Slayer: Reign in Blood vinyl reissue – review

Thrash metal, like punk rock, was always meant to be listened to on vinyl. The explosive dynamic range required to maximise its impact – particularly for albums recorded in the pre-CD era – is fundamental to the listening experience, and so the rebirth of Slayer's Reign in Blood as a 12-inch piece of 180g plastic (along with nine more of the band's full-lengths) makes complete sense. For the uninitiated, the Californian band's third album came out in 1986 and is still widely regarded as the ultimate extreme metal statement: 29 minutes and 3 seconds of untamed savagery, lyrical horror and a level of intense physicality that has never been matched, it starts with the greatest thrash anthem of them all – Angel of Death – and ends with the second greatest – Raining Blood. The other eight tracks are all classics, too. A perfect album on any format, Reign in Blood becomes an unstoppable rollercoaster ride into the depths of the abyss on vinyl. Just as Satan intended.