SlaYer - Christ Illusion

Discussion in 'Music Reviews, Albums, Biography etc' started by slipknot_555, Aug 12, 2006.

  1. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    hey. m wonderin no one came up wid a review of this slayer's new album..
    Source - Ultimate guitar..

    Featured review by: UG Team, on august 10, 2006
    12 of 15 people found this review helpful
    Sound: The hour is at hand. That’s right, Slayer is once again taking it's dark throne in the music world and unleashing a fiery, pounding, and melodic blend of metal. Christ Illusion is the first full-length studio release from Slayer since 2001’s God Hates Us All, and it will likely be a satisfying addition to Slayer fans’ collection. With Dave Lombardo once again behind the drums after a long absence from the band’s studio albums, and his amazing contribution results in some of the most memorable aspects of the new CD.

    Christ Illusion has plenty of what Slayer fans expect and adore: an insane tempo driving each song; dark and often inflammatory lyrics growled by vocalist/bassist Tom Araya; and the essential dual guitar sounds of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman woven through each song. From the first track “Flesh Storm,” the band sets out to prove that it is as fast as ever and that age has only intensified it's metal. The song lets up on it's mind-blowing tempo only long enough to feature an inspired guitar breakdown -- a classic Slayer formula that works over 20 years after the band first formed.

    The song that stands out from the rest of the bunch actually does not begin with the bang of the other tracks, but it first allows the music to build up in intensity. “Jihad” and “Cult” are reminiscent of the band’s older tune “South Of Heaven” in that they feature and intro with melodic riffs over slower tempos, which is just as powerful as the fastest segments on the album. Plus, you still eventually get the best of both worlds in both tunes: the melodic base and an eventual insane tempo led by the skillful Lombardo.

    Slayer is not a band for everyone, with it's ever-controversial lyrics and mind-shattering speed, but Christ Illusion is a solid record that deserves more than a few listens. A few songs might lack the complete package “Cult” does, but the talent in Lombardo, King, Araya, and Hanneman is absolutely awe-inspiring. They all know they can play fast and showcase that talent, but they also aren’t afraid to go a bit slower to showcase a guitar melody. // 9

    Lyrics: When you listen to a Slayer tune, you probably already know what’s in store for you lyrically. While most of the songs do have a dark theme, often involving death in one aspect or another, there are those tracks that go a little bit further than that. The band has always inspired an uproar with it's satanic lyrics, and Christ Illusion keeps the tradition going strong.

    In the song “Cult” Araya sings, “There never was a sacrifice, No man who hung the crucifix; Beware the call for purity, Infections their facility; I've made my choice, 666!” Yes, there’s nothing subtle about Slayer and that’s probably why the band has maintained such a strong fan base. Will some lyrics offend listeners? Absolutely. Is that a bad thing for a band like Slayer? Not a chance. Controversy has worked wonders for artists in the past and Slayer has been around long enough to know.

    The song “Black Serenade” takes a more basic approach (for death metal) lyrically. Araya sings, “Welcome to my Black Serenade; The entrance to my hell your pain; Scream your song the Black Serenade; Live in fear a mind insane.” Some might call the lyrics silly, but the words fit the song pretty well. For the fans needing a classic fix of the Slayer they knew and loved back in ’85, the words in “Black Serenade” are probably kind of nostalgic. // 8

    Impression: Slayer has a history of releasing some amazing, memorable records and a few mediocre ones. So the anticipation for Christ Illusion, which features classic Lombardo drumming no less, has been high. The record does not quite reach the legendary status of Reign In Blood, but it will not likely disappoint die-hard Slayer fans.

    Most of the tunes have the standard Slayer arrangement, featuring more than a few tempo changes. The band knows how to keep songs interesting and that is why Slayer has become a household name among the throngs of metal bands. The album reaches it's peak when it allows enough time for Kerry and Hanneman’s melodic guitar lines to take center stage, then immediately unleashes up-tempo madness. When Slayer is at it's best, it’s when it can reach that equilibrium that other thrash metal bands just can’t seem to find.

