Seasons in the Abyss
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2008-07-16T21:27:54Z
68.39.235.91
/* Track listing */
{{Expand|date=March 2007}}
{{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
Name = Seasons in the Abyss |
Type = studio |
Artist = [[Slayer]] |
Cover = Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss.jpg |
Released = [[October 9]], [[1990]] |
Recorded = [[January 1990|January]]-June 1990 at<br />Hit City West<br />Hollywood Sound<br />Record Plant<br />[[Los Angeles, California]], USA |
Genre = [[Thrash metal]] |
Length = 42:23 |
Label = [[Def American|Def American Records]] |
Producer = [[Rick Rubin]], [[Andy Wallace (producer)|Andy Wallace]], [[Slayer]] |
Reviews = *[[Allmusic]] {{Rating-5|4.5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:obkzu3q5an5k link]
*''[[Kerrang]]'' {{rating-5|5}} |
Last album = ''[[South of Heaven]]'' <br /> (1988) |
This album = '''''Seasons in the Abyss'''''<br />(1990) |
Next album = ''[[Decade of Aggression]]''<br />(1991) |
}}
'''''Seasons in the Abyss''''' is the fifth studio album by the [[thrash metal]] band [[Slayer]]. It was released in 1990 through [[Def American|Def American Records]], and later through [[American Recordings]] after the company changed its name. It was [[Dave Lombardo]]'s last studio album with Slayer, until his return in 2006 with the release of ''[[Christ Illusion]]''. Seasons in the Abyss is Slayer's third major record label release.
==Recording==
"Born of Fire" was for a long time just an instrumental leftover song from ''[[South of Heaven]]'' with a working title "Stress" due to the fact that [[Kerry King]] could not write any good lyrics for it during the ''South of Heaven'' sessions. Eventually it was the last song completed for ''Seasons in the Abyss''.
The somewhat strange vocal arrangement on the track "Temptation" was unintentionally done that way. If you listen to the track, you actually hear [[Tom Araya]] singing the song twice: once the way he thought it fit and for the second time on the insistence of Kerry King the way he thought it should be sung. The haunting end result came to be because the first vocal track was not erased between the takes. When the producer played the track and heard both vocal renditions simultaneously on the instrumental background, he liked it so much that both vocals were used on the album. Nobody is sure which vocals are the original.<ref>1990 issue of Metal Maniacs featuring Slayer and Megadeth talking about their then new LPs (''Seasons in The Abyss'' and ''Rust In Peace'')</ref>
==Lyrical themes==
War, murder, blood, and human weakness are the major lyrical themes. In "Born of Fire", "Spirit in Black", and "Temptation", the album returns to the Satanic themes previously featured in ''[[Hell Awaits]]''.
The song "Dead Skin Mask" was inspired by [[serial killer]] [[Ed Gein]]. "Blood Red" deals with oppressive [[Communism|communist]] regimes. "War Ensemble" is an exploration of the horrors of war.<ref name="Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss"/>
"Skeletons of Society" and "Seasons in the Abyss" on the other hand deal with apocalyptical themes. "Expendable Youth" is about gang wars and "Hallowed Point" is about a killing spree.
