World Painted Blood [Import]

Things you need to know about me. I worship Slayer from Reign in Blood to Seasons in the Abyss. Since then they have made the odd good track but nothing really has inspired me. Even last years Christ Illusion with DL back behind the drums I found it boring and I lost interest very quickly. I don't just like metal and it never bothered me too much that Slayer lost their way. I am not a blinkered Slayer fan who just likes metal so therefore is giving out 5 gold stars just because they turn up to the studio.

Things you need to know about this album. Araya gives the best vocal performance since Seasons and this is why WPB is easily their best since then, one of the main reasons why I loved Slayer was Arayas voice, it's back and I love it! Hanneman makes an effort to write excellent songs, this in turn makes Kerry King write better songs as he needs to up his game. Araya also has song writing credits, and I believe this is why this album is top-notch. Also a lot of songs they work on together just like they did on SITA. Every song maybe the age old Slayer material but here it is attacked with vitality and energy.

The production! This is under a lot of scrutiny since Mr Fieldman produced Death Magnetic. For me Death Magnetics production was inferior and I maybe no audiophille but I didn't like it at all. Funny that when I played this album (vinyl version) this was forefront of my mind. And to be honest I think I gave it too much thought which did cloud my judgment on the first few listens. Don't worry about it. Yes I have to turn my bass dial up to thicken the sound but after a few listens you start to appreciate this album for what it is. And that is Slayer on top-form. And that ladies and gentlemen is a reason to celebrate.

Ok, Ignore the negative reviews. This is Slayer's best album in years, I realise that's a cliche but they have really made the effort this time.

Their recent output hasn't been the best, God Hates us all had a few moments, Christ Illusion was pure dirt and it's fair to say my expectations for this were quite low. So it was a pleasant surprise to find myself being blown away by the album; and it hasn't left the CD player since.

The album opens with the title track; very atmospheric introduction complete with military style snare drumming (Lombardos performance throughout the album is phenomenal)before heading into more familiar thrash metal territory, however the difference here is there are a couple of quite effective groove sections before heading into a spoken word mid section, the track then picks up for the finale by revisiting the verses only this time 10 times as intense. A truely epic track at almost 6 minutes.

Unit 731 - Incredibaly fast + agressive track dealing with some scary subject matter. Musically this reminds me of some of the more punkish elements of the Reign in Blood album, the track is short and relentless.

Snuff - Another fast numbner, opening with a string of solos recalling Captor Of Sin, Verse is mid paced, along the lines of Epidemic, before the song opens up with some fantastic riffing for the chorus.

Beauty through order - this is Slayer at their most atmospheric, think Divine Intervention, Dead Skin Mask, Spill the Blood. Great clean singing from Araya and there are numerous shifts in mood and tempo in this one. I hope they make a video for this.

Hate Worldwide - Another Kerry King effort, this one recalls Black Magic and deals with familiar satanic themes. King has come in for criticism over his songwriting abilities over the years but this must rate as one of his best, the lyrics are a little silly but there is no denying the savagry of the track and the vocal delivery!

Public Display of Dismemberment - Another fast one, awesome breakdown at the 1.
50 mark! Enough said.

Human Strain - Mines territory similar to Beauty Through Order, great crunchy chorus and a very eerie mid sectionconsidering the subject matter.

Americon - One of the weakest tracks on the album, it's in similar vein to Cast Down from "God Hates Us All" musically, however it's nowhere near as bad and at less than three minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome.

Psycopathy Red - Everyones's heard this one by now, absolutely ferocious track, strongly recalling Spirit In Black and the Reign In Blood era but without sounding like a rehash.

Playing with Dolls - Another very atmospheric/eerie track, Araya again adopting clean sung vocals, very memorable chourus and deeply distrubing lyrics.

Not Of This God - The albums other filler, they could have finished out the album with Playing With Dolls, there is nothing wrong with this track per say, but it would probably be more at home on Christ Illusion.

Overall a welcome return to form, the production is awesome too. Very natural sounding. If you like Slayer this will blow you away, if not I doubt it's going to change your opinion.

No need here for a long winded, rambling review. This album is simple, pure, speed metal workout from Slayer.
This album is entertaining because there is no bull. You can put it on and just enjoy it for what it is; fast, heavy and fun. Slayer have not tried too hard to make something different and have preferred just to let themselves go and unleash their creative frustrations by creating an album which is pretty much pastiche.
Dave Lombardo is in absolutely top form and the production is excellent.
Don't expect anything different but it does exactly what it says on the tin. Superb.