Editing Reign in Blood (section)

==Background==
Slayer composed the material for ''Reign in Blood'' following their return from a tour of Europe. Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman wrote much of the album's music on their own, and quickly taught it to drummer Dave Lombardo. The band recorded instrumental demos of the songs (which King described as "just the best 10 songs we had at that point") and took them to [[Brian Slagel]], the band's manager at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudrian |first1=Albert |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |date=July 14, 2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=49 }}</ref>

Following the positive reception Slayer's previous release ''[[Hell Awaits]]'' had received, the band's producer and manager [[Brian Slagel]] realized the band were in a position to hit the "big time" with their next album. Slagel negotiated with several record labels, among them [[Rick Rubin]] and [[Russell Simmons]]' Def Jam Recordings. However, Slagel was reluctant to have the band signed to what was at the time primarily a [[hip hop music|hip hop]] label. Slayer drummer [[Dave Lombardo]] was made aware of Rubin's interest, and he initiated contact with the producer. However, Slayer's remaining members were apprehensive of leaving [[Metal Blade Records]], with whom they were already under [[contract]].<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>

Lombardo contacted [[Columbia Records]], which was Def Jam's [[distribution (business)|distributor]], and managed to get in touch with Rubin, who along with photographer [[Glen E. Friedman]] agreed to attend one of the band's concerts. Friedman had produced [[Suicidal Tendencies]]'s [[Suicidal Tendencies (album)|self-titled debut album]], in which Slayer vocalist [[Tom Araya]] made a guest appearance in the music video for the album's single "[[Institutionalized (song)|Institutionalized]]", pushing Suicidal Tendencies's vocalist [[Mike Muir]]. Around this time, Rubin asked Friedman if he knew Slayer.<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>

Guitarist [[Jeff Hanneman]] was surprised by Rubin's interest in the band, and was impressed by his work with the hip hop acts [[Run-DMC]] and [[LL Cool J]]. During a visit by Slagel to a European music [[convention (meeting)|convention]], Rubin spoke with the band directly, and persuaded them to sign with Def Jam. Slagel paid a personal tribute to Rubin, and said that Rubin was the most passionate of all the label representatives the band were in negotiations with. Following the agreement, Friedman brought the band members to [[Seattle]] for two days of publicity shots, possible record shots, and photos for a tour book; Rubin felt no good photos of the band had been taken before that point. One of the photos was used on the back cover of the band's 1988 release ''[[South of Heaven]]''.<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>

===Cover art===
The cover artwork was designed by [[Larry Carroll (artist)|Larry Carroll]], who at the time was creating political illustrations for ''[[The Progressive]]'', ''[[Village Voice]]'', and ''[[The New York Times]]''. Carroll was hired at Rubin's behest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudrian |first1=Albert |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |date=July 14, 2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=54 }}</ref> Despite its warm reception, the band members themselves originally did not like the image. King said, "Nobody in the band wanted that cover. We were stuck with it." He even described the artist as a "warped demented freak,"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wiederhorn |first1=Jon |title=Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' |url=https://www.ranker.com/list/slayer-reign-in-blood/jon-wiederhorn |website=Ranker |access-date=1 August 2022}}</ref> although Carroll went on to make cover arts for their next two albums, ''[[South of Heaven]]'' (1988) and ''[[Seasons in the Abyss]]'' (1990), as well as ''[[Christ Illusion]]'' (2006). By a differing account, Araya recalled that he "thought it was amazing" and "liked it immediately". He also stated that there were three different variations of the album cover in its conceptual stages, with the final version incorporating elements of all three.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudrian |first1=Albert |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |date=July 14, 2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=55 }}</ref>

It was believed that Columbia Records initially refused to release ''Reign in Blood'' because of the disturbing imagery. Araya refuted this claim in 2016 saying that it was because of the song "Angel of Death" and it had nothing to do with the cover art.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loudwire |title=Slayer's Tom Araya - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e0QlzMlO_M |website=YouTube |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>

===Recording and production===
''Reign in Blood'' was recorded and produced at Hit City West in Los Angeles with Rubin producing and [[Andy Wallace (producer)|Andy Wallace]] engineering.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferris |first1=D.X. |title=Reign in Blood |date=2008 |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]] |page=89 |chapter=Recording Blood |series= [[33⅓]] |isbn= 978-1-4411-3241-3}}</ref> The album was the label boss' first professional experience with heavy metal, and his fresh perspective led to a drastic makeover of Slayer's sound. Steve Huey of [[AllMusic]] believed Rubin drew tighter and faster songs from the band and delivered a cleanly produced sound that contrasted sharply with their previous recordings.<ref name="Reign in Blood - Slayer">{{cite web |title=Reign in Blood – Slayer |author=Huey, Steve |website=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=reign-in-blood-mw0000191741|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=January 5, 2007}}</ref> This resulted in drastic changes to Slayer's sound, and changed audiences' perception of the band. Araya has since stated their two previous releases were not up to par production-wise.<ref name="Slay Ride">{{cite web |title=Slay Ride |author=La Briola, John |publisher=Westword.com |date=July 22, 2004 |url=http://www.westword.com/2004-07-22/music/slay-ride/ |access-date=April 4, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109235942/http://www.westword.com/2004-07-22/music/slay-ride/ |archive-date=November 9, 2014  }}</ref>
Guitarist [[Kerry King]] later remarked that "[i]t was like, 'Wow—you can hear everything, and those guys aren't just playing fast; those notes are on time.'"<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>

