Slayer. Just the name alone makes it known that this is serious, real serious… Metal. Slayer’s songs have and always will resonate the pissed off, evil and vendetta seeking side of the human spirit, the lyrics of their songs do not lie about that. The years pass by and Slayer is still the reigning dark side – Thrash Metal champions of the world, (in my Metal opinion). As a matter of Metal fact, I don’t recall a single moment in my Metal appreciating life, when Slayer has not been considered by me to be the baddest mother fu**ers to ever play Metal. Now, onward with the 1991 Slayer Thrash Metal, live slatanic classic… Decade Of Aggression:
Decade Of Aggression is a double CD, (double cassette or vinyl album too, if you want to get picky). The original release date for Decade Of Aggression was October 22, 1991, on Def American Recordings. Back around 1992, I was fortunate enough to discover this double CD in a very thick, black metal slipcase. (No kidding, it is real metal!). This metal slipcase encases both CD’s and the 24 page liner notes booklet. Man, is this metal slipcase heavy stuff… I have not actually weighed it, still, it feels like I am holding at least 5 or 6 pounds of metal! Sometime back in ’92, I saw this unique Slayer Decade Of Aggression package, behind the front counter at a Record Town store… in very expensive Connecticut. My eyes never lost sight of this Slayer prize that day, I made a Metal beeline to the cashier and stated I was buying this Slayer gem. I cannot recall for certain, the actual price I paid for this metal packaged version of Decade Of Aggression… it was in the neighborhood of around $50 U.S. and worth every cent. This limited edition package of Slayer Decade Of Aggression had a run of only 10,000 copies. My copy of Decade Of Aggression came with a certificate of authenticity, gold foil embossed, stating it is numbered: 005815 of 10,000.
* Note: Skeletons Of Society and At Dawn They Sleep are two songs found only on this metal slipcase version of Decade Of Aggression.
In the center front of this metal slipcase, is this classic Slayer logo – metal etched on a center block:
(This Slayer logo looks entirely silver on the front metal casing, due to it being metal etched.)
Here is what this incredible metal slipcase package of Decade Of Aggression, that I own, looks like:
The metal slipcase is unreal great stuff… whoever thought of marketing this back then is a Metal genius. The interior CD slipcases are of a heavy black paper stock. Note that the front cover of the liner notes depicts the original Decade Of Aggression album cover. I have seen the import version, some online merchants have it available for purchase today, it has the original album cover. (I own the original double cassette too, I have kept it in Metal mint condition all of these years. Here is another view of what the original album/cassette/CD cover looks like for Decade Of Aggression:
Now here is what the front album/CD cover of Decade Of Aggression looks like now, if you were to go to a retail record store today and buy it:
Now, as for the live Thrash Metal of Slayer heard within Decade Of Aggression… it’s F’n Slayer man. There is nothing more to break down other than it’s fast, brutal, aggressive and… live Slayer greatness. You’ll be blown away by Dave Lombardo and his double bass drumming assault, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman dueling with leads and riffs that will sting your face like freezer burn and Tom Araya combining both the bass guitar and vocals into a frenzied slatanic blitz. Slayer is one of the very few bands I cannot get fancy about, when it comes to doing a review… what you should know is that Slayer sounds Thrash prolific on Decade Of Aggression. You will hear a band that executes and succeeds at maintaining the highest level of Thrash Metal energy, throughout this entire double CD of songs. These following two lines are actually printed, on the back cover of the liner notes:
Unlike most other live recordings, this is Slayer completely “live”. No overdubbing exists on this recording.
The Complete Track Listing For Decade Of Aggression:
Disc One
(Recorded live at Lakeland Coliseum, Lakeland, Florida, 7/13/91):
Hell Awaits
The Antichrist
War Ensemble
South Of Heaven
Raining Blood
Altar Of Sacrifice
Jesus Saves
Dead Skin Mask
Seasons In The Abyss
Mandatory Suicide
Angel Of Death
Disc Two
(Recorded Live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 10/14/90):
Hallowed Point
Blood Red
(Recorded live at Orange Pavillion, San Bernadino, California, 3/8/91):
Die By The Sword
Black Magic
Captor Of Sin
Born Of Fire
Skeletons Of Society *(only on this metal slipcase version)
(Recorded live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 10/14/90):
At Dawn They Sleep *(only on this metal slipcase version)
Postmortem
(Recorded live at Orange Pavillion, San Bernadino, California, 3/8/91):
Spirit In Black
Expendable Youth
Chemical Warfare
____________________________________________
LONG LIVE SLAYER.
Stone.
Deep Purple is the Hard Rock band, that deserves so much more respect and attention than what is normally given them. How often are the usual cast of characters brought up in Rock and Hard Rock conversations, articles and televised documentaries; you know the ones and these bands deserve their just due, praise and remembrance. Still, in the midst of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath, The Doors and of course, the Beatles… was Deep Purple. Deep Purple made some momentous and historical Rock Music of their own. Can I confidently say that Deep Purple was a band as commercially big as the other’s just mentioned? Of course no. I will state, that in my Metal opinion, Deep Purple was and always will be considered just as important of a contributor, to the history of Rock and Roll. Consistency in the form of personnel at the lead guitar and lead singer positions are two critical elements missing from the biography of Deep Purple. If this is what sets them apart from ever being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then that is pathetic foolishness on the part of that Cleveland, Ohio country club. With a mid 1980’s reunion, (1984 Perfect Strangers album), Deep Purple has been intact to this very day, with lineup changes being a normal course of their history.
