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Slayer - Christ Illusion
2006 Def American Recordings
Track
Listing:
1. Flesh Storm
2. Catalyst
3. Eyes Of The Insane
4. Jihad
5. Skeleton Christ
6. Consfearacy
7. Catatonic
8. Black Serenade
9. Cult
10. Supremist
Line-Up:
Vocals:
Tom Araya
Guitars: Kerry King, Jeff
Hanneman
Bass: Tom Araya
Drums: Dave
Lombardo
Website: www.slayer.net Skin
Splitter's Rating: B
Horatio's Rating: A+
Overall Rating: A-
Also be sure to read:
Slayer
- Decade Of Aggression by Horatio
Slayer - Diabolus In Musica by
Horatio
Slayer - Divine Intervention by
Horatio
Slayer - God Hates Us All by
Horatio
Slayer - Reign In Blood by Horatio
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
by Uncle Meat
Slayer - Show No Mercy by Uncle Meat
& Shev
Slayer - Undisputed Attitude by
Horatio
Fantômas - Suspended Animation
by Lamp
Grip Inc. - The Power of
Inner Strength by Horatio
Straight To Hell: A
Tribute To Slayer by Shev |
Horatio's Review:
Waiting five years for Slayer to produce new music you tend to watch your own life fly by, wondering if the band are content to tour forever as a hits band instead of creating anything meaningful ever again.
But this is the notorious agenda of King and co, when you're as worshipped and coveted as
Slayer it simply isn't possible to rattle off new albums every other year.
It has to be carefully considered and created, as members of the band wait for each other to come up with new material so they can laze about presumably and bid on WW2 memorabilia on
eBay, as King and Hanneman attempt to outbid each other on an SS bayonet.
Thankfully 'Christ Illusion' provides us with Slayer at their finest, considerable proof that when they get their acts together there is not a finer thrash, or metal band that exists.
Still I don't want to be 37 when they decide to record again.
This is without exaggeration the fastest album since 'Reign In Blood', and inspired perhaps by the return of Dave Lombardo, who as he did from
'Show No Mercy' to 'Seasons In The Abyss' provides arguably the finest thrash drumming in the genre.
It gives Slayer back the sound they lost when he left in 1992, and traces of the
band's music from decades past rears itself occasionally, as early as brutal opener
'Flesh Storm' with it's monstrous intro that careers into savage speed and fury that
Slayer trademarked back in 1986. The overall sound still beckons to
'God Hates Us All', but as classic as that was you won't find many complaints.
It is simply evolution Slayer style. Not that the themes have evolved and ever will.
War, terrorism, warped Christian beliefs, political subterfuge. For a bunch of men in their forties to still be rallying against such things, they must truly believe in them.
At least Araya is spared another necrophilia outburst, although 'Black
Serenade' furthers his serial killer fetish.
'Supremist', 'Jihad', 'Cult', 'Consfearacy' and
'Catalyst' are examples of timeless Slayer thrash among others and lay waste to all other acts new and old pursuing the same direction.
The riffs are more aggressive than ever, and turned up loud to maximum capacity are incomprehensible in their effect.
Essentially this a Kerry King solo album which explains its superiority, the great man writing seven of the ten tracks.
Where Slayer also succeed is creating new tracks that easily fit in to their live set and are songs you want to hear in a live setting also.
To still be producing music this heavy 23 years into a recording career is staggering.
Nay sayers will surely exist but to those who know, this is vintage Slayer and a chilling statement of their ongoing project into clinical thrash.
Take advantage of it. It won't last forever.
Song summaries:
1. Flesh Storm - Slayer's track record of classic openers remains intact with a blast that equals
'War Ensemble' during the opening bars, with King informing us 'violence is a way of life'.
For him. And me. 'Killing's in style' he muses, before rightfully concluding, 'there is no future, the world is dead, so save that last bullet for your head'.
Good advice Kerry.
2. Catalyst - Kerry is adamant he is a man with few peers:
'I live for competition...I am the culmination, setting the standard all others will follow!'
Another thrasher, praise be son. 'Attitude is my addiction, I live life with no regret!'
Not even for 'Undisputed Attitude'?
3. Skeleton Christ - King denounces Christianity, they'll never touch or see him.
'Hail Satan!' screams Tom through Kerry. More thrash which owes much to
'God Hates Us All's sound. 'I've seen the ways of God, I'll take the devil any day!'
4. Eyes Of The Insane - As this an Araya/Hanneman composition
its automatically slower, a tribute to demented veterans haunted by the drudgery and horror of war.
'These thoughts of mutilated faces, completely possessed....death's riding, he's coming for me!'
Well handled with no subtlety whatsoever, not that there is any in a warzone.
You'd think Slayer themselves had been in the Gulf War crisis with their observations.
The closest they've come is Wellington Town Hall in 1995 when faced by a shirtless, short wearing ex-Kiwi vet covered in sweat staring them down.
From the fiftieth row.
5. Jihad - The opening bars are unique, trying to evoke a middle eastern vibe before descending into a stop/start thrasher which contains riffs twisted and sickening, threatening their own holy war.
The more I listen to the whole album I'm convinced it's among their best ever.
Someone once said 'Seasons In the Abyss' was music to die for.
This is worth killing for.
