Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
So THIS is what we've been waiting all this time for...?!, December 12, 2003
Let me start by saying that I missed the Best Buy sale and actually dropped full price for this, so already I'm rubbed the wrong way...This thing has been hyped for over two years now (maybe more)...we were told that it would be packaged in an artillery shell, that it would contain remakes of early classics, that it would have a DVD containg all their promo videos, as well as behind the scenes personal stuff filmed on Kerry's camcorder, blah, blah, blah. Having shelled out almost an entire C-note for this, I have to say that I am not only disappointed but honestly feel that I've been ripped off. 'Soundtrack to the Apocalypse' is nothing more than a cash grab, pure and simple. Here are my grievances: 1. THE PACKAGING - I heard that the artillery shell was canned and replaced with an ammo box. Okay, fine. What we get is a cheap cardboard box that's supposed to look like an ammo box...and it doesn't. 2. THE TRINKETS - so what do you get for the extra price of this limited edition? A "backstage pass replica" that's nothing more than a plastic card with a Slayer logo on it dangling from a neck cord. Ooh, wow, neato. NOT. A cheap, unimaginative wall banner. And a new version of the 1990 "blood pack" containing a live show from their first tour for 'God Hates Us All', which was the weakest Slayer show I've seen (the subsequent Jagermeister tour was much better); it's the same pack with the floating skulls and looks like it was left over. 3. THE MATERIAL - the first two CD's are stuff that any self-respecting Slayer fan has already bought or downloaded, but where's "Sick Boy", or their hilarious butchering of "Born to Be Wild"? CD three does offer some interesting and funny stuff (Tom's now-infamous live introduction to 'Necrophiliac' circa 1986-87 is finally given an official release...heh heh), but where are the those remakes we were promised, huh? Disc four is a DVD comprised of good-quality bootleg stuff, but I have many Slayer bootlegs that are much better and more interesting. The promo video clips? Nowhere to be found. The personal footage? A clip of the band accepting some award from Dino of Fear Factory...that's it. HELLO?! About the only really great thing about this box set is the enclosed booklet, which is in fact excellent, containg many cool photos, facts, history, and fan impressions. The guy that wrote this should have been put in charge of the entire project, I think. Call me cynical, but this whole thing feels like some high school science project that was put off until the last minute and hastily done the night before the due date. Let me say this: if the goodies that were promised for this box set end up being presented in some "super ultra-deluxe limited edition" down the road that cost even more than this does, well... What an apocalyptic letdown.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This sub-par box set needs to Die By The Sword, December 25, 2003
By A Customer
Let me preface this review by noting that all of the people I've seen who criticize the people who have rightfully pointed out the shortcomings of this set have been by and far illiterate come-latelys. I've been into Slayer since "Show No Mercy" was released--don't tell me I have no right to critique a $90 box set just because mommy and daddy bought you "Divine Intervention" and you think Slayer are above judgment. But I'm about to put this overpriced aberration on the Altar of Sacrifice.I don't really care about the packaging too much. A metal box would have been nicer than a cardboard one, sure, but I bought the set for the music, not the packaging. But take a look at the discs themselves. All except the DVD are black. Now, as far as I know, a laser beam can't go through totally opaque plastic...Folks, we're being peddled professionally-made CD-Rs. Let's look at the discs Piece By Piece. Discs 1 and 2 are best-of discs, with disc 2 including some more recent rarities and B-sides. They've chosen to totally neglect all studio versions from the band's Metal Blade years, so I'm already predisposed against them. You can't tell me "Die By The Sword" doesn't belong among this band's best-ofs. Disc 3 consists of "rarities." Now, to be fair, I realize many of you haven't heard much of this stuff. Out of all the 80s era material on the disc, I had everything as a dub or bootleg except for TWO songs. It's nice to hear live versions of some of their early tunes, but they're available out there through trading! How about some real rarities, like the cover of the Gumby theme song? How about the rehearsal version of "Warlock's Revenge," the other early NWOBHM-inspired tunes played live with "Ice Titan," or the never-released "The High Priestess?" Where are the rest of the Jeff Hanneman recordings? They're incomplete here. Rather than attempting a cross-section of rarities from the band's career, I would have just liked to see one or two complete vintage shows, as was done with the Iron Maiden box set. The DVD has some nice material (I think the first two '83 DVD tracks are probably the best thing out of this set), but again, it spreads itself too thin by trying to cover every Slayer era. I can appreciate the rationale behind the gig on the bonus CD, since it has Lombardo's return, so it's historically important, but it's certainly not a standout show, and again, the early material is decidedly neglected (note how there's nothing from "Show No Mercy" proper). While there's some good material on here, this box set is trying to fulfill too many purposes at once for the amount of material it contains. A box set does not immediately equate to a best-of (nor a retrospective). But this is being marketed as the Slayer be-all, end-all, and as a fan of their first two albums, I have to laugh at that and how little of that era they really displayed. I really don't care about seeing their recent material in a box set--in 20 years, if that's still stood the test of time, they can release another box set then! Even Slayer themselves must realize their older stuff is better; that's why they're playing "Reign In Blood" in its totality during current gigs! If you're a new fan or you really like their later stuff, this lackluster set of 4 CD-Rs and a DVD may be worth your while. But Aggressive Perfectors won't find anything here that isn't represented equally as well (or even better, in some cases) on live audio/video bootlegs. Even paying the lower price of the non-deluxe edition for some CD-Rs with only a few truly rare songs is nonsense to me. Again, whoever put this shoddy collection together could have taken a big hint from the "Eddie's Archives" box. Seeing as how they're already resting on the laurels of "Reign in Blood," it's doubtful Slayer will ever truly Kill Again. I'm somewhat saddened that this box was so long in the making, yet leaves so much old stuff still untouched in the Crypts of Eternity. Too little, too late.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great music, questionable set, January 9, 2004
By A Customer
As much as I like Slayer's music, I am a bit underwhelmed by this box set. My primary complaints are two-fold: First, I think the arrangement of the songs (i.e. 5 songs from this album, 5 songs from this album, etc.) is boring and uncreative. Couldn't they have mingled the old with the new? Couldn't they have mixed live tracks with the album tracks? Second, the unreleased material is pretty worthless. The production is terrible and I don't quite see the historical significance. The packaging is good, particularly the booklet, but a pretty package does not make a box set great. Unfortunately, this set appears to have been quickly thrown together just in time for the holidays. If you are someone just getting in to Slayer, I would not buy this set-- instead, spend your money on Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss. I have never gotten sick of any of these albums and I doubt you will either. This sloppy set though, you will get sick of.
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