Band: SLAYER
Title: South Of Heaven
Label: Def Jam
Country: USA
Year of Release: 1988

Rating: 90/100

Added to Site: April 29, 1998

Summary: I actually like it better than "Reign In Blood"...

Review: Obviously, the band wasn't going to top the ferocity/aggressiveness of "RIB", so I don't even think they were trying to. Instead, they slowed the pace down a bit and opted to sound much darker. I've never been one who only likes music because of the speed, so this was great for me!! Araya's vocals seem to not be quite as crazy as well, sounding deeper and, as mentioned, he actually "sings" at times. The ultra-fast double bass and blistering thrash/death riffs are still present despite much more of a dark menacing feel made by the slower riffs. The cover of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Dissident Agressor" is GREAT, one of the few worthy cover songs...
The one problem on this album is that it's hampered by really REALLY poor production!! It actually sounds as bad as some black metal demos. The band themselves hate the production of this album; someone once told me they actually recorded this album live in the studio and added the vocals/solos later, it wouldn't shock me at all. I can hear a layer of static over all the instruments. The drums (especially the snare) really suffer from this demo-quality production (the snare sounds like he's barely touching it when he hits it). At the same time, the album sounds more "obscure", but it took me many listens to handle this production...
Best tracks are "Spill The Blood", "South Of Heaven", "Live Undead", and "Dissident Aggressor"...

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