Dave Lombardo, Slayer’s drummer during their classic era, says that «Reign In Blood» still has exactly the same effect on him, 40 years after its release.
“`Lombardo spoke to Scott Penfold on the «Loaded Radio» show on the occasion of the third Slayer album’s 40th anniversary. Asked how he sees the record 40 years on, he replied: «It still gives me the chills when I listen to it. Your hands get sweaty, your heart rate goes up and you’re in the moment».
«I’ve played these songs so many times in my life on stage, and that adrenaline, just thinking about it, and when I hear those songs, it triggers it», he added. «I get charged up. If I have a heart attack, put on «Raining Blood» or something, and watch me jump up».
Asked whether thrash metal is still close to his heart, Lombardo said modern recording software has taken some of the energy out of the genre. He enjoys thrash when it is good, but recording tools have made a lot of music far too sterile, and what is missing is that push and pull of records that were almost restless and aggressive. He remembered how they worked back then: they counted four and the whole band went in together — anger, anxiety, adrenaline.
Lombardo also paid tribute to guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who wrote many of Slayer’s best known songs, among them «Angel Of Death» and «South Of Heaven», and the music for «Raining Blood». Hanneman died in 2013 of liver failure at the age of 49. «He was a great guy, funny, an amazing songwriter and a pioneer», he said, recalling that he joined the band self-taught and created some of the most amazing music the genre has.
«Reign In Blood» came out in October 1986 on Def Jam Recordings. It was Slayer’s first album with Rick Rubin producing. The line-up was singer and bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Hanneman and Lombardo on drums. Slayer are marking 2026 by playing the album in full at their shows, and have also announced a special vinyl edition filled with «blood».
Lombardo is not part of Slayer’s reunited line-up. His latest projects are Lustmord Lombardo, his collaboration with Lustmord, and Satanic Planet, who have announced a new album called «Dead Deities».
See also: Slayer mark 40 years of «Reign In Blood» with a blood-filled zoetrope vinyl and the old school thrash albums that laid the foundations of the genre.
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/ex-slayer-drummer-dave-lombardo-looks-back-on-reign-in-blood-it-still-gives-me-the-chills-when-i-listen-to-that-album
