Maps of Music

Reign in Blood (1986)

Where the lyrics of Reign in Blood take you, and where it was really made.

The opening song nearly stopped the album: Def Jam's distributor Columbia Records refused to distribute it, and the release was delayed.

Key places

Recorded at Hit City West (1986)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album was recorded and produced at Hit City West in Los Angeles, with Rick Rubin producing and Andy Wallace engineering. The map point sits at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing at New Fresh Studios (1986)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The band went to New Fresh Studios in New York for mixing and mastering in early March. The map point sits at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Reign in Blood: third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer
• Released in 1986 by Def Jam Recordings
• First Slayer album released by Def Jam
• First Slayer album produced by Rick Rubin, whose input changed the band's sound

Background

• Followed Hell Awaits; manager Brian Slagel saw the band was in a position to reach the big time
• Slagel negotiated with several labels, including Def Jam
• Drummer Dave Lombardo learned of Rubin's interest and contacted the producer first
• Rubin spoke with the band directly during a visit to a European music convention and persuaded them to sign with Def Jam
• Release was delayed by concerns over the opening track "Angel of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele

Recording

• Recorded and produced at Hit City West in Los Angeles; Andy Wallace engineered
• Rubin left out most reverb, giving the album a cleaner and tighter sound
• Runtime is 29 minutes; the band noticed this only while finishing the mix

Cover

• Cover designed by Larry Carroll, hired at Rubin's behest
• Band members originally did not like the image

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in 1981 in Huntington Park, California by Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo and Tom Araya.
• Started by playing covers of Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Venom at parties and clubs in Southern California.
• Signed with Metal Blade Records after the song "Aggressive Perfector" appeared on Metal Massacre III.

Members

• Current lineup: Kerry King, Tom Araya, Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt; Holt joined in 2011 and became permanent after Hanneman's death in 2013.
• Former members include drummers Dave Lombardo (left three times) and Jon Dette.

Career

• Released twelve studio albums, including Reign in Blood (1986), widely described as one of the most influential thrash metal albums.
• Christ Illusion (2006) won a Grammy for "Eyes of the Insane", the band's first Grammy-related recognition.
• Disbanded in 2019 after a farewell tour and reunited for sporadic shows from 2024.
• Considered one of the "Big Four" of thrash metal alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic: Steve Huey gave the album five out of five, calling it a "stone-cold classic"
• Kerrang! magazine described it as the "heaviest album of all time"
• Metal Hammer named it "the best metal album of the last 20 years" in 2006
• Critic Chad Bowar stated: "1986's Reign in Blood is probably the best thrash album ever recorded."
• Critically acclaimed by both underground and mainstream music press
• Brought Slayer to the attention of a mainstream metal audience

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone ranked it 6th on its 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time list in 2017
• Joseph Schafer of Invisible Oranges called the community's "worship" of the album "misguided"
• Loudwire ranked it first among Slayer's eleven studio albums in 2016

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number 127; peak at number 94 in its sixth week
• First Slayer album to enter the Billboard 200
• UK Album Chart: number 47
• Certified gold in the US on November 20, 1992
• Decibel Hall of Fame inductee in November 2004, the first album to earn that award

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The band realized the album's runtime only when they were finishing up with its mixing with engineer Andy Wallace.
• King called the whole album fitting on one cassette side "neat", since listeners could flip it and play it again.
• Hanneman was inspired to write "Angel of Death" after reading a number of books on Josef Mengele during a Slayer tour.
• In 2016 Araya said Columbia's refusal was over "Angel of Death", not the cover art.
• Drummer Lombardo quit in late 1986 and returned in 1987 after Rubin repeatedly urged him to come back.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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