Heavy Metal is loud and stupid. So is Doomlund. A match made in heaven…
July 5 marks the twenty year anniversary of a metal classic – a little slab o’ vinyl we call “South of Heaven” by the foremost thrash metal outfit ever, Slayer.
South of Heaven was the fourth studio release by these giants of brutal tunes produced by Rick Rubin (associated with everyone from Danzig to Johnny Cash) who helped create Slayer’s landmark record, “Reign in Blood” two years prior. “South of Heaven” revealed another side of the band. A set of slower songs with a previously unheard attention to detail, both song and production-wise. The record wasn’t recieved very well by critics who held it up against it’s predecessor, “Reign in Blood” an instant classic of fast, relentless and hardcore-like thrash metal which to this day still holds it’s own.
Never the less “South of Heaven” is today considered a masterfull album of solid metal and a valid follow-up to an album impossible to top. Guitarist Kerry King has publicly stated that “South of Heaven” is his least favoured album, and blames it’s flaws on his own absence at the time (he had just married and moved to Phoenix). However “South of Heaven” is a stunning display of what Jeff Hanneman (second and more anonymous guitarist of the band) was capable of as main songwriter. Twenty years later songs like ‘Mandatory Suicide’ and the title-bearing ‘South of Heaven’ are still considered groundbreaking work in the world of metal.
Doomlund salutes ”South of Heaven” and Slayer who are scheduled to appear at this years Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 6. So if you’re going, here’s a little tune to get you in the right headbanging, beer-guzzling and thrash-worshipping mood:
Slayer – Mandatory Suicide
On another note, I’ll be gone the next couple of months. I’m going to California in a week. A friend of mine said; “Oh, you’ve never been?” (I actually thought that refered to Paris??) “Well, you’ll love it! The climate and the general mentality… it’s just fabulous!”, and since I have always been partial to heat and cynicism I decided that it was time to visit la-la land.
I probably won’t post anything for a while, but then again who knows?… Actually, I won’t.
Yours, with flowers in his hair,
TD.
