Classical Composer Reacts to SLAYER: ANGEL OF DEATH | The Daily Doug (Episode 834)

[@falsedoor9556]

Saxophone of death

[@PsychedelicRealities]

😜

[@HamsterCaster]

I will never hear this song the same!

[@harrygr8641]

😂😂😂

[@dacechasinghawk3910]

Ha ha , LOL

[@dacechasinghawk3910]

​

[@adamschulte4119]

The final lyric of “angel of death flying free” is the part that is really powerful because, despite all of his evil deeds, he died an old, free man. Never had to be held responsible for his crimes.

[@thomasfreeman170]

Classic trash song that blew my head of when it came out. Controversial lyrics, but as Jeff said once up on a time it's a part of our history.

[@okayman81]

Plus he died in a beautiful beach here in Brazil. Feel like the waters are contaminated till today

[@csabasaghegyi6083]

The paradox thing that his evil deeds brought a lot of new knoledge into medicine

[@MrDanilop45]

@@csabasaghegyi6083even when the OMS officially refused to use that knowledge

[@Džejms_Bong]

And ending of solo section is basically depiction of soul leaving the body.

[@BBMetalKing]

12:37 Thank you Doug.......Dave Lombardo is HIGHLY REGARDED in the heavy metal community. He is a fantastic drummer. 13:25 The lyrics are brutally offensive because these actions actually happened. Slayer wrote the truth. I was a 9th grader back in 1985, and this song was super controversial at the time. It is an evil tune written about an evil person. It is perfect. 21:35 I really didn't play Slayer to my parents. I did play Metallica to my parents. My mother said I would stop listening to metal when I became an adult. I'm still waiting to become an adult.

[@johndiamond4704]

I was a teen when this came out. It originally scared the shit out of me, but eventually it became clear that Slayer were merely being horror story tellers. “Reign In Blood”, like so many great albums, should be experienced from start to finish in a sitting.

[@Paolo8772]

This came out in 1986, not '85. But I hear ya. I still prefer MOP by Metallica.

[@mcfcguvnors]

crazy beat skills

[@totalrepawns]

slayer are all about the change over from riff to riff they were so tight!

[@Transporter_Room_Three]

He is a left handed guy who plays right handed, so his sound is unique on how his beats start with his left hand.

[@everyonelovesmajima]

I’d argue that words like “sadistic,” “without mercy,” “infamous butcher,” “sickening,” “harmless victims” are pretty difficult to interpret as glorifying anyone. They have another song in the same vein called Jihad that I don’t think anyone ever said a word about.

[@NicolasAristizabal-rb3ju]

People complained more about Disciple cause it talked about terrorism and the album just happened to drop on 911

[@LieutenantMasterson]

I think it was Hanneman who said something along the lines of "we shouldn't have to tell you this is fucked up".

[@mechanicalman1068]

You’d think, but let’s me be honest. Some didn’t get it. I was 17 when this came out and pretty heavily in the metal scene. I gotta say I was disappointed at the time that a decent portion of the scene thought it was glorifying and was kinda ok with that. It’s not like they were condoning the the Holocaust, I think they just didn’t think much and liked the evil, power-mad vibe. Me personally, I didn’t really vibe with it. Thought it was a bit much maybe. That said, I was big on Exodus which has some nasty shit. Metallica, Possessed, Death Angel, Violence. I loved them all. Maybe it was a defensive NorCal vs SoCal thing 😂!

[@LieutenantMasterson]

@@mechanicalman1068 Hanneman was a pretty noted fan of bands like Discharge and Suicidal Tendencies so it's also a pretty possible that he was used to bands dealing with these subjects openly without having to always spell it out.

[@DushtYantr]

You must have missed the chorus.

[@royhernandez9386]

The scream at the beginning is for every time you cook bacon naked.

[@cemetarygates2800]

LOL Nice

[@nachoxm]

LOL!!!!

[@TWANDTW]

When you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and accidentally hit the edge of the door with your pinky toe

[@DarthJermz]

Only if you get a bit of grease spit on ya tip.

[@664chrisman]

😆😆😆

[@jmbproductions1838]

I know Dave Lombardo and the rest of the band didn't get along, but he was, in my opinion, the best drummer, by far. Such a beast behind the kit.

[@Jay-un2zc]

What makes you think they didn't get along? I don't know much about Slayer.

[@jmbproductions1838]

@@Jay-un2zc www.vice.com/en/article/slayer-and-their-original-drummer-dave-lombardo-are-having-a-serious-problem-58477f333c665001fe3be47c/ Just one source among many. It comes down to money, sadly.

[@InsomniacRocker]

@@Jay-un2zc Kerry and Tom kicked him out the band and did him dirty multiple times.

[@dacechasinghawk3910]

What a way to start an album. That riff change in the middle when there's no drums is one of the best most heaviest riffs in all of thrash metal.

[@joelmacdonald6994]

FUCKING SLAYER!!!

[@musiquefantastique7127]

A tune from another genre of metal that has that same crunchy style of guitar break is "buried in the backyard" by Cannibal Corpse. Toward the end of the tune I believe.

[@leChouffe]

Best description of Slayer I ever heard was "Something this big shouldn't move so fast".

