Slayer
God Hates Us All
American
He sure hates Slayer•
This must be the most primitive Slayer album in their history. The trademark evil guitars are downright ostentatious, without a doubt, but they•re covered in an industrial (not the music) noise that•s almost post-nuclear. The elements of 21st-century psychedelic techno are terrifying; I just caught an image of Slayer•s origin in a time machine laboratory, circa 2081, practicing prior to being sent back•
This is the scream of Satan as he•s thrown into the lake of fire, not just a call for help, but the agony that•s within, a hatred of hell and earth. It seems that all the songs are of a Christian theme – um, make that an anti-Christian theme. Dads out there, if this album appears in your kid•s collection, you only have yourselves to blame. “New Faith” explains that “I keep the bible in a pool of blood… Force-fed prophecy from the book of lies.” Lyrics that a lot of death metal bands could produce, but of course, they have not the ability to spin them with Slayer•s titanium-age crushing metal. “Cast Down” is about hatred, Satan•s, lots of it. “God Send Death,” “Seven Faces,” “Exile” – it•s all counter-abusive abuse aimed at the God of the Judeo-Christian Testaments, or something like that. That•s not to take anything away from Slayer.
I•m several minds about this album, I must say. My opinion of Slayer is that, while they are the Michael Jordan of metal, their zenith was Seasons in the Abyss, and let me say that South Of Heaven or Reign In Blood might claim that title in a lot of fan•s minds. I am not in disagreement with anyone out there, please. God Hates Us All is definitely a new Slayer album, in the sense that I hear different sounds in their music, that is, some departure from their more recognizable trademark sound. And that•s great, but the new sounds are at times too familiar; it•s as if the loud rock bands out there have had some influence on Slayer instead of the reverse. I would urge, however, the Slayer fans to judge for themselves.
