Imagine the following scenario:  you are one of the most powerful names in all of Thrash and are tasked with releasing a follow-up to your own unmatched, game changing, genre defining, masterpiece. 

Do you:

A:  do what’s “safe” and duplicate what you’ve already perfected (*yawn*)? 

OR

B:  continue to evolve and expand your sonic palette by changing your approach?

Thankfully, SLAYER went with option B, toning down the sonic chaos and breakneck speed of REIGN IN BLOOD with darker, slower, heavier riffs and an even creepier lyrical vibe.

JOIN US as we interview Kerry King’s beard (just kidding; his beard couldn’t be reached for comment) and immerse ourselves into the brooding and sinister evilocity of SLAYER’s sophomore Def Jam release, SOUTH OF HEAVEN.

Visit www.metalnerdery.com/podcast for more on this episode

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Show Notes:

(00:00) - #hardintro (it’s actually The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal…)  #tonebone vs #episodebone and #lordoftheringswithtits #thingsweredifferentbackthen / ***BEFORE WE BEGIN…LOCAL METAL UPDATE!!!*** Keep an eye out for them (and go check them out and support them and buy their shit!!) #ActusReus (pronouncified ACT-us-RAY-us) #alloverthetopofhim See also #metalcore #moistASMR #onmicburpASMR Actus Reus should be going to #Rockville and playing #themainstage (bring your ones, people!) #BigDill (CULTIST) ***Check out the video! *** #HFS #sickaf #supportlocalmetal

(09:46) - #nonaysaying #lubricated #friedpubes #breakfastofchampions also a mention and #tangentional shoutout to #BornOfOsiris ***CALL METAL NERDERY’S VOICEMAIL NOW 980-666-8182*** #withfeeling #notthatmuchfeeling and stepping out of your comfort zone #thirtythreeyears / #hallelujah Fucking Slayer’s “South of Heaven” with an increased #creepy and #darkness factor even relative to Reign in Blood (compare the back album covers of #boLth Reign in Blood to South of Heaven…) #allegedly #eviler Where were YOU when you first heard Fucking Slayer’s South of Heaven!? (And what was your first impression?) 

(17:17) – July 5, 1988, and #dadsballs it’s an #ology #waitwhat?  “Closeup of a WHAT!?” #mindvomit and #snortlaughter #revvedup #douchecanoe #ablaughter and the kind of laughter that goes on and on…#onmicburpASMR #moistASMR #artisticality #donteven #noteven #sheepchildren / SOUTH OF HEAVEN (#heavyasfuck and also #creepyasfuck) / Thicker, punchier, and deeper sounding than #RIB #specialfx and a word from Mr. Inslomo / Thinking back to #WREKage and when they’d play new tunes off of South of Heaven and the evolution of Slayer’s sound musically & lyrically.

(27:11) – A side article regarding #SouthOfHeaven (and an interview with Kerry King’s beard, courtesy of #Revolver “9 things you didn’t know about Slayer”) ***it was “Still Reigning” actually…*** and the perfectly timed segue into SILENT SCREAM (courtesy of #scrollsfromtheelder) #tentacledrums / Another food analogy that has a degree of #tangentionalality to the production of South of Heaven relative to Reign (Slayer’s “…And Justice For All” perhaps?) #snortlaugh 

(35:45) – LIVE UNDEAD (#postpostmortem) and the unsettling effect of the layered vocals /#fishshticks South of Heaven is like a buffet of #Slayer:  there’s a little something for everyone / BEHIND THE CROOKED CROSS #cantbeloudenough and #thenewcore #audiocalgoncore #cheapseats #Brah / MANDATORY SUICIDE (#topfive #theultimatesacrifice #readthoselyrics #alwaysremember #neverforget #boLth) ***check out the outro on the “Still Reigning” version!!!  #haunting***

(46:43 – (Side 2) GHOSTS OF WAR #cantbeloudenough and a #ridiculously #forced #blackalbumreference #justthetip #dontforcenothin #idigest / READ BETWEEN THE LIES (#overthefence #fromthedeck) Slayer with more groove… / CLEANSE THE SOUL (a #happy little tune that’s #stillevil and still #fuckingSlayer) #metalnerderyinvertedbunkerpoonstudios #prestigeworldwidestudios #marked

(57:07) – DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR (#shoutout and #hail to #JudasPriest!) and nonsensical spewing during #picturetime / The rules behind how much “time” an artist had to fill on an album and how #covertunes became common in Thrash / Slayer’s first #softintro (or rather an #evilintro) and a story regarding the Renaissance Festival #wenches and a shitty segue into SPILL THE BLOOD (#cantbeloudenough) #snorts (***check out the combo track of Chemical Warfare/Ghosts of War***) #listentothis #stopit

(1:05:05) – Tracking changes? ***CALL US WITH ABSOLUTELY ZERO FEELING AT 980-666-8182*** #powerswordcore #ballsting #noteven #ididntknow (and a word from Christopher Walking…) / Artwork by Larry Carroll and production by Thrash Zen Master Rick Rubin and mastering by Howie Weinberg and mixing by Andy Wallace / Charting positions #moistness and #moistASMR #smellsgreat THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! and the #enigma that is the Metal Nerdery postproduction #softoutro #makingmyballshurt.