slayer.
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