==Critical reception==
''Seasons in the Abyss'' was released on [[October 9]], [[1990]] and peaked at number 40 on the [[Billboard 200]] album chart, the highest position the band attained at the time.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite web|title=Slayer's album chart history| publisher=Billboard.com|url= http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=5692&model.vnuAlbumId=789249|accessdate=2007-03-19}}</ref> In 1992 the album was certified gold, for shipments in excess of 500,000 in the United States.<ref name="RIAA">{{cite web
|title=Recording Industry Association of America Gold & Platinum Searchable Database|publisher=[[RIAA]]|url=http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp|accessdate=2007-03-24}}</ref>
David Browne of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' commented "Pushing the envelope of its previous album straight out the door, Slayer piles on the grim vocals, the frenetic guitar work, and the gore on ''Seasons in the Abyss''", praising the guitar work of King and Hanneman. However, Browne criticized the "presence of lickety- split guitar solos-an unsettling sign that the band may be starting to dress up its sonic assault with empty virtuosity".<ref name="Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss">{{cite web
|title=Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
|author=Browne, David
|publisher=''Entertainment Weekly''
|date=[[1990-11-05]]
|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318578,00.html
|accessdate=2007-12-17}}</ref>
Steve Huey of [[Allmusic]] described the album as bringing back the "pounding aggression of ''Reign In Blood'', periodically kicking up the mid-tempo grooves of ''South of Heaven''." Huey praised the music as "displaying the full range of their abilities all in one place, with sharp, clean production.," stating the band is refining rather than progressing or experimenting. The album received a rating of four and a half out of five stars, while the title track and "War Ensemble" earned Slayer its heaviest airplay on [[MTV]] to date.<ref name=" Seasons in the Abyss">{{cite web
|title= Seasons in the Abyss
|author=Huey, Steve
|publisher=Allmusic.com
|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:obkzu3q5an5k
|accessdate=2007-05-13}}</ref> In an October 2007 interview, [[Evile]] frontman Matt Drake described ''Seasons in the Abyss'' as "the perfect mix" between the two styles ("speed" and "slow material") showcased on ''[[Reign in Blood]]'' and ''South of Heaven'' respectively.<ref name="EvileLucemFero">{{cite web|title=“Armoured Assault” - Evile frontman Matt Drake hails gargantuan Thrash masterpiece ''Enter the Grave''|author=Morgan, Anthony|publisher=Lucem Fero|date=2007-10|url=http://www.lucemfero.com/evile102007.php|accessdate=2008-05-03}}</ref>
[[Children of Bodom]] bassist [[Henkka Seppälä|Henkka T. Blacksmith]] hailed ''Seasons in the Abyss'' as "the best metal album ever.<ref>{{cite web|title=Children Of Bodom: Henkka Blacksmith talks Metal|author=|publisher=Metal Hammer|date=2008-02-22|url=http://www.metal-hammer.de/Children_Of_Bodom_Tunnelblick_Henkka_Blacksmith_talks_Metal_22_02_08-highlight-children-site-hammer.html|accessdate=2008-06-03}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Title
! Writer
! Composer
! Time
|-
| 1.
| "War Ensemble"
| [[Tom Araya]], [[Jeff Hanneman]]
| Hanneman
| 4:54
|-
| 2.
| "Blood Red"
| Araya
| Hanneman
| 2:50
|-
| 3.
| "Spirit in Black"
| [[Kerry King]]
| Hanneman
| 4:07
|-
| 4.
| "Expendable Youth"
| Araya
| King
| 4:10
|-
| 5.
| "Dead Skin Mask"
| Araya
| Hanneman
| 5:20
|-
| 6.
| "Hallowed Point"
| Hanneman, Araya
| Hanneman, King
| 3:24
|-
| 7.
| "Skeletons of Society"
| colspan=2|King
| 4:41
|-
| 8.
| "Temptation"
| colspan=2|King
| 3:26
|-
| 9.
| "Born of Fire"
| King
| Hanneman, King
| 3:07
|-
| 10.
| "Seasons in the Abyss"
| Araya
| Hanneman
| 6:42
|}
==Personnel==
{|
|valign=top|
*[[Tom Araya]] – bass, vocals
*[[Jeff Hanneman]] – guitar
*[[Kerry King]] – guitar
*[[Dave Lombardo]] – drums
*[[Rick Rubin]] - producer
*[[Andy Wallace (producer)|Andy Wallace]] - co-producer, engineer, mixing
|valign=top|
*Chris Rich - assistant engineer
*David Tobocman - assistant engineer
*Allen Abrahamson - assistant engineer
*[[Howie Weinberg]] - mastering
*[[Larry Carroll (artist)|Larry Carroll]] - illustration
*Sunny Bak - photography
|}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Slayer}}
[[Category:Albums produced by Rick Rubin]]
[[Category:Slayer albums]]
[[Category:1990 albums]]
[[Category:American Recordings albums]]
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