Slayer - Christ Illusion American Recordings Release date: June 6, 2006
Whether it was the fact that they had the dumb fuck luck to release an album called God Hates Us All on September 11, 2001, or the tireless marketing of the “National Day of Slayer” earlier this year, but somewhere along the line, Slayer went from being a seminal thrash metal band to a cultural institution. After all, you don't get reviewed in high brow newspapers like the New York Times if you're just some loud, angry band from California.
Christ Illusion, the long awaited and much ballyhooed reunion album, carries on the Slayer tradition, one that the band has doggedly stuck to since their inception and through the leaner years when original drummer Dave Lombardo (who last played on 1990's Seasons in the Abyss) was off doing something presumably more pleasant sounding. The guitars are buzz saws, the drumming jaw droppingly fast, the bass buried somewhere between the two, and the vocals more of a litany of hate than poetic verse. The band has never been concerned with nuance, even though they'll flirt with it every now and then (as with the guitar flourishes in “Jihad”). They'd rather barrel over you, then turn around and kick you in the head. Twice.
In the context of the Slayer catalog, it's more of the same, which is both good and bad. It's good because, really, nobody does thrash metal better than Slayer (and in the world of drumming, Lombardo cannot be beaten – he's the undeniable highlight of the album). It's almost impossible to listen to Christ Illusion and not be stricken with the urge to flail about and break shit. Even the slower numbers chomp at the bit. Throughout the ten songs, Tom Araya rants himself hoarse railing against a corrupt world consumed by religious ideology and war. From “Violence is a way of life” to “Must maintain control of the weak,” his lyrics serve as narration to the aggressive soundtrack of humanity's failings.
Oddly enough, Christ Illusion falters most when the band tries too hard to be Slayer. There are moments of self-parody, whether it's rehashed riffs to unintentionally comic moments like when Araya shouts out, “Hail Satan!” in “Skeleton Christ.” Because of this, the songs aren't quite as immediately memorable as on past releases (at least not in the right way). "Angel of Death," "War Ensemble," and "Dittohead," to name but a few, thrashed like hell, but that didn't prevent you from remembering what they sounded like afterwards. Issues like these keep Christ Illusion from being the almighty comeback we were led to believe it was.
So no, Christ Illusion isn't on par with Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, or Seasons in the Abyss. But it's still unmistakably Slayer – brutal, unrelenting, and overtly hostile. Seeing how the world hasn't gotten any better since God Hates Us All, I'd say that's all you need.
- John Pegoraro
_________________ I'm never gonna work another day in my life
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