Imagine the following scenario: you are one of the most powerful names in all of Thrash and are tasked with releasing a follow-up to your own unmatched, game changing, genre defining, masterpiece.
Do you:
A: do what’s “safe” and duplicate what you’ve already perfected (*yawn*)?
OR
B: continue to evolve and expand your sonic palette by changing your approach?
Thankfully, SLAYER went with option B, toning down the sonic chaos and breakneck speed of REIGN IN BLOOD with darker, slower, heavier riffs and an even creepier lyrical vibe.
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Released: July 5, 1988
Recorded: December 1987 – February 1988
Length: 36:54
Label: Def Jam
Producer: Slayer Rick Rubin
Track listing
Side one
1. "South of Heaven” 4:58
2. "Silent Scream" 3:07
3. "Live Undead" 3:50
4. "Behind the Crooked Cross" 3:15
5. "Mandatory Suicide" 4:05
Side two
6. "Ghosts of War" 3:53
7. "Read Between the Lies" 3:20
8. "Cleanse the Soul" 3:02
9. "Dissident Aggressor" (Judas Priest cover) 2:35
10. "Spill the Blood" 4:48
Total length: 36:54
Personnel
Tom Araya – bass, vocals
Kerry King – guitars
Jeff Hanneman – guitars
Dave Lombardo – drums
Production
Rick Rubin – production
Larry Carroll – artwork
Howie Weinberg – mastering
Andy Wallace – mixing
JOIN US as we interview Kerry King’s beard (just kidding; his beard couldn’t be reached for comment) and immerse ourselves into the brooding and sinister evilocity of SLAYER’s sophomore Def Jam release, SOUTH OF HEAVEN.
The Tracks
SOUTH OF HEAVEN: The title track showed that Slayer could slow down, ride the groove, and indulge in a heavier sound that is practically the anti-Reign in Blood. (Even the production is more refined than its predecessor.) That “flatline” fadeout into the next track is equally creepy and eerie because at this point, nobody knew what to expect next.
“Chaos, rampant in an age of distrust…”
SILENT SCREAM: Ahhh, NOW we’re talking!! Back to the up-tempo, super-fast double bass that Slayer is known for! Probably the most awesome song ever about abortion. I’m sure the PMRC were appalled.
“Innocence withdrawn in fear…”
LIVE UNDEAD: Extremely fucking creepy…and visual. The lyrics are reminiscent of Slayer’s earlier days, referencing demon-controlled zombies and the undead. There’s that patented Tom scream (and the Hell Awaits, pitch shifted growl). And once it kicks into high gear, it’s instant zen.
“How much can I take of the pain?”
BEHIND THE CROOKED CROSS: One of THE best intros not only on this album, but really in ALL of Metal!! Those first 30 seconds are perfect…just put that on infinite repeat and call it South Of Heaven ASMR. Revisiting themes of Nazism, the Holocaust and the consequences associated with genocide. Brutal.
“Blind obedience, carries me through it all…”
MANDATORY SUICIDE: That intro is pure evilocity! The juxtaposition of the spoken word part at the end along with the screaming feedback paints a hauntingly disturbing portrait of the phrase made famous by William Tecumseh Sherman (“War is Hell”). If you haven’t already, go check out the “Still Reigning” version; if that doesn’t affect you in any way then you’re dead on the inside.
“Mandatory suicide, massacre on the front line.”
GHOSTS OF WAR: So cool that they used the ending of Chemical Warfare as the beginning of this song. Definitely one of (if not the) fastest tracks on the album. (Go check out the Chemical Warfare/Ghosts of War combo track if you haven’t already. Not sure who did the editing, but they crushed it!). This song is a great example of Slayer’s non-linear approach; it’s like the 2nd half of the song is another, completely different song (which means more to love!). The ending is much heavier and groovier than the first half of the song, painting a picture of fallen soldiers killed in battle haunting their adversaries and marching onward to take their vengeance.
“Memories can’t ignore…Rise Ghosts of War.”
READ BETWEEN THE LIES: You can’t talk about 1988 without referencing televangelism, particularly the insidious type of televangelism where “holy” men (and women) would exploit the God-fearing faithful by bilking them out of their money in exchange for salvation.
”There is no Heaven without a Hell…”
CLEANSE THE SOUL: Ahhh yes, a “happy” little Slayer song…about human sacrifice (written by Bob Ross. Just kidding…). Maybe the music isn’t all “Slayer scary”, but it’s still fucking Slayer! (Read those lyrics; if the music is too happy for you, the lyrics most assuredly will not be).
“Reciting the passages of time, prepare for the impaling…”
DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR: This was an interesting choice for a cover tune (you can find the original on Judas Priest’s 1977 release “Sin After Sin”). Slayer were huge fans of Priest, so it’s perfectly acceptable that they should include it here, in all of its Slayerized glory.
