Straight To Hell:  A Tribute To Slayer
1999 Deadline
by Shev

Quick Summary:
Yet another tribute album.  These things actually seem to breed, and soon enough there will be more tribute albums for Slayer than actual Slayer albums themselves.  Well, at the very least this tribute album, good or bad, can say that it stands out from the rest.  Instead of just having one musical genre cover Slayer, they grab a handful of death metal bands, a handful of industrial bands, and then mix them all up on the CD.  The result is more of a grab bag feel, but at least one that can stand up against the test of time.

The production on these songs is actually fantastic for the most part (even though they kick things off with Brutal Truth), but the major drawback comes from the fact that the death metal end of things sounds more like the bands trying to cover Slayer note for note, while the industrial end of things are actually trying to give the songs their own flavor.  I have no problem either way, however it would have been nice to structure the tracks for a more consistent feel rather than a jumbled mess.  Maybe do something like have the note-for-note covers at the beginning, and then slowly progress towards the industrial flavored material.  Overall, there are only three covers here that were completely ruined, and there is no fear of the dreaded Tori Amos-style mangled cover.  For fans of tributes and Slayer who are into both industrial and death metal, I would go so far as to say this is a "must buy".

Website:  www.slayer.net

Song Summaries:

1. Brutal Truth - Necrophobic - I normally love Brutal Truth, but they just ruined a great Slayer song by speeding through it haphazardly.  The solo is decent in a Brutal Truth way, but that's about it.  D
2. Abbadon Of Venom - South Of Heaven - Musically a great effort with the obvious hats off to the drumming.  The downfall comes from the Prong-like vocals.  C+
3. The Electric Hellfire Club - South Of Heaven - Two South Of Heaven covers in a row?  Who was the genius that decided this?  Good Electric Hellfire Club-style cover regardless.  B
4. Hypocrisy - Black Magic - Hypocrisy are great musicians and do the song justice with the exception of the attempted high pitched screams.  A
5. Hecate Enthroned - Altar Of Sacrifice - I've always considered Altar Of Sacrifice to be one of Slayer's most boring and generic songs, so it came as no surprise that Hecate Enthroned would cover it.  They do a decent job of adding their own style of dusky gloom to it.  B-
6. Mortician - Peace by Peace - Total crap.  Mortician has no business covering Slayer.  F
7. Chapter 7 - Mandatory Suicide - I can appreciate bands like Chapter 7 adding their own fashion to the songs, but those electro-drums are laughable at best.  Also take points off for sampling Slayer in a Slayer cover song.  C-
8. Jungle Rot - Fight Till Death - Jungle Rot, normally strangers to things like creativity and originality, pull off one of the best all time Slayer covers.  A
9. Gigantor - Behind The Crooked Cross - Even though I loathe Gigantor, they managed to turn Behind The Crooked Cross into a mostly punk cover.  Overall product is groovy, and would like to see more bands so this compared to covering songs note for note.  A
10. Naked Lunch - Blood Red - Blood Red is one of my top five favorite Slayer songs.  Naked Lunch transformed it into an annoying, industrial mess.  Thanks for nothing.  F
11. Brood - Angel Of Death - Not a bad cover by any means, however they destroy the slow part with some goth rock industrial electric whine, then use it through the rest of the song.  Doesn't get fast and furious until the 3:11 mark where it explodes for close to a minute.  C+
12. Dissention - Anti-Christ - Can Dissection do any wrong in the first place?  Actually, the vocals didn't even attempt to mimic Araya's which really adds to this song in the original.  Still a first-rate cover.  A
13. Embraze - Chemical Warfare - Terrific job by the guitars and drums.  Almost too good.  Except for the extra emphasis on the drumming, it sounds spot on like Slayer except for the piss poor vocals.  B

Average Song Rating:  B-
Overall Album Rating:  B-

Also be sure to read:
Slayer - Christ Illusion by Skin Splitter & Horatio
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
Slayer - Show No Mercy by Shev
Slayer - Undisputed Attitude by Horatio
Grip Inc. - The Power Of Inner Strength by Horatio
Hypocrisy - Into The Abyss by Uncle Meat
Hypocrisy - Virus by Follow The Hollow
Mortician - Domain Of Death by Shev