[@occamsrouter]

in 1986 I turned 18 years old and lived in Seattle. I was already a casual Slayer fan, but after attending a Slayer show at 'the moore' on Halloween night, I became a hardcore fan. Still am. The band stuck around for a party, along with their opening band Overkill, and I got everyone's autograph. I actually ran to my apartment about 7 blocks away to grab my Reign In Blood LP to get it signed and I still have it. They laughed at me. The lyrics never bothered me, though. AoD isn't a promotional song, it's a lesson about how we must not forget history, especially the horrors. Many of their songs follow that formula, even though you can definitely argue that the imagery was for marketing purposes during the satanic panic days. They have the chops to back it up. That stop was the FIRST stop on their Reign In Blood tour, so I got to see the first public performance of that album.

[@Naamturd101]

That's awesome. I grew up in Kerry King's home city, Slayer would do keg parties pretty regularly or just randomly set up shows in a field or warehouse industrial zone on weekends. Band was so well known that in the early 2000's I got pulled over with a lot of weed on me, wearing a Slayer shirt, and the cop was more interested in talking to me about how he used to have jam sessions with Kerry King when he was in high school; let me go because of a band shirt, lol.

[@Beercoaster581]

My first slayer concert was the reign in blood tour at olympic auditorium in LA , and DRI was one of the opening bands , they just came out with crossover , it was insane , skinheads fighting metalheads all night! I was 19 years old , good times!

[@Mytro8533]

At the Moore Theater. I remember Daves kick drums pounding my chest from up in the balcony, they sounded amazing! Seen em a couple more times after and appreciated their music ever since.

[@MrPablo616]

Slayer live is an awesome experience

[@TheFLOMAN76]

That's an awesome memory to have! Thank you for sharing!!

[@MrNeosantana]

Doug likes Araya's saxy voice

[@stipicaprvi877]

I read that 10 minutes ago and I'm still laughhing. 😂😂

[@KaneJustus]

😂

[@metalzonemt-2]

Stupid saxy Tom.

[@Screwtubesensorsfreespeech]

😂😂😂

[@CrookedEyeSniper]

Nothing exhibits the suffering, pain and misery of the Holocaust like the saxophone.

[@thehunter7422]

💀💀💀

[@shovelhead2155]

One of the best Thrash songs ever. Also very misunderstood. You sing about evil with this music. That isn't glorifying the subject matter it is labeling it as evil. If Slayer or Cannibal Corpse is writing songs about you, there is a huge problem with your life choices.

[@nikolastheterrible]

No shit.

[@jeremiemamo8073]

AHAHAHAHAH

[@joelmacdonald6994]

Good way of putting it. These artists are literally singing about the scariest things that have happened, and that was their goal. The horror genre of music. Doesn’t mean the endorse or agree with things done. Slayer started out singing about Satan and hell and all sorts of things “theoretical”, but they soon switched to singing about the real horrors of the world because they were more imaginable to everyone. This song was the beginning of that change from mythical scary to realistic scary. Fun fact, the album “God Hates Us All” was released on 9/11. You can’t plan that! Their next album features songs that criticize religion, look at 9/11 from the terrorists’ viewpoint, attack media, you name it. At no point do they ever condone these actions. It’s quite clear, that while they write the songs from another viewpoint, they are indeed making a point against them. Jeez, just go find videos of the singer in day to day things, he’s one of the happiest, most jolly people you’d ever meet. Tom is just a stellar human being, despite what their music might suggest. These guys aren’t satanic or evil at all. They found a niche to express themselves by making scary(and warning) music. Even Kerry isn’t satanic or evil, he’s just angry for some unknown reason. Kerry, though, is one of the biggest dicks in music. I appreciate his contributions to the band, but he just won’t shut the hell up and is constantly trashing other musicians. He’s the guitarist that sounds like he’s ripping cat’s nipples off. It works for Slayer, but that’s it. I do like him in Slayer, the chaos works, but no real musician would ever accuse him of being a talented composer. I’d bet money that the real reason Tom wanted to stop touring was Kerry, not family.

[@potatos_4_free]

I think the singer is a Jew so he definitely wouldn't be glorifying the event he sings of.

[@shovelhead2155]

@@joelmacdonald6994 Yeah, Kerry has gotten a little insufferable. Tom is always smiling and laughing. He was also a nurse or something and used medical knowledge to help with the gory lyrics. Jeff was very interested in WW2 history because his dad took medals off the Nazi's he took out in the war and gave them to Jeff. Dead Skin Mask was about Ed Gein, btw

[@brandonsimmons1695]

“Is the snare on the beat or the offbeat?”- Yes

[@KevinBrown-se2ut]

😆 🤣

[@The-Clockwork-Eye]

Beats 2 and 4. He is wrong about the off-beat.

[@9xqspx6]

I heat absolutely nothing wrong with the snare

[@flobp2381]

Imagine being 13 years old in 1986 and going to Catholic school and listening this. That was me!

[@samhainkid]

Same, dude! It was just mind-blowing!

[@hexeautoexport2704]

I used to put the album on loop and sleep when I was a teen. Slayer is still my favorite now I’m over 50

[@DakTirCue]

Haha I wore my "Root of all evil" t-shirt to church when I went to the practice for little brothers Confirmation. ( I was his sponsor).. I had some serious concerns about bursting into flames upon entering the threshold. Metal helped me begin my "question everything" red pilling that continues to this day.

