Review of Reign in Blood by Slayer *****

The Most Important Metal Album Since Black Sabbath

This single album influenced more musicians than any other album I know of.  Probably hundreds of bands sprung up trying to play music in this style, which is really like Venom on steroids.   And, though the music is aggressive, a musician should be able to appreciate it for its talent.  There are entire record labels that came to specialize in this style of music, and of course Venom are bastards of a songs like Children of the Grave by Black Sabbath.  We all get our ideas from somewhere!  However, Venom is nowhere near as good as this album.  I find no weakness on Reign in Blood, though some tracks are better than others.  My favorite use of this album is to listen to it from start to finish!  Angel of Death, and Raining Blood are standards in the genre.  Sure, there have been albums put out since it that have been better, but it was an original in its time, and nearly impossible to compare anything to it in greatness.  My favorite review of this album actually came from a guitar magazine well over 10 years ago that said something like, “Reign in Blood burns with the intensity of 10,000 suns.”