Dave Lombardo & the new Slayer

[Harry Hughes]

I think the album is great. It's not my favorite production for the band, but honestly it doesn't bother me at all. Certainly doesn't keep me from enjoying the album.

Jeez, you guys are too damn picky.

Christ Illusion was awesome too.


If you just don't like Slayer I can understand that, but I don't understand how a Slayer fan could not like the last 2 albums (with the exception of just a couple weak songs).

Call me weird, but I haven't liked a single thing Slayer have done in the studio since 1990 and even then I only liked a few tunes off Seasons if the Abyss.
That crazy whammy bar antic stuff and the atonal soloing, that was cool for a while, it was something really new and different, fucked if I can enjoy album after album with "WEEEEEEEE, WOOOOOOOOO *dive bomb* *random alternate picked notes".

Not only did I think the songs were bad after 1990, but the fact they couldn't move on, progress and show they could actually write guitar solos worth a fuck makes me not care about their post 1990 period.
Solos with a proper sense of flow, note choice, nuances, subtleties and good phrasing are where it's at for me generally.
Think the Tornado of Souls solo and Marty's solo from Lucretia and you're on the money.
Or pretty much any Arch Enemy guitar solo really.

 

[Felix Neumann]

Haha yeah, each one who is musician and Slayer fan at the same time has to exclude the solo work of King and Hanneman. It´s absolutely terrible! On Seasons they actually showed some nice played melodys, but after this time, solos were simply terrible! Unfortunately it became kind of trademark, and non musicians even like the solos..it sounds kind of devilish, they say..hmmm okay.

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

Call me weird, but I haven't liked a single thing Slayer have done in the studio since 1990 and even then I only liked a few tunes off Seasons if the Abyss.
That crazy whammy bar antic stuff and the atonal soloing, that was cool for a while, it was something really new and different, fucked if I can enjoy album after album with "WEEEEEEEE, WOOOOOOOOO *dive bomb* *random alternate picked notes".

Not only did I think the songs were bad after 1990, but the fact they couldn't move on, progress and show they could actually write guitar solos worth a fuck makes me not care about their post 1990 period.
Solos with a proper sense of flow, note choice, nuances, subtleties and good phrasing are where it's at for me generally.
Think the Tornado of Souls solo and Marty's solo from Lucretia and you're on the money.
Or pretty much any Arch Enemy guitar solo really.

That aint Slayer dude, never has been, never will! Could you imagine Slayer with Marty! Hahahahaha! Those leads will always be their trade mark.

 

[Jevil]

SLAYER died after 'Show No mercy' album. It was a great album, then they become boring.
Anyway, Lombardo is awesome.

 

[slashvanyoung]

The Slayer solos/leads were always meant to fit the chaotic, threatening, aggressive vibe of the music. In that sense their more of an ambience tool than a solo in a traditional sense which basically takes over the spot of the lead vocals.

They're not that important... It's usually the haters who nitpick on them.

On Seasons, like Felix said, they put a bit more effort into leads and that's consequently shimmering through. They're more like controlled chaos with atonal and chromatic madness but also underlying phrases and melodies.

Nowadays it's a bit too much random chaos I guess, but the solos never made or broke Slayer records. If they're that important to you, chances are you've never gotten the essence of Slayer in the first place...

 

[Felix Neumann]

SLAYER died after 'Show No mercy' album. It was a great album, then they become boring.
Anyway, Lombardo is awesome.

Hahahaha No,I´d say, they died after their first 4 track recording at Jeff Hanneman´s basement 1979 Joking aside..Slayer rules!

 

[slashvanyoung]

And Lombardo... he's simply the most interesting drummer for me out there. Yes, there are a gazillion people faster, more technical and precise nowadays, but nobody makes me want to hit the air-drums as fiercely as Lombardo. His punkish groove, the Mitch Mitchell-esque fills etc. make many albums worth listening just for his appearance.

 

[Jevil]

Hahahaha No,I´d say, they died after their first 4 track recording at Jeff Hanneman´s basement 1979 Joking aside..Slayer rules!

Gotta get that!!

 

[Jind]

We are used to hearing contrasts between loud and soft everywhere we go. If everything was the same volume constantly maybe this practice would make more sense, but that's not how us humans hear things. I dunno if it's a matter of it being subconscious. When I hear a loud album I *CONSCIOUSLY* don't wanna listen to it for long haha.

But there is the rub of it all - many of today's music listeners ARE becoming very used to hearing non-contrasting, ultra compressed music. Between the "loudness" wars and our methods of listening to music - mp3 players, most "modern" music has very little contrast from it's softest point to it's loudest point.

Also - when I say "most of today's listeners" I'm referring to the general consumer base. Sure - most AE may have more finely tuned ears and may be bothered somewhat more by these sounds, but unless something drastically changes, modern music just ain't what it used to be. I know, I know, I'm aging myself - but it's true, the subtleties of the past between soft passages being - well soft; and the loud passages being louder is not the norm today.

