Slayer - Reign In Blood (1986)

No-one saw it coming, the greatest thrash album of all time, one of the most important records of all time, the heaviest, blackest, bloodiest, fastest most graphic portrayal of Hell ever submitted to venomous vinyl.
After the commendable 'Hell Awaits' this was a shock to every system, it blew the doors open and reduced the building to rubble as fans waded in crimson through the gory streets to lap up the ooze being shed by those who were not worthy of such a horrific mantle. 'Reign In Blood' could well be the greatest, most hateful heavy metal album of all time, and yet it runs for under half an hour, yet scowls with demonic arrogance and swagger, is contorted by the maniacal solo's and bludgeoned by the riffs, it's heavy, fast, brutal, hateful, vicious, real, primal yet light years ahead of its time, from its hellish cover art, a disturbing vision into the bloody rivers of the underworld where victims drown in red waters as demonic, obscene and dark figures lift the goat-headed lord through the quagmire of such a dank dungeon of evil. It's a despicable record, something which every extreme album must stand alongside, an album which put Slayer into their own nauseating vacuum, a domain where impaled bodies drip from the walls, skulls crack under foot, eerie wails and screams permeate the foul air and death heaves and slithers.
There's not a lot that hasn't been said about this masterpiece, so I'll not ramble on about the evil genius that was created on this opus.
'Angel Of Death', lyrically and musically Hanneman's finest insight into the horrors of this decrepit world, Araya screaming the chorus like some mocking demi-god revelling in the sadistic world he has created, King's solo's, haywire, flying in and around Lombardo's tribal drumbeats which echo around the walls, almost beckoning some unseen force. You're left gagging, vomiting, shaking by the violent force of 'Angel...', the greatest thrash song of all time that swiftly moves into 'Piece By Piece', this time Kerry King handles the reins, a short, choppy blast of wicked lyrics that bursts into 'Necrophobic', a super-fast, full throttle Hanneman/King composition that screams gore, guts, death, pain, anguish, torture, never letting you catch a breath before the Antichrist is summoned once again, a shadowy presence forming into 'Altar Of Sacrifice', Araya bellowing the immortal line, "Enter the realm of Satan!", only Slayer could get away with it. The listener by this time caught up in an extreme storm where flesh slops up against the walls, blood seeps from the eyes and all manner of horrific visions bleed into the human psyche, as cynical 'Jesus Saves' blasts in, 'Criminally Insane' effortlessly bewilders and terrifies, 'Reborn' mutates, fornicates with the dead and crashes into 'Epidemic', by t time you're being thrown around the room, blood pouring from every orifice, ears battered by Lombardo's machine gun drumming which reverberates through the speakers, Araya's messages are deranged prophecies, sickening commentaries, 'Postmortem' flays the skin, "Do you want to die!", they ask of you...and as you fall to the floor, hoping the nightmare is over, the sky opens, red rain begins to shower down, and 'Raining Blood' stands tall, leering down, full of disease and filth and arrogance, a brooding, scowling killer...and then it's over...the needle lifts and there's silence, but you realised you've just witnessed the most aggressive record ever made, and you're glad you were there.
'Reign In Blood' was a moment in time, and remains so, embedded in history, for all to experience and to know that these kind of things are unique, one-off fleeting pieces that can never be surpassed or fully appreciated unless you were there.
10/10