    And then there are those classic Slayer lyrics. Christ Illusion will incite furious anger some and be embraced by others. It will be burnt by church groups and cherished by kids learning to play guitar. When you can sense the storm before the record even comes out, that’s a pretty powerful album. Yes, Slayer is back with a vengeance
     
  2. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    01. Flesh Storm - a very nice intro for the album, fast, full guitars and some decent drum-work. Then suddenly, we reach 0:35 and Tom Araya steps in and does his best to ruin everything. I'll discuss more about his lyrics in the lyric section, but needless to say, you need to be a die-hard fan of his voice. Honestly, his sudden appearance into the music just killed the song. The section about "iconic devotion" is less than amazing. The little solo at 1:25 is decent, albeit short. He tries to make up for it at 2:39, and he does manage to redeem himself, so kudos. But after this, the song really should have just ended. It's ridiculously repetative, and I was thankful to get a break by 4:14.
    02. Catalyst - the song wastes no time here. You're thrown right into Catalyst. I liked the guitar solo at 1:36, it's decent. Guitar work here is really nothing special. The drums do not seem to shine. Araya again murders the song as best as he can vocally.
    03. Eyes Of The Insane - actually heard this song before the album came out on a local radio station, and didn't know it was Slayer. My reaction then was the same as now: "What is this garbage?" The guitars in the intro are less than impressive (personally I hate them). The drums are very good however. Araya again destroys any chance this song had lyrically. By 1:25, this song has gone on too long. At 1:51, the guitar soloing returns, with as much suckitude as possible. What was that supposed to be? He has to be kidding. Too long, too boring, too uninspired. Next.
    04. Jihad - holy shit! The guitars are doing something different? I actually hate the intro to this song, but it's the only thing that isn't the constant tremelo picking of the top string. Kinda thought this song was going somewhere, but aound 0:40 it disappoints. By 0:52, we're back to the mindlessness featured in the 3 previous tracks. Quite a buzz about this song before the album came out. Everyone figuring it would be controversial, and practically salivating over the idea. Well, Araya is in rare form here. And I'll comment on it here as well as in lyrics. His lyrics are more than inflammatory. Not the just the whole "this is God's war" part, but Aray accuses God of "raping" believers. I'll get into this more in lyrics. The guitar solo is crap again. Sorry, but we've heard the same thing in previous songs. Do something else, or at least let us forget you're there. 2:51 to the very end is just plain lame. But I'll tell you, I'm kinda glad that Araya stopped singing. Easily one of the worst songs on the album- and so far, that's been hard to do.
    05. Skeleton Christ - oh boy. Gotta love the "anti-God, hail Satan" themes here. The guitars are boring and repetative. Solo before 1:08 sucks. And the guitar solo at 2:56 sucks even worse. Listen, we've heard that in the two previous songs. Do something else. Around 3:30 the song takes a turn. And not for the better. The guitars remind us at 3:42 that it is possible to solo over crap, but the solo will also sound equal. A step up from Jihad, but that's not saying much.
    06. Consfearacy - very clever play on words. You can tell Slayer is just oozing with wit at this point. More capitalizing on politics as we've seen by so many bands whose careers are in the toilet. The intro is the same thing we've heard in just about every single song, with just a minor variation of what notes between open and the 6th fret (Let's face it, he's not going any higher than that) are being played. This song is nothing special until about 0:26 where the solo guitar returns, again. The same type of soloing as we've heard in the 5 previous tracks prevails. Thrilling. It returns again throughout the song, and to be honest, it actually improves the musical quality slightly. I'll even give him that the little guitar effect at 1:37 is awesome. But his droning soloing that continues, is nothing impressive.
    07. Catatonic - a step in the right direction. You know towards melody. This song is really good until 0:38. If Araya wasn't singing, I'd like it a whole lot more. 1:05 (which I guess is the chorus-type riff) sucks. The soloing at 1:43 just shouldn't have happened. 2:32 takes a better turn. The drums pick up substantially, and the guitar riffs are much better. The solo is better after this point. Too bad we've heard it so many times. Can someone buy him a new effect or something? And someone needs to show him when the solos need to end, because they go on too long and then just sorta fizzle out, like a sparkler. 4:54 is far too long for this song.
    08. Black Serenade - the transition from Catatonic to Black Serenade just does not jive. The guitars feel half-assed. You can tell there's a lot of potential here, but they just go nowhere and side in favor of repetition. 1:10's sudden burst of energy makes no sense. It feels like they just spliced two songs together. After this point, the song just sorta goes to hell. Although, it's Slayer, so maybe that was the intent. The atonal quality of this song is really, really overdone. Too much of the music does not jive, even by Slayer standards. I would have favored guitars more like the beginnig.
    09. Cult - starts off with a much needed quiet riff. The tempo change is welcomed at this point. The guitars are decent again. The drums at 1:11 are awesome. Then enter the same garbage we've heard before. Guitar solos appear periodically to distract from Araya's completely ridiculous yelling. 2:49 the song just starts to go into overdrive in the suck department. 3:16 marks the return of the ever-so-boring guitar solos. Nice try guys. Take a breather and try not to suck on the last one.
    10. I was so happy when I reached this track. It felt like there was a lot more then 10 tracks. If that were the case, I'm not so sure I would have continued past here. I'd reached my limit by song 4. I like this guitars here. They give up the overly loud quality for sound. Araya comes back here in his most prevalent hate speech ever. The guitars become disguisting. I'm not sure what happened to the energy in the intro, but it is completely lost until 1:36. Then the energy returns, but not in a good way. The solo at 1:50 sucks. The change in tempo at 2:00 sounds like everything else on this album. 2:28 marks a return to the slow, painful guitar riffs. The soloing in the background is useless. Araya takes center stage here, and overpowers everything until 3:16. The song finally dies at 3:17. But then persisits with annoying little noises until 3:50. Slayer certainly leaves us with something to think about on this last track. Why did you waste your money on this album?

