SLAYER
CHRIST ILLUSION
Album Dive
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Released 8/8/2006
Label American Recordings
Producer Josh Abraham
August 8, 2006, marks the first SLAYER album in 16 years featuring Dave Lombardo behind the drum kit with CHRIST ILLUSION, their 10th studio album and their first since the release of God Hates Us All on 09/11/2001.
Tom Araya – bass, vocals
Kerry King – guitars
Jeff Hanneman – guitars
Dave Lombardo – drums
With the original classic lineup in place and artist Larry Carroll’s trademark macabre album art, CHRIST ILLUSION represents a true return to form for the thrash veterans, effectively picking up where 1990’s Seasons In The Abyss left off.
TRACKS
1 Flesh Storm
2 Catalyst
3 Skeleton Christ
4 Eyes of the Insane
5 Jihad
6 Consfearacy
7 Catatonic
8 Black Serenade
9 Cult
10 Supremist
“When you thought it was over…it did kind of a slide down…and then he slid back up and back down again…and then he does it again…”
Prepare to understand why the concept of “Uncanny Valley” has become exponentially creepier with the rise of artificial intelligence, discover which track is officially “the title track” and which one sounds like “a Taco Bell combo meal” for Slayer fans, realize that “Nickelback’s not that bad…they’re right up there with Creed” and get ready to enjoy some “sex noodles” when you JOIN US as we try to overcome our “Slayer Arrested Development (which is S.A.D.)” with CHRIST ILLUSION.
FLESH STORM:
After 16 years since Seasons In The Abyss, the boys of brutality are BACK in town!
The album art, the sound, and the feel are pure, uncompromising, O.G. FUCKING SLAYER, right out of the gate!
Not to take away from the Bostaph years, but man…what a way to kick things off!
“So here the only law,
Is men killing men
For someone else’s cause…”
CATALYST:
If you’re looking for solid workout music, then this track is definitely IT!!! Good for hauling ass on the treadmill to get in your cardio or pushing a ton of weight to build muscle mass, this song is a “must have” for your “Motivational Music” playlist at the gym.
“Bring on the competition,
Your pessimism only makes me stronger,
I am the culmination,
The fucking standard that all will follow…”
SKELETON CHRIST:
Such a doomy, ugly, heavy groove. If you don’t make the “Phil Anselmo Breakdown Scowl” while listening to this, then WTF is wrong with you!?
This is the album that should have come out right after Seasons. It’s a return to form for Slayer in much the same way as Death Magnetic was for Metallica…kind of.
Seriously, if you don’t come every single time you hear that incredibly sick breakdown, then what are you even doing with your life!?
“They say your life can change,
If you take God’s hand,
Embrace rebirth,
Your cleansing’s so divine,
To be reborn in God’s eyes…
EYES OF THE INSANE:
The music video for this track says it all: A PTSD infused horror story of the atrocities of war told in flashbacks and snippets through the eyes of those who have actively served in combat. It’s heavy, it’s ugly, and it’s unabashedly FUCKING SLAYER.
“Death raising it’s ugly face at me…”
The anxiety and terror conveyed in this song absolutely pummels the consciousness with the unending, relentless, psychotic hell of war.
“Shell shock battle fatigue,
Devastating insanity,
Flashbacks panic attacks,
Death’s riding he’s coming for me…”
JIHAD:
Definitely one of the creepiest intros (and outros) of any Slayer song in their entire catalog, especially given the subject matter and the theme. The outro will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
“This is God’s war…”
Prior to the album’s release, when it was revealed that this song was written about the 9/11 attacks “from the perspective of the terrorists”, it became abundantly clear that this was going to be a high-water mark for this album. In fact, this might be one of their best all-time songs, hands down, front to back.
“Be optimistic, happy, and calm,
Show no fear or anxiety,
Smile at the face of God,
And your reward will be Eternity…”
CONSFEARACY:
If you listen to that riff, it’s almost a perfect inversion of the riff at the beginning of Dittohead from Divine Intervention.
A scathing indictment regarding the hatred and loathing of a criminally wasteful bureaucratic government system perpetuated by the soulless political elite who’s only goal is to control and enslave those who “vote” for them.
“I can’t relate to your verbal idiocy,
“No one’s in control when the government’s the enemy!”
CATATONIC:
Definitely the slowest and heaviest song on the album. This song has layers of heaviness to it and gets better with each listen.
“Excitation…my rancid passion is electrified…”
Definitely a dark horse moment on the album; it’s really not like anything else and probably qualifies as a deep cut for this record. Just try to imagine if Slayer wrote doom metal, but somehow even heavier and more brutal than doom metal.
“All I see are the impurities, the imperfections and obscenities…”
That breakdown riff in the middle (and at the end) is the perfect soundtrack to listen to while destroying everything that is unholy and wrong with a single swat of wrath infused smite.
“I’m numb in priceless solitude…”
(Sidebar: Is it me, or does finishing a Slayer song feel a lot like “finishing…to completion”?)
BLACK SERENADE:
Okay so this song has some redeeming moments, but for some reason, it sounds almost like Slayer trying too hard to sound like Slayer. No hate, it’s just an unusual song. Maybe this is the perfect companion piece to Catatonic.
“God is letting you recover…”
That chorus riff almost has weird death metal vibes to it. If you listen to the lyrics, there is some EXTREME darkness going on here…
CULT:
Something about that intro guitar sound is super creepy. It’s always funny how you can hear when they hit the loudness button on the cymbals right before everything kicks in.
