"Angel of Death" is the opening track on American
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
's 1986 album ''
Reign in Blood
''Reign in Blood'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings."Touring Blood", ''Decibel Magazine'', April 2008, p. 57. The album was the band's first collaboration with pro ...
''. The lyrics and music were written by guitarist
Jeff Hanneman
Jeffrey John Hanneman (January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013) was an American musician, best known as a founding member and guitarist of the thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman composed both music and lyrics for every Slayer album until his death in 20 ...
. They detail the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
physician
Josef Mengele
, allegiance =
, branch = Schutzstaffel
, serviceyears = 1938–1945
, rank = ''Schutzstaffel, SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain)
, servicenumber =
, battles =
, unit =
, awards =
, command ...
's
human experiments
''Human Experiments'' (also known as ''Beyond the Gate'') is a 1979 American horror film directed and co-produced by Gregory Goodell. It stars Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Ellen Travolta, Aldo Ray,
Jackie Coogan and Lurene Tuttle. This fil ...
at the
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
"Angel of Death" led to accusations of Nazi sympathizing and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
against the band, which they vigorously denied but which followed them throughout their early career. Despite the controversy and the resulting delay in the release of ''Reign in Blood'', the song remained a live favorite, and has appeared on all of Slayer's
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s.
The song has been described as highly influential in the development of thrash metal or
speed metal
Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...
, and is highly regarded by some critics;
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Steve Huey called it a classic and the album "the pinnacle of speed metal".
The
half-time
In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
riff was sampled by
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
in their 1988 song "
She Watch Channel Zero?!
''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' is the second studio album by American Hip hop music, hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in session ...
".
Composition and origins
![WP Josef Mengele 1956](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/WP_Josef_Mengele_1956.jpg)
Slayer guitarist
Jeff Hanneman
Jeffrey John Hanneman (January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013) was an American musician, best known as a founding member and guitarist of the thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman composed both music and lyrics for every Slayer album until his death in 20 ...
wrote "Angel of Death" after reading books about
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
physician
Josef Mengele
, allegiance =
, branch = Schutzstaffel
, serviceyears = 1938–1945
, rank = ''Schutzstaffel, SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain)
, servicenumber =
, battles =
, unit =
, awards =
, command ...
while on tour with the band.
He said that he remembered "stopping someplace where I bought two books on Mengele. I thought, 'This has gotta be some sick shit.' So when it came time to do the record, that stuff was still in my head—that's where the lyrics to 'Angel of Death' came from."
The lyrics are written both from Mengele's point of view and from that of a detached observer condemning his actions. They detail Mengele's surgical experiments on patients at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
Mengele's explorations were conducted on such groups as
dwarfs and
twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
, and included both physical and psychological examinations.
Among the tests he performed that are mentioned in "Angel of Death" are experimental surgeries performed without
anesthesia
Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...
,
transfusion of blood between twins,
isolation endurance,
gassing, injections with lethal
germs,
sex change operation
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
s, the removal of
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
s and
limbs, and
abacination.
Controversy
The lyrics of "Angel of Death" delayed the release of ''
Reign in Blood
''Reign in Blood'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 7, 1986, by Def Jam Recordings."Touring Blood", ''Decibel Magazine'', April 2008, p. 57. The album was the band's first collaboration with pro ...
'' which was originally scheduled for April 1986.
The band was signed to
Def Jam Records
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
, whose distributor,
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, refused to release the album due to its subject matter and artwork, which they believed were "too graphic".
''Reign in Blood'' was eventually distributed by
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
on October 7, 1986, but it did not appear on Geffen Records' official release schedule because of the controversy.
"Angel of Death" caused outrage among
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivors, as well as their families and the general public. The controversy led to accusations of Nazi sympathizing which have followed Slayer throughout their career.
In 1987, Hanneman told the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' magazine:
[ (material first published in NME magazine in 1987)]
People took Hanneman's interest in Nazi history and his collection of Nazi medals (his most prized item being a German
Knight's Cross
Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...
)
as evidence of sympathizing.
Hanneman objected, stating:
According to guitarist
Kerry King
Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades.
