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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The evolution of Slayer, September 18, 2002
Coming off the classics "Reign in Blood" and "South of Heaven," Slayer continued their evolution with "Seasons in the Abyss." This album is perhaps their most mature, combining the speed and aggression of "Reign" with the more polished approach of "South." Yet somehow, it managed to be both heavier and more melodic than its predecessors. The production is clear, the songwriting's diverse, and Hanneman and King turned in a performance that cemented their place among the best metal guitar duos. And it's also worth noting that on his last album for the band, Dave Lombardo turned in a drum performance for the ages, with precision and variety that was just mindblowing.The album fires out of the gate with the blazing "War Ensemble," which combines crushingly heavy riffing with a tempo that is fast even by Slayer standards. I like a lot of Slayer songs, but I'd have to say "War Ensemble" is in my top three. From there, the band changes things up a bit. The excellent "Spirit in Black" and "Born of Fire" are roaring speed-metal songs in the vein of the opener, but tunes like "Blood Red" and "Dead Skin Mask" slow things down to good effect. The closing title track is a great six-plus minute epic, with a terrific intro and some very haunting melodies. Tom's vocals are in my opionion at their best on this album, as he manages to occasionally do something that resembles singing without losing any of his edge. His vocals on "Dead Skin Mask" and the title track, especially, have a very eerie tone that suits the music perfectly. For fans of the older Slayer, though, there's plenty of good growling too. Lyrically, the band also showed some signs of branching out, continuing the trend started on "South." The death-and-Satan approach of Slayer's first three albums could be seen giving way to a focus on evil in general. "War Ensemble" and "Blood Red" intelligently address the destructive nature of violence and war; "Indication of triumph/the numbers that are dead" from "War Ensemble" remains one of my all-time favorite lyrics. "Dead Skin Mask" deals with the crimes of infamous killer Ed Gein, while "Expendable Youth" talks about the problem of inner-city violence. In other songs the message isn't so clear, but the lyrical content is at all times dark and oppressive, just like everything else on the album. If you don't have this album, you're missing out on an essential piece of one of metal's defining bands.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rounding out the top three.., April 20, 2001
Along with "Show No Mercy" and "Reign in Blood", this is some of Slayer's best material. The overall sound is basically the same as "Reign in Blood," but with more slower parts. Songs like "War Ensemble", "Born of Fire", and "Hallowed Point" would fit perfectly on RIB, but "Expendable Youth," "Blood Red", and "Dead Skin Mask" are much slower, and the title track is downright melodic at times. Wow, that title track is amazing. It builds up for about 2 or 3 minutes, starting with this slow, Sabbath-like riff, and then going into softer parts, and finally bursting into heaviness. There are some great vocals from Tom Araya in there too, he even almost sings softly at times. I'd say his vocals are pretty much at their best here, very hard-edged, yet listenable, and there is none of that weird squealing that seemed to run so rampant on the previous albums. He can sing, by the way, listen to their cover of Sabbath's "Hand of Doom" to hear what his "clean vocals" sound like. Besides the title track, another song really stands out here, and that is "Dead Skin Mask", a slow, bone-chilling ode to serial killer Ed Gein. The song begins with a brief monologue (I'm assuming it's Tom that does it), which is supposed to be the voice of Gein, and toward the end you hear the terrified cries of a child, which is effective in its meaning, but the cries don't sound all that believable, it could have been done better. It's still creepy though, I challenge you to listen to this song with the lights off. Those two are the best, but there are no clinkers here. I'm not sure if this is quite as good as the aforementioned Slayer albums, but I'd say that along with the vocals, the drumming is actually better. I don't think I've heard better drumming anywhere. You can go on all you want about Slipknot and their three drummers, but Dave Lombardo could outdo all three of them with one hand tied behind his back. It's just too bad he left, Paul Bostaph comes very close, but no one can match Lombardo's skill. If you are looking to buy a Slayer album, this one (along with the aforementioned ones) is a must-buy, but anything by Slayer (with the exception of "Diabolus in Musica", where they suddenly started sounding like Marilyn Manson) is worth it. Ignore my previous review where I said was not a Slayer fan. Times have changed since then, and I am definitely a fan, and always will be, even if they never stop emulating Manson. Slayer is an extremely talented band, one of the best out there, and I do not see how anyone could not recognize that. Even if you can't handle their lyrics or extreme nature, I would think you could still recognize the talent. But, I don't know. Anyway, if you love great metal, you'll surely find it here.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the top 5 best metal albums of all time, January 28, 2001
I know a lot of you Slaytanic folks think that Slayer reached the height of their career with 1986's Reign in Blood, but I personally feel this is the best cd ever put out by these thrash masters. It is also the last studio album featuring Dave Lombardo, who gives a great farewell performance.Kicking things off is War Ensemble, probably my favorite Slayer track of all time. Other faves include Spirit In Black, which is carried mainly by Daves superior drumming; Dead Skin Mask, about serial killer Ed Gein (a very creepy song, with eerie riffs and a victims voice thatll chill your bones); and the title track, which contains one of the best intros in metal history. The only flaw here is Expendable Youth, which ironically, is expendable and seemingly useless to me; it feels slower than the rest of the album. The music itself is very mature, which is quite different for Slayer, who generally sing about murder, mutilation and the like. Here they focus on war, politics, and several social ills. I feel Tom Araya reached the pinnacle of his career here; his voice is perfect. He has since lost some of his edge, but its still Tom, so it works. Kerry and Jeff deliver some blistering riffs and wild solos, which make the experience ever the more insane. And yes, that monster behind the set, Dave Lombardo, annihilates your ears with some great rythms. All in all, one of the best releases in metals history. I highly reccomend this as well as South of Heaven, Divine Intervention, and Diabolus in Musica.
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