[@henketh]

Fun facts: Regarding the word "Abacinate", which Doug mentions 10:15 as "I didn't even know what that word means": According to the book "Foyle's Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words" by Christopher Foyle, Slayer's Angel of Death is noteworthy for containing the only recorded use of the term. *(it means "corporal punishment or torture, in which the victim is blinded by infliction of intentional damage to the eyes")

[@algirdasbagdonas6898]

Thank you!😊

[@miked2282]

Not so... Hot iron seared eys shut, sorry

[@miked2282]

Fastest double base EVER

[@matthewgarrison-perkins5377]

In the 80's they didn't discuss the Holocaust until High School. I heard this album when i was in Elementary school and it creeped me out enough to go to the library and there I found out what had happened. Crazy song with disturbing explanations for a time in history when scapegoating and hate drove a nation to madness, an important lesson to learn.

[@gwts1171]

They never talked about it or Vietnam in my high school in the midwest. I asked why and got tossed from the class for the day. Great work, education system.

[@Balalaika74]

You know it's all BS right?

[@DarthJermz]

Damn dude, I grew up in Catholic school, we were taught history, good, bad, sick pics and shit, that is deemed unimportant today, that was back in the 70's.

[@uroboric]

@@Balalaika74 yea sure all the friends my german grandma lost because they were killed is just BS.... right...

[@Naamturd101]

@@Balalaika74 all of the holocaust denial crap is easily debunked if you know how to thoroughly do your research. People who buy into it are useful idiots that think themselves intelligent by following a contrarian belief.

[@ucheehQ]

I'm a hobbyist drummer for about 17 years, and when I started playing drums, this was one of the songs I aspired to learn. Got the speed down fairly early, but being self-taught, it took a long time before I got the finesses down. A couple of months ago, I had someone over to come and check out my drumming, and Angel of Death was one of the songs I played for him. Headsets on, I hit play on the music, and drummed along. I was completely focused on playing the drums during the song, so it wasn't until after I was done that I saw the look on his face. For a moment, I thought he was just blown away by the speed and power of the drums. We took our headphones off to discuss, I asked with a proud grin on my face what he thought, and it took a while for him to find the right words to describe what he felt when he heard the lyrics. Disgust, revulsion. Anger. He barely noticed the drums. I've heard this song so often, and paid particular attention to the drums, that I had forgotten completely about the actual contents of the song and how it could affect someone not prepared for it. We did have a great discussion afterwards about artistic freedom, taboo, and all that surrounds those subjects. I think Slayer fans often tend to forget just how terribly descriptive these lyrics are to an innocent ear.

[@oVioletValkyriex]

If this song makes you uncomfortable, then this song did its job.

[@adam-gould]

I've always thought of this song as the musical equivalent of a horror film. It's vile, it's shocking, it's horrific, and it's absolutely supposed to be. I love it.

[@Shagrath71]

Slayer is basically horror movies in musical form. That's really all you need to know to get your head around what they're doing in their songs.

[@darktehom]

Jeff Hanneman once said, this song is a lesson of history, in order to finish up the controversy, either way, is not like he really cared about the controversy, you really get the meaning of the song or not, great reaction as always Doug, thanks

[@MarekHaliniak]

As a Pole, I was taught from childhood about what happened in Auschwitz. Many school readings about this camp and others in the vicinity. I will say this: what happened there was told delicately in this piece. Just very intesive piece of art.

[@strikedn]

Yep. We all study this in Europe. It's a lesson never to be forgotten and the lyrics of Angel of Death should be in all history books.

[@TotalNightmaree]

Jak pierwszy raz zobaczyłem jakim słowem zaczyna się ta piosenka, byłem zszokowany

[@AllentheHowler]

I graduated High school in the late 90s and while the camps were covered in school, Dr. Mengele wasn’t brought up. I read about Josef Mengele own my own after hearing this song in junior high when I was about 13. Slayer did a great job describing what a monster he was.

[@LuGer212]

visiting the camp in Auschwitz is something I will never forget. we were there in late-summer, still nice / warm weather - but somehow I do not remember any sunshine or birds chriping. I know this sounds clichee, but it's still how I remember a - besides the obvious weight and impression of the place on me - somber and silent area.

[@goaway7904]

@@LuGer212 did you get to see the swimming pool

[@chriscromelin413]

Dave Lombardo is one of my all time favorite metal drummers. His double bass drums and his crazy fills are so unique. He's one of those drummers who's style is instantly recognizable.

[@maximpopov199]

@@chriscromelin413 Ya and He uses no triggers.

[@jye_24]

See Tracks off South of Heaven like Live Undead and Read Between the Lies, Lombardo is King.

[@loritoskabinski2408]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@danielboyko2112]

This song's lyrics literally changed my life. When I was in high school I did give a crap about learning a whole lot, especially history. I had learned a little about the holocaust & Hitler. A few months after I graduated high school in 87 I got turned on to the Reign In Blood album and the lyrics to this song after awhile sparked my curiosity and i started learning more about the holocaust & WWII in general which eventually gave me a thirst for knowledge that I still have today. I ended up going to college where I met some life changing people that I'm friends with still. For better or worse I owe this song for a big chunk of why I am the person I am today. Side note, I played this song at work 1 day and about 20 seconds in my coworker looked at me and said "That song sounds so angry".

[@kylelewis4685]

Greatest thrash anthem of all time.

[@TheCentralScrutinizerAgain]

Can`t really argue with that!

