Well usually after Reign In Blood most Slayer fans will say their favorite Slayer album is one of these 2 (if they don't like them more than RIB) so I'd like to see which is preferred.
For me it's definetly Seasons. South Of Heaven is a great album but one thing kind of messed it up for me: the vocals. I think they were the weakest vocals Tom has ever done. Not to say their horrible, and they do fit the music I suppose but they bore me after a while. However the album has alot of awesome songs like South Of Heaven, Spill The Blood, Manditory Suicide...and a personal favorite of mine Behind The Crooked Cross . Seasons however was an AMAZING album from all aspects. Incredible riffs throughout, great vocals and lyrics, flawless drumming...I love it. It's right behind RIB for me. Which do you prefer??

I am a big fan of South of Heaven, simply because Mandatory Suicide is my third favorite song that Slayer has ever released. It has that incredible intro that sticks with you (along with Reign in Blood).

I vote for "Seasons In The Abyss" because it all time my fav Slayer album and I let them to vin
all songs are grear and amazing all specely "Waransable", "Seasons In The Abyss" and others great albumb, and lyrics are bether how in outher albums

South Of Heaven is my favorite album of Slayer. So, obviously it gets my vote.

@Trifixion- I have to disagree with you about Tom's vocals on South Of Heaven. I think they work just fine. They fit the album well.

I saw this post before and just to refresh (just an excuse to listen to Slayer ) I listened to both albums then.
Both are great albums and masterpieces IMO, so its a hard vote. But i think i lean a little more towards 'Seasons In The Abyss' over 'South Of Heaven' .... just. I just find the tracks on Season's to be more catchy and thrashier riffs and lyrics, not that South Of Heaven isnt but its just my personal opinion on the feel of them.

I would list my favourite tracks off Season In The Abyss, but then i'd be listing all the songs ... well i can say that with ALL slayer tracks

this was very tough for me! becouse both albums are gr8 .. . but then the scale tipped to the side of south of heaven! i mean songs like mandatory suicide and silent scream are masterpieces not to mention the song "south of heaven"

Seasons is probably my favorite album from slayer... I guess i find more variety, and more energy than South of Heaven.
My vote definately goes to Seasons, my favorite tracks are War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask, Skelitons of Society, and Seasons in the abyss.

This is a compliment to slayer, though, not many bands release three true masterpieces in a row.

This is hard because I like both of these albums, but I voted for South of Heaven. I really like Seasons in the Abyss, but I got tired of it quicker than I did with any other Slayer album, except Diabolus in Musica.

I'd have to say that South Of Heaven is the better album. Although Seasons had classic tracks like War Ensemble, Spirit In Black, Dead Skin Mask, Hallowed Point, and the title track, South had better riffs and the vocals really fit well with the album. Also, Dave Lombardo's drum performance is better in South of Heaven than it is in Seasons In The Abyss. South Of Heaven is my current favorite Slayer album. How can anyone not be amazed by classic tracks such as South Of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide, Spill The Blood, Silent Scream, Live Undead, Behind The Crooked Cross, Ghosts Of War, and Cleanse The Soul? That is almost all of the tracks, but in my opinion every track is a classic, except for Read Between The Lies. South Of heaven is a great album and Slayer dominates.

Okay call me an old grumpy fuck but I prefer South from Heaven by far because I consider Seasons in the Abyss their 90% sell-out album by incorporating way too much melody in it (I am not the only one her who sees it that way, another old fart (Soren/LordoftheMosh) on MS shares this opinion. Slayer has always been at its strongest when they went low on the melodies and just plain out thrashed instead of vying for sing-along choruses. Don't get me wrong Seasons in the Abyss is still a good album but not for Slayer standards (up to that point) IMO.

my vote went for seasons in the abyss...one of the best tharsh albums ever...Silent scream ( representative for South o Heaven), cannot compare by a long-shot with Seasons in the abyss or Dead Skin Mask...the band, but especially Kerry KIng did great on this album

South of Heaven gets my vote because it is a lot heavier than Seasons. I can see how Trifixion says that the vocals were a bit more bland on S.O.H., but that is its only downfall (if you can even call it a downfall). Someone also said that Lombardo's drumming is better on Seasons, but I'm pretty sure the only reason you think that is because the recording quality is better on Seasons, which may give the impression of weakness, but I don't think so. But overall, S.O.H. is the better album.

I like Seasonns In The Abyss better, because i like more songs on that album then South Of Heaven, but then again the good songs on South Of Heaven are better then the good songs on Seasons In the Abyss, Seasons is a better record if you look at every song, but South Of Heaven is better if you look at just individual songs, but seasons still gets my vote.

I think I changed my mind. South of Heaven always leaves me wanting more. Plus, Seasons in the Abyss has War Ensemble, which is better than any song on both those cd's.

