| On first listening to God Hates Us All, one immediately fears a terrible regression to the Slayer who were so desperate to shock that their lyrics became nothing more than a dull catalogue of historical evil-doings and painful ways to die, and whose sound was reduced to an annoying, structure-less buzzing, lacking all weight and power. After the introductory "Darkness of Christ", the band burst into "Disciple", an enraged howl backed by a mean riff that increases in momentum till the guitars begin to blur. But, thankfully, there's a saving grace: the drums, though searingly fast in their rolls, don't attempt to out-run the over-heating guitars. Consequently, Slayer never lose control, retaining their heaviness and vitality as the tom-tom rumble of "New Faith" leads them into "Bloodline", with its chopping "Children of the Grave"-style riff and electric shriek of a solo. Here's a further improvement--Slayer's solos are always brief, brutal shudderings, often, as in ! "Here Comes The Pain", sounding like some creature being quickly killed. The vocals too are notable in their refusal to descend to a bog-standard metal grunt (such a silly affectation). Though they occasionally lapse into predictable rap & grind ("Cast Down"), Slayer and producer Matt Hyde have kept this album true to the band's raison d'etre--it's shockingly heavy. --Dominic Wills |
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