[@paolodelsante1425]

No It Is not but it's Classic

[@Mitochondria120]

Top 3 I put Rust in Peace above it

[@paolodelsante1425]

@@kylelewis4685 Megadeth or Dark Angel can deliver the same ferocity and tightness with twice as much feeling and technicality, imao

[@mickofbeliath6666]

Funny how some of you put rust in peace, but many many polls say otherwise. Your opinion is just that. Your opinion, but many say reign in blood is the pinnacle of thrash.

[@asmagner]

About a year before this album arrived and not knowing who Slayer was at the time, I had the opportunity to tour the Dachau camp. This was 1985 and I was 17. One of the most impactful things I have experienced. One can't help but reflect on all the horrors human beings can inflict upon one another, especially against a group that is marginalized in some way. What got me the most was standing in the showers and the ovens. An overwhelming sense of grief came over me and I had to leave. Absolutely tragic time in our history. I experienced the same sense of grief decades later with my kids while visiting the holocaust museum in Washington, DC.

[@chrisbanks6659]

"Abacinate" is a verb that means to blind someone by holding a red-hot metal plate or iron in front of their eyes.

[@xytras6451]

"The song “Angel of Death” by Slayer is noteworthy for containing the only recorded use of the term according to Christopher Foyle's Foyle's Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words." From Wikipedia. lmao awesome.

[@Naamturd101]

@@xytras6451 really makes you wonder what kind of literature Kerry King was reading to find this stuff before the internet, and where he was able to obtain it. I don't remember my local library having super in depth books on the holocaust in the 80's.

[@roymacdonald8312]

​@@Naamturd101Hanneman not King

[@Naamturd101]

@@roymacdonald8312 word, assumed it was King because of the topic; thanks for the correction.

[@strikedn]

@@Naamturd101 Books about the holocaust were sold anywhere in Europe. in the 80's. We all study it in depth at school.

[@TheloniousSphere]

Slayer's - Reign in Blood is in the running for heaviest albums of all time - Without a shadow of a doubt. It could possibly the greatest metal record ever made of all time. It's in the running easy - There is no bad track on the record.

[@tinodejong6298]

I love your honest reaction. But either way, music of Slayer is fascinating. If you like it or not...its very dark and confronted but it is within our human boundaries

[@petertapola8097]

After almost 40 years of listening to this, it still hooks me every time. There was a series of interviews of metal musicians here in Finland and they were asked to name their favorite song. Majority of them answered "Angel of Death", out of all the songs out there.

[@RichHutchinson]

Nothing quite like pulling into the office parking lot (or out at the end of the day) blasting Angel of Death

[@ericfisher4736]

My favorite song from my favorite Slayer album... I'm not sure how I (and many others), back when I was a teenager, was able to understand that they are not praising the "Angel of Death" but instead just educating/informing listeners about the horrific things that happened during the Holocaust, yet grown adults couldn't figure it out. It wasn't meant to come across like they were promoting those atrocities, it was meant to shock due to the fact that all those terrible things really happened. They even describe Mengele as "sickening, sadistic and rancid," not terms you generally use for someone if you were on their side.

[@jesswilson8687]

Don't forget, 86 was also my favorite Maiden album Somewhere In Time!!! 86 was the best year for rock/metal

[@sirsancti5504]

Best year overall (I was born that year!) Also, Chernobyl.

[@timbrown4086]

‘94 was the year for me, but I can see the argument for ‘86.

[@jamescooper-hope6930]

Master of Puppets

[@geoffreydickson7763]

Age of Quarrel

[@Jzsons]

​@@geoffreydickson7763still one of my favorites.

[@IronMathew666]

This is Slayer re-writing thrash metal - Reign In Blood is genre defining, one of the best thrash albums ever...if not the best!

[@gehtdichnixan3200]

tom "saxophone" arraya

[@HBFTimmahh]

Hahaha hahahaha good one.

[@dathorndike4908]

I appreciate the honesty in your reaction Doug!

[@metalmark1214]

Youve done a few Slayer songs now. Recommend Testament next

[@RichHutchinson]

Into the Pit!!!

[@helgaratbone1691]

Doug should practice what he preaches.

[@roger16trekkie]

The Legacy

[@AlbertRubio-ju4se]

The New Order😉

[@matthewaper3716]

He needs to go Over the Wall!!

[@smftv]

As someone whose lost most of his family in the holocaust; I almost feel ashamed for enjoying this song, but I've never considered this song as "entertainment" just as I don't consider a documentary on this subject as "entertainment". The music, yes, but not the rest. How I really feel... is that it's educational. Starting with the high-pitched scream which connects the horrific screams of the tortured during that time. That always hits hard. Knowing (a bit) of what my family suffered and very few endured within these lyrics makes this song not one I choose to play when I'm just listening to music. Unlike other Slayer songs that I listen to and enjoy anytime. I don't see it as glorifying the atrocities, but I think it's something that needs to be shared and understood that monsters do in fact exist in this world, and we need to revisit and learn from the past so it doesn't become our future.

[@wyldhowl2821]

As I see it, they portray a monster in monstrous terms. "Yes, it really was that horrible - people actually did this." Sort of the opposite of a "trigger warning".

[@gus8024]

They wrote the album intending it to be a typical 45 minute album but played it so fast in the studio that the final running time is just under 29 minutes. Hence everything is so frantic.

[@Naamturd101]

They played it even faster at concerts, too! Slayer at their peak were wild, lol. Saw them 4 or 5 times before Divine Intervention dropped.

[@mattdad8429]

@@Naamturd101 Dude, nice. I heard those shows were brutal. Guy I worked with told me if you left a Slayer gig with a dislocated shoulder to consider yourself lucky. Were they pretty nutty crowds?

