- As a kid in the mid-70s, I was a metal head. Before I was even in kindergarten, I was regularly listening to Black Sabbath, Kiss, and Led Zeppelin. By fourth grade, I knew every lyric from Van Halen's first four albums. By the sixth grade, I thought that the double-axe attack of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Scorpions was the best thing ever. But soon after, metal started moving in two directions: one towards glam, and the other towards thrash. Neither seemed appealing to me because by then artists like U2, David Bowie, and the Police meant more to me, and I pretty much tuned out metal all together.
- Between grades 9 and 11 at Cardinal Leger Secondary School in the late 80s, I took drafting classes with Mr. Jim Pocisk, a reformed hippie who let us play music on a cassette player during class. The vast cross section of drafting students would bring in different tapes: the artsy students brought modern rock (which would later be called “alternative”); the basketball guys brought rap; the skaters brought punk, and the metal heads brought thrash. For some reason, the only music we all could agree on was Metallica's trifecta of Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice for All. These albums were pretty much the only metal I absorbed during this era.
WHAT I
KNEW ABOUT THE ALBUM BEFORE THIS PROJECT
- I heard “Angel of Death” many, many times in Mr. Pocisk's class.
- Every guitar dude in school would play the middle riff from “Angel of Death” and the intro riff from “Raining Blood” whenever they had the chance.
- The mere fact that this album was released on Def Jam Records – a label that was known for producing rap records – and produced by Rick Rubin should have been a hint to my teenaged self that it would probably be a pretty good album.
AFTER A
WEEK OF DIGESTING THIS ALBUM
- In retrospect, I am sure if I heard more of Slayer in drafting class, I probably would have gotten more into thrash. While those Metallica albums were revolutionary in their own way, I prefer Reign in Blood. The most significant comparison is that Slayer's Dave Lombardo is a much steadier and a more creative drummer than Lars Ulrich. Cursory listens to "Jesus Saves" and “Criminally Insane” on Reign in Blood is evidence of this.
- Reign in Blood is a tight piece of musical mayhem, with higher production values and more consistent sound production than any of the three aforementioned Metallica records, which certainly sound dated in comparison.
- I could never relate to the subject matter or the speed of thrash metal records, and with lyrics pertaining to Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele and horrific ultra-violence, Reign in Blood is no different. Mercifully, the tracks are short and concise – giving the album more of a punk feel (the influence of Rubin, seemingly), clocking in at just over 29 minutes, compared to...And Justice for All's wanky 70 minutes.
- This is a great example of what the main purpose of My Albm Project is. In seven days, I discovered so many great things about an album, a band, and a sub-genre.
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