Slayer - World Painted Blood 4/5

01. World Painted Blood 05:53 02. Unit 731 02:39 03. Snuff 03:42 04. Beauty Through Order 04:36 05. Hate Worldwide 02:52 06. Public Display of Dismemberment 02:34 07. Human Strain 03:09 08. Americon 03:22 09. Psychopathy Red 02:26 10. Playing with Dolls 04:13 11. Not of this God 04:20

It can’t be easy, being Slayer. They were really too good in the 80s; releasing four classic albums in a row tends to build expectation for your subsequent work. Hence the 90s were a darker time for the thrash icons, as a string of questionable releases threatened to impinge upon their legacy. Reuniting the ‘classic’ lineup in 2001 with the return of Dave Lombardo on drums was a step in the right direction, but 2006’s “Christ Illusion” left many disappointed. So, even before its release, their 10th album “World Painted Blood” had quite a burden on its shoulders.

Kerry King has stated that this is Slayer’s most diverse album since 1990’s “Seasons in the Abyss”, and from the start, definite comparisons spring to mind. Titular opener ’World Painted Blood’ is, at almost 6 minutes in length, probably the longest Slayer song that springs to mind since ’Seasons’ itself, although for the most part it gallops along at an almost frightening pace. There are also a couple of other longer songs, ‘The Human Strain’ and ‘Playing With Dolls’, which attempt a slower tempo than the band’s usual 100-mile-an-hour thrash, and even flirt with melody - the latter actually standing out as one of the album’s strongest. ‘Beauty Through Order’ perfectly showcases how this slower, more melodic approach can coexist with classic thrash-Slayer, opening at an almost sedate pace before undergoing a lycanthropic transformation and finishing at breakneck pace.

This is still Slayer though, and as such, the core of the album remains comprised of short, punchy slabs of aggression. Songs like ’Unit 731’, ’Psychopathy Red’, ’Public Display of Dismemberment’ and ’Hate Worldwide’ retain the tried-and-tested Slayer formula, fast and heavy, with machine-gun drumming and tortured, wailing guitar solos. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman are on razor-sharp form throughout. Some of the solos are frankly insane - Grammy-nominated single ‘Hate Worldwide’ features a belter, as do most of the other up-tempo numbers. What’s interesting is that they carry this performance over into the other more diverse songs I was talking about earlier - not only in terms of face-melting solos, but through good use of melody. This sterling guitar work is matched by the drums, although that kind of goes without saying; the band’s position on the existence of God is renowned, but I’d disagree - there is a God, and his name is Dave Lombardo. Fucking phenomenal.

The lyrics are the usual mix of hatred, death imagery and tired political clichés - ‘Americon’, for example, features the line “it’s all about the motherfucking oil”. I hadn’t realised I’d bought a Green Day album. Not that it matters much, given Tom Araya’s excellent delivery; on this form, he could be singing a cake recipe and it would still sound ace. Some of the credit for this may be down to Rick Rubin, who has finally rejoined the band in the producer’s booth for the first time since 1998. Presumably “Christ Illusion” producer Josh Abraham has gone back to working on loads of shit nu-metal. For the “World Painted Blood” sessions, Rubin was joined behind the mixer by Greg Fidelman, reprising the team that managed to make Metallica sound good again on “Death Magnetic”. Clearly, these are men who get results. Maybe I’m being unfair, maybe “Christ Illusion” didn’t sound that bad, but Rubin and Fidelman just manage to make the band sound more…well, more Slayer. I’m going to put it out there - I don’t think the true classic Slayer lineup really was back together until they got Dave and Rick back.

In the end though, there’s still one small problem. While “World Painted Blood” technically ticks all the boxes, has all the trademarks of standup Slayer fare, there’s still something missing. I’m not entirely sure what, exactly; it’s hard to explain. Here’s a convoluted attempt. You know when you’re at a festival, and people go around shouting “Slaaayurrr!”, with seemingly no rational motivation? Once, I was sat on the toilet at Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, you know how it is, having some quality time to myself, and a guy at the far end set off the entire row of stalls just shouting “Slaaayurrr!”. It was a strange and exhilarating experience - and that’s what Slayer, at their best, do to people. That’s what they can inspire. And there’s nothing, really, on “World Painted Blood” that makes me want to bawl the band’s name while, um, releasing the chocolate prisoner. In Belgium or otherwise. That’s really their fault for setting standards so bloody high, though - had “Hell Awaits“, “Reign in Blood”, “South of Heaven” and “Seasons in the Abyss” never been released, its possible that “World Painted Blood” would be hailed as a classic.

As I may have mentioned though, it’s Slayer. Which makes it hard to dislike. “World Painted Blood” is in many ways a difficult thing to judge, as given the obvious preconceptions about Slayer you’re always going to see the album’s merits as relative. There’s something kind of comforting about it, though - it’s so familiar, so immediately recognisable as Slayer, and it feels good to know that the band who brought us all those classic albums really is still alive. So while perhaps there isn’t a standout moment that makes you want to shout “Slaaaayurrr!”, something about the album as a whole, about what it stands for, most definitely does.

World Painted Blood is available to buy or download at Play.com

Genre : Thrash

Article by Phil Sim