''Eternal Pyre'' is an
EP by the
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. Released June 6, 2006 (
06/06/06) through
American Recordings, the EP was limited to a pressing of 1,000 (but later 5,000) copies.
The album is a pre-release to the later album ''
Christ Illusion
''Christ Illusion'' is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on August 8, 2006 by American Recordings. It was the band's first album featuring all four original members in over sixteen years. Slayer's drummer, D ...
'', which, like the EP, features the song "Cult". The album was released exclusively through
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...
chain stores in the United States and copies were also available in Germany, Finland and Sweden on June 23, 2006. There are three tracks featured on the album, one of which is an
audio track and the others are
videos
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
. The album was not well received by critics, with few critics actually reviewing the album. The album charted on four different charts, peaking number two in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and three in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
.
Background
The album ''
Christ Illusion
''Christ Illusion'' is the tenth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on August 8, 2006 by American Recordings. It was the band's first album featuring all four original members in over sixteen years. Slayer's drummer, D ...
'' was originally set for release on June 6, 2006. Slayer 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. ...
stated this tentative release date was scrapped as a number of other bands had the same idea and thought it was "fucking lame",
although ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' reported the release date was thwarted because the band had failed to secure sufficient studio recording time.
''Eternal Pyre'' was released instead, a preview of their album to be released in the coming months. The EP featured the track "Cult", a live performance of "War Ensemble" in Germany and four minutes footage of the band in the recording studio. Originally, it was thought that the extended play would feature a live version of "Dead Skin Mask" instead of the live version of "War Ensemble". Many news reporters were told that the album would feature the "Live Intrusion" video, described as a clip of one of the band's fans who carved Slayer's name into his forearm." 5,000 copies were released exclusively through
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...
chain stores in the United States and copies were also available in Germany, Finland and Sweden on June 23.
Nuclear Blast Records
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
released a further 7"
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
picture disc version limited to one thousand copies on June 30.
Composition
''Eternal Pyre'' features three tracks in total. "Cult" was characterized by Thom Jurek as "scathing rejection of religion as the cause for world conflict." The song revolves around 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. ...
's perception of flaws in American religion and was a comment on America, which he describes as "the biggest cult in the world". Their performance was positively commented on, with Pitch.com saying that "King and
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 ...
riff like they're summoning a storm of thunder, lightning and human blood," and was also noted to be a down-tuned, two-string vamp "that slithers into the foreground creates a tension as Lombardo's cymbals call the band into the riff that opens the tune. It's slow, meaty, unrelenting in its tautness. When Araya's voice comes in, the whole track is off the rails and stays there." "War Ensemble" was filmed live from Germany, and contains four minutes of studio footage. Lyrics were said to "please fans still harboring a grudge from Catholic school."
Reception and release
Critics did not receive ''Eternal Pyre'' very well, with few professionals actually reviewing the album. ''
The Pitch The Pitch may refer to:
* "The Pitch" (''Seinfeld'')
* ''The Pitch'' (TV series), an AMC original series
* ''The Pitch'' (podcast), an American podcast
* ''The Pitch'' (newspaper), a newspaper in Kansas City
* A segment in '' The Gruen Transfer ...
'' criticized the price of the extended play at 5.99, stating in comparison it makes
iTunes a bargain. ''The Pitch's'' reviewer also said that "Slayer's worst is never far from its best, and this cut's in the middle."
The extended play was, however, generally well received by fans, despite having a limited number of copies available. ''Eternal Pyre'' debuted at number forty-eight on the
Swedish charts,
and number two on the
Finnish charts.
With a limited pressing of 1,000 copies, the EP was exclusively made available in
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...
stores starting on June 6, and was later made available in Europe on June 23.
Track listing
Chart positions
Personnel
The album's credits can be verified by ''Eternal Pyre''s back cover.
*
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
*
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 ...
– guitar
*
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. ...
– guitar
*
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. Bungl ...
– drums
*
Josh Abraham
Josh Abraham is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive. He has worked with artists including P!nk, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Shakira, Weezer, Linkin Park, Velvet Revolver, Carly Rae Jepsen, Adam Lambert, A ...
– producer on track No. 1
*Matthias Mirke – producer on track No. 2
*John Sherwood – producer on track No. 2
*Kevin Estrada – director on track No. 3
*John Ewing Jr. –
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
on track No. 1
*Ryan Williams –
mixing engineer
A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
on track No. 1
*Frank Machel –
editor on track No. 2
*Mare Schettler –
mixer on track No. 2
References
{{Good article
2006 EPs
Slayer EPs
American Recordings (record label) EPs
Thrash metal EPs