According to Araya, it was Hanneman's idea to add the scream for the introduction in "Angel of Death." Araya did several takes but ended up using the first one.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/4e0QlzMlO_M Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160315105648/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e0QlzMlO_M&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |last1=LoudWire |title=Slayer's Tom Araya - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e0QlzMlO_M |website=YouTube |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=12 May 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> By a differing account, Araya stated the scream was done in two takes, with the second take going on to appear on the album.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudrian |first1=Albert |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |date=July 14, 2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |pages=53–54 }}</ref>

The album's production is noted by the band Rubin's omission of [[reverberation]], which King said made the album sound "way more threatening". He compared the band's use of reverb on previous releases to the likes of Venom and Mercyful Fate, saying "we played in Reverb Land, for a lack of a better term." Upon hearing the album's mix, King said the band "[was] like, 'why didn't we think of that before?'"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudrian |first1=Albert |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |date=July 14, 2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=50 }}</ref> Rubin himself said, "when I hear very fast music like Metallica, and the sounds are big sounds… the whole thing gets blurry, and you can't really hear it [...] If the music you're playing is fast and if the sounds are big, there's not enough space for those big sounds to happen next to each other. There's no punctuation; it becomes a blur [...] I didn't want it to be a blur of bass; I wanted it to be a pulse." Rubin's lack of experience as a heavy metal producer at the time allowed him to work outside the general tropes of the genre. He said, "I didn't have the baggage of what the old way of doing it was [...] And in this case, these forms of music were so new that the old way would've lessened their impact. It wouldn't have made them better." He limited his use of studio effects to what he felt was absolutely necessary. Rubin's approach to the album's production resulted in a "stripped-back, punchy" sound.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barrios |first1=Joel |title=RICK RUBIN Explains The Unique Production Behind SLAYER's Reign In Blood: "I Was More Subtractive Than Additive, Getting Back To The Essence" |url=https://metalinjection.net/news/rick-rubin-explains-the-unique-production-behind-slayers-reign-in-blood-i-was-more-subtractive-than-additive-getting-back-to-the-essence |website=Metal Injection |access-date=November 3, 2024 |date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>

Hanneman later admitted that while the band was listening to [[Metallica]] and [[Megadeth]] at the time, they were finding the repetition of guitar riffs tiring. He said, "If we do a verse two or three times, we're already bored with it. So we weren't trying to make the songs shorter—that's just what we were into," which resulted in the album's short duration of 29 minutes.<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/> The band realized the album's runtime only when they were finishing up with its mixing with engineer Andy Wallace. The band weren't sure whether they would have to hit the studio to create more material or just leave it, so they turned to Rubin. "His only reply was that it had 10 songs, verses, choruses and leads and that's what constituted an album. He didn't have any issue with it," Araya told Metal Hammer.<ref name="Slayer's 'Reign in Blood': 10 Facts Only Superfans Would Know">{{cite web |title=Slayer's 'Reign in Blood': 10 Facts Only Superfans Would Know |author=Schaffner, Lauryn |website=[[Loudwire]] |date=October 7, 2019 |url=https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/ }}</ref>

King had stated that while hour-long records seem to be the trend, "[y]ou could lose this part; you could cut this song completely, and make a much more intense record, which is what we're all about."<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/> When the record was completed, the band met with Rubin, who asked: "Do you realize how short this is?" Slayer members looked at each other, and replied: "So what?"<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/> The entire album was on one side of a cassette; King stated it was "neat", as "You could listen to it, flip it over, and play it again."<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer">{{cite web |title=An exclusive oral history of Slayer |publisher=[[Decibel Magazine]] |url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features_detail.aspx?id=4566 |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020200807/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features_detail.aspx?id=4566 |archive-date=October 20, 2006}}</ref> The music is abrasive and faster than previous releases, helping to narrow the gap between [[thrash metal]] and its predecessor [[hardcore punk]],<ref name="Reign in Blood - Slayer"/> and is played at an average of 220 [[beats per minute]].<ref name="Andrew Haug speaks with Dave Lombardo from Slayer">{{cite web |title=Andrew Haug speaks with Dave Lombardo from Slayer |author=Haug, Andrew |publisher=Abc.net.au |date=October 13, 2006 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/racket/listen/audio_alpha_S.htm |access-date=February 9, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720100637/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/racket/listen/audio_alpha_S.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2012  }}</ref>

===Lombardo's departure===
[[File:Dave Lombardo 2009-06-23 8204.jpg|thumb|right|Lombardo (pictured) on departing Slayer: "I wasn't making any money. I think I had just gotten married, and I figured if we were gonna be doing this professionally—on a major label—I wanted my rent and utilities paid."]]
Following the album's recording sessions, Slayer embarked on the ''Reign in Pain'' tour with the bands [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]] in the United States and [[Malice (American band)|Malice]] in Europe; they also served as the opening act for [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]]'s U.S. tour in 1987. In late 1986, drummer Lombardo quit the band. To continue the tour Slayer enlisted [[Whiplash (band)|Whiplash]] drummer [[Tony Scaglione]].<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>

Rubin called Lombardo daily to insist he return, telling him: "Dude, you gotta come back in the band." Rubin offered Lombardo a salary, but he was still hesitant about returning; at this point Lombardo had been out of the band for several months. Lombardo returned in 1987; Rubin came to his house and picked him up in his [[Porsche]], taking him to a Slayer rehearsal.<ref name="An exclusive oral history of Slayer"/>