Connecticut crushers 100 Demons have a well-earned rep for being one of history’s heaviest hardcore bands. They come from the same late-’90s scene as Hatebreed, and guitarist Sean Martin has done significant time in both bands. 100 Demons only released two albums, 2000’s Eyes Of The Lord and their 2004 self-titled joint, before going inactive.…
The post 100 Demons Announce First New Album In 22 Years <em>Embrace The Black Light</em>: Hear “Meat For The Beast” appeared first on Stereogum.
Gothenburg, Sweden’s finest export, Evergrey, have unfortunately had to postpone their Australian tour which was due to begin on April 28 in Perth due to their inbound flights being cancelled by Qatar Airlines. The band comment: “Dear Friends, it’s with heavy hearts, we must postpone our upcoming tour in Australia. We are not cancelling, rather […]
Oklahoma rockers Hillbilly Vegas have dropped their new single and video for Mr. Midnight, which was written by and features Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Paul Rodgers (Bad Company). The track is the 2nd single from their new album A La Mode, which is slated for release on May 8 via Quarto Valley […]Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
After an almost 10 year absence, Cnoc and Tursa are ready to emerge from the Scottish wilderness and present to us their first release in a decade with “A Cry Of The Slain”. With shows lined up that include the inaugural Tynebound Festival in Newcastle, this gives us a glimpse of what they’ve been up to in the studio. Will this be a heroic return, though, is the question? Let’s find out…
Immediate first impressions; the band’s sound is built upon a raw and aggressive foundation, steering more towards post-hardcore than black metal at times. This is perhaps best personified by Alan’s lead vocals, primitive and raw in every sense of the word. Perhaps deviating from the high pitch shrieks you’d typically expect from the genre. Though this results in superior story telling and a narrative that would otherwise be lost in a sea of inaudible screams. I mean, listen to one of the lead singles of the album ‘Alba In My Heart’ and try not to feel the passion and pride in his voice as he bellows out the infectious chorus! An instantly memorable climax, and just one example of the choruses acting at the melodic focal point and amongst salient feature in each song.
Though Cnoc an Tursa don’t just rely on the choruses for a quick soundbite. No, throughout the album you’ll be introduced to a vast array of opulent melodies and aesthetically pleasing textures. This is achieved via the more traditional deployment of lead guitars blazing majestically above the solid rhythmic foundations. Here, the expected tremolo picked patterns played at break speed and with dissonant unsettling chromatic patterns are abandoned. Instead, the guitars lean into more Gaelic inspired melodies and patterns, more upbeat and positive, sitting in the major scales. Again, not what the black metal genre necessarily dictates but provide a unique impetus that give Cnoc an Tursa a clear identity within this crowded sub-genre. A similar approach to the likes of Saor, offering a more symphonic and epic feel to their music, though Cnoc an Tursa tend to be less expansive and prefer the route one approach rather than their Scottish counterparts. The clever use of synths and background keys provide a more epic undertone and feel to the music, adding drama and intrigue when it’s needed and offers a welcome boost in energy when deployed.
Yes, there’s certainly a lot to admire from “A Cry Of The Slain”. One of the more unique offerings to the world of black metal in 2026 and will satiate any fans of the genre looking for something extra and more indulgent than what you’d expect from this realm of metal.
The post Album Review: Cnoc An Tursa – A Cry For The Slain appeared first on The Razor's Edge.
Prince of Failure marks a significant shift in Daniel Tompkins’ creative world. Written and developed over several years with Paul Ortiz (Chimp Spanner), the upcoming album traces a long internal process rather than a single moment of inspiration. The material reflects on neurodivergence, masking, and the psychological weight of living out of alignment with expectation […]
Slayer’s discography is a 35-year massacre of uncompromising thrash. From the raw, Satanic speed of Show No Mercy to the crushing modern aggression of their final studio salvo, Repentless, we have ranked all 12 records based on their impact, songwriting, and the legendary interplay of the Araya/King/Hanneman/Lombardo lineup. With the band back in the headlines for their 2026 Reign in Blood 40th-anniversary shows, the hierarchy of these records has never been more relevant. Scroll down to see if the controversial Diabolus in Musica stayed at the bottom and why Reign in Blood still wears the crown in our essential Slayer Albums Ranked list.
While the metal community is notoriously tribal, the undisputed consensus among critics and die-hard fans is that Reign in Blood (1986) is the best Slayer album. Clocking in at a lean 29 minutes, its relentless speed and Rick Rubin’s dry, clinical production set a benchmark for extremity that remains untouched decades later.
As the band continues their massive 2026 reunion run (tickets available here), albums like Seasons in the Abyss and South of Heaven are seeing a massive surge in “Experience” rankings. These records offer a melodic depth and atmospheric dread that provide a necessary counterpoint to the band’s trademark high-velocity assault.
Someone has to be in the cellar, and in the Slayer discography, it’s this nu-metal-adjacent experiment. Released during a period of massive industry shift, the record saw the band flirting with down-tuned, groove-heavy riffs that felt alien to their high-speed thrash DNA.
While Kerry King has since distanced himself from the project, tracks like “Stain of Mind” have a percussive charm that still hits hard in a live setting. However, it remains a rare moment of identity crisis for a band usually defined by iron-clad conviction and refusal to follow trends.
This album is draped in tragedy and historical weight, serving as the first and only record without the late, legendary Jeff Hanneman. While Gary Holt of Exodus did an admirable job stepping into the role, the “Hanneman-shaped hole” in the songwriting process is impossible to ignore.
