Now 28 years strong, Slayer haven’t sounded this good for more than
a decade — since 1998’s underrated Diabolus in Musica. And
if you’re among the considerable constituency that doesn’t dig
Diabolus, you’ll likely find World Painted Blood their
strongest set since 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss. The thrash
gods’ 10th album is pure Slayer, still without a ballad or a single
acoustic moment. After two albums in a supporting role, guitarist Jeff
Hanneman dominates a track list that plays like a horror-movie marathon
about flaming corpses, children’s blood and overachieving serial
killers.
The six-minute title track opens the disc with a violent soundtrack
for a mob-sized scrum. Guitarist Kerry King’s “Hate Worldwide” is a
manifesto that’s unnecessary for anyone who’s been paying attention,
with lines like “I’m a godless heretic/Not a God-fearing lunatic.”
Frontman Tom Araya has long since traded high notes for a military
cadence and slower, lower, throat-shredding vocals. “It’s all about the
motherfuckin’ oil,” he barks on King’s “Americon,” the band’s most
political statement yet. Drummer Dave Lombardo is all over the kit,
playing like a hyperactive octopus. Greg Fidelman, who worked on
Metallica’s Death Magnetic, produced World Painted Blood, and no doubt could have given the new album by fellow thrashers
Megadeth some much-needed sonic grit. The thrash revival is now
officially a thrash renaissance. — D.X. Ferris
This article appears in Nov 4-10, 2009.
