Slayer - World Painted Blood review
| Band: | Slayer |
| Album: | World Painted Blood |
| Style: | Thrash metal |
| Release date: | October 2009 |
01. World Painted Blood
02. Unit 731
03. Snuff
04. Beauty Through Order
05. Hate Worldwide
06. Public Display Of Dismemberment
07. Human Strain
08. Americon
09. Psychopathy Red
10. Playing With Dolls
11. Not Of This God
The local indy record store ran a pic of Slayer on the cover of their most recent promo zine, along with a partial exchange from an (imaginary?) interview which went as follows:
Q: What's the title of the new Slayer album?
A: World Painted Blood.
Q: What's it sound like?
A: What on Earth do you think?
It's pretty much exactly what you think. 10 or so songs clocking in around 40 minutes (11 tracks, 39 minutes and change this go around), some slower paced tracks, one or two creepy psychotic murderer tracks and a couple short but sweet barn burners played at 900 miles an hour (that's 1,448 kph to our metric friends) and lots of, uh, spirited and chaotic solos that make GIT grads cringe.
Slayer is back with balls of steel.
Sure, Tom's voice sounds a little more time-ravaged on occasion, his bass is only slightly more audible than Jason Newsted's on ?And Justice For All after Lars raped it, and Kerry still writes the occasionally self-indulgent lyrics ("my scars - insane/my life - profane"), but the truth is they have been around the block many, many times - hell, they're older than most of your parents are - and they still thrash. Hard.
World Painted Blood is the best they've done, top to bottom, since, and perhaps including, Divine Intervention.
"Beauty Through Order" and "Playing With Dolls" are both the slower, longer, mid-paced tracks that build up over time, similar to older tracks like "Mandatory Suicide."
"Unit 731", "Psychopathy Red", "Hate Worldwide" and the wonderfully named "Public Display of Dismemberment" blaze along rapidly like "Sex. Murder. Art.", "Silent Scream", "Hallowed Point", or pretty much any of tracks 2-8 off Reign In Blood? and are Slayer at close to their ripping best.
And Dave Lombardo is still a beast. A fucking unstoppable beast.
Truthfully, this album, at least to me, is stronger top to bottom than 2006's Christ Illusion - only "Americon" seems like filler, and even classic Slayer albums have had their share of filler tracks, most notably Season In The Abyss ? to borrow from Mugatu in Derek Zoolander, "Blood Red? Expendable Youth? They're the same song! Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"
The single biggest issue I have with it is the production. The same bearded guy who was involved with Metallica's Death Magnetic was involved with this one? and as with the most recent effort of their fellow Big Four compatriots, it is probably the most glaring flaw here as well. It's not as bad as the "turn everything up to 11, if it sounds like shit no one will notice because they'll be deaf" job done to DM, but WPB still is really thin sounding, particularly on low-E chugging riffs and Dave Lombardo's drumwork. As much as I dig what's going on behind the kit, the impact is just not there like it was in, say, "War Ensemble." Dear next thrash band to have he who shall remain nameless involved in the process? if he pokes his head in your studio during the recording process, please tazer his ass, wrap him in duct tape, deposit him in a storage locker with some crazed fan to baby sit him until the album is recorded, printed, shipped, and in stores. I don't even know if he really had a direct impact in either recording, but it is tough to believe it's more than coincidence and he makes a decent scapegoat.
In closing, it's Slayer. What on Earth did you think it would sound like?
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 6 |
 | Written on 11.11.2009 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. |
Comments page 2 / 3
Comments: 73
Visited by: 752 users
| Syk myspace/bonerama Posts: 1504  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.11.2009 at 04:53Done. Search km/h and that's the term they use in articles about aircraft, pilots and drivers. You know I'm right
---- death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon! he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
Loading...
|
| BitterCOld The Ancient One admin Posts: 15250  |
Derwood, some people always have to find things to harp on, that's all. as for wikipedia, Steve Carell as Michael Scott in the US version of The Office put it best: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information."
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
Loading...
|
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:02 I never said km/h was wrong I was just stating that kmh mph km/h and mp/h are ALL right, And like I said before the denotation has nothing to do whatsoever with the review.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
Loading...
