By slowing down, Slayer’s riffs were finally given room to sound as wicked as they possibly could. There are moments of this present on Reign… – the opening and closing riffs of Raining Blood, for example, or the beginning of Criminally Insane – but it wasn’t until Slayer chose to take things slow that they could show off their true unholiness. The echoes of this can be heard throughout the rest of their career, from 1991’s Dead Skin Mask to 2015’s When The Stillness Comes.
Of course, in classic fashion, South Of Heaven’s power was only recognised later on in Slayer's career. In fact, when the album came out, fans were angry at the band for not serving them the same dish twice. “That album was a late bloomer – it wasn’t really received well, but I guess it kind of grew on everybody later,” Tom admitted to Decibel in 2006. However, as metal became less of a faster-louder-noisier arms race, and black and death metal artists began appreciating the atmosphere present in slowed-down riffs, the oozing gore and spiritual malaise behind South Of Heaven grew to be appreciated for the simmering savagery.
Today, Slayer are known as more than a force for chaos and volume – they’re a sonic conduit for all the evils of the world. But that only came about when they took their sweet time and applied more nuanced examinations of the Devil’s work to their sound. South Of Heaven forever marks the point where Slayer became a band whose music was truly steeped in all things twisted and evil. And for the type of metal fan looking to celebrate blasphemy, carnage, and the triumph of death, it changed everything.