I believe it's the best Slayer album, "Reign in Blood" is the Second and then "South Of Heaven".

For me, best Slayer album. after that I stopped listening to them, just they are not worth it anymore, it hurts my ears to listen to them, this album is dividing them like Metallica "black album"...prior to that all great, after that all sucks. the same goes here, with this album, last good one.

This is personally my favourite slayer album. I mean reign in blood was fun to listen to, and south of heaven was a step up from that, but seasons of the abyss is where slayer arrived in their prime, and delivered some truly amazing songs, written straight from the soul. I mean,the opening track and the title track are amazing enough for me. perfect 10.

Never really understood all the hype about this album. I love War Ensemble and the Title Track. Other than those 2 it gets kinda boring. Probably Slayer's least heaviest. Dead Skin Mask is a good one too... All Slayer's previous albums i find to be way better than this one.

A personal favourite, in which this is an example of slayer at their most 'experimental'. I'm not saying 'reign in blood' or 'south of heaven' were that much worse, just that this one has more consistency.

Probably their 2nd best after reign in blood. The highlights are the title track, war ensemble and born of fire. But there other great songs like blood red, too. Slayer is one of my absolute favourite bands but this is really the last album which impressed me from start to finish.

SLAYERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :banger2:

Great album. I never really cared for Slayer after this album but their stuff up to that point I will always enjoy.

I've always found this album to be slightly overrated, and it's definitely the weakest of the first 5 Slayer albums. However, there are some bona fide Slayer classics on this one, including underrated gems like the awesome "Spirit In Black", and the ferocious "Born Of Fire".

Written by Angelic Storm on 01.06.2014 at 18:43

I've always found this album to be slightly overrated, and it's definitely the weakest of the first 5 Slayer albums. However, there are some bona fide Slayer classics on this one, including underrated gems like the awesome "Spirit In Black", and the ferocious "Born Of Fire".

Totally agree with everything you said there. As far as I'm concerned, aside from the definitely-not-underrated War Ensemble, Spirit in Black is the only other really good song on this album. It's really fun to play too.

As a whole, I might even like Divine Intervention better than this one.

Written by Angelic Storm on 01.06.2014 at 18:43

it's definitely the weakest of the first 5 Slayer albums.

I disagree, because I prefer "Seasons In The Abyss" to "South Of Heaven". But what makes "South Of Heaven" less good for me is more the vocals that sound weak here and there and out of place at times than the song themselves. If "South Of Heaven" would have been produced differently, I would surely enjoy it more.

Written by Mattybu on 01.06.2014 at 19:22
Totally agree with everything you said there. As far as I'm concerned, aside from the definitely-not-underrated War Ensemble, Spirit in Black is the only other really good song on this album. It's really fun to play too.

As a whole, I might even like Divine Intervention better than this one.

"War Ensemble" of course, isn't underrated, but it's certainly not overrated either. It's deservedly lauded as one of their all time classics, and is an amazing opener. "Spirit In Black" is another one of the band's greatest songs, although unlike "War Ensemble", it's definitely underrated. Funnily enough, "Decade Of Aggression" was one of the first metal albums I played along with, when I was trying to learn metal songs on my old nylon string acoustic, and also my first cheapo electric! Kerry and Jeff's wailings likely sounded like Mozart compared to my rendition of the leads back then.

Yep, I prefer "Divine Intervention" to Seasons too. It doesn't have as many blockbuster songs, but it is more cohesive.

Written by Angelic Storm on 01.06.2014 at 19:43

"Decade Of Aggression" was one of the first metal albums I played along with, when I was trying to learn metal songs on my old nylon string acoustic, and also my first cheapo electric! Kerry and Jeff's wailings likely sounded like Mozart compared to my rendition of the leads back then.

Well, everyone has to start somewhere, haha.