|
| Syk myspace/bonerama Posts: 1504 |
Written by BitterCOld on 12.11.2009 at 04:29That was all, really. That's why I kinda hated it. (If that isn't a word, why are you using it now in an argument? (I know, I know, rhetorical question.)) One other little thing I really disagree with is "Dave Lombardo ... fucking unstoppable beast" - IMO nothing about his performance here is that spectacular or remarkable but I suppose it just maintains the tone of the review, and/or matches the excitement that the unstoppable Slayer hasn't completely fucked off and diedWritten by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 04:11i kinda hated your review of my review. i wish you would take my blog to heart. "Kinda" is not a word, not to mention other oversights. (such as ending a sentence in parenthesis without punctuation, nor the preceding sentence as well for that matter) As for my punctuation, I'd liken it to your lower case at the start of sentences. I consider the article/review comments slightly less formal than the main forum (of course the shoutbox being the most informal) and don't see the point in requiring a point at the end of my paragraphs here when I separate them with a line break. You know the distinction enough to capitalize normally in the review and I appreciate how horrid most other people's reviews can be when they submit them, but as you say in the blog, it isn't that hard to chuck the whole thing into Word etc, spend a few seconds running the auto-dictionary check before making any corrections and posting the final product. WPD? Insance? What do those mean? Rhetorical question again, I know you get me by now, I'd just like all the official reviews to set the fine example asked of the guest reviewers in the blog
---- death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon! he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
Loading...
|
| BitterCOld The Ancient One admin Posts: 15250 |
Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:20 In the immortal words of one Jules Winnfield, "Well, allow me to retort." For starters, once again, the blog was geared at guest reviews, many of which come in more incoherent than K7 after a three-month wine bender. Some of them have required literally hours of my time reconstructing. We're not talking minutiae here. We are talking everything from basic sentence structure to spelling the band's name correctly. Second, some might have shown up to disagree with your remarks, but I certainly need no one to defend me. Nor make me feel any better about myself. I am quite capable of dismissing challenges. I, however, will not dissuade anyone who agrees with my stand point from publicly starting their opinion. Now as far as I see the review comments thus far, there are multiple responses. I have 9 people who have flat out given the review itself positive comments. (Thanks all, I do appreciate it. Glad you found my review amusing and/or useful.) I have 1 person who has called me out directly for my grammar, and who has apparently visited multiple resource sites to find the appropriate way to abbreviate velocity. Said individual, however, is apparently absolutely incapable of proper punctuation himself: Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 04:11 Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 04:30 Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:02 Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:20 Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:20 You can call it a stylistic thing as much as you'd like, but if you are calling someone else out about their grammar (like, oh, me, for example), it's probably best to have your own grammatical ducks in a row. Failing to punctuate is incorrect. Far more incorrect, I daresay, than my terminology in regards to velocity. Try turning in a term paper that way some time if you disagree. Simply put, were I not a cantankerous old man, drunken, and with gums aching after being poked, prodded and savaged by the dentist today, I probably would have done what other posters have already suggested I do... ignore your comments altogether like they do. Instead, seeing as you singled me out (at least my blog was generic so as not to hurt feelings), I figure I'd retort in kind. As I see it, someone wasted the time to visit multiple websites to ensure their thoughts on the appropriate abbreviation for measurement of velocity were correct before denigrating my review. Feel free to waste yet more of your (apparently vast and otherwise uninhabited) free time to analyze my grammar yet again. Please make sure to "take my blog to heart" and punctuate properly, son. I'm going to go drain another beer before having "adult time" with my wife. I'll let the audience figure out who has it better.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
Loading...
|
| Dangerboner Lactation Cnslt Posts: 7262  |
I thought it was bad to mix beer with Viagra. haha ziiing
Loading...
|
| Derwood Posts: 511  |
Written by Dangerboner on 12.11.2009 at 07:53 If that's true, then wouldn't beer + viagra = Dangerboner ?
---- You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
Loading...
|
| Dangerboner Lactation Cnslt Posts: 7262 |
Only if the erection happens for longer than 4 hours 
Loading...
|
| Syk myspace/bonerama Posts: 1504 |
Written by BitterCOld on 12.11.2009 at 07:16Wow, you're still going at it? Yes, my life does suck right now. Thanks for pointing that out!Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 05:20In the immortal words of one Jules Winnfield, "Well, allow me to retort." Bringing up the irrelevant challenge of a term paper (have you not seen my other posts? ...I don't blame you... but they're pretty sweet in the grammar department) is a laughable example of why I expect these drunken exchanges (well, there's no alcohol in me, of course) to be ignored after a few days if not entirely deleted. More after the break if you care to continue *goes back to moping around, dinner and TV, adding correct band data, and whatever other sad activity you might like to imagine... or am I planning a big party out in the sun with all of my friends? No, I'd rather just sit here, MOPE, and sing along... or am I managing to do all of these things? Oops... gotta go...*
---- death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon! he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
Loading...
|
| BitterCOld The Ancient One admin Posts: 15250 |
Written by Syk on 12.11.2009 at 09:11 No problem. Call me out, I'll call you out. All I am going to say is this doesn't surprise me in the least. If I'm ever accessing, and citing, wikipedia (and other sites) to discuss the absolute proper terminology as to how to properly represent velocity, I'm begging the MS masses, hereto and forthwith* in advance, just put a fucking bullet in the back of my head. * that is legal mumbo-jumbo. It means you have my permission.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
Loading...
|
| SlaytallicA Lycanthropy Posts: 1261  |
WPB is growing on me, I'm loving it more and more, what to say? Two words are enough: It's Slayer!!
