» DVDreviews  
« back

Slayer - Still Reigning


*
=Staff's pick

Angel Of Death*
Piece By Piece
Necrophobic
Altar Of Sacrifice*
Jesus Saves
Criminally Insane
Reborn
Epidemic
Postmortem*
Raining Blood*

Bonus material:
War Ensemble
Hallowed Point
Necrophiliac*
Mandatory Suicide
Spill The Blood
South Of Heaven*

- Slayer In Their Own Words


Genre Thrash Metal
Tom Araya
Vocals
Tracks 17
Jeff Hanneman
Guitar
Runningtime 80 Min.
Kerry King
Guitar
Label Universal
Tom Araya
Bass
Release 02 Nov. 2004
Dave Lombardo
Drums
Country USA
-
Keyboards
Similar artists Kreator

Slayer is releasing yet another dvd, and this time we are in for a real treat. The idea behing the whole thing is as simple and basic as the ready result is short and compact. Filmed on July 24, in Augusta Civic Center, Maine, USA, they are going through the whole milestone Reign In Blood from start to finish, they have thrown in some very delightful extra numbers and are topping it with a short interview when they talk a bit about how it all started, the past and present and a bit around how a Slayer concert can be mixed with some behind the scenes.

What is there really to say about the idea of playing Reign In Blood in its entirety? Brilliant idea! And it works very well. The sound is impeccable with a fat and juicy production, it's all very good mixed, the stage show and the energy and intensity is state of the art. I am not going into the song material, since this is a milestone that should be known by each and everyone that are into some sort of metal. There are however a few things that holds the grade back. I am not so fond of the "MTV cutting" that is going on most of the times. There are fast cuts, slow motion parts (very few, luckily), gray/brown/grainy nuances, and similar abominations which do not belong in concert videos. They manage to keep on the right side of it all, though, but it makes me a tiny bit restless from time to time as I personally like long sequences where you can study one person or one event for a longer period of time.

The second thing is the mighty rain of blood - the 'Wall Of Blood' - they put on during the whole closing song Raining Blood, which they have continued to use on later tours. It is massive and impresssive, but - it is so dark that you hardly see the actual rain. You see the guys all covered in it, but you almost don't see it fall. But at an overall view, and despite these minor flaws - this is an awesome performance.

The bonus material is also good. 6 great songs, of which War Ensemble and Necrophiliac are the best, and stand out in great versions. Obviously these songs were played earlier in the evening, before they fired off Reign In Blood, since they are all dry and everything looks neat on stage. That rain was really a blast.... The finishing interview and the behind the scene material is as mentioned pretty brief and does not go especially in depth, nor does it reveal any new stuff for the already initiated fan, but is a nice watch for people that are new to Slayer.

With this release Slayer show that they are indeed reigning the scene. Big time.

See also review of: Repentless , World Painted Blood , Christ Illusion

Production
Vocals
Compositions

8

8

9

 
Summary



8,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy

Related links:

http://www.slayer.net
http://www.myspace.com/slayer
http://www.kfkindustries.com
http://www.davelombardo.com