Most younger listeners who's only music base is modern pop, hard rock, or metal (ie: the more commercial side of metal) ears are becoming used to flat, loud, compressed as shit, music - sort of sad in more ways than I can say.

Sorry for the long reply - it's just something I dislike about most modern music (don't get me wrong, I love many of the bands that I have issues with the production of, but I've just come to realize if I want to listen to the bands I like, I may have to put up with those very faults.)

 

[Felix Neumann]

@Slash, I absolutely agree with all you´ve wrote so far about Slayer in this thread. It actually reflects my personal opinion.

I´m glad, so far we have a good, objective and civilized discussion about...Slayer! Wow this is special. Usually threads like this become a massacre of words I hope we can keep this level for a while, dudes.

I found this..and I think Greg Fidelman looks very stoned at 0:34

 

[Harry Hughes]

Mind you guys, my favorite work from Slayer is actually Hell Awaits rather than what seems to be the fan favorite when I talk to most Slayer fans, Reign in Blood, so maybe I have a bit of a weird perspective on the band
I will agree the guitar solos on Seasons were generally more controlled and I was kinda hoping they'd continue in that path, but as I said, pretty much after that album is where my interest for the band ends really.

Trust me when I say I DO get Slayer, I do understand the essence and understand why they are so metal as fuck and important to the metal scene, I used to listen to nothing but Slayer when I was playing Doom (now you can see why it's in my avatar, I love that game so much) and I must have heard Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood, South of Heaven and Seasons In the Abyss at least 100 times each, perhaps up to well over 300 times for Reign in Blood and Hell Awaits in the last few years.
That also probably says something about me playing way too much
Doom in recent years

 

[GarethSE]

Karl Sanders does Slayer solos better than Slayer do Slayer solos.

 

[thefyn]

Yeah he is amazing. Would be nice to hear some bass on a Slayer record for a change.

The guitars sound like a failed reamp. Like the signal was minged.

I just cant belive the guitar sound. It really sounds like a cheap FX pedal distortion that has been enhanced. Can't put my finger on it. Is that the KK JCM800 they used?

 

[smy1]

It's interesting that they compliment Fidelman on his great production in the video ... maybe that kind of sound is really what these guys (and Metallica) want?

 

[thefyn]

Day 8: final day of guitar tracking.

Producer: "Okay man, thats a wrap."

Hannemann looks down at his guitar...Sees the pickup selector was in the middle position for the past week.

Producer: "Jeff, are you okay? You have gone pale."

Hanemann: "Fine...nothing..wrong..all good. See ya!" (door slams, squealing tires)

 

[thefyn]

It's interesting that they compliment Fidelman on his great production in the video ... maybe that kind of sound is really what these guys (and Metallica) want?

I think they all may be Dethklok deaf and the producers know the freq that turns on people with tinnitus?

 

[Metaltastic]

Day 8: final day of guitar tracking.

Producer: "Okay man, thats a wrap."

Hannemann looks down at his guitar...Sees the pickup selector was in the middle position for the past week.

Producer: "Jeff, are you okay? You have gone pale."

Hanemann: "Fine...nothing..wrong..all good. See ya!" (door slams, squealing tires)

Hahahahahaahaha, seriously - the guitars just have that disgusting sound that I associate with really really cheap microphonic pickups (or an odd choice of pickup selector), could this really be EMG's?

 

[16S]

Day 8: final day of guitar tracking.

Producer: "Okay man, thats a wrap."

Hannemann looks down at his guitar...Sees the pickup selector was in the middle position for the past week.

Producer: "Jeff, are you okay? You have gone pale."

Hanemann: "Fine...nothing..wrong..all good. See ya!" (door slams, squealing tires)

Thats fucking funny dude and a refreshing change from all the blabber mouth style discussion going on here. thanks

 

[R-Stuur]

I bet most of those guy's ears have blown by up by now. Greg Fidelman is now officially my least favorite producer....EVAH

 

[Jind]

I got the disc today and after a listen I'm going to take an opposite opinion in that I'm ok with the guitar tone - sure it's not what most "modern" bands would put out, but quite honestly I'm cool with that. I think they have a sound in mind that is not associated with every other band out there. Slayer has always sort of had a sound of their own - listen back, it's never been clean and pristine - it's a tone I've always associated with more of an almost hardcore punk sound of old (late 70's early 80's - not the 2009 definition of hardcore) and given what they cite as influences, their tone has always tread upon that path and I just think it is more present on this album than any of their recent work.

Aside from being over compressed as most modern records are - I'm liking it. I've never thought of Slayer as anything other than a heavily hardcore punk influenced thrash band. I have never wanted Slayer to be anything but - I've always thought they wear their influences on their chests and Slayer is Slayer. I think they have struggled in the past about trying to hard to match what is the norm in music at a given time, but I'm sort of happy that they seem to be content about being only pleasing themselves. Call me a fanboi - I'm cool with that, but I like it for what it is. For the record, aside from some mastering/production issues I like "Death Magnetic" too - I like variety in the music I listen to, I don't want my music to all sound similar, I like a variety of tones, I like different flavors of production.