[@anttikurenniemi5642]

Doug, you don't have to like everything - nothing to apologize for. We can understand and appreciate the impact and effect of music even if we personally don't like it. Rock on!

[@bootlegcowboys]

I love how this one track really caught you off guard Doug. Your facial expressions say it all. Try Hell Awaits Doug.

[@doug071173]

No try "Necrophiliac"

[@jye_24]

Favourite Thing about you Doug is how much you look into a song and not only it's meaning but also the background to the Lyrics!

[@benwabp]

As a pent up 15 year old, when I heard Tom’s opening scream? I KNEW I found what I was looking for! The opening riff, the drums coming in, and the scream was an “intro” to the greatest thrash metal album. I found away to release feelings just by listening to music. I never thought they were praising the guy, the world can be terrible and Jeff was showing an example

[@chad_kaya]

Haven’t listened to this one in a while, and fuck, is it ever still so damn good! Got chills hearing it again. So cool to see y’all classical dudes checking out heavy music. Always interesting to see what you have to say.

[@tomasinplinplin426]

u should listen to war ensamble next, that song is such a banger, and a thrash metal classic !!

[@andrejtomic741]

chemical warfare also!!!

[@MartinJessop-bi4yt]

Love The way the second half of seasons in the abyss album just gets faster and faster building to the title track. Amazing

[@InsomniacRocker]

When it comes to guitars, classic Slayer was tuned a half step down to Eb, with Kerry King's and Jeff H. guitars totally panned to opposite speakers of each other.

[@Spivonious]

HOW ARE YOU NOT HEADBANGING TO THIS?!!???!

[@MarmiteTheDog]

His neck brace is in the laundry

[@9xqspx6]

It's quite the miracle, isn't it

I bought this album the day it came out and was lucky enough to see this tour front and center. I listened to it multiple times a day and I never got the sense that they were praising him or supportive of Natzis. Though to this day Angel of Death still sends shivers down my spine. Seeing them perform it live and hearing Dave Lombardo on the drums for it was one of a kind.

[@Starman_67]

I have no emotional involvement with the subject matter. I just hear someone’s view of a historical period and person. This has always been my favourite on the Album. At first, before I know the lyrics, it was the speed and the riffs that got me. It was a release. Knowing the lyrical content after the fact added to the mystique of the song. The whole album was a favourite, as a teenager (I’m 57), for driving. I was an aggressive driver and this “got me in the mood”. Today, I just appreciate this album as part of my journey. It was a seminal experience in my growing love of metal that has endured and matured to this day. I have seen Slayer live a few times at festivals and, seriously, they are phenomenal. Jeff was already passed, so I did not experience his playing live, but they were fkn awesome. 🤘😎🤘

[@andrewbates6840]

Jeff Hanneman was a giant German WW2 afficionado. He collected a lot of Nazi medals and badges. He also had custom guitars made by ESP that had SS logos and other SS military divisions incorporated into the guitars. He only had German Dogs. They were all named after SS leaders and Generals.

[@RandyGoble]

"Is the snare on the beat or on the off beat?" Yes.

[@benpotts5210]

As a freshman in high school back in the day, my English teacher gave me extra credit for writing an essay discussing the lyrics of this song and its teachings about history.

[@rubencantu5067]

Epic!!!! Slayer at their peak. As horrific as the subject matter is, the Holocaust was real, the story needs to be remembered in full detail, not to be praised but to prevented from ever happening again. I get it, this kind of metal it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I just love it!

[@metalski64]

My parents lived in Poland during the war. I visited Treblinka back in 1987. My father fought in the Warsaw Uprising and was captured by the Nazis the last 6 months of the war. I know my father had PTSD before it was a diagnosis. RIP Dad.

[@maximpopov199]

Its a heaviest song written for the 80s era, and for a decades.

[@senjutsu-walrus2847]

S.O.D..."Hold my beer"

[@Tomekkplk]

@@senjutsu-walrus2847uhh not even close bud

[@kevinmassey1164]

Arguable…there are a bunch of song for which that could be said. Exodus - Deliver us to Evil comes to mind

[@sulyvahnthetyrant7378]

Not really. death metal was already around in the late eighties.

[@masterpeace8539]

One of the most aggressive for sure, but by the time there were acts like Swans delivering really horrifying and disturbing noisy ritualistic performances. Extremely heavy to me.

[@Aardquark777]

I was around 14 or 15 and I overheard my guitar teacher playing the 1/2 time guitar section on an acoustic before my session started. I came in and asked him how to play it. I thought it was Bach or something! He told me not to tell my folks he showed me Slayer. I started playing it at home and my mom bought me Reign in Blood. We listened to it everyday on the way to school. ❤ SLAYER!!!!!!!

[@JoriDiculous]

Reign in Blood is a speedy album, the 4th album "South of Heaven" is 'slower' and might be more to your taste. Season in Abyss is brilliant (title track their first Music video). Also a few years ahead you got "God Hates Us All" which earned them a Grammy nomination for the song "Disciple"

[@steve.hoffman]

War Ensemble would be a great song for a reaction from Doug!

[@clintonjames8322]

I feel that Seasons is the most "listenable" of all Slayer albums. Not quite as fast and it's filled with killer riffs and great hooks.

