Slayer - World Painted Blood By Timothy Danger

When it comes to metal, there are a few bands that come to mind. But there are even fewer that come across as icons of the genre. Slayer is one of those bands. After decades of assaulting eardrums and being the soundtrack to many a fight and mosh pit, the band returns with another studio album.

A Slayer album is pretty much what you expect it to be. It's loud. It's fast. It's (dare I say the most overused word in the metal genre?) yes... It's brutal. Slayer aren't wimps, they aren't new kids on the block. These guys are seasoned metal vets, who eat up the crowd and spit them out. They are a band that over the years have tried different things with their songs, but have never strayed too far from the formula that keeps them one of the main driving forces in their genre. The band is so influential, it is not unusual to see Slayer shirts at not just metal shows, but also punk, hardcore and various other functions. When a band can cross lines like that, that is one of the truest testaments to a band you can probably think of. Double that up with an awesome live show (and by the way the band has numerous tour dates to support the album all over the world coming up in the next few weeks) and you have a great band with the potential for a legion of fans in the thousands.

So what does the new album sound like? Pretty much what you would think it would. The band is taking a very dark theme with this one, tackling topics like the end of the world apocalypse, various songs about murderers and real life monsters that they make movies out of, world governments, diseases, and other topics that seem to make the news but leave most people with a sense of apathy. Slayer however, does not seem content with leaving that one the ten o'clock news and wants to shove it down your throat.

And you know what? Whether you like it or not, it works. The band rarely misses and this is no exception. World Painted Blood is a must buy for any metal fan.

Check out some of the songs on the album and the inspirations behind them:

World Painted Blood- inspired by the Mayan Calendar with an end of the world sort of theme

Unit 731- is a song based on medical experiments on human specimens

Snuff- written after watching a documentary on snuff films

Beauty Through Order- written about the first female serial killer

Public Display of Dismemberment- examines the harsh penalties in other countries for breaking the law

Human Strain- End of the world theme... death by disease

Americon- written from the outside view of what non Americans think about America

Psychopathy Red- Written about a Russian serial killer

Playing With Dolls- song about a killer with repressed childhood trauma