“I know what I am, I’m Berlin.”
SPILL THE BLOOD: Perhaps the creepiest soft intro in existence, and the first of its kind for Slayer. This almost seems to fit with the subject matter addressed on Cleanse the Soul. Slayer definitely finished off with some extra creepy creepiness, particularly after the guitar solo.
“Step in a life that’s yet to be born…”
Show Notes:
(00:00) - #hardintro (it’s actually The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal…) #tonebone vs #episodebone and #lordoftheringswithtits #thingsweredifferentbackthen / ***BEFORE WE BEGIN…LOCAL METAL UPDATE!!!*** Keep an eye out for them (and go check them out and support them and buy their shit!!) #ActusReus (pronouncified ACT-us-RAY-us) #alloverthetopofhim See also #metalcore #moistASMR #onmicburpASMR Actus Reus should be going to #Rockville and playing #themainstage (bring your ones, people!) #BigDill (CULTIST) ***Check out the video! *** #HFS #sickaf #supportlocalmetal
(09:46) - #nonaysaying #lubricated #friedpubes #breakfastofchampions also a mention and #tangentional shoutout to #BornOfOsiris ***CALL METAL NERDERY’S VOICEMAIL NOW 980-666-8182*** #withfeeling #notthatmuchfeeling and stepping out of your comfort zone #thirtythreeyears / #hallelujah Fucking Slayer’s “South of Heaven” with an increased #creepy and #darkness factor even relative to Reign in Blood (compare the back album covers of #boLth Reign in Blood to South of Heaven…) #allegedly #eviler Where were YOU when you first heard Fucking Slayer’s South of Heaven!? (And what was your first impression?)
(17:17) – July 5, 1988, and #dadsballs it’s an #ology #waitwhat? “Closeup of a WHAT!?” #mindvomit and #snortlaughter #revvedup #douchecanoe #ablaughter and the kind of laughter that goes on and on…#onmicburpASMR #moistASMR #artisticality #donteven #noteven #sheepchildren / SOUTH OF HEAVEN (#heavyasfuck and also #creepyasfuck) / Thicker, punchier, and deeper sounding than #RIB #specialfx and a word from Mr. Inslomo / Thinking back to #WREKage and when they’d play new tunes off of South of Heaven and the evolution of Slayer’s sound musically & lyrically.
(27:11) – A side article regarding #SouthOfHeaven (and an interview with Kerry King’s beard, courtesy of #Revolver “9 things you didn’t know about Slayer”) ***it was “Still Reigning” actually…*** and the perfectly timed segue into SILENT SCREAM (courtesy of #scrollsfromtheelder) #tentacledrums / Another food analogy that has a degree of #tangentionalality to the production of South of Heaven relative to Reign (Slayer’s “…And Justice For All” perhaps?) #snortlaugh
(35:45) – LIVE UNDEAD (#postpostmortem) and the unsettling effect of the layered vocals /#fishshticks South of Heaven is like a buffet of #Slayer: there’s a little something for everyone / BEHIND THE CROOKED CROSS #cantbeloudenough and #thenewcore #audiocalgoncore #cheapseats #Brah / MANDATORY SUICIDE (#topfive #theultimatesacrifice #readthoselyrics #alwaysremember #neverforget #boLth) ***check out the outro on the “Still Reigning” version!!! #haunting***
(46:43 – (Side 2) GHOSTS OF WAR #cantbeloudenough and a #ridiculously #forced #blackalbumreference #justthetip #dontforcenothin #idigest / READ BETWEEN THE LIES (#overthefence #fromthedeck) Slayer with more groove… / CLEANSE THE SOUL (a #happy little tune that’s #stillevil and still #fuckingSlayer) #metalnerderyinvertedbunkerpoonstudios #prestigeworldwidestudios #marked
(57:07) – DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR (#shoutout and #hail to #JudasPriest!) and nonsensical spewing during #picturetime / The rules behind how much “time” an artist had to fill on an album and how #covertunes became common in Thrash / Slayer’s first #softintro (or rather an #evilintro) and a story regarding the Renaissance Festival #wenches and a shitty segue into SPILL THE BLOOD (#cantbeloudenough) #snorts (***check out the combo track of Chemical Warfare/Ghosts of War***) #listentothis #stopit
(1:05:05) – Tracking changes? ***CALL US WITH ABSOLUTELY ZERO FEELING AT 980-666-8182*** #powerswordcore #ballsting #noteven #ididntknow (and a word from Christopher Walking…) / Artwork by Larry Carroll and production by Thrash Zen Master Rick Rubin and mastering by Howie Weinberg and mixing by Andy Wallace / Charting positions #moistness and #moistASMR #smellsgreat THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! and the #enigma that is the Metal Nerdery postproduction #softoutro #makingmyballshurt.