SLAYER!!!!!!!!!!

AngryByrd This is a review of South of Heaven, so if you don't want to read it, then get out!

It's sad that South of Heaven is usually considered the worst of Slayer's classic releases. This album wasn't bad, but it was just caught in between the relentlessly heavy Reign in Blood and the technical Seasons in the Abyss. South of Heaven didn't really feature anything groundbreaking, so it didn't really have as strong of a fan base as the rest of Slayer's work. But as I will explain, this album may be Slayer's best.

This album does a lot of things that Reign in Blood failed to do. For example, it is more varied. The beat of pretty much every song on RIB was just snare, snare, snare, snare, snare. South of Heaven remedies this with slower and more sinister sounding beats that foucus more on giving the songs atmosphere than being heavy. Also, there are no anti religious songs. The closest we get on this album is Read Between the Lies, which is really about how some people use Jesus to earn money. The lyrical content, beats, and guitar work are ultimately superior to Reign in Blood, and some of these things carried over to Seasons in the Abyss. One thing that might turn some people off is that South of Heaven is much softer than anything else of Slayer's, but heavier doesn't necessarily mean better, and softer doesn't mean worse.

My favorite song (and pretty much everyone's) from this album is the title track, because it is the embodiment if this album's sound. A few of my other favorites are Live Undead, Mandatory Suicide, and Spill the Blood. I like those songs because of, again, variation. Live Undead has screechy guitars, Mandatory Suicide has unusual beats and vocals, and spill the Blood makes use of an acoustic guitar. This all adds up to create what I think is the best atmosphere Slayer have ever created, and yes. I mean better than Seasons in the Abyss. My least favorite song from the album is Cleanse the Soul. Not because it's a bad song, but it just get's swallowed in a sea of other fantastic songs.

Overall, South of Heaven is superior to most of, if not all of, Slayer's other work. It is incredibly underrated, and it adds so much to Slayer's catalog. This does not mean any disrespect to the rest of Slayer's music, but this album is just generally better than so much of it. I give Slayer's classic South of Heaven an 8/10. There is a lot to love about this album, and yes. It is my favorite Slayer album. This album is worth your money, and it is fairly easy find.

Comments

I like this album - bobbythebrony

Then at least I'm not alone! - AngryByrd

I love the first five Slayer albums. But they kind of lost their style around Divine Intervention and Diabolous In Musica.

Great review of a great album! - IronSabbathPriest

Thanks! I wasn't a huge Divine Intervention fan, but it had a few good songs. Diablous in Musica was really good. God Hates Us All is actually my second favorite Slayer Album! - AngryByrd