Slayer

Soundtrack to the Apocalypse (American) Formed in L.A. 20 years ago with the goal of being “the fastest, heaviest band on the planet” (achieved according to Kerrang! in 1996), Slayer fuses sinister lyrics with dual battle-axe guitars and teeth-jarring rhythms. The 4-disc Soundtrack to the Apocalypse is nothing less than the heaviest metal history, then, from Slayer’s early wood-shedding to last summer’s European tour; all the faves are here: “Necrophiliac,” “Sex.Murder.Art,” “Dead Skin Mask,” and “Jesus Saves.” The first two discs hold the band’s most well-known cuts, including collaborations with Ice-T and Atari Teenage Riot, while the third and fourth house unreleased audio and video material, respectively. If you had to pick one, it’d be disc three, with live cuts, demos, and rehearsals. The DVD has early footage of the band, but since the sound quality is piss poor, it’s more archival than anything else. Footage of the band playing live in Japan, as well as performing “Bloodline” on ESPN, is a keeper. Along with liner notes, the Soundtrack ammo box holds an enlarged version of the liner notes (with better pictures), the notorious Seasons in the Abyss blood pack, a band laminate, and a Slayer logo wall hanging. The uninitiated — or just plain frightened — will abhor Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, but die-hards will kill for it. — David Lynch

***.5

This article appears in December 12 • 2003.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.