Classic Album Review : Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
I feel weird reviewing one of my favorite albums of all-time. Part of the fun of doing a band retrospective lies in going through material you know by heart and other material you don’t know at all. Seasons in the Abyss, I know quite a bit. It's going to turn thirty-four in October and I must’ve listened to it entirely close to a thousand times in my life? It might not surprise you, but I don’t have anything negative to say about it. But I do have a lot to say about a record that beats time and trends year after year.
What makes Seasons in the Abyss such a special record is that it's Slayer at its most versatile and cohesive. Every aspect of their music that makes it great is present on Seasons: it’s fast, violent, it has countless memorable riffs, it’s atmospheric in the most unexpected places and one step ahead of everything they'd previously done lyrically. A lot of people claim Raining Blood is Slayer's best record, but Seasons in the Abyss has more memorable songs overall and bangers at least equal to Angel of Death and Raining Blood.
The album opens with the classic War Ensemble, perhaps the Slayeriest Slayer song in their entire discography. It’s by far one of their fasts and most aggressive and features one of Tom Araya's most precise and commanding vocal performances. His chorus is complex and sophisticated, but it's also anthemic as hell. The signature guitar riffing is another quality that often goes unnoticed on this song. It’s not just fast, it's super catchy too. But you're too busy being pissed off when you listen to it in order to notice.
Blood Red is stripped back, but bouncy and infectious. It’s somewhat lost on song a great record, but it's a bangin’ deep cut. The lead riff is thunderous and melodramatic. The songwriting is bold. Given to other musicians, it could've almost been a hair metal song. Spirit in Black is another thrash metal classic featuring unrelenting riffing and a complex and charismatic performance by Tom Araya. Seriously, this man can fit so many words in a measure and hit them so hard, he sounds like the fucking boogeyman.
Expendable Youth is one of these songs where Slayer's gift for uncanny atmospheres really shines. Dave Lombardo’s use of mid-tempo double bass drum and Araya’s lower, lugubrious delivery give it an edge even few Slayer songs can brag to possess. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman smartly dial back on the album. Instead of trying to break speed records, they’re letting the song lead their performance and it leads to…. welp, more commercial riffing? I mean I love it. Riffs should be good. Not just complex and technical.
Speaking of atmospheric jam, this album also features Ed Gein-inspired RAGER Dead Skin Mask. This is one of my… perhaps top 5 favorite Slayer songs ever? That chorus is so fucking haunting and fun to sing at the same time. It’s another song that benefits from Dave Lombardo original and arresting drumming. He's one of these guys who's always attuned to the song he's playing and doesn't try to give a physical performance when he doesn’t need to. His mid-tempo rhythmic patterns are crucial to the gnarly atmosphere.
Hallowed Point is more on the old school Slayer side of things. It's fast, furious and to the point. It remins me of the Haunting the Chapel era a little bit, which isn’t a bad thing. Skeletons of Society is a mid-tempo, anthemic track lead by pissed-off Tom Araya narrating death and destruction to the best of his ability. Temptation is perhaps the weak spot on Seasons in the Abyss and it's quite fun by any means with Tom Araya dual wielding vocals, talking to himself. It's not the most memorable song, though.
Born of Fire has been part of Slayer's live sets for decades. It’s another personal favorite of mine with its furious tempo and crushing, obsessive riffs. It also has one of the weirdest, most off-putting solos in their repertoire. But let’s not kid ourselves, nothing is like the title song. It’s one of the proggiest and most fun things Slayer has ever recorded. It’s six minutes long and there’s like two full minutes of riffing before you get to a single lyric. Once again stellar drumming from Lombardo. Haunting work by Hanneman.
Seriously, if you’ve never heard this song, the conflagration of riffs at the start is one of the most badass things I’ve ever heard. It’ll paralyze you into a mean mug for at least an entire day.
*
Seasons in the Abyss is one of the best metal albums ever recorded. It's also Slayer's best record even if they did catch lightning in a bottle again more than once afterwards. It’s a gourmet buffet of atmosphere, brutality and allegorical storytelling that just doesn't stop. It might be one or two song too long, but who gives a fuck? I’ve never gotten tired of this record in thirty-three years. I’ve listened to it three times today. What’s more immortal than that? Nothing’s ever perfect, but Seasons is as close as it gets.
