Editing Reign in Blood (section)

===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>