Slayer – World Painted Blood

Approaching their thirtieth year, the forefathers of thrash have yet to churn out any surprises since their unholy trinity of landmark albums was unleashed in the late 80s. And why should they? Slayer continually do what no one else can. They give their devout fanbase precisely what they want and require, and this album is no different. All the essential ingredients are present, combined with a leaner, meaner approach to songwriting, which at times situates the abbreviated structures of early American hardcore alongside the relentless hooks of classic 70s hard rock.

The results are straightforward yet meticulous, overflowing with sinister allusions to genocidal atrocities, murder and the final extinction of mankind. Unceasingly irreverent and iconoclastic in their constant struggle to both bait religious fanatics and mock modern political structures (and the corrupt leaders who exploit them), they have yet again certified their status as a musical institution in the canonical pages of heavy metal history.[Eric Ledford]