Slayer: (Previously the World Painted Blood thread (merged))

[wolfking]

God Hates Us All is ferocious, one of my favs easily.  So many great songs from start to finish.

Also, Repentless was surprisingly excellent.

[billboy73]

Seasons and Divine Intervention will always be my favorite Slayer albums.  Bostaph kills it on DI, and there are so many great riffs!  Not a bad track on this album, but I especially love Fictional Reality, Dittohead, Killing Fields, the title track, and 213.  Just an awesome album from start to finish.

I am one that really enjoys Diabolus as well.  I loved it when it first came out and I still do.  There are a couple of clunkers on it, but for the most part it is solid.  In the Name of God is one of my favorite Slayer songs.

I like GHUA a little less than Diabolus, but it still has quite a few good tracks.  I agree though, this is where the lyrics started to get spotty (Payback).  Kerry King especially wrote some stupid stuff.

The next 3 albums don't do much for me.  There are a few things here and there, but I don't revisit these often.  I know a lot of people saw Christ Illusion as a return to form, but I could never really get into that one.

"It's all about the motherf***in' oil!" -Kerry King

[DTA]

213 is probably one of the greatest unknown Slayer songs. Such a haunting atmosphere and lyrics. Always loved that one, Killing Fields, and the title track.

[Grappler]

I have always loved Diabolus and have a lot of nostalgia for that one, since I met the band when the album came out.  They did a signing in Chicago - I called in sick to my retail job and had them sign a copy of Hell Awaits on vinyl, which I found at a store the day before.  I also pre-ordered the album from the music store to get an autographed copy of the Diabolus cd sleeve.  Drove back to the store a day later and picked up my copy.  I love knowing that I met the band and have Hanneman's autograph.  Bostaph was in the band, so it's 3 of the original members that signed my stuff. 

The music is still ferocious, especially Bitter Peace. 

Divine Intervention tends to get the least amount of plays from those classic albums, but I still enjoy it.  It would be nice to have a better production on it.  I can remember sitting at my grandma's kitchen table, doing homework after school and listening to the album on my little discman.

As for 2000's Slayer, that is when Kerry really took over with lyric-writing, so you get a bunch of clunky God-hating stuff with less nuance.  It is what it is.

[DoctorAction]

Great to hear the love for Diabolus.

That signing sounds great. Never met any of the guys.

GHUA was pretty good. Been a long time since I heard it. I put it under Diabolus. Starts very well and is mainly good but goes downhill after Bloodline for me. Payback is really something, but somehow pulls me back in. Such a bouncy chorus and combined with the atrocious lyrics it's unintentionally funny.

Back on Repentless and still enjoying it. A bit of a different beast from their other records. Somehow a bit less Slayer than all the rest but sounds really great and the energy is good. Bostaph smashes it.

Nice to be in this groove again. I got on the bus when Reign In Blood came out but dropped off after GHUA. The later stuff just didn't feel the same to me back then even though I've never stopped loving the classics. I'm a little gentler and more nostalgic for the band now so dipping back into this late period.

[Grappler]

That signing sounds great. Never met any of the guys.

It was crazy - I was 18 at the time.  Tons of metalheads screaming SLAYER over and over again, sometimes at the guys themselves.      I had no idea what to say, so I told Kerry that I liked his head tattoos.  I asked Tom to sign my album to me, so he wrote "Steve, Dude!"  He asked me if I was going to the show that night in Chicago, and I said no, I didn't have tickets.  That kinda bummed him out.  But it was a cool experience and I finally have a house with a man-cave area, so I can hang my signed collectibles. 

I have a similar attitude with God Hates Us All.  The first half is awesome, then it drops after Bloodline.  Payback is an awesome song though.  I love the DVD that they recorded on that tour (War at the Warfield). 

I felt like Repentless was a good album for them to go out on - the title track is pretty ripping and there are some other really good songs peppered throughout.

[twosuitsluke]

Just jumping in to say I love God Hates Us All. Yea the lyrics are a bit dumbed down but there's something satisfying about speeding in your car screaming...

I'm going to
Tear your fucking eyes out, rip your fucking flesh off
Beat you till you're just a fucking lifeless carcass
Fuck you and your progress, watch me fucking regress
You were made to take the fall, now you're nothing, now you're nothing.
Payback's a bitch motherfucker

Fuck it, while we're here I'll go for a full ranking...


Reign in Blood
Seasons in the Abyss
South of Heaven
God Hates Us All
Christ Illusion
Show No Mercy
Hell Awaits
Divine Intervention
Diabolus in Musica
World Painted Blood
Undisputed Attitude
Repentless

[Zantera]

I really dig the first 5 - especially the run from Hell Awaits to Seasons in the Abyss is fan-friggin-tastic. However I must admit that after that, it's kinda diminishing returns for me. It doesn't go from masterpiece to trash tier or anything but Divine Intervention is a significant drop off for me and after that it doesn't get much better even if some albums are alright.

In terms of overall discography I do appreciate that Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax kinda changed their style along the way and tried some other things. It didn't all work out but you get some variety in there and some artistic decisions that are interesting. Slayer maybe didn't have that same urge or they wanted to stay true to themselves, but for me that means you don't any really interesting albums in their last 20 years or so. But again I must reitirate that I love their classic run.

[nick_z]

Without thinking too too much, my ranking would look like this:

Seasons in the Abyss
Reign in Blood
South of Heaven
Hell Awaits
Divine Intervention
Diabolus in Musica
Show No Mercy
World Painted Blood
God Hates Us All
Christ Illusion
Repentless

Count me in as someone who appreciated Diabolus...yes, there were some things that didn't work super-well, but overall there's a vibe to it that makes it more genuinely "unsettling" than the recent stuff (which I feel goes for the evil Slayer-thingie in a more "cartoonish" way). On the other hand, I never quite connected as much with God Hates Us All, except for some songs. And I find World Painted Blood to be the best of the late-career run.