[@JoriDiculous]

@@clintonjames8322 Agree. 'Season' is more a "metal" album comparable making it more accessible for a wider audience.🤘

[@rabbitholeguy]

This album is an aural onslaught, from the first note to the last. Those lyrics are intense, but really well written. Thanks for visiting this one.

[@jp7963]

Its a testament to the late, great Jeff Hanneman's creativity that nearly 4 decades later this work still polarizes and stuns people. And that was his point. We should be stunned and polarized over such events. The day we accept them we are lost.

[@richardpeterson8117]

we should be polarized over a holocaust?

[@alespider9905]

@@richardpeterson8117 you understood what he meant, mongoloid

[@ferox965]

It's exactly how it's supposed to be. Music isn't always about dynamics (even though there are dynamics here) and melody. It's atonal and brutal, as the subject matter demands. Stuff like this is totally one-dimensional, as it should be. Brilliant. Sometimes you have to go beyond the pale. That whole record is a 29 minute theme and variations on the word death. You don't necessarily look at this to be entertained, you look at this to feel something. In your case, this song was successful. It got you to feel something.

[@SirSkud]

So glad you're back in my algorithm! Luv ya, Doug!! Album reactions would be sick af!!!

[@eamonahern7495]

Angel Of Death is Jeff Hanneman's magnum opus. Musically anyway, for me because it's everything I want in a thrash metal song. Edit: also, along the same lines, Jeff wrote a shorter song for a later album (World Painted Blood) called Unit 731 about the atrocities the Japanese committed during WWII. I had never heard of what he was writing about in that until the song was released.

[@stevenpeet427]

I heard this song back when I was in high school. Me and my friends didn't know the word "abacinate". We asked our English teacher and she spent about a week searching for it and finally found it in a really old dictionary.

[@andreaseileng]

Interesting and awesome video as always.

[@MasterFlarg89]

I don't like Screamy music and I'm usually a prog metal guy more than anything, but when that middle section hit, I needed surgery to repair the damage to my face.

[@worldsheaviestjamband93]

Got some birthday money in 7th grade and went to the CD store and bought this album. Came back to the party and listened to it with friend and 20 minutes later my great grandmother died at the party. True story, not even sure what to make of it.

[@scoutbeavers7355]

Infamous Grandma!

[@mattdad8429]

So basically Slayer gave GG a heart attack is what I'm taking away from this anecdote.

[@danceswithferrets]

It's been 40 years and this song is still starting conversations. Never forget, never repeat.

[@markshaw9849]

Repeated in Gaza by Netanyahu

[@benekatop]

You are rightfully shocked. They just pioneered the most extreme form of metal at the time, and some genres of metal would take this even further. I just wish I am someday at their concert moshing to that half-time part.

[@DaveThomson]

Um Sepultura Morbid Visions, Possessed, Death, Celtic Frost,

[@benekatop]

@@DaveThomson Morbid Visions was late 86, Seven Churches is their 85 debut (not nearly as extreme or virtuous as this), Scream Bloody Gore was 87, I can agree on Celtic Frost but they were nowhere as famous. My point is that Slayer here was on their 3rd album and they had already toured with the greats. They were the greats. Reign in Blood incorporates the hardcore punk/crossover influences that would make extreme metal what it is, imo. This album's release was delayed for almost a year.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

Lol, the funny part is that later bands with indiscernible grunting thought that they were more shocking. What makes this song work is that the lyrics are well articulated.

[@benekatop]

@@ryanjacobson2508 Absolutely, this was their 3rd album, they were experimented composers and musicians by that time. By the time those later and sloppier bands started keeping up with Slayer's speed and precision, Slayer started slowing down their music and managing to sound heavier than anyone else.

[@ernie316]

The last tour was the retirement tour unfortunately. I went to see them with two broken discs in my neck as it was the last chance

[@eliaframsgimp9618]

Great reaction Doug! I love the candidness, and I love that you're not one of those that pretends they like everything! I have a similar reaction, I appreciate the percussive brilliance

[@daftymcnumpty8198]

One of my fave Slayer songs. I've always considered it a history lesson set to thrash metal awesomeness 🤘

[@doctarockta4228]

Doug, I think now that you've done Angel of Death, you really need to do Dead Skin Mask. One of Slayers more melodic songs that musically encapsulates the lyrical content perfectly.

[@revwillyg6450]

Those cries at the end are soooo creepy " Mr. Geen!"

[@doctarockta4228]

@@revwillyg6450 Creepy inspiration, creepy musical vibes which I'd love to hear Doug's take on and for sure, those cries!

[@alvarogonzales4145]

My favorite of Slayer ..dead skin mask

[@shmick6079]

This song is legendary - top tier thrash & Slayer at their best. I’ve always interpreted the subject as being “this awful thing really happened, and we must not forget about it because we must not allow it to happen again”. Plenty of people miss the fact that Slayer is absolutely and vehemently condemning the acts that are described in the lyrics.

[@lm7_gio]

plenty of people are morons and noone should care about their opinions. Saying this song is celebrating Nazi crimes is like saying that the Bible is celebrating the torments of Jews in Babylon and Egypt and later Jesus on the cross.

[@petertapola8097]

I find it mind boggling that someone can think they are endorsing the bad guys here.

[@shmick6079]

@@petertapola8097 metal is forever being misinterpreted, especially by people who aren’t fans of the genre.

[@uroboric]

yea I don't really understand why some people think they are glorifying mengele. No nazi would call the jews "harmless victims left to die" because to them they weren't harmless and they weren't victims.

