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| Reign in Blood (33 1/3) | 
 enlarge | Author: D. X. Ferris
Publisher: Continuum
Category: Book
List Price: $10.95
Buy New: $5.86
You Save: $5.09 (46%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 18811
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 153
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.4 x 4.7 x 0.5
ISBN: 0826429092
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.421660922
EAN: 9780826429094
ASIN: 0826429092
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Issued on America's premier rap label at the peak of the thrash metal movement, Slayer's controversial Reign in Blood remains the gold standard for extreme heavy metal, a seamless 29-minute procession of ten blindingly fast, apocalyptic songs. The first English book about Slayer explores the creation of the most universally respected metal album and its long road to the stores, through original interviews with the entire band, producer Rick Rubin, engineer Andy Wallace, cover artist Larry Carroll, and Def Jam insiders from Russell Simmons to M.C. Serch. From Tori Amos to Pantera's Phil Anselmo, dozens of fans and artists discuss the record's ongoing impact and Slayer's status in the small fraternity of rock's greatest groups.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 The Mini Encyclopedia of Slayer December 4, 2008
This book is absolutely astounding must-read stuff for Slayer/metal/music fans of all shapes and sizes. I can tell you this - if you hold Slayer's Reign in Blood in your holy trinity of album releases that would go with you to your metal desert island, then this is definitely your new favorite book. You won't find a more dedicated scribe than D.X., and having been on the inside as he's been working on this book over the past couple of years, The amount of work and interviews that he put into the project is incredible.
Reign in Blood is a true labor of love. More than that, Reign in Blood is a 153 page love letter to a favorite album of many, and a personal gift from Ferris to his fellow legion of Slayer fans worldwide. Basically, if you're a Slayer fan that doesn't already have this book on order from Amazon.com, what are you waiting for?
This is one of my favorite books that I've read this year, and the interview list of folks that Ferris talked to is incredible - nice to see him tracking down guys like Rick Rubin, that you don't see interviews from everyday. Check this book out - hope that you enjoy it as much as I did..
Great Album, Great Book October 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
D.X. Ferris' entry into the 33 1/3 series covering Slayer's seminal "Reign In Blood" is in my opinion one of the best to date.
Like most of the other 33 1/3 series books, Ferris gives a concise overview of the players, times and circumstances that resulted in the creation of Slayer's "Reign In Blood." Ferris obviously did his homework on this one and seems not only to be a fan but a competent journalist.
What I found most interesting about this were the asides regarding Rick Rubin, his history and his unusual production style. Even if you are not a member of the Slaytanic Wheremacht, this great entry in the 33 1/3 series deserves a place on your bookshelf.
 great album, really bad book October 4, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
the 33 1/3 series is, imho, unbelievably spotty: some of the books from the series are among the best examples of music criticism/journalism to be published in the last few years, while others are just completely useless wastes of bookshelf space.
i picked this one up based on the back cover's claim that there was in-depth discussion with not only the band but with producer rick rubin, engineer andy wallace and album cover designer larry carroll. while the book does technically contain interview clips with all of these principles, they are contained within an unbelievably unscholarly work that makes great pains to express how awesome the album in question is, without really explained why, or why it was made, or how it was made.
the book begins with a pretty rambling introduction that just never really takes off-- for a record that, musically, is so devoid of any fat or wasted space, this book amounts to little more than the endless prattling of a diehard fan. the surprising thing is that i find myself thinking this, as i am myself a pretty diehard slayer fan-- however, i think i was hoping for more of a critical assessment of the band, the album, and the album's place in history and society.
the book is front-loaded with, imho, rather obvious sentiments about how awesome the album is, as well as a bombardment of pretty stereotypical assessments of the culture of heavy metal at the time. considering how shocking and bizarre the album was upon its release, and how the band itself have managed to grow into respected elder statesmen as well as stable family men, all on a foundation built upon this record and its bold statement of chaos, disrespect for authority and relatively careless appropriation of what can best be termed "dangerous ideas", you would think that the stage would be set for a really meaningful and in-depth investigation into a fascinating time and place. instead, you get the author's pretty sophomoric rantings and comparisons, all executed with absolutely no wit or grace. for example, here is the final paragraph of the book, where the author is for some reason comparing slayer's discography to the "terminator" series of sci-fi films:
"'Reign In Blood''s rough predecessor, 'Hell Awaits', is the equivalent of the first 'Terminator'. Unlike that violent film franchise, Slayer has never rebooted with an all-new lineup. And the band has never made an album comparable to 'Terminator 3'--a wholly ignorable outing that fails to improve on a single facet of its forerunners. Therein lies Slayer's greatness."
these sort of mangled empty comparisons are par for the course in this book-- the writer just seems out of his league turning his ruminations on why slayer rules into a book-length thesis; you get the impression that the 33 1/3 people okay'd this one based on the lack of metal coverage in their to-date list of titles; a great book could indeed be written on this album, and why it is special; unfortunately, this ain't it.
How Thrash was, in it's beginning stages August 29, 2008
This book is the manual for why the thrash metal movement began, why it thrived, and what was the ultimate in thrash metal recordings, Slayer's "Reign In Blood". I was there when thrash was huge, my former band, Graphic Violence, was produced by Carl Canedy, who produced bands like Overkill, and Anthrax. I lived the original thrash movement. Thrash is now making a revival, and for those who werent there, this is the book to read. Honest and somewhat revealing, this tome shows the youth and vitality of the guys in the band, as they recorded the most important recording of thier carreer.Without hearing it from the horses mouth, the only way to know how it went down is this book...
Simple enough August 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book rules. If you like the band, you'll love the book (because it rules).
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