Never
known for being particularly experimental in their songwriting
approach, SLAYER
have occasionally attempted to expand upon their sound to mixed
results—the most obvious example being the group's 1988
offering, South Of Heaven, which is still regarded
highly by most SLAYER followers but is rarely thought of
as one of the band's finest moments. Although none of the
quartet's subsequent releases have indicated much of a desire to
deviate from the formula (with 1994's Divine Intervention
standing as a by-the-numbers affair that pales in comparison to
its predecessors), 1998's Diabolus In Musica was
at least a feeble attempt at incorporating updated elements into
the group's sound, the presence of which elevated the band's
efforts somewhat and offered hope that SLAYER could
refrain from endlessly rehashing their previous material for
their future output.
...
While
God Hates Us All possesses some of the same
ingredients that made Diabolus… a marginally
refreshing surprise, SLAYER's latest represents yet
another failure on the band's part to take the initiative and
reinvent themselves—a regurgitation of the group's past
songwriting efforts in the hopes of pleasing no one but their
most ardent and loyal fans.
...
As was the
case with the aforementioned Divine Intervention,
the bulk of the songs on God Hates Us All were
written by guitarist Kerry King—widely regarded as the
weaker and less inventive of the two main songwriters—and as
such, they tend to follow a familiar direction that almost
always sounds tired and forced—like the efforts of a band trying
desperately to sound true to itself, but sadly lacking both the
creativity and the inspiration to do it convincingly. However,
the biggest surprise—and ultimately, disappointment—comes in the
shape of the vocal performance of frontman Tom Araya.
Once considered to be at the very top of his field—with the kind
of vocal power and conviction most of his counterparts could
only dream of—Araya has transformed into a hollow shell
of his former self, boasting a singing style that is monotonous,
devoid of creativity and at times virtually unlistenable.
...
Hardcore
SLAYER fans and other supporters will undoubtedly make
the claim that the band is merely doing what they do best, and
they will point to the fact that the group is still selling out
small theaters across the US as an indication of their continued
success. Those of us that know better, however, will see
SLAYER's rapidly diminishing record sales (Diabolus In
Musica has shifted less than 300,000 copies in the US
compared to Seasons In The Abyss' 600-700,000+) as
a sign that the band is in dire need of a new lease on life — one
that seems more and more unattainable with each successive
SLAYER release—and will sadly await the day when the group's
long-term career comes to a seemingly inevitable grinding halt.