Written by Dangerboner on 08.06.2006 at 07:23

I think I changed my mind. South of Heaven always leaves me wanting more. Plus, Seasons in the Abyss has War Ensemble, which is better than any song on both those cd's.

indeed... War Ensemble, is one of their best...awesme thrash

I voted South of Haven, but Seasons in the Abyss is a masterpiece too , I love them both (but that wasn't an option )

War Ensemble is good, but nothing captures aggression and hate more than silent scream, ghosts of war and Live Undead. South of heaven is a masterpiece, I like seasons but I dont think its as classic as South of Heaven.

South Of Heaven! It is their masterpiece. I like it way more than RIB, it is perfect.

From the goddamn good intro of 'South Of Heaven', till the very last tunes of 'Spill The Blood' it is THRASH perfection.

Mandatory Suicide
Massacre On The Frontline

Best song from those two: Seasons, more consistent album: South of Heaven.. (titletrack, Silent Scream, Mandatory Suicide, Read between the Lies, the JP cover)
Anyway both are better than Reign which is their 3rd best...
Slayer proves that slow thrash can be fantastic (Overkill does that too..)

wow though choiche.....but if i have to choose then I say seasons in the abyss

tough call - to be frank, which I prefer depends entirely upon my mood at the time.

"Seasons" has higher peaks than "South", but has deeper valleys as well. The stand out material ("War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask", "Seasons") are better, IMO, than "South's" stand out material... but "South" is stronger through and through.

To me, about five of the tracks on "Seasons" sound like filler... basically, if I had it on cassette tape, I would be listenting to the first and last songs on both sides and skipping almost all the middle tracks (outside of "Spirit in Black" which I like for both the riffs as well as self-referential lyrics pointing back to previous Slayer albums).

"South of Heaven" is a more enjoyable listen all the way through.

I'd probably give it a slight nod to "South" just because the overall strength of the album as a whole.

Well its a very hard choice to choose because both are great, but i believe that all the proficiency is revealed in South of Heaven, so i voted to it.

Seasons In The Abyss

Written by Author on 17.06.2006 at 19:34

Seasons In The Abyss

why? Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but expand and explain. I believe forum rules dictate as much.

Quote:
why? Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but expand and explain. I believe forum rules dictate as much.

Quote:
why? Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but expand and explain. I believe forum rules dictate as much.

Oh ok. Well, I'm not sure really why I prefer it...there's just a feeling I get from it, like it sounds better or something. Plus it's got Dead Skin Mask on it.

Quote:

Written by Author on 18.06.2006 at 12:20

why? Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but expand and explain. I believe forum rules dictate as much.

Oh ok. Well, I'm not sure really why I prefer it...there's just a feeling I get from it, like it sounds better or something.

lol...you like it cuz it sounds better. Well, I guess that explains it.

Alright, after several minutes of debate and discussion within myself, the vote is going to South of Heaven. Ultimately, in the end, South of Heaven is a total riff machine of an album. Seasons was also a lot more mainstream than South of Heaven too. Especially considering that they did their first 2 videos from the album. But don't get me wrong. Seasons has some really excellent songs like Hallowed Point, Born of Fire and Spirit In Black, but I don't think they can hold up too well against Ghosts Of War, Live Undead, Silent Scream and Cleanse the Soul. Another reason why South of Heaven holds appeal for me is the direction they chose to approach it from. They could have easily ridden the coattails of Reign in Blood and done the same exact album again, (and let's face it, that probably could have worked) but they took a more methodical approach instead of just an all out assault. Seasons was a much more "safe" album than South of Heaven. And for that reason more than any other is why I prefer South of Heaven.

Written by Author on 23.06.2006 at 12:15

Alright, after several minutes of debate and discussion within myself, the vote is going to South of Heaven. Ultimately, in the end, South of Heaven is a total riff machine of an album. Seasons was also a lot more mainstream than South of Heaven too. Especially considering that they did their first 2 videos from the album. But don't get me wrong. Seasons has some really excellent songs like Hallowed Point, Born of Fire and Spirit In Black, but I don't think they can hold up too well against Ghosts Of War, Live Undead, Silent Scream and Cleanse the Soul. Another reason why South of Heaven holds appeal for me is the direction they chose to approach it from. They could have easily ridden the coattails of Reign in Blood and done the same exact album again, (and let's face it, that probably could have worked) but they took a more methodical approach instead of just an all out assault. Seasons was a much more "safe" album than South of Heaven. And for that reason more than any other is why I prefer South of Heaven.

I agree. They almost "took a chance" with South of Heaven. South of Heaven was a slower album. They also used some undistorted guitars and changed the vocal style a little. Trifixion said that he feels they were weaker on this album, but I quite enjoy them (as I mentioned earlier). I give Slayer credit for making an album like South of Heaven. As you said, they could have made a "Reign in Blood, Part II", but decided to try something new.

The 2 albums are great but i go with seasons in the abyss.