No big shocker here, just another blisteringly furious rant aimed at organized religion, specifically Christianity. Ironically, one might say that Kerry King actually needs Jesus in order for Slayer to be Slayer.
Something to think about…
SUPREMIST:
What a way to close things out! A super strong killer closer, and probably also one of the first Slayer songs ever to have blast beats (talk about next level!).
“I hate the fact that we breathe the same air!!!”
Doesn’t a “Supremist” sound like a Slayer signature combo meal at Taco Bell or something?
Maybe it comes with extra sour cream and nacho cheese…
“I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!!!”
That breakdown part is fucking sick to the core. I’m so glad that Slayer began to incorporate massively tuned down guitars into their sound. It just makes the riffs that much tastier and the breakdowns that much uglier.
You have to give it up to Slayer for continuing their systematic revolt against tyrannical systems built on oppression, control, and evil.
“MUST MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE WEAK!!!
MUST CONTAIN THE MINDS OF THE FREE!!!”
***BONUS!!!***
FINAL SIX:
Okay, so this wasn’t an “official” album track on the original release, but when they re-released the album with the alternate album cover, they included this (and if memory serves me correctly, they got a Grammy nomination for this one as well).
They really should have included this song on the original release of the album. It would have been a perfect fit right before Jihad or right after Black Serenade. Either way, it might be the 2nd best song on the album other than Jihad.
It’s actually quite incomprehensible why they left this off the original release, as it may well be the BEST song on the album.
Everything about this song is absolute Slayer perfection. In fact, this song easily qualifies for CBLE Hall of Fame status.
Just keep cranking it until your ears “bleed eternally…”.
“Lead us to the brink of extinction,
The time has come for you now to finish it…”
If that ending doesn’t absolutely get you hard and/or make you wet, then there is nothing else for us to say except “go enjoy your Backstreet Boys box set”.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “Me Grok, me know what things are!” / “Destroyer is like their Black Album…you should know all of this…”/ ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / #tritoon / “We went to a tie up…”/ “Sounds like…sex noodles…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST IN 5D DIMENSIONS!!!*** / #poonboat / “Why not call the boat a #trypoon…?” / “You think that’s like the monster truck of the water?” / #ponpoon / #RussellsReflectionsBoatEdition / “That’s a LOT money, man!”
(06:26): PATREON SHOUT OUT!!! / ***Come JOIN US over on the #Patreon at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast *** / “The mighty hail…”/ #JustInCaseASMR / #Shittah / #ActusReus RABID DOGS #localmetal #metalcore #deathcore / “Those aren’t Grok Dogs…”/ #EmberingEffigy will be playing at #Yonderways at #TheBlackStrap in Gainesville
(11:23): ***JOIN US on the social media at #Instagram #Facebook #YouTube and #TikTok, EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com and VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** / “I have a little quick thing I wanted to show you…” / “I would say it but I can’t pronounce it…”/ “Hot little Angus…”/ “Apparently when girls talk about size, they’re more into the girth…”
(14:44): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST Presents: SLAYER – CHRIST ILLUSION / The first album featuring the original #Slayer lineup since Seasons In The Abyss / Released August 8, 2006 / #LarryCarroll / “That dude is a DUDE, man…”/ “Interestingly enough…” / “OMG that’s amazing…when you have that spot that you can’t get to…”/ “Then we just gotta go back…we’ve changed over the past 6 years…”/ FLESH STORM / “…and we’re back!” / “When I delete it in post…”/ CATALYST / “When you thought it was over…it did kind of a slide down…and then he slid back up and back down again…”
(25:35): SKELETON CHRIST / “Thrashy and groovy…”/ “Slayer were one of the first…breakdown bands…”/ #GrammyWinner #BestMetalPerformance / EYES OF THE INSANE / #UncannyValley / “Isn’t it like A.I., where it’s almost human but you can tell it is not…?” / The definition of Uncanny Valley / “I am SO fucking tired…let’s just get this out there…”/ “Maybe it was an A.I. generated article…”
(35:00): JIHAD / #CBLE / “There’s an outro part that’s really creepy…”/ “Every time…I get so much boner…”/ “That was mainly written about the 2 towers…but not WTC7…”/ “It’s right over there…on a map, it’s like 6 inches that way…”/ “She frew on a big prane…”/ “That might be one of the few times in life where it’s okay to do acid…”/ CONSFEARACY / “It’s like Dittohead…but opposite…”/ #RussellsReflections regarding #Ozzfest back in ’99 / “That’s a sign of aging…Nickelback’s not that bad…they’re right up there with Creed.”
(47:27): CATATONIC / “It’s kinda nice to hear Slayer do the heavy…”/ “Okay this is gonna sound weird…I feel like every band kinda does this a little bit…they try too hard to be themselves…”/ BLACK SERENADE / “This isn’t me being argumentative…I promise…”/ “You’ve got…Slayer Arrested Development, which is S.A.D.” / “I feel like they’ve got a file on me…check out his shit from last Thursday…”
(55:21): CULT / “That has classic, creepy Slayer vibes…”/ #titletrack / “I feel like that’s the title track…there it is!” / #backmasking / “I wanna get a Supremist meal…”/ SUPREMIST / “It’s good dry…”/ THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel #Doomsicle / #recordscratch #outtakes