One Terrible Blog

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Welcome Back!

Dare I say that 1991's Decade of Aggression by Slayer is THE GREATEST live album ever? Yes. Yes I will. If you disagree, tough titties. It perfectly captures everything about seeing Slayer live. The chaos, the danger, the pain, the shear volume, the intensity. It's all there. It feels like a god damn freight train running you over, backing up and doing it all over again. Unlike most live albums that I have heard (and it's quite a few) this one does capture a concert in audio form. I've owned this album since 2001 and have probably listened both discs easily 100 times each. There is just so much shear power on them it's the next best thing to being there.
While it is dated only in the sense that the first Gulf War is mentioned and because all of the material is pulled from Show No Mercy through Seasons In The Abyss, only because well none of their other albums had come out yet. It's a little heavy on the Seasons material only because they were promoting it at the time, but still, it's a banging album. The track selection is also quite excellent, in that every album is represented, not equally but certain tracks are positioned strategically to give more power (the intro to Hell Awaits still gives me shivers!).
Also what sets this album apart is the fact that well, it's live. Hmm, a live album that's not live you say? Those exist? Yes, by the truck full it's more common than one would imagine. Frampton Comes Alive, Rising In The East, Alive, various Rolling Stones albums, the list goes on and on. But it is very apparent this album is the real deal for two reasons: a) it says so in the liner notes b) you can hear obvious guitar and drum slip ups. That kind of stuff happens during concerts and they were honest enough to acknowledge it.
Now for the songs. Holy shit balls, are they awesome/intense/bad ass/extremely evil! To quote Scott Ian "If you go to hell, that's what they would be playing down there." The lightning fast transitions between South of Heaven, Raining Blood, Altar of Sacrifice, and Jesus Saves are so damn fast that there is literally no time to catch your breath just like at one of their shows. By the time that the album finally closes with Chemical Warfare, your ears are totally shot, again just like at one of their concerts (by the by; Slayer was and still is the LOUDEST concert I've ever seen.)
The star of this album though is one Mr. Dave Lombardo. The guy totally goes nuts here. He walks the fine line of chaos and control, just as everyone has said for years. Of course the other guys are no slouches either, but Lombardo is simply put, one of the main reasons to listen to this album.
So in summary if your really a fan of music by/download/burn/steal this album. Get a hold of it somehow. I know that Slayer is not everyone's cup of tea, but this album totally captures a concert experience the way it should be.

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