SLAYER: REIGN IN BLOOD

Slayer's "Reign in Blood" (1986) is one of the most influential and powerful thrash/speed metal albums ever recorded. It is full of blindingly fast tempos, blazing, evil riffs and mid-paced sinister grooves. The vocals and morbid lyrics are delivered with a malicious intensity. The fast, seemingly atonal and out of left field guitar solos sound as if they came from hell itself. Not quite as morbidly melodic and addictive as their 1988 follow up album "South of Heaven" (my personal favorite) it packs a lethal punch just the same. "Reign in Blood" is an album that helped spawned the genre of death metal, and it is still widely imitated today. All tracks are great, bleeding together in a blinding burst of speed. Before you know it, it's over and you want to play it again. Highly recommended. Here's "Angel of Death", one of my favorite songs from the CD. Enjoy.

SLAYER'S "SOUTH OF HEAVEN"

Slayer's South of Heaven"(1988). This the first really heavy metal album that I bought as a teenager. Even to this day, twenty one years later, it holds up to repeated listenings and never sounds old. In fact, "South of Heaven", along with White Zombie's "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1" is my favorite heavy metal album of all time. Slowing things down a tad after their speed metal masterpiece "Reign In Blood"(1986), Slayer lets things breathe a little more on "South of Heaven". Evil, pervasive grooves abound courtesy of the excellent drumming of Dave Lombardo, and there is a bit more melody than on their previous efforts. There is an unrelenting sinister vibe on this album that never lets up. Combine that with the insane, atonal, hellish trademark Kerry King/Jeff Hanneman guitar solos and insane, shock filled lyrics & vocals of Tom Araya that are much more intelligible than on previous works and you have the perfect metal album. This is the way metal should be: unpretentious and chock full of evil grooves.

Here's the opening track "South of Heaven"...


...and here's "Behind the Crooked Cross".

CORONER'S "NO MORE COLOR"

Coroner are a highly innovative progressive thrash/speed metal band that peaked in the late '80's/early '90's. Their sound is vicious and heavy, with blazing tempos, bizarre chords and tunings, and desperate, lost in a vortex vocals. Their music gives you the feeling of being lost in a cold, mechanical world that is spinning out of control. Their influence is far reaching. It is especially heard in the music of industrial metal bands Ministry and Skrew. Their best album is "No More Color". It is a stark, pleading piece of desperation and hopelessness. From beginning to end it punishes you, with songs such as "No Need to Be Human" and "Tunnel of Pain". You will not walk away from this album in a better mood, but you will want to come back for more again and again.

Coroner was one of those bands that pushed metal outside of it's limits, almost into the realm of art-rock. They were too strange to make it big in the thriving metal scene of their time. They sustained themselves throughout their career on a small but loyal cult following.

Give "No More Color" a try. You won't be disappointed.

Here's "Read My Scars" and "Die By My Hand" from "No More Color".

Read My Scars - Coroner

Die by My Hand - Coroner