---- One Pound Of Flesh, No More No Less, No Cartilage, No Bones, But Only Flesh...
Loading...
|
| >Odysseus Posts: 36  |
Many will hate me for this .... but i didn't really like the album ..... it's like been recorded on a bad cassette old Slayer is unbeatable ....even by slayer themselves
Loading...
|
| Devilspeed Posts: 36  |
Loading...
|
| pdepmcp Posts: 141  |
It was hard to listen more then 4 songs. I tried to go on...I loved Slayer earlier stuff. I almost fell asleep around the middle. I woke up and started again. I gave up when I fell asleep again around the middle of the record. I tried another strategy: listening the first minute per song. I got to the end of the record bored but, strangely, not disgusted. I'm pretty sure some few songs will crush us all live, but the production pull them down too... This is probably the worst Slayer record ever. I'm not sure only because I don't mean to listen again other bad releases to make a good comparison. However without high expectations related to their name, it'd probably sound decent. If I take off the shoes of the Slayer fan it's probably somewhere between 5 and 6. Too bad I'm a fan...
Loading...
|
| Pap Posts: 50 |
|
| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
Written by BitterCOld on 12.11.2009 at 07:16 Hahaha, ain't that just the hardest thing ever to figure out....
Loading...
|
| Hermann Langke Brahmastra Corps Posts: 471  |
Agreed Bro. .,I think there will be no new-Reign in Blood or South of Heaven for the matter.
Loading...
|
| THE_BLACK_GOD Account deleted |
|
| X-Ray Rod Skandino staff Posts: 18274  |
O god... I can't fucking believe the useless discussion I just read... I feel bad for my eyes. BitterCOld, you could have just ignored the post and spent the time with your beer and/or wife.  Anyway, the album was kind of meh to me. Nothing really spectacular. Not bad... But I'm not gonna buy it.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Loading...
|
| Timelord Posts: 276  |
As I said with Christ Illusion this album sounds even more generic. God Hates Us All had that signature Kerry/Jeff riffing with nice tempo changes that the past two albums has been missing and it seems very uninspired. I have been a fan since Haunting the Chapel and have been left with with the feeling that the album should have been packaged like the old generic foods with just thrash metal on front. Nothing special about World Painted Blood IMO.
Loading...
|
| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
Written by Timelord on 19.11.2009 at 21:41 Very true man! I miss the riffing tempo of God Hates Us All, that album was powerful, fast, the vocals at top (even with the small rap passages). These last two albuns were huge disappointments, nothing to feel excited about, a good passage here or there, but overall nothing impressive or memorable. At least Christ Illusion had ''Catatonic'' 
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
Loading...
|
| arj Posts: 191 |
|
| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437  |
I dont think the production is that awfull as it was in the metallica album probably because the style of music that Slayer play sounds better with this production than the style metallica plays. is just say that maybe thrash with this production sounds better than heavy. also i think that araya sings really great. his singing in christ illusion -as i remember- was much worse. also about lombardo i dont know. what i like in his drumming -at least- in this album is the fill-in's. but in the fast and violent moments i dont like the drums. i feel they are not as aggressive as they should be.
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
Loading...
|
| elekctric Posts: 105  |
I think this fits in with Diabolus ... but blows Christ Illusion away ... only time will tell on the future of Slayer in my book ...
Loading...
|
| Motionless Posts: 17  |
Forgot the album in 3 days. Imagine that I saw them live in 1998 and have been my favorite band for years. They just did not progress. For some people that is ok but to me it sounds like a broken radio.
Loading...
|
| I_Die_Often Posts: 697  |
I gave this turd a 6! It doesn't get much play, pretty boring to my ears. God Hates Us All is my top Slayer. Lets get Paul behind the kit again...
---- Old enough to be your Daddy... speaking of which... you look familiar... do I know your mother???
Loading...
|
| Storchillarn Posts: 163  |
Loading...
|
| Boxcar Willy yr a kook Posts: 8982  |
Loading...
|
| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493  |
Written by Boxcar Willy on 06.01.2012 at 16:41 It is best to deride people in an appropriate timeframe (AKA not a year and a half later, unless it's something REALLY bad).
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
Loading...
|
| Boxcar Willy yr a kook Posts: 8982 |
Written by vezzy on 06.01.2012 at 17:22 Way to steal my thunder...  I didn't see how old the post was.
Loading...
|
Hits total: 17296 | This month: 21