3 out of 5

Label: Def American

Produced by: Rick Rubin, Andy Wallace

Seasons in the Abyss, the last of the initial Lombardo-years albums for Slayer, is an album of balance.  Rather masterfully so: the group split the tracks (across the album, and in-song) between mad thrash and slower sludge; Tom Araya switches lyrical focus across both modern-day commentary as well as his narrational Hell-scapes; and the sharp production from Rick Rubin meets Andy Wallace’s slick mix for some studio trickery to enhance the metal, as well as keeping the levels such that you can hear all of the players without blowing out your eardrums.  And it’s a badass album, no doubt, with some still jaw-dropping standout tracks – notably opener War Ensemble – and generally one freak-out per song that kicks the arse of the majority of the output of their peers, but by digging in to their established sound for that balance, Seasons in the Abyss also loses a step on its precursors: beyond those highlights, there’s simply an immediacy lacking.  For any other metal band, you wouldn’t notice, and the disc would be easy to mark as a classic; for Slayer, though, who defined thrash, it feels slightly watered down.  What remains intact, and maybe even more impressive, given how sharp Rubin and Wallace made things sound, is that these guys are insanely talented at what they did: the shifts in pace and explosions of solos and drum fills are definitely still fast and furious and precise, and the somewhat more patient and thoughtful approach gives Araya opportunities to stretch his vocal abilities.  Maybe his lyricism can’t quite meet that call (besides the anger fueling War Ensemble, I don’t get much of a clear image from any track), but still, for all players – and Seasons in the Abyss’ songs – these aren’t dialed in performances at all, they’re just not dialed up to their usual extremes.