    With every track reviewed, my overall review of their sound should make a little more sense. When I started off, I wondered how I could describe the sound of Slayer's new album. In one sense, they remind me of those kids in high school who had that metal band, and all the songs sounded exactly the same. In another sense, I remember those kids having a little more talent. And I remember they all ended up pumping gas. If only that were the case with Slayer. Slayer is a testament to the idea of "too much of anything is bad for you." Too many unnecessary tempo changes. Too many "insane" beats and breakneck tempo. Too many poorly thought out lyrics. Too much yelling by Araya. Too many awful guitar solos that sound exactly the same. It's a problem when one song really can't be distinguished from another because they are all played the same way. Too little of everything also hurts them: Too little direction. Too little variation. Too little thought put into the songs. You can argue, but the guitars are completely half-assed and identical for the most part. The drums could be swaped in and out of any song and traded for a different drum track from another song and I wouldn't bat an eye. I can't imagine Slayer spent much time in the recording studio. And I can't imagine the guy at the sound board cared too much. This album sounds like it was mixed in someone's basement. In terms of sound, Slayer should just throw in the towel. I'm deducting 1 point overall from the total score for it's really shitty quality.
     
  3. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    in my review this album really disappointed me though few tracks r awesome but not tht brutal thn Reign In Blood ..................
     
  4. death_metal_fan

    death_metal_fan oh goody, it's a woody!

    I just had to read the first line of the UG review in order to realize that it is geared towards metalheads alone. No normal person can ever call Slayer's music melodic.

    I liked your review though. I will keep those points in mind in case I have to listen it. :p:
     
    shsnawada likes this.
  5. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    i guess only jihad track is diff n ass kickin... do hear tht DmF....:)
     
  6. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Slayer, hahahaa, typical stereotype metal band.

    Good military riffs
    Horrible leads
    Unintelligible vocals
     
  7. Judas Priest

    Judas Priest New Member

    Slayer hasn't released a decent album since Seasons In The Abyss.
     
  8. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    r u sure abut unintelligible vocals???? :shock:
     
  9. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Yeah.
    Though Araya doesnt scream screach or growl, somehow his words dont come out clearly.
     
  10. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    lol....for example???
     
  11. ceanth

    ceanth New Member

    im going to go see slayer on 19th November! :):) cant wait!!
     
  12. death_metal_fan

    death_metal_fan oh goody, it's a woody!

    Hope you have insurance. You may come back minus a couple of teeth. :p:
     
  13. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    Raining Teethsssssssssssssssssssssss ... lol
     
  14. ceanth

    ceanth New Member

  15. fictional_real

    fictional_real Pyaasi Jawani

    Wasn't that impressed with their new album.

    Last album God hates us all was pretty adept.

    Apart from them, Diabolus in musica and Divine intervention were sounding amazing for me. I think uncommon like most guys i liked Slayer when introduced with punk styled headbanging riffs and extreme drums by Paul Bostaph.

    I do think they got superflous leads and illogical lyrics though!

    Would definitely like to see Slayer live. Would be a painful, full of mosh-pits experience!
     
  16. the_wizard

    the_wizard Omega == God

    LOL...daant toot jaayenge. Theirs is one of the most violent mosh-pits.


    @thread. Slayer is crap.
     
  17. slipknot_555

    slipknot_555 RuHH..

    slayer fans make it crap(daant toot jaayenge stuff )....... their music is kick - asss
     
  18. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    ^ Music?
    :shock:
    :RollLol:

    +1
    :dance:
     
  19. TheDevil

    TheDevil Ruler of Hell

  20. the_wizard

    the_wizard Omega == God

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