Slayer - 'World Painted Blood'

10 albums into their storied career, Slayer doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody. After all, they’re Slayer. But with World Painted Blood, the grizzled vets roar out of the gates with a chip on their shoulder, and a powerful musical affirmation of their relevancy in 2009.

World Painted Blood kicks off with the title track. After a short intro, it’s vintage Slayer, with the 6 minute track featuring the power, intensity and groove the band is famous for, plus a sufficient dose of melody. The whole album hearkens back to Slayer’s glory days, with sparse production and a raw sound. It’s an effective strategy, because the band’s musicianship requires no spit and polish to appreciate.

With songs like “Snuff” and “Hate Worldwide,” shredding solos from Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman are on full display, as the two axemen showcase their guitar prowess. Balls out galloping thrash is the rule of the day on World Painted Blood, but Slayer changes things up from time to time for diversity’s sake.

“Human Strain” has a more moderate tempo and increased groove, and the intensity eases up in the middle with a mellower feel and spoken word lyrics. “Psychopathy Red” is one of the strongest songs on the album, with Slayer’s rage-o-meter pegged into the red. The closer, “Not Of This God” is another powerhouse, combining the band’s classic sound with some modern touches. Slayer doesn’t overstay their welcome, with the 11 songs clocking in at just under 40 minutes.

World Painted Blood tackles the lyrical topics you’d expect from a Slayer album. Death, destruction, war, politics and religion are some of the issues addressed. Tom Araya’s voice is in good form on this CD, delivering those lyrics with not only his usual anger and passion, but also some periodic melodic singing.

Slayer is a well oiled machine, with Dave Lombardo’s powerful drumming the engine that keeps things moving at full speed. And even though they have a lot of miles under their belt, World Painted Blood shows this is a band still able to crank out plenty of horsepower.

(released November 3, 2009 on Columbia Records)