Reign in Blood

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Reign in Blood is a thrash metal album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music) through Def Jam Records (later re-released on Rubin's Def American/American Recordings).

1 Significance
2 Production and marketing
3 Track listing
4 Personnel
5 Chart position
- 5.1 Album

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Significance

The record is regarded by many critics as one of the most influential and extreme heavy metal albums of all time. The album's influence has been most pronounced on the American death metal scene which developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, though it is also a seminal album of the speed metal genre.

The album's lyrics are almost unprecedented in their depictions of graphic violence and dark themes. The music is more abrasive and faster than any of the previous music that had been released by the band up to that point in time. It's release helped to push the gap between Thrash metal and its predecessor, Punk music, even further than it had been before.

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Production and marketing

Produced by Rick Rubin, Reign in Blood largely abandoned the prog-influenced stylings of Hell Awaits in favour of quick, aggressive rhythms. The total runtime of the album is just under half an hour.

Columbia Records refused to distribute the album but Geffen Records picked it up.</p>

The album relies heavily upon the band's two guitarists, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman to fill every moment of the album with rapid guitar playing and multiple solos right on top of one another. They switch roles frequently throughout the album, one playing lead and the other playing rhythm guitar. The two musicians create the 'dueling solos' effect almost effortlessly.

Reign in Blood peaked at #94 on Billboard's (North America) Billboard 200 albums chart. It was named as the "No. 1 Thrash Metal Album of All Time" by Kerrang! magazine. It was also ranked 3rd in Guitar Player Magazines top 20 metal guitar albums issue. In 2001 Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time. "Raining Blood" was covered by Tori Amos on 2001's Strange Little Girls and by Paul Gilbert's side-project, Malevolent Creation in 2004. In 2005, Erik Hinds covered the entire album on solo H'arpeggione. Also in 2005, numerous Hardcore bands covered the entire album and called it "Cover In Blood"

Reign in Blood is also considered as part of the Unholy Trinity of 1986, along with Kreator - Pleasure to Kill and Dark Angel - Darkness Descends.

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Track listing

"Angel of Death" (Hanneman) - 4:50
"Piece by Piece" (King) - 2:02
"Necrophobic" (Hanneman/King) - 1:38
"Altar of Sacrifice" (Hanneman/King) - 2:49
"Jesus Saves" (Hanneman/King) - 2:49
"Criminally Insane" (Hanneman/King) - 2:13
"Reborn" (Hanneman/King) - 2:20
"Epidemic" (Hanneman/King) - 2:12
"Postmortem" (Hanneman) - 2:44
"Raining Blood" (Hanneman/King) - 4:17

The re-issue added "Aggressive Perfector" and "Criminally Insane (Remix)".

Early CD pressings incorrectly set the beginning of track 10 to the blank pause in "Postmortem" and eventually leading into "Raining Blood". This was corrected on future releases, starting at the thunder clap.

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