World Painted Blood

Of the "big four" original thrash bands (the other three being Metallica; Anthrax; and Megadeth), Slayer was the least compromising and most consistent...

As such, 'World Painted Blood' (the outfit's 10th studio effort) recalls more than the title of Slayer's 1986 masterpiece, 'Reign in Blood'; it shares that earlier album's ferocious aggression and trademark speed metal-meets-hardcore too. Throughout, the sound is lean & mean, with bassist / singer Tom Araya's vocals mixed relatively dry + upfront, giving the album a bracing, fist-to-the-face force.

Jackhammer tracks such as "Hate Worldwide" & "Psychopathy Red" are short, no muss-no fuss blasts of double kick drum (courtesy of the legendary Dave Lombardo), minor key-riffing fury, with an unrelenting intensity that requires little in the way of sonic or textural variation. The title track, on the other hand, is a somewhat slower dose of classic chugga-chugga head-banging, which showcases Kerry King + Jeff Hanneman's shrieking, emotive guitar work.

Remaining true to Slayer's defiantly old school sound, 'World Painted Blood' carries the torch for pure thrash.