2008 Woodie Awards
Same Old, Same Old with Slayer
Lindsey Dragun
Issue date: 9/11/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
This album will appeal to those who take comfort in the fact that Slayer has changed very little in the last 16 years, who enjoy the same themes and sounds that exist in everything save, possibly, South of Heaven (classic Slayer album originally released in 1988). Here Slayer reinforces any vision a person might have of their usual fan--a would be Satanist, dressed in black with spiked jewelry, who probably worships someone like Marilyn Manson for all the wrong reasons and thinks that metal is still alive and well.
Christ Illusion sees the return of drummer Dave Lombardo, returning Slayer to its original lineup, last featured on a record in the early 1990s. Lombardo's departure coincided with a decline in Slayer, the following albums spotted with songs that were ignorable and uninteresting, bringing each CD down in quality. While former drummer Bostaph was in no way incompetent, the combination of a new band member and increasingly bad music lead to rampant speculation and the forming of pro and anti-Bostaph factions among Slayer fans.
Lombardo's return is certainly a welcomed one: each beat, every fill, coming out exactly as it should. The rest of the music throughout Christ Illusion is adequate, with the vocals of Tom Araya improving little from the last time we head him. The other instruments continue, much like this album, to give exactly what the listeners expect, occasionally showing a bit of flare before falling back into the patterns of former albums.
This new album also has an increased emphasis on the sound of the anti-God, near-anarchistic lyrics that Slayer is known for preaching, attempting to make each grated phrase more coherent and comprehensible than the lyrics on previous albums.
The lines, often cliché, draw on imagery of violence, hatred, and pestilence to accent the pounding, churning music backing most of their tracks. While commenting on the recent wars, they're still focused on their vendetta against Christianity, the familiar metal line "Hail Satan" appears in "Skeleton Christ," while "Cult" features a chorus of "religion is hate/religion is fear/religion is war/religion is rape" and the last stanza begins with fierce claim that "there is no f*ckin' Jesus Christ."
Many of the lyrics have graphic anti-war messages spliced between hatred towards main stream religions and governmental control. This is demonstrated in the very first song on the album, "Flesh Storm," where it says "in times of war/everything is bound by pain" and "warfare knows no compassion." Slayer may have always had such views, but the recent war in the Middle East has helped create a more reasonable display of just why they can equate religion to fascism and death.
Christ Illusion may not go down as a "new classic" on the shelves of thrash metal fans, but it marks the possible beginning of a new step. Perhaps this will be enough to convince Slayer that change can be good, that over two decades of not changing is more than enough time to give fans the chance to adjust to the music and desire for something that would branch out a bit.
Christ Illusion sees the return of drummer Dave Lombardo, returning Slayer to its original lineup, last featured on a record in the early 1990s. Lombardo's departure coincided with a decline in Slayer, the following albums spotted with songs that were ignorable and uninteresting, bringing each CD down in quality. While former drummer Bostaph was in no way incompetent, the combination of a new band member and increasingly bad music lead to rampant speculation and the forming of pro and anti-Bostaph factions among Slayer fans.
Lombardo's return is certainly a welcomed one: each beat, every fill, coming out exactly as it should. The rest of the music throughout Christ Illusion is adequate, with the vocals of Tom Araya improving little from the last time we head him. The other instruments continue, much like this album, to give exactly what the listeners expect, occasionally showing a bit of flare before falling back into the patterns of former albums.
This new album also has an increased emphasis on the sound of the anti-God, near-anarchistic lyrics that Slayer is known for preaching, attempting to make each grated phrase more coherent and comprehensible than the lyrics on previous albums.
The lines, often cliché, draw on imagery of violence, hatred, and pestilence to accent the pounding, churning music backing most of their tracks. While commenting on the recent wars, they're still focused on their vendetta against Christianity, the familiar metal line "Hail Satan" appears in "Skeleton Christ," while "Cult" features a chorus of "religion is hate/religion is fear/religion is war/religion is rape" and the last stanza begins with fierce claim that "there is no f*ckin' Jesus Christ."
Many of the lyrics have graphic anti-war messages spliced between hatred towards main stream religions and governmental control. This is demonstrated in the very first song on the album, "Flesh Storm," where it says "in times of war/everything is bound by pain" and "warfare knows no compassion." Slayer may have always had such views, but the recent war in the Middle East has helped create a more reasonable display of just why they can equate religion to fascism and death.
Christ Illusion may not go down as a "new classic" on the shelves of thrash metal fans, but it marks the possible beginning of a new step. Perhaps this will be enough to convince Slayer that change can be good, that over two decades of not changing is more than enough time to give fans the chance to adjust to the music and desire for something that would branch out a bit.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
ursula
posted 9/11/06 @ 6:33 AM EST
No one cares what your opinion is shut the fuck up.
x2
posted 9/18/06 @ 7:55 AM EST
I agree.....
yyyvil
posted 10/09/06 @ 8:30 PM EST
I have been a fan of slayer since 1984 and personally I have enjoyed every release. Very rarely does any band have a release that appeals to me start to finish. (Continued…)
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