6. Consfearacy - Kerry King is the songwriter of our times.
The steps he took on 'God Hates Us All' are furthered on this attack on our putrid government, a piece of thrash that combines every era of
Slayer into one. At once you can hear 'Reign in Blood',
'Seasons' , 'Divine Intervention' and the last two all melted into a pool of hate and heaviness that
will never be matched. 'I hate the shit economy, it might as well be sodomy' yells King in one of his best observations yet.
He knows the reality, 'I know that in the end, I'm expected to pretend.'
Somehow King has become champion for the working stiff like you and I.
7. Catatonic - King dissolves into serial killer mode, as he feels 'exhilarated keeping pieces of you near'.
Sounds like a 'God Hates Us All' reject, half paced, and by the numbers, easily the only non essential track, but still unflinchingly heavy.
It could be Araya wrote it but King saved him the shame and put his name to it.
8. Black Serenade - Hanneman and Araya pool their resources into this serial killer piece which after more mid-paced theatrics warps into thrash of the highest order,
'Reign In Blood'-like to be exact. The riffs are scathing and despicable, proving none of
Slayer's ugliness has been lost.
9. Cult - King's assault continues with yet more vintage thrash again taking Christians to task, 'religion's obscure,
religion's a whore!.....I've made my choice six six six!' The icing has to be 'the target's fucking Jesus Christ, I would have led the sacrifice, and nailed him to the crucifix'.
As King states those believing overtly in the faith are weak and cant deal with their own problems personally.
Therefore 'there was no Jesus Christ, there never was a sacrifice!'.
10. Supremist - Lombardo's job though the entire album is perfect, and here he is allowed room to experiment with what sounds like a blast beat, a
Slayer first surely! King unfurls further war on Jesus with speed heaped on more speed.
You know King's irate as this is the most consistent speed Slayer have used in five years.
Typically reviews circulating of 'Christ Illusion' point it as more of the same and weak.
Who are these people? Did they hear the breakdown at the 2:05 point of this track?
It comes out of nowhere, impossible to grasp, annihilation. Twenty five years in and still pummeling like no other.
Horatio's Rating:
A+
Skin Splitter's Review:
For Slayer it has been too long. Five years in fact, and after the
performance of God Hates Us All, every Slayer fan has been waiting patiently for them
to take the reign of metal saviors back from such bands as Lamb Of
God, In Flames, and the like. Combine that with the re-addition of Lombardo on
drums and song titles as Jihad and Cult, this album has an
impossible expectation of nothing less than changing the metal world as
Reign In Blood once did.
Unfortunately, this
album falls short on a few levels. Don't get me wrong it's a great album (and will be getting a favorable rating) but it just does not live
up to the impossible expectation. Lombardo is just giving his ultimate
disrespect to the skins, as usual, but the guitar riffs just cannot keep up
with him. If you are looking for early Slayer style, stick to the songs,
Flesh Storm, Catalyst, Consfearacy, and Supremist
(Supremist also has a death metal drum effect to it). They are the only ones that can compare, and even
then Flesh Storm is a little slow for Slayer.
With the subtraction of speed comes the usual trick of
down tuning the guitars and coming up with some catchy riffs. Once again
Slayer provides some pretty entertaining ones. Two minutes into
Skeleton Christ, you will know what I'm talking about. The same riffs they have used
for 20 years, just tuned down and played slower for more of an effect.
Add Lombardo's double bass following the riff note-for-note and you have
the standard formula for a Slayer song after Seasons In
The Abyss. This tells me that they have progressed as musicians (or gotten too old for speed).
In the old days, it didn't matter what you played, it was just speed, speed,
speed (which every Slayer fan LOVED). Now, they take a step back and
think about which note to play next. This creates the love/hate relationship
that some fans have with Slayer. Some would say that without the speed,
Slayer are shit and they never had a decent album after Seasons
In The Abyss. Some would say God Hates Us All was a rejuvenation for
Slayer. I personally don't care. Slayer is Slayer.
But I digress... If you like the new sound of Slayer such as
"Bloodlines" or most of God Hates Us All, then I
would suggest the songs Skeleton Christ, Catatonic, Black
Serenade, and Cult. I never listen to Slayer's words because they are usually about
sleeping with the dead or something political. So, I don't even bother.
I just sit back and enjoy the music.
This is a solid record throughout with the exception of one song.
Eyes Of The Insane is the worst thing they have ever written.
This song sounds like they stole the riff from Machine Head's Burn
My Eyes, then used their standard squeal solo and called it a day.
Definitely not a song I would EVER want to hear from them after a five year
break, and as I said before, this is a solid album and it is Slayer.
But after five years, it just doesn't live up to the expectation that I thought this album would be.
So, whatever Slayer fan you are, pick your favorite four songs and just listen to them and
think of the positive, at least you're not stuck with one song to choose
from.
Skin Splitter's Rating: B
Discography (last updated 8.29.06):
Show No Mercy - 1983
Haunting The Chapel EP - 1984
Live Undead - 1984
Hell Awaits - 1985
Reign In Blood - 1986
South Of Heaven - 1988
Seasons In The Abyss - 1990
Decade Of Aggression - 1991
Divine Intervention - 1994
Live Intrusion EP - 1995
Serenity In Murder EP - 1995
split 7" with T.S.O.L. - 1996
Undisputed Attitude - 1996
Diabolus In Musica - 1998
Ubernoise: The Interview - 1998
God Hates Us All - 2001
Soundtrack To The Apocalypse box - 2003
Christ Illusion - 2006
Cult 7" single - 2006
Eternal Pyre EP - 2006
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