[@colinburroughs9871]

I think the aesthetic and the "hail satan" routine makes it either confusing or kinda BS that these guys are really preaching for the good to most people. I just find the music to be generally whatever after a few minutes of going "Dave Lombardo was a prime athlete in 1986". There's always a inside/outside kinda game from this type of thing.

[@IvanVarentsov]

Thanks for this. *Reign in Blood* is my favorite album of all the music ever made, and I find *Angel of Death* to be the best song of Slayer's career. I would be really happy to see your reaction to the whole *Pet Sounds* album by The Beach Boys. There's so much happening straightforwardly in it from a composer's perspective (especially compared to those pretty hidden nuances of *Reign in Blood* that only become apparent after one becomes closely familiar with the tracks, learned by heart, which is also true for *Pet Sounds*), but if you really want to react to one more Slayer song, I would be happy to see you react to *At Dawn They Sleep*.

[@Jim_L348]

Dave Lombardo, probably metals best drummer. Saxophone Araya, LOL

[@oscardiggs246]

For whatever reason during the St. Anger tour, Lars flaked on a Metallica show at Download due to being... well... Lars. He was hanging out trying to recover in whatever country they had been in before and the band went and got Joey Jordison and Dave Lombardo to fill in. He quickly got himself back on the tour, saying something along the lines of "It's not a great feeling to know that you are out of action while the greatest metal drummer in the world is taking your place in your band." There isn't much detail about what was going on at the time of the incident, but I've always liked to think that Lars was pulling a power play on James after all of the conflict during recording St. Anger, and James pulled an Uno Reverse on him. "It's not Metallica without me, but I can get two amazing drummers to fill in for you by just asking. You really want to play this game?" Lars hasn't missed a show since. My head canon is most assuredly untrue, but the point is Lombardo is the best of that batch and all of them knew it.

[@mposh]

@@oscardiggs246 The footage of that concert is amazing.

[@mattdad8429]

@@oscardiggs246 Lars stated it was a major panic attack on the plane ride over to the gig. I have a sneaking suspicion it was a cocaine overdose because he's freely admitted to being a cokehead in the 80s, and I'm 99% sure he alluded to doing it throughout the 90s and early 2000s. He spent a little too much time with Noel Gallagher to not be doing copious blow. This is all speculation on my part, but it makes sense if you stack up the evidence.

[@andydzieciaszek586]

@@oscardiggs246 The word at the time was Lars did too much coke and had to be hospitalized with a racing heart.

[@Cimmerian415]

Wow Doug you're up to over 400k subs! I have been here since before you had 100k subs. Congratulations, good to see that your channel has grown.

[@Doug.Helvering]

Its my privilege that you are here for the journey!!

[@johntheisen6791]

Slayer is a hard to take sometimes. But that’s Slayer. Lol And yes Dave Lombardo is a monster on the drums

[@Abhoth666]

Love everything about the album. I got it when it came out, I was 13-14 years old. I learned so much by the lyrics, both in terms of English and history. I was always fascinated by WWII, but this song opened my eyes to the holocaust. I have visited Auschwitz twice in the past 9 years. Changed me for life.

[@nabsludwig7462]

You've got to submit and surrender when listening to Slayer

[@mattdad8429]

Sometimes all you can do is buckle up, grab the "oh shit" handle, and hope for the best. 🤘

[@scoutbeavers7355]

@nabsludwig7462 Damn it grandma submit! Submit now!!!🤣

[@curauma6663]

Hey Doug, one of my favourite Slayer songs of all time is "War Ensemble", also from the "Seasons in the Abyss" album. The studio version is brilliant but you might want to check out their live version in Tokyo. It´s epic - it gives me goosebumps every time.

[@benekatop]

I grew up in the 90s-00s and there was already a lot of crude films about the holocaust. To me, Slayer portrayed the reality of what happened with the rightful amount of emotion this would make anyone feel. Should this be a ballad? A symphony? Anyway this song has become a classic metal anthem since then, and to put it in context, the most part of thrash songs are anti-war songs. After the initial shock, you might start to appreciate its relevance.

[@metalrager66]

I bought this album the day it came out, the first time listening to it was like, whoah! Brutality from start to finish, the whole album clocks in at 28:55 so it's a short listen but rips from one song to the next with reckless abandon. I was already a Slayer fan since 1983 and this album was next level in sound as the production is top notch but doesn't have an ounce of melody or a hint of mainstream in it, their level of musicianship was stepped up as everything is super tight and controlled fury. I had the pleasure of seeing them for the first time on this tour not long after the album came out at a small club, The Penny Arcade in Rochester NY, the place was packed to the gills and they were just as furious and punishing live as you could imagine, whipped the crowd into an absolute frenzy! Their previous album, Hell Awaits is my favorite but this is Slayer's pinnacle, their high water mark, definitely the heaviest album to come out in 1986 and heavier than anything the "Big Four" have to offer....

[@metalzonemt-2]

My friend had this on casette, and it had the entire album on both sides.

[@paulgoodwin3642]

Dead Skin mask. Is worthy of a listen..

[@Driecnk]

Brilliance

[@jye_24]

You did this song so much Justice Especially Hannemans Lyrics!

[@Gwynbleidd66]

Say what you can about all the rest of Slayer's, but this one here is the essence of art. Disturbing, raw, and surgical (nomen omen), it evokes anger, disgust, fear, and chaos. It's extreme music put into an artistic expression of the extreme. I think "Angel of Death" is the greatest example of this.

