World Painted Blood is the best album to come from the Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) since the 1990s. That's not saying much, as their prime was the 1980s. Since then, three of those bands flailed about: Metallica went the radio route, Megadeth tried to do the same, and Anthrax turned to hard rock. Slayer, on the other hand, remained Slayer. They kept their core ingredients: spiky tonalities, no-frills thrash laced with punk, and lyrical obsessions with serial murderers and blasphemy. But after 1990's Seasons in the Abyss, the Slayer team underwent turmoil. Drummer Dave Lombardo left, producer Rick Rubin reduced his participation to executive production, and cover artist Larry Carroll didn't get called back. The band fell off for several albums, generating a few great songs and a lot of filler. The return of Lombardo on 2006's Christ Illusion helped right the band somewhat.
Now Slayer are fully functioning again-- and it's hard to believe that a 27-year-old band can be this intense. World Painted Blood races through 11 tracks in 40 almost fat-free minutes. Slayer haven't written a great slow song since "Seasons in the Abyss", but the few that are here break up the album nicely. The rest of the record is fast and finely controlled. Hooks peek through often, and the interplay between guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman is lively. Their trademark whinnying-horse solos are intact, and Lombardo still pushes the beat hard. "Unit 731" features some of his best drumming ever, with delightfully crackling fills. An extremely dry mix practically brings the listener into the room next to the band. This performance aspect is crucial to Slayer's success. Unlike, Metallica, whose drummer Lars Ulrich is inconsistent live, or Megadeth, who have settled into a monotonous precision, Slayer have retained their organic energy. They are one of the most electrifying musical units working today.
This upfront sound is double-edged, however. It's thrilling to hear the band in such close audio quarters. But as a result, it loses some mystique. The production quirks of past albums helped give Slayer an aura. Hell Awaits, for example, indeed sounded hellish due to an excess of reverb. The tedious sludge of Diabolus in Musica had a certain charm. Although Rick Rubin's production on Slayer's classic trilogy (Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss) was dry, the songs still had a smoke-rising-in-the-distance quality. Now the band is aurally inches away from one's face. Additionally, the band has turned its attention from the underworld to the real world. "Americon", for example, condemns the U.S.' blood-for-oil foreign policy. Slayer being timely is not Slayer being timeless. But the way they're still playing, they sure sound like it.