Back in October of 1991, Ugly Kid Joe released their debut EP – As Ugly As They Wanna Be. 1991 was a year smack in the middle of the Grunge Music invasion… Ugly Kid Joe didn’t seem to care in the least. The mix of Hard Rock, Funk Metal and Heavy Metal had me more than interested in Ugly Kid Joe, I bought As Ugly As They Wanna Be and it served me right – back in 1991. Parodies aside, I could care less about what the titles of Ugly Kid Joe’s albums were making fun of… it was the funky heavy grooves of their songs that mattered most to me. Everything About You was a song that sounded unlike anything I was into back then, (Thrash, Death, Speed and mainstream Heavy Metal was what I was used to). When I first heard Everything About You, the first bands that came to mind that I was familiar with, in the Funk Metal genre, was Living Colour and Anthrax when they did I‘m The Man. White Zombie for certain had some Funk happening in their Metal back then too, yet this Ugly Kid Joe was not the dark side of heavy Funk either. This band was not as flamboyant as Faith No More, there seemed to be more of a street level accessibility to Ugly Kid Joe back in 1991-92.
Obviously the freshness of Ugly Kid Joe caught on with MTV and FM radio, it had to. Ugly As They Wanna Be and America’s Least Wanted 
Stryper – “To Hell With The Devil” was released on October 24, 1986. I already was an avid listener to Stryper and their brand of Christian Heavy Metal Music when this album came out. I had purchased their album “Soldiers Under Command”, (released on May 15, 1985), within months after it’s release, therefore I already took a liking to Stryper. I always have been and forever will be, diversified with my adoration for Metal music. I hate sounding like a broken record by saying… if I have said it once, I shall say it again… I listen to all Hard Rock and Metal Music genres. The songs on this album are exquisitely inspirational, they are enormously melodic and yes… commercial 1980’s Heavy Metal. It is the power that comes across to me, from these songs, that makes this Stryper album my all time favorite. Anytime any religion plays a role within the framework of a Heavy Metal band and their lyrics, it is better left up to the individual listener, to make the choice if this is what they want to embrace. In my Metal opinion, it is all about personal preference and interpretation, when it comes to any specific form of music. I will still play this album and benefit from the Heavy Metal and lyrical contents that are found within.
Judas Priest and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal or (NWOBHM) took me by storm back in the Summer of 1982. Honestly, I was aware of the “British Steel” album from Judas Priest then, yet nowhere near Metal schooled about this band as I should have been. It was in 1982 when I was beginning to delve deeper into the world of Heavy Metal… Judas Priest basically opened the gates of Metal for me to enter… and enter I did. I have never looked back. Of course, after my very first listen to my buddies “Screaming for Vengeance” album, I rushed over to my nearest Caldor department store and bought my own copy. This album then had me salivating for more of “The Priest”. In short time I owned every available album from this mighty band, choosing “Stained Class” to be my favorite all time Judas Priest album – this opinion stands Metal tall to this very day. This “Screaming for Vengeance” album initiated me to own the entire catalog of Judas Priest, it initiated me to seek out and enjoy more Metal bands and their powerful music. Judas Priest was the Metal band, this was the Metal album that had me realize that Metal was to be my life long favorite music genre. Metal case closed.
Without question, as I look back now, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” was the break out, commercial success song, that was instrumental in carving Judas Priest into the Metal giant and Rob Halford into the Metal God of today. That is cool with me, this song was necessary for Judas Priest to break into the hum drum FM radio environment, that was existing back in 1982. When I first heard “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”, it was as if my entire body went on an adrenaline trip that was truly foreign to me. All I can remember is – I never felt such intensity envelope my body and mind like this song did. And to think, if this song riveted me in such a manner, what did listening to the rest of this album do to my senses? It was Heavy Metal euphoria, back in 1982. To be perfectly clear, this album was Heavy Metal 101 for me. Before “Screaming for Vengeance” was discovered by me, Kiss, Cheap Trick, AC/DC and Foreigner were the heaviest bands I ever listened to.
This is the original demo of Roxx Regime, from 1983, (“The Roxx Regime Demos”), before they became Stryper. (This CD was released on July 10, 2007). The songs are all excellent, with an unpolished, raw, under produced feel and spirited energy. (This is what really makes the Heavy Metal sound even better, in my Metal opinion). There are seven songs in all on this disc, including one drum solo. These tunes really thump, they have the early 80’s Heavy Metal/Hair Metal sound. “Honestly” is a ballad that really touches off tremendous emotion, the most mellow tune on this disc and a future hit for Stryper. “From Wrong to Right” and “Loud N Clear” are catchy tracks, with a definite early ’80’s Heavy Metal/Hair Metal vibe. “Tank” is a drum solo from Robert Sweet, nothing really fancy – cool to have in the mix of songs just the same. If you are already familiar with Stryper, you will hear and recognize the talented musicianship, a band in their Metal infancy, that would become a premier Christian Heavy Metal band of the 1980’s and beyond.
Thunder and Lightning is a Thin Lizzy Hard Rockin’ and Heavy Hittin’ prize. Released in 1983, this is Old School Heavy Metal that is stupendous with every aspect of it’s music. John Sykes and Scott Gorham on guitars are both a sensational listen. The three songs of Cold Sweat, Someday She Is Going To Hit Back and Baby Please Don’t are abundantly impressive to my Rockin’ hungry ears. In my Metal opinion, the purchase of this album is worth it for these three songs alone. With that said, this entire album is vintage Heavy Metal that should be revisited and celebrated.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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