South of Heaven
Studio album by
Slayer
ReleasedJuly 5, 1988 (1988-07-05)
RecordedDecember 1987 – February 1988
Studio
  • Hit City West, Los Angeles
  • Chung King Studios, New York City
GenreThrash metal
Length36:54
LabelDef Jam
Producer
Slayer chronology
Reign in Blood
(1986)		 South of Heaven
(1988)		 Seasons in the Abyss
(1990)
Singles from South of Heaven
  1. "South of Heaven"
    Released: 1988

South of Heaven is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. It was released in July 1988 on Rick Rubin's label Def Jam Recordings. The album was their band's second album produced by Rubin, following Reign in Blood (1986). Given the innovative speed metal pace of Reign in Blood, Slayer deliberately slowed the tempo on South of Heaven and used undistorted guitars and toned-down vocals.

South of Heaven reached number 57 on the Billboard 200. While some critics praised the change in the band's sound, those preferring the style of their earlier recordings were disappointed. The songs "Mandatory Suicide" and the title track have become permanent features of Slayer's live setlist. In 1992, South of Heaven was certified gold by the RIAA. The album was the band's last for Def Jam.

Background

The album was recorded in Los Angeles with Reign in Blood producer Rick Rubin. According to PopMatters reviewer Adrien Begrand, "Rubin's production emphasizes Lombardo's drums and places them high on the mix".[1] Guitarist Jeff Hanneman has said that South of Heaven was the only album the band members discussed before writing the music. Aware that they "couldn't top Reign in Blood", and that whatever they recorded would be "compared to that album", he believed they "had to slow down", something they had never done on previous albums.[2] Guitarist Kerry King cited the need to "keep people guessing" as another reason for the musical shift.[3] The band wanted to contrast the aggressiveness of Reign in Blood by slowing the tempo of the songs and adding undistorted guitars and toned-down vocals.[4]

King has been critical of his performance, describing it as "lackluster". King attributes this to the fact he had recently married and relocated from New York to Phoenix, Arizona. Describing himself as "probably the odd man out at that point", he said he "didn't participate as much because of that". According to Hanneman: "We go through dry spells sometimes, but the good thing about having two guitar players that can write music is that you are never gonna go without. I guess at that time, Kerry was hitting a dry spell." King has also been critical of the album in general, describing it as one of his least favorite Slayer albums. He felt vocalist Tom Araya moved too far away from his regular vocal style, and "added too much singing".[2] Drummer Dave Lombardo has since observed: "There was fire on all the records, but it started dimming when South of Heaven came into the picture."[5]

Judas Priest's "Dissident Aggressor" is the first cover to appear on a Slayer studio album. It was chosen because of its war-themed lyrics and because it was one of Hanneman and King's favorite songs.[6] Meanwhile, "Cleanse the Soul" has been heavily criticized by King who said that he hates the track.[7] The Slayer boxset Soundtrack to the Apocalypse featured, along with four songs off the album, an early version of the title track, recorded at Hanneman's home.[8]

Photography and illustration

Artist Larry Carroll and illustrator Howard Schwartzberg were commissioned to design the album's artwork, having earlier worked on Slayer's previous album Reign in Blood.[2] Photographer Glen E. Friedman took the promotional shot used as the back cover of South of Heaven, which he had taken around the time of Reign in Blood. Lombardo felt it made the band seem as though they "had matured a little bit", while Friedman described it as a "really cool back cover" and "one of the most classic shots of them [Slayer] ever".[2]

The artwork shown on the front cover was inspired by KNM-ER 1470, an incomplete skull of an archaic human of the extinct species Homo rudolfensis that was discovered in 1972 in Kenya.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Robert ChristgauB−[10]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[11]
Kerrang![12]
Metal Forces8/10[13]
Rock Hard8.5/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[16]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[17]
Sputnikmusic3/5[18]

South of Heaven was released on July 5, 1988, and was the final Slayer album distributed via Def Jam Records. When label co-founders Russell Simmons and Rubin parted ways, Slayer signed to Rubin's newly founded Def American Recordings label.[9] The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[19] and on November 20, 1992, became Slayer's second album to be certified gold in the United States.[20] South of Heaven was awarded silver certification in the United Kingdom in January 1993, Slayer's first record to do so in that country.[21] Alex Henderson of AllMusic described the record as "disturbing and powerful,"[9] while Joe Matera of Ultimate Guitar wrote that the slow pace did not inhibit the heaviness of Slayer's earlier music.[3]

In 2003 Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote that the album was "their most underrated" to date.[1] A positive review in 2006 by KNAC.com's Peter Atkinson described the album as having a "grandiosity and imposing presence".[22] Grave's Ola Lindgren and Bolt Thrower's Karl Willetts both rate South of Heaven as amongst the top five albums of all time,[23][24] while Max Kolesne of Brazilian death metal group Krisiun remembers hearing the song "Silent Scream" for the first time: "It just blew me away. It was like fast double-bass, fast kicks during the whole song. That was very inspiring for me."[25] When discussing Slayer in an October 2007 interview, Evile frontman Matt Drake stated that while Reign in Blood "was just speed", South of Heaven proved that the group could write "slow material as well".[26] Metal Forces reviewer gives "the band credit for at least making an effort to try something new and not being afraid to experiment at such a crucial stage of their career", creating "one of the more original sounding thrash / speed metal albums he heard in a long while". He remarks, however, that "if you're expecting to hear Reign in Blood Part Two, you'll be in for a major disappointment".[13]

