Christ Illusion

Christ Illusion is a work on which SLAYER foregrounded sharply slashing riffs, rapidly accelerating drums and Tom Araya’s rage. The songs are short and compressed, with guitar dissonance and rhythmic reversals constantly generating tension. It is a record on which drummer Dave Lombardo returned after well over a decade, reviving the destructive power of old. On “Flash Storm,” “Jihad,” “Cult” and “Supremist,” an ominous air over society and religion also rings strongly, tied to the violence of the sound. “Eyes of the Insane” won the honor of a Grammy Award. Songs like “Skeleton Christ” and “Catalyst” breathe the band’s full aggression too. Rather than merely reproducing the aggression of old, re-honing it even harder with matured playing, it is a record showing the fullness of a revived SLAYER.