And as for War Ensemble, I did mean it was worthy of the attention it gets by saying it wasn't underrated. It was actually one of the first Slayer songs I heard, which probably isn't a surprising fact, but I think that was part of what attributed me to liking Seasons more back in the day (which for a young scamp like me is only about 5 years ago) than I do now. I find the title track especially boring these days.

Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.06.2014 at 19:40
I disagree, because I prefer "Seasons In The Abyss" to "South Of Heaven". But what makes "South Of Heaven" less good for me is more the vocals that sound weak here and there and out of place at times than the song themselves. If "South Of Heaven" would have been produced differently, I would surely enjoy it more.

I personally like the vocals on "South Of Heaven", but I can see why some fans might have had an issue with them, as it was the first time that Tom actually attempted to sing rather than just shout and scream. Musically, SOH is stronger than SITA, and it's more consistent. I love some of the songs on Seasons, but average fare like "Blood Red", and especially "Expendable Youth" bring the album down somewhat.

Written by Angelic Storm on 01.06.2014 at 20:17

Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.06.2014 at 19:40
I disagree, because I prefer "Seasons In The Abyss" to "South Of Heaven". But what makes "South Of Heaven" less good for me is more the vocals that sound weak here and there and out of place at times than the song themselves. If "South Of Heaven" would have been produced differently, I would surely enjoy it more.

I personally like the vocals on "South Of Heaven", but I can see why some fans might have had an issue with them, as it was the first time that Tom actually attempted to sing rather than just shout and scream. Musically, SOH is stronger than SITA, and it's more consistent. I love some of the songs on Seasons, but average fare like "Blood Red", and especially "Expendable Youth" bring the album down somewhat.

It was the first time Tom attempted to sing, yes. And I believe he wasn't comfortable with it at times and it shows here and there. Sometimes, vocals are quite fine on SOH, but at other times they are weak. It really depends on songs. If I'd take the time, I could draw a list of the songs in which I find vocals fine and the songs I think have weak vocals.
"Blood Red" is the song that could be seen as a filler on SITA. Especially as it shares similarities with "Skeletons Of Society" and I prefer the latter.

Written by Mattybu on 01.06.2014 at 20:07
Well, everyone has to start somewhere, haha.

And as for War Ensemble, I did mean it was worthy of the attention it gets by saying it wasn't underrated. It was actually one of the first Slayer songs I heard, which probably isn't a surprising fact, but I think that was part of what attributed me to liking Seasons more back in the day (which for a young scamp like me is only about 5 years ago) than I do now. I find the title track especially boring these days.

Yes, and I still own a cassette recording of one of those early "sessions" of me playing along with "Decade Of Aggression"... quite what possessed me to record that rubbish playing is anyone's guess, but at least it lets me know how far my playing has come since those days! hehe

Oh, I knew that you weren't saying that "War Ensemble" was overrated, seeing as you said it was the only really good song on the album aside from "Spirit In Black". lol I was just saying it isn't overrated despite it being one of the band's best known songs, as a statement, rather than a direct response to your opinion of it.

The first Slayer song I ever heard was "South Of Heaven", and it was a mindblowing experience for me, as I'd never heard anything that dark or aggressive before. And the last lead by Jeff terrified me, but also captivated me too. That's definitely one of my most vivid, and cherished memories, as far as listening to music goes.

Written by Lord_Regnier on 01.06.2014 at 20:29
It was the first time Tom attempted to sing, yes. And I believe he wasn't comfortable with it at times and it shows here and there. Sometimes, vocals are quite fine on SOH, but at other times they are weak. It really depends on songs. If I'd take the time, I could draw a list of the songs in which I find vocals fine and the songs I think have weak vocals.
"Blood Red" is the song that could be seen as a filler on SITA. Especially as it shares similarities with "Skeletons Of Society" and I prefer the latter.