[@facepalmjesus1608]

Doug: this is my favorite part so far Gremilns: we approve!

[@captaincrespo3327]

That half time riff is my favorite riff ever

[@stevecinneide8183]

I remember getting this CD for Christmas when I was 13. Still a banger.

[@janiwirman]

When i first heard the song as a teenager it was quite a shock... It got me so interested on the Holocaust topic that i read anything i could find in order to understand why. It also made me thankful that Slayer didn't look the other way or sugar coat those events. In a time when i though mainstream music was so hypocritical singing only about love and happiness, it felt so refreshing that they were acknowledging the dark bits too. Individuals and societies have ups and downs, ingoring what you dont like instead of understanding is the recipe for disaster

[@slaydesaid8741]

Great comment.

[@janiwirman]

@@slaydesaid8741 thanks!

[@aldersmoke1]

Great reaction. You're absolutely right to be disturbed by the song. I was in 6th grade when I heard it for the first time and it terrified me. And all these years later, I still can't think of a more disturbing 28 minutes of music.

[@mlwsf]

The review for this song is almost as long as the album itself. ;-)

[@charlyparamos4577]

Al ser Argentino yo ni sabía lo que decían las letras a mis 17 años,me gustaba la música,y un día dije tengo que conseguir un diccionario de inglés porq quería saber lo q decían las letras d todo lo q escuchaba,y buscando palabra por palabra armaba las letras de los temas,así aprendí inglés,gracias a la música,y mis padres escuchaban lo que escuchaba yo y no tenían ni idea de lo q decían,lo único q m decían era como podía escuchar ese ruido,pasaron 40 años y sigo escuchando música extrema(y todo ese ruido)amo la música,abrazo amigo!!!

[@Exilist_24]

Birthday wish! Morbid Angel - Immortal Rites

[@rexor7590]

Now that’s one that definitely needs a classical composers ear

[@Eric-hr1pv]

I’ve been so busy in life! I’ve missed this channel listening to my favorite reactor and favorite songs👊🏽🤙🏽

[@CroMagJohnson]

i'd love to see a reaction from slayer's first album, show no mercy. it's my favorite slayer album and possibly my favorite speed metal album of all-time. from that album i would recommend: crionics metal storm/face the slayer evil has no boundaries

[@doug071173]

Definitely give a listen to "Crionics"

[@eman-so5gf]

Its SLAYER brother. That album they found their sound. An amazing band, trailblazers. Check out their album Seasons in the Abyss. I think you'll really appreciate that one.

[@betolicks4071]

He's gotta listen to Black Magic now lol

[@motleydude73]

Yes. A lot to unpack in this one. Which is unusual for a thrash song. One of my all time faves. It's as fresh to me today as it was in '86.

[@664chrisman]

5:46 There's a couple of album covers in the background with the same reaction to the song as you. 😅

[@danzmind27]

I haven't watched your videos for months. I'm typing this before the music starts. This should be interesting....love your content. 😊

[@michaelpost3562]

Do "Crionics" next

[@matejatomic3897]

Yes! Best song off of Show No Mercy

[@MarcGlenwright]

​@@matejatomic3897Yeah and I'd put Tormentor as my second favourite.

[@coffeecarnosaur3095]

​@@MarcGlenwright Gotta agree with that one!

[@mnnc6742]

After wearing out Haunting the Chapel and Hell Awaits…..purchased this of course the day it dropped. I still have that cassette

[@casteliero]

I don’t really understand why people gets angry about lyrics and subject. It’s a kinda modern folklore of a events that happened in near history. No one gets angry about songs of Attila the hun or vikings or even white men who killed millions of indians in Usa. Maybe it’s too close history and those feelings will pass with next generation. But history is history and it needs to be saved, even the ugly one as well.

[@mechanicalman1068]

@@casteliero yes, it’s too close in time. Visiting my thoroughly American grandparents in their Jewish retirement community 20 odd years ago I met many lovely old people with faded numbers tattooed on their wrists. Some, if given the opportunity, would talk about it a bit. Dachau, Auschwitz, Treblinka: I heard some shit. The Holocaust is even now within living memory as their are still people alive who experienced it and remember. It’s said it takes seven generations to recover from something like this. That’s about when there will be no one left alive like me who either experienced the event or knew someone who heard firsthand scoff those who did. And of the ones you mentioned it’s the only one with film and photographic documentation.

[@casteliero]

@@mechanicalman1068 but we also have Josef Stalin, Pol Pot and other dictators who killed millions. But I guess those didn’t really made any impact on westeners and are kinda forgotten here in west.

[@mechanicalman1068]

@@casteliero they made an impact. Those are not forgotten secrets and this isn’t a competition. It’s not like we can only condemn one at a time. Perhaps the holocaust is better known in America because America fought a war with the bad guys and American GIs were the first to document it? WWII is a solid part of American history. Soviet and Cambodian internal conflict is not. Also, just by the percentages, the holocaust was deadlier. And the Nazis actually succeeded in wiping out Jewish culture as a significant presence in most of Europe. There’s still plenty of Russians practicing Russian culture in Russia, same with Cambodia. But again, why make it a competition?

[@guitarscadillacshillbillym5344]

@@castelierowesterners don’t look at Stalin too hard. If we did, we’d have to admit that we allied with a nation who committed a Ukrainian holocaust before WW2 even started.