The title track “Repentless” is a modern thrash banger, but the record lacks the eerie, melodic minor-key shifts that Hanneman brought to the table. It is a pure Kerry King aggression machine—powerful and punishing, but ultimately one-dimensional compared to the band’s mid-career masterpieces.
Often dismissed by casuals as “just a covers album,” we treat this as a vital piece of the Slayer puzzle. This is the band paying homage to the punk and hardcore legends like Minor Threat, D.R.I., and T.S.O.L. that provided the blueprint for their early speed.
It’s a raw, stripped-down blast of energy that captures the band’s primal influences. The hidden gem here is “Gemini,” the lone original track, which is a sludgy, doom-laden monster proving Slayer could be just as terrifying when they slowed the tempo to a suffocating crawl.
This stands as the final recording of the original Araya/King/Hanneman/Lombardo lineup, making it a piece of metal history. It serves as a “sampler platter” of the band’s various eras, blending the punk-fueled energy of “Snuff” with the epic, evil scope of the title track.
While it’s a respectable swan song for the founding four, it lacks the singular, cohesive “through-line” found in their top-tier work. It is a solid B-tier record that proved the kings could still deliver the goods well into their third decade of dominance.
Released on the morning of September 11, 2001, this album accidentally became the nihilistic soundtrack to a world on fire. It is Slayer at their most abrasive and modern, stripped of 80s polish and replaced with a claustrophobic, street-level rage.
Tom Araya’s vocals on “Disciple” and “Bloodline” are shredded and hateful, showing no signs of aging. This record proved that even after twenty years, the band could sound more genuinely pissed-off than any of the “nu-gen” acts they originally influenced.
The return of original drummer Dave Lombardo felt like a lightning strike to the band’s creative core. Christ Illusion is the spiritual successor to Seasons in the Abyss, recapturing the high-speed, technical precision that only Lombardo can provide behind the kit.
From the Grammy-winning “Eyes of the Insane” to the absolute blitzkrieg of “Flesh Storm,” this record was a loud, bloody reminder that Slayer had reclaimed their throne. It stands as the strongest of their 2000s-era output.
This is the “sterile and clinical” era of Slayer, featuring the studio debut of powerhouse drummer Paul Bostaph. The band shifted their lyrical focus from Satanic imagery to the horrors of the real world—serial killers, warfare, and human depravity.
The result is a suffocating, dense record with absolutely no room for air. Tracks like “Killing Fields” and “Dittohead” are masterclasses in controlled chaos, proving the band could remain the fastest entity on the planet even without their founding drummer.
The “Big Bang” of the Slayer mythos. Drenched in the influence of Venom and the NWOBHM, this is the sound of four kids accidentally inventing a genre in a Huntington Park garage. It leans more toward “evil heavy metal” than pure, modern thrash.
However, the sheer velocity of “Black Magic” and the iconic opening scream of “The Antichrist” laid the foundation for every extreme metal subgenre that followed. It’s essential, raw, and remains a perfect time capsule of metal’s evolution.
Where the debut was a knife fight, Hell Awaits was a full-scale demonic invasion. The songs became labyrinthine and the atmosphere became genuinely terrifying. The back-masked intro to the title track is still the gold standard for “spooky” in the metal world.
This is the pivotal moment where Slayer transcended their early influences and became a terrifying entity all their own. It is dark, progressive in its own twisted way, and remains a favorite among the band’s most hardcore underground following.
The ultimate power move in the history of thrash. How do you follow the fastest album ever made? You slow down and get heavier. South of Heaven proved Slayer had the musicality and restraint to back up the gimmick of pure speed.
The clean, haunting opening of the title track and the war-torn dirge of “Mandatory Suicide” are strokes of pure compositional genius. It’s an atmospheric masterpiece that proved heaviness isn’t always about the BPM on the metronome.
The flawless synthesis of everything that makes this band great. It takes the breakneck speed of Reign in Blood (exemplified by “War Ensemble”) and fuses it with the melodic dread of South of Heaven (found in “Dead Skin Mask”).
It represents the peak of the original lineup’s creative powers and is often cited by fans as the most well-rounded and “listenable” Slayer record. Every single track is a stone-cold classic that remains a staple of their 2026 setlists.
The undisputed king of the genre. 29 minutes. No waste. No mercy. This record changed the face of music forever. From the opening scream of “Angel of Death” to the final rain-soaked feedback of “Raining Blood,” it is a monument to pure, weaponized aggression.
Rick Rubin’s dry production made the guitars sound like literal chainsaws cutting through the mix. It is the greatest thrash album ever recorded, serving as the blueprint for death metal and grindcore. End of story.
Ranking Slayer isn’t just about music; it’s about weighing the cultural impact of a band that never blinked. While some legacy acts softened their sound to chase radio play, Slayer doubled down on the darkness. For my money, the “Unholy Trinity” of the late 80s (Reign, South, Seasons) is the greatest three-album run in metal history. Even their “worst” efforts like Diabolus still possess a level of venom that modern bands struggle to replicate. In 2026, as we watch them command festival stages, it’s clear: there is no replacement for the Hanneman/King riff machine.
Stay tuned to the Loaded Radio Daily Podcast for more deep dives into metal history, or catch the live 24/7 heavy metal stream.
The post Every SLAYER Album Ranked From Worst To Best: The Final Verdict appeared first on Loaded Radio.