Kim Neely of Rolling Stone dismissed the album as "genuinely offensive satanic drivel".[15] However, the magazine would later rank the album 47th on their 2017 "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list.[27] Michael Roberts of Westworld Online said that some fan's disappointment of the album was due to some of the numbers moving "at the sludgier speed of Black Sabbath".[28] Araya commented that the "album was a late bloomer – it wasn't really received well, but it kind of grew on everybody later".[2] Decibel inducted South of Heaven into the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame in January 2013. Due to Hanneman's passing in May of that year, South of Heaven became the second and final classic Slayer album to receive an induction into Decibel's Hall of Fame.[29][30]

Cover versions

Both the title track and "Mandatory Suicide" have been covered, particularly on Slayer tribute albums. Toni Ferguson recorded string quartet adaptations of both tracks on the album The String Quartet Tribute to Slayer: The Evil You Dread. His version of "South of Heaven" was described as having "menacing" chord progression" by AllMusic critic Johnny Loftus.[31]

The 1995 Slayer tribute album Slatanic Slaughter features three songs from South of Heaven: "South of Heaven", "Mandatory Suicide" and "Spill the Blood" were interpreted by the band's Cemetary, Crown of Thorns and Grope, respectively.[32] Its 1998 follow up Slatanic Slaughter, Vol. 2 featured the album tracks: "Silent Scream", arranged by Vader, and "Read Between the Lies", interpreted by Anathema.[33] 1999's Straight to Hell: A Tribute to Slayer collected four Slayer renditions which originated on the album, with versions of "South of Heaven" performed by Abaddon, (Venom) and Electric Hellfire Club, "Mandatory Suicide" cut by Chapter 7 and "Behind the Crooked Cross" adapted by Gigantor.[34] The 2006 Argentine tribute album Al Sur Del Abismo (Tributo Argentino A Slayer) saw Nafak and Climatic Terra also respectively cover "South of Heaven" and "Mandatory Suicide".[35]

Live performances

Three band members of Slayer performing.
Slayer performing in 2017

The songs "Mandatory Suicide" and "South of Heaven" became live favorites,[4] and appear on the live DVDs Live Intrusion,[36] War at the Warfield,[37] Still Reigning,[38] Soundtrack to the Apocalypse's deluxe edition's bonus live disc,[39] and the live double album Decade of Aggression.[40]

Adrien Begrand of PopMatters described the album as "an unorthodox set opener in theory", noting that the "song went over like a megaton bomb detonating the place: dozens of inverted crosses projected behind the high drum riser, the sinewy opening notes kicked in, followed by an overture of bass, cymbal crashes, and tom fills, leading up to the slowly building crescendo" in a concert review.[41] Lombardo remembers listening to a live rendition of "South of Heaven" and thinking, "'Man! There's just so much groove in that song.' To my kids I was saying, 'Listen to that! Listen to how groovy that is!' And it's heavy."[5] A live version of the track featured on the JÄGERMUSIC Rarities 2004 promotional CD, given away to attendees at the Spring 2004 Jägermeister Music Tour.[42] A live rendition of "South of Heaven" was included on a bonus DVD which came with the group's 2007 re-release of ninth studio album Christ Illusion, shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, during 2006's Unholy Alliance tour.[43]

Because Hanneman disliked the track "Behind the Crooked Cross", it was rarely performed live. King said that he likes playing it because it's got "a cool intro", overall he also does not rate it highly.[2] Similarly, he has said that he personally dislikes "Ghosts of War", although "everybody always wants to hear" it performed live.[44] Slayer has considered creating a live set mixed with selections from the album and 1990's Seasons in the Abyss, though Hanneman said it is something which has not been "seriously considered".[45] Metal Maniacs asked Slayer in a 2006 interview whether they would consider playing South of Heaven in the footsteps of the Still Reigning tour, to which Araya replied, "It's becoming a trendy thing now. I don't know. We have some really cool albums, but I don't think we'll ever do that again." King was equally unsure, commenting, "Probably not. And I just don't like enough songs off South of Heaven."[7]

Track listing

All music by Jeff Hanneman unless noted.

Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."South of Heaven"Tom Araya 4:58
2."Silent Scream"Araya
3:07
3."Live Undead"
  • Araya
  • King
 3:50
4."Behind the Crooked Cross"Hanneman 3:15
5."Mandatory Suicide"Araya
  • Hanneman
  • King
4:05
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
6."Ghosts of War"King
  • Hanneman
  • King
3:53
7."Read Between the Lies"
  • Araya
  • King
 3:20
8."Cleanse the Soul"
  • Araya
  • King
 3:02
9."Dissident Aggressor" (Judas Priest cover)Rob Halford
2:35
10."Spill the Blood"Hanneman 4:48
Total length:36:54

Personnel

Slayer

Production

Charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 53
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[47] 89
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[48] 31
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[49] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[50] 23
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[51] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[52] 25
US Billboard 200[53] 57
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[54] 91
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[55] 13
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[56] 198

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[57] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[59] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Begrand, Adrien (January 23, 2004). "The Devil in Music". PopMatters. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "An exclusive oral history of Slayer". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
  3. 1 2 Matera, Joe (August 4, 2006). "Slayer's Kerry King: The Art Of Writing Songs That Nobody Else Can Write". UltimateGuitar.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "About". Slayer.net. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Baronas, Mike (August 9, 2006). "Dave Saves". GASPetc.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Davis, Brian. "A Rare Interview With Slayer Shredder Hanneman, Gripping Firmly onto the Reigns of Metal". Knac.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  7. 1 2 "Slayer's Tom Araya Wants To Sue Demiricous For Plagiarism". Blabbermouth.net. August 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Slayer: 'Soundtrack To The Apocalypse' Track Listing Revealed!". Blabbermouth.net. October 22, 2003. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Henderson, Alex. "South of Heaven". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Slayer". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  11. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 328. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  12. ↑ Russell, Xavier (July 9, 1988). "Slayer – 'South of Heaven'". Kerrang!. No. 195.
  13. 1 2 Krgin, Borivoj (1988). "Slayer – South of Heaven". Metal Forces. No. 28. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  14. ↑ Trojan, Frank (1988). "Review Album: Slayer – South of Heaven". Rock Hard (in German). No. 28. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  15. 1 2 Neely, Kim (October 6, 1988). "Slayer: South Of Heaven : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 24, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  16. ↑ The new Rolling Stone album guide. Internet Archive. New York : Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 741. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ↑ Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.358
  18. ↑ Iluvatar (June 21, 2006). "Slayer South of Heaven". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Slayer's album chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
  20. ↑ "RIAA – Artist Slayer". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
  21. ↑ "BPI – Artist Slayer". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  22. ↑ Atkinson, Peter (July 24, 2006). "KNAC Review – Christ Illusion". KNAC.com. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Top 5 Albums". Live 4 Metal. 2004. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Bolt Thrower". Nocturnal Horde. December 13, 2005. Archived from the original on April 1, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  25. ↑ "Krisiun". Metal Update. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  26. ↑ Morgan, Anthony (October 2007). "'Armoured Assault' – Evile frontman Matt Drake hails gargantuan Thrash masterpiece Enter the Grave". Lucem Fero. Archived from the original on February 2, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  27. ↑ Considine, J.D. (June 21, 2017). "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  28. ↑ Roberts, Michael (August 2000). "Westworld Online interview with Kerry King". Slayersaves.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  29. ↑ Dick, Chris (January 31, 2013). "Slayer – "South of Heaven"". Decibel. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  30. ↑ Graff, Gary (May 2, 2013). "Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead at 49". Billboard magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  31. ↑ Loftus, Johnny. "The String Quartet Tribute to Slayer: The Evil You – Review". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  32. ↑ "Slatanic Slaughter". Allmusic. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  33. ↑ "Slatanic Slaughter, Vol. 2". Allmusic. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  34. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Straight to Hell: A Tribute to Slayer – Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  35. ↑ "Slayer: Argentine Tribute Album Detailed". Blabbermouth.net. June 10, 2006. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  36. ↑ "Live Intrusion". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  37. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "War at the Warfield". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  38. ↑ "Still Reigning". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  39. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse (Deluxe Edition)". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  40. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Decade of Aggression – Live". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  41. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (August 15, 2006). "Blood and Thunder: Postmortem". Popmatters.com. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  42. ↑ "'Jagermusic Rarities 2004' Promotional CD To Include Cuts From Slayer, SLIPKNOT". Blabbermouth.net. March 5, 2004. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  43. ↑ "Slayer: Video Interview With Jeff Hanneman Available". Blabbermouth.net. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  44. ↑ Davis, Brian (November 10, 2004). "Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Kerry King". Knac.com. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  45. ↑ Lahtinen, Luxi (December 18, 2006). "Slayer – Jeff Hanneman". Metal-rules.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  46. ↑ "Chartifacts > Albums (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 42)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  47. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8672". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  48. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Slayer – South of Heaven" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  49. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  50. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Slayer – South of Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  51. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Slayer – South of Heaven". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  52. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  53. ↑ "Slayer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  54. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Slayer". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  55. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  56. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Slayer – South of Heaven" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  57. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Slayer – South of Heaven". Music Canada.
  58. ↑ "British album certifications – Slayer – South of Heaven". British Phonographic Industry.
  59. ↑ "American album certifications – Slayer – South of Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America.

Bibliography

  • Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

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