...
: "Yeah, 'Slayer are Nazis, fascists, Communists'—all that fun shit. And of course we got the most flak for it in Germany. I was always like, 'Read the lyrics and tell me what's offensive about it. Can you see it as a documentary, or do you think Slayer's preaching fucking World War II?' People get this thought in their heads—especially in Europe—and you'll never talk them out of it."
The song drew accusations of racism, which the band has denied.
The band members are often asked about the accusations in interviews, and have stated numerous times that they do not condone racism and are merely interested in the subject.
Hanneman also wrote "SS-3", a song about senior
SS commander
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust.
He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, which appeared on the band's 1994 album ''
Divine Intervention
Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or a god) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine ''intervention''" implies that ...
''. The song "
Jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
" from their 2006 album ''
Christ Illusion
''Christ Illusion'' is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on August 8, 2006 by American Recordings (US), American Recordings. It was the band's first album featuring all four original members in over sixteen yea ...
'' has drawn comparison to "Angel of Death".
"Jihad" deals with the
September 11, 2001, attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, and is told from a
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
's perspective. Araya expected the subject matter to create a similar backlash to that of "Angel of Death", but it did not materialize
—in part, he believes, due to people's view that the song is "just Slayer being Slayer".
Music and structure
At 4 minutes and 51 seconds, "Angel of Death" is the longest track on the album, which is 29 minutes in total.
It is one of the most
structurally
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
conventional songs on the album, featuring prominent
verses and choruses, which most of the songs eschew. Araya's vocal performance begins with a piercing, wordless scream. "
itarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman deliver their intricate riffs
nddrummer Dave Lombardo performs some of the most powerful drumming ever recorded" at 210
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
.
When drummer Lombardo left Slayer in 1992, they recruited a full-time replacement in
Forbidden drummer
Paul Bostaph
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
.
Bostaph made one mistake out of the nine songs the band trialled him with, on "Angel of Death".
Before the "big double bass part" there is a lead section, which Bostaph could not understand, as he had to learn from live records recorded with Lombardo.
Bostaph could not tell how many revolutions the guitar riff goes before the bass sequence. The band members told him there were eight, "perfecting" the song afterwards.
The song is also linguistically significant for containing the only recorded use of the word "
abacinate
Abacination is a form of corporal punishment or torture, in which the victim is blinded by infliction of intentional damage to the eyes. Damage can be in the form of removal of the eyes or eyelids, slitting the eyes, burning, excessive pressure, ...
", as mentioned in Christopher Foyle's ''Foyle's Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words''.
Reception
Although "Angel of Death" did not chart, it was highly praised by critics reviewing ''Reign in Blood''. Clay Jarvas of ''
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
'' observed how the song "smokes the asses of any band playing fast and/or heavy today. Lyrically outlining the horrors to come, while musically laying the groundwork for the rest of the record: fast, lean and filthy."
Adrien Begrand of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' remarked that "There's no better song to kick things off than the masterful 'Angel of Death', one of the most monumental songs in metal history."
Personnel
*
Tom Araya
Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz (; born June 6, 1961) is a Chilean American musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist of American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked 58th by ''Hit Parader'' on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocali ...
– bass, vocals
*
Kerry King
Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades.
...
– guitars
*
Jeff Hanneman
Jeffrey John Hanneman (January 31, 1964 – May 2, 2013) was an American musician, best known as a founding member and guitarist of the thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman composed both music and lyrics for every Slayer album until his death in 20 ...
– guitars
*
Dave Lombardo
David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle ...
– drums
;Production
*
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popula ...
–
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
*
Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...
–
mastering
*
Andy Wallace –
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
See also
*
List of anti-war songs
Some anti-war songs lament aspects of wars, while others satirize war. Most promote peace in some form, while others sing out against specific armed conflicts. Still others depict the physical and psychological destruction that warfare causes to ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angel Of Death (Song)
1986 songs
Cultural depictions of Josef Mengele
Obscenity controversies in music
Slayer songs
Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin
Songs about criminals
Songs about physicians
Songs about the Holocaust