Thrashcast Episode 14: Slayer's "South Of Heaven" from 1988
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Thrashcast is the place to find riveting discussions on classic thrash albums, news and reviews. Your hosts are three thrash loving maniacs who grew up during the golden age of the genre. Kenneth, Billy and Jim will get together weekly to bring you a deep dive on some of your favourite thrash records.
Show Notes:
Episode Fourteen: Slayer's South Of Heaven (1988). This Is the fourth studio release from the American thrashers, who were considered a part of the big 4. The band, hailing from Los Angeles, California released the album on Def Jam recordings July 5, 1988. Following on the heels of Reign In Blood, the music is filled with slower tempos, but retains the raw intensity, powerful riffs, and dark lyrics found on Reign. The album did show the band's continual growth in songwriting and propelled them into the big 4; joining Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax.
South Of Heaven became Slayer's second album to reach the Billboard 200, peaking at number 57. The album was mostly met with critical acclaim, although some were disappointed in the change of direction from the frantic style of Reign. However, the track "Mandatory Suicide" and the title track "South Of Heaven" have remained a staple in the band's live-set. South was later certified gold by the RIAA in 1992.
The album featured a cover of Judas Priest's "Dissident Aggressor" and was the first cover song to appear on a Slayer album. The song "Behind The Crooked Cross" was rarely played live due to Hanneman's dislike of the song, but King always liked the song and wanted to play it live. On the flip side, King didn't love the track "Ghosts Of War" and discouraged the rest of the band from playing it live.
Fun Fact: The cover artwork was done by Larry Carroll who had previously did Reign In Blood. His inspiration for the cover art came from an incomplete skull of an archaic human skull from an extinct species Homo Rudolfensis discovered in Kenya 1972.
Kenneth Gallant, HMS
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