# Reign in Blood
**Reign in Blood** is the third studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986 on [Def Jam Recordings](https://www.edgepedia.org/def-jam-recordings) with production by [Rick Rubin](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-rubin)[1](https://www.discogs.com/release/377521-Slayer-Reign-In-Blood) • [2](https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/collectionsdumusee/doc/ALOES/1156799/slayer-reign-in-blood-jeff-hanneman-kerry-king-composition?_lg=fr-FR). Ten tracks run just under half an hour, a compressed format that became central to the album's reputation; the band's own site calls it "twenty-eight minutes and fifty-eight seconds of unrelenting power" that "sparked reverence from fans, acclaim from critics, and controversy from the world at large"[3](https://www.slayer.net/products/reign-in-blood). AllMusic lists the duration as 29:03[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 7, 1986, Def Jam Recordings (catalog GHS 24131); Geffen handled US distribution[1](https://www.discogs.com/release/377521-Slayer-Reign-In-Blood) • [5](https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/) |
| Length | 28:58 per the band's official listing; AllMusic catalogs 29:03, across ten tracks[3](https://www.slayer.net/products/reign-in-blood) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741) |
| Production | Rick Rubin, co-produced by Slayer; recorded March–May 1986 at Hit City West, Los Angeles; mixed at New Fresh, New York City; engineer Andy Wallace[2](https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/collectionsdumusee/doc/ALOES/1156799/slayer-reign-in-blood-jeff-hanneman-kerry-king-composition?_lg=fr-FR) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741) • [6](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Slayer/Reign_in_Blood/1188333) |
| Chart | Debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 127, peaked at No. 94 six weeks later, with zero radio airplay[5](https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/) |
| Sales | More than 500,000 copies sold in the United States[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood) |
| Controversy | CBS refused to distribute the album over the cover art and "Angel of Death," a song about Nazi physician Josef Mengele[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood) • [8](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slayer-reign-in-blood-30-year-anniversary-7534190/) |
| Lineup | Tom Araya (vocals, bass), Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King (guitars), Dave Lombardo (drums)[1](https://www.discogs.com/release/377521-Slayer-Reign-In-Blood) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741) |
## Background and signing to Def Jam
Slayer's previous album, *Hell Awaits* (1985), had been released on a label whose acts included Lizzy Borden and Bitch. After that record Slayer signed with Def Jam, the label founded by Rick Rubin and [Russell Simmons](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-simmons), making labelmates of the hip-hop artists [LL Cool J](https://www.edgepedia.org/ll-cool-j) and the [Beastie Boys](https://www.edgepedia.org/beastie-boys)[9](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece). The 33 1/3 book on the album describes the resulting release as issued "on America's premier rap label at the peak of the thrash metal movement"[10](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/slayers-reign-in-blood-9780826429094/).
## Recording and production
The album was recorded from March to May 1986 at Hit City West in Los Angeles[2](https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/collectionsdumusee/doc/ALOES/1156799/slayer-reign-in-blood-jeff-hanneman-kerry-king-composition?_lg=fr-FR) and mixed at New Fresh in New York City, co-produced by Slayer[6](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Slayer/Reign_in_Blood/1188333). Rubin produced, Andy Wallace engineered, and Howie Weinberg mastered[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741).
**Rubin's approach.** The producer's defining decision was subtraction. He told the band they did not need reverb on the guitars or vocals, producing a sound Louder describes as "dry as a bone and heavy as granite"[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood). [Kerry King](https://www.edgepedia.org/kerry-king) credited the change with revealing the precision of the band's fast playing: when the reverb was stripped away, listeners could hear that the notes were on time[9](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece). Rubin himself framed the goal as rhythmic clarity: "Would it be possible to record in such a way that was hard sounding, but everything was short? Because I didn't want it to be a blur of bass... I wanted it to be a pulse." He added that his inexperience with metal was a benefit, because he ignored popular metal norms of the day[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/rick-rubin-slayer-metallica).
## Music and lyrics
The track list opens with "Angel of Death" (4:51, written by [Jeff Hanneman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-hanneman)) and closes with "Raining Blood" (4:14); seven of the eight tracks between them are under three minutes[3](https://www.slayer.net/products/reign-in-blood) • [2](https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/collectionsdumusee/doc/ALOES/1156799/slayer-reign-in-blood-jeff-hanneman-kerry-king-composition?_lg=fr-FR). AllMusic describes those middle tracks as "lightning-fast bursts of aggression that change tempo or feel without warning," drawing on hardcore punk while remaining technically demanding[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741). The band did not deliberately write short songs; the lengths came out of their rapid riff-churning method[9](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece).
The album's terseness was partly an instruction to the drummer. As the band's oral history records it: "we told Dave to speed it up: 'C'mon, let's pick it up a bit!' And with that one simple instruction, Reign In Blood was trimmed from an already compact 34 minutes to an unfathomably terse 28 minutes and 58 seconds"[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood). Kerrang! describes the production as bringing the aggressive guitars and [Dave Lombardo](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-lombardo)'s machine-gun drums to the fore rather than burying them[12](https://www.kerrang.com/slayers-reign-in-blood-still-the-greatest-thrash-album-of-all-time).
