Meet the new Slayer, same as the old Slayer. After the more 'melodic' excursions of 1998's 'Diabolus In Musica', 'God Hates Us All' signals a return to the marked aggression of their earlier selves.
Further comparisons are provided by the fact that this album sees the band reunited with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who gave the record an extra pre-release polish. And the likes of a stomach-churning 'Bloodline' (originally premiered on last year's 'Dracula 2000' soundtrack) and the ruthless 'New Faith', featuring barked, almost hardcore vocals from Tom Araya, are certainly fit to continue the Slayer legacy.
The production has brought the guitars crunching to the fore, with Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman snarling on the vicious 'God Send Death', which also boasts some menacing vocal counterplay on the chorus and a classic old-school breakneck guitar solo. Paul Bostaph's drumming is, as ever, little short of remarkable, shuddering and thundering behind the mayhem up front.
Slayer's lyrical preoccupations may not have altered much - pain, hatred, genocide, counterfeit religion, the breakdown of the American dream - but they're delivered with a fresh level of ferocity by Araya, who on this evidence is certainly rising to the challenge of the likes of Slipknot et al. At many points it sounds like he's stretching his larynx to breaking point.
The only thing that inhibits this album is its one-dimensional pace, as one too many tracks features grinding verse leading into charging chorus, repeat to fade.
That notwithstanding, though, the likes of 'Here Comes The Pain' and 'Disciple', with its pounding, relentless mantra of "God hates us all", prove that when it comes to delivering the aural equivalent of a fleet of scud missiles, few can maintain the relentless precision power of Slayer. Point proven, then.