I think I can guess at least one of the songs on which you'd find the vocals to be weak, which is "Behind The Crooked Cross". Not because I find the vocals on that song to be weak, but out of all the songs, it's the one where Tom's singing is more pronounced, and knowing your tastes. lol

"Expendable Youth" is the song which shares similarities with "Skeletons Of Society", and yep, Skeletons is definitely the superior of the two songs. "Blood Red" is a good song, but it's not up there with the album's best tracks, for me.

My personal favourite Slayer record. It contains some of the greatest songs the band ever wrote, in my opinion (such as War Ensemble, Expendable Youth, Dead Skin Mask and the title track).

Written by NocturnalStalker on 12.06.2014 at 07:03

My personal favourite Slayer record. It contains some of the greatest songs the band ever wrote, in my opinion (such as War Ensemble, Expendable Youth, Dead Skin Mask and the title track).

mine to, well before it was Ok, thrash, but after this, band died, well even not so like to not see live band, but still I think this band are overated, never have been fan boy of slayer

Written by NocturnalStalker on 12.06.2014 at 07:03

My personal favourite Slayer record. It contains some of the greatest songs the band ever wrote, in my opinion (such as War Ensemble, Expendable Youth, Dead Skin Mask and the title track).

+1
I would add Skeletons of society to this list of the album's highlights.
But you can savely spin this masterpiece from first second to last and you wont be bored for a single instant.

brutal album!!

I've always thought a dirty sludge cover of "Skeletons Of Society" would be pretty great, from like Primitive Man or Indian or something. Track seems pretty well oriented toward getting slowed down a bit and getting extra nasty.

I didn't like the vocals at first. I stayed for the awesome riffs and drumming. Now this is my second favorite Slayer album (first is Show No Mercy)
(Wow - I just noticed that my vote of 9 changed the overall MS score from a 8.9 to a 9 )
Edit: my vote is now a 10

The last great Slayer album and my second favourite after Reign In Blood.

I saw them at the Hammersmith Odeon on this tour and it's still in my top 10 best ever gigs. Phenomenal!

Written by gavdann on 17.08.2021 at 13:16

The last great Slayer album and my second favourite after Reign In Blood.

I saw them at the Hammersmith Odeon on this tour and it's still in my top 10 best ever gigs. Phenomenal!

My second favourite behind Reign In Blood favourite too.

Unfortunately I have never been lucky enough to see them live.

Slayer's 2nd best after Reign In Blood (9.7/10) and better than South of Heaven (9.0/10) IMO. And of course much, much better than anything that came after!

9.2/10 for me - 'War Ensemble', 'Dead Skin Mask' and 'Seasons In The Abyss' are the standout songs. 'Skeletons Of Society' is also great.

I can't find again where I read this, but I thought someone once posted here a comment that describes exactly why I find this album so great:

It's a melting pot of (1) faster songs that would fit on Reign In Blood like "Hallowed Point", (2) mid-tempo heavy riffs that would fit on South Of Heaven like "Skeletons of Society", and (3) slow songs that build up tension like on Hell Awaits such as "Seasons in the Abyss".

This makes it feel like a "best-of" compilation, paying tribute to their past styles and at the same time perfecting that classic Slayer sound.

Plus the production is perfect, with each guitar devoted to one ear, Araya's yells right in the center, and Dave destroying the drum kit in the back. And I love how each song flows immediately into the next - if I start listening to "War Esemble", I've gotta listen all the way to "Seasons".

Man, there're so many positives to talk about...

Written by F3ynman2000 on 11.07.2022 at 09:41

This makes it feel like a "best-of" compilation, paying tribute to their past styles and at the same time perfecting that classic Slayer sound.

I agree but probably a good indicator that they were running out of ideas and why everything went downhill rapidly afterwards.

Still a bloody great album though.

I have to agree with all that's said about this album from the above comments. As thrash metal goes this album is literally bordering on perfection! From the ferociously frantic riffing, to the insane drumming, from the downright aggressive vocals and brutal lyrics to the screaming solo's. And not a single track on this album is short of exceptional and still it's hard to believe after all that I still prefer Reign In Blood. All imho of course