**"Angel of Death."** The opening track is a clinically graphic retelling of the Auschwitz atrocities associated with Nazi physician [Josef Mengele](https://www.edgepedia.org/josef-mengele)[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood). Dave Lombardo later said the band "got dropped by Columbia because of that," adding that the lyrics were "just documented musical awareness" rather than sympathy for the Holocaust[9](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece). The sleeve art was painted by Larry Carroll[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood).
## Controversy and release through Geffen
CBS, which distributed Def Jam albums, refused to handle *Reign in Blood* although the pressing was already paid for. Its objections came down to two things: the cover and "Angel of Death." CBS demanded the song be removed, Rubin refused, and the release moved to Geffen[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood) • [5](https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/). Billboard states plainly that CBS "declined to distribute the record because they thought 'Angel of Death' glorified Nazism"[8](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slayer-reign-in-blood-30-year-anniversary-7534190/).
## Commercial performance
The album received no radio airplay, yet it was Slayer's first to enter the Billboard 200: it debuted at No. 127 and peaked at No. 94 six weeks later[5](https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/) • [6](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Slayer/Reign_in_Blood/1188333). It eventually sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States, a figure Louder calls astonishing for such an extreme album[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood).
## Critical reception, comparisons, and legacy
Contemporaneous chart performance was modest, but retrospective judgment has been strong. AllMusic calls it "widely considered the pinnacle of speed metal" and Slayer's "undisputed masterpiece"[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741); Kerrang! ranks it still the greatest thrash album of all time[12](https://www.kerrang.com/slayers-reign-in-blood-still-the-greatest-thrash-album-of-all-time); and the 33 1/3 volume calls it "the gold standard for extreme heavy metal, a seamless 29-minute procession of ten blindingly fast, apocalyptic songs"[10](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/slayers-reign-in-blood-9780826429094/).
Asked to rank thrash's Big Four albums, [Tom Araya](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-araya) put *Reign in Blood* first ahead of Metallica's *Master of Puppets*, Megadeth's *[Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?](https://www.edgepedia.org/peace-sells-but-whos-buying)*, and Anthrax's *Among the Living*: he laughed, "In that order! That's perfect!"[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood). Rubin, by contrast, judged Metallica's tracks too fast and lacking in clarity, a criticism his dry, pulse-oriented production was designed to answer[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/rick-rubin-slayer-metallica).
**Influence.** AllMusic writes that the album "almost single-handedly inspired the entire death metal genre (at least on the American side of the Atlantic)"[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741), and Billboard credits it with "laying the seeds for death metal" and setting the standard for genre extremity[8](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slayer-reign-in-blood-30-year-anniversary-7534190/). It began a Rubin-produced trilogy continued by *South of Heaven* (1988) and *[Seasons in the Abyss](https://www.edgepedia.org/seasons-in-the-abyss)* (1990)[9](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece).
**Live role.** *Reign in Blood* is the only Slayer album the band has chosen to play live in its entirety[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood). Dave Lombardo quit during the US tour supporting the album and returned a couple of months later[7](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood).
## Band members and later lineup
The album was created by Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King, and Dave Lombardo[1](https://www.discogs.com/release/377521-Slayer-Reign-In-Blood) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741). By the album's 30th anniversary in 2016, half that lineup was gone: Hanneman died in 2013 of liver failure, Lombardo left the band in 2013, and Gary Holt became the new guitarist[8](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slayer-reign-in-blood-30-year-anniversary-7534190/). Kerry King reflected that the band never realized how special the album was at the time: "We knew it was cool, but we never thought it was what people would talk about for the next 30 years"[3](https://www.slayer.net/products/reign-in-blood).
## References
1. [Slayer – Reign In Blood, Discogs release entry](https://www.discogs.com/release/377521-Slayer-Reign-In-Blood)
2. [Slayer : Reign In Blood, Musée de la musique, Philharmonie de Paris](https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/collectionsdumusee/doc/ALOES/1156799/slayer-reign-in-blood-jeff-hanneman-kerry-king-composition?_lg=fr-FR)
3. [Reign in Blood, Slayer official site](https://www.slayer.net/products/reign-in-blood)
4. [Slayer: Reign in Blood, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/reign-in-blood-mw0000191741)
5. [Slayer's 'Reign in Blood': 10 Facts Only Superfans Would Know, Loudwire](https://loudwire.com/slayer-reign-in-blood-facts/)
6. [Slayer – Reign in Blood, Encyclopaedia Metallum](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Slayer/Reign_in_Blood/1188333)
7. [Slayer: The Making Of Reign In Blood, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/slayer-the-making-of-reign-in-blood)
8. [Slayer's 'Reign in Blood': 30 Years Old and Still Relevant, Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/slayer-reign-in-blood-30-year-anniversary-7534190/)
9. [Slayer's 'Reign in Blood': The Story Behind Thrash's Controversial Masterpiece, Revolver](https://www.revolvermag.com/music/slayers-reign-blood-story-behind-thrashs-controversial-masterpiece)
10. [Slayer's Reign in Blood (33 1/3), D.X. Ferris, Continuum/Bloomsbury](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/slayers-reign-in-blood-9780826429094/)
11. [Rick Rubin on making Slayer's classic Reign in Blood, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/rick-rubin-slayer-metallica)
12. [Slayer's Reign In Blood is still the greatest thrash album, Kerrang!](https://www.kerrang.com/slayers-reign-in-blood-still-the-greatest-thrash-album-of-all-time)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Traditional heavy and thrash metal albums › Thrash metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license