SLAYER — South of Heaven (review)

Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal

5/5 · 2024-12-19
UMUR

"South of Heaven" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Slayer. The album was released through Def Jam Recordings in July 1988. It´s the successor to "Reign in Blood" from 1986 and like the predecessor "South of Heaven" was also produced by Rick Rubin. Following up an album like "Reign in Blood (1986)", which was an instant classic upon release and greatly boosted Slayer´s profile on the scene, was always going to be difficult if not downright impossible, so Slayer had discussions among themselves about where to go from there and they made a conscious decision not to make "Reign in Blood" part 2.

So while "South of Heaven" sounds unmistakably like Slayer, it´s a completely different sounding album to its direct predecessor. "South of Heaven" features a less heavy, raw, and abrasive sounding production to it´s predecessor, but the less savage power also means the sound production on "South of Heaven" is more clear and detailed than the sound production on "Reign in Blood". It´s just a completely different listening experience, and it´s understandable why some fans felt that "South of Heaven" packed a lot less punch than what they were used to hearing from Slayer.

It´s not only the sound production which makes "South of Heaven" different from the preceding Slayer releases, the songwriting is also quite different. The tracks are more varied, there are hints of melody (even some clean guitars on closing track "Spill the Blood"), and lead vocalist/bassist Tom Araya even sings a few lines in addition to his usual raw shouted vocals. Of course Slayer is still Slayer, and you won´t find any sweet lullabies or mainstream tendencies on "South of Heaven", which is still a highly aggressive, furiously fast-paced, and brutal thrash metal release.

Slayer haven´t scaled down on their controversial lyrics either, and right from the opening title track the listener is treated to anti-christian lyrics, and other subjects on the album include murder, violence and war. Highlights include the title track, "Mandatory Suicide", and "Silent Scream", but some of my personal favorites are "Behind the Crooked Cross" (about soldiers forced to fight for the Nazis during world war II), "Read Between the Lies", and the absolutely brilliant "Live Undead". The latter features a head scratching number of trade-off guitar solos, tempo changes, and riffs. Crazy track that one...

...I always felt the cover of "Dissident Aggressor" by Judas Priest was the least interesting track on the album, but I´ve come to appreciate even that song over the years. Performance wise Slayer are a force to be reckoned with. Fast-paced thrash riffs (and heavy ones too), blistering screaming guitar solos, great powerful and organic drumming by Dave Lombardo, and the distinct sounding and unique raw vocals by Araya in front. At this point they were an incredibly tight playing unit and very few contemporaries were able to match their level of intensity and extremity, while still producing memorable material. Because that is one of Slayer´s greatest assets. Producing really extreme music that you are still able to remember and scream along to.

So while "South of Heaven" is probably the least extreme Slayer album (along with the debut album, which also features hints of melody), it still packs a punch and sounds unmistakably like Slayer. It´s an incredibly bold release considering how relatively different it sounds to "Reign in Blood", and they could have risked that their fans had turned their backs on them, but that´s not at all what happened. Instead the fans embraced the new sound, or at least grew to appreciate it and respect the fact that Slayer did not want to stagnate, and it ultimately enabled Slayer to continue to further build upon their already considerable high level of artistic and commercial success. A 5 star (100%) rating is fully deserved.