The turn of the decade saw the band tighten up their sound
On this day 35 years ago, Slayer’s fifth studio album, “Seasons in the Abyss,” arrived on October 9, 1990. The band created the most complete synthesis of their extremes—the breathless ferocity that defined “Reign in Blood” and the ominous, mid-tempo weight of “South of Heaven.” Writing began as they came off the road, with Jeff Hanneman spearheading much of the music and Tom Araya and Kerry King trading lyric duties on songs that fixated less on fantasy and more on real-world horror—war, street violence, and serial killers.
The band entered Hit City West in Los Angeles in March 1990 with producer Rick Rubin (joined by Andy Wallace), continuing through sessions at Hollywood Sound and the Record Plant before wrapping in June. One small studio accident even shaped the record’s character: Araya tracked “Temptation” twice—his take and King’s preferred cadence—and both were left in, creating the song’s distinctive doubled vocal feel. It would be the last Slayer album with the classic original lineup until Dave Lombardo’s brief return in 2006.
The album plays like a guided tour of Slayer’s full arsenal. Opener “War Ensemble” detonates at thrash velocity; “Dead Skin Mask” chills with its Ed Gein–inspired narration; “Skeletons of Society” and the title track lean into malevolent groove without losing menace. Rubin’s clean, hard-edged production lets Hanneman and King’s tandem riffs and whiplash solos slice through Lombardo’s piston-like drumming, while Araya’s delivery toggles between barked agitation and ritualistic chant. Critics heard the balance immediately: AllMusic’s Steve Huey lauded the way “Seasons” brought back the “pounding speed” of “Reign in Blood” while remaining the band’s most accessible set, and Entertainment Weekly’s contemporary review—more skeptical—quipped that it could feel like “a single speed-metal song—the world’s longest.” Decades on, the consensus has tilted toward canonization: Rolling Stone placed it at No. 31 on its 2017 list of the 100 Greatest Metal Albums.
Fans embraced the record as the moment Slayer perfected their equilibrium of speed and atmosphere, and the album’s visibility far exceeded extreme-metal norms of the day. The band’s moody video for the title track—shot amid the pyramids on Egypt’s Giza Plateau—became a Headbangers Ball staple, while “War Ensemble” entrenched itself as a permanent set-list pit-starter. The cycle culminated in the U.S. leg of the Clash of the Titans tour alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Alice in Chains, which helped cement “Seasons” as the late-’80s/early-’90s thrash era’s last great mainstream push.
Commercially, “Seasons in the Abyss” gave Slayer their strongest chart showing to that point, debuting and peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 and climbing to No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. The album earned RIAA Gold certification in the United States (confirmed in contemporary coverage as April 1993) and also went Gold in Canada. By the SoundScan era’s 2017 tally, U.S. sales had surpassed 813,000. In short: an extreme-music milestone that also moved units, an uncommon double for a band as uncompromising as Slayer.
In the years since, “Seasons in the Abyss” has stood as the definitive statement of Slayer’s mature sound—an album that reconciles blitzkrieg and dread, precision and atmosphere. Its songs remain live staples, its influence radiates across thrash and death metal, and its stature only grows with time, which is why many listeners and publications alike continue to place it near—or at—the apex of the band’s catalog.
Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss [Def American, 1990]
1. War Ensemble
2. Blood Red
3. Spirit in Black
4. Expendable Youth
5. Dead Skin Mask
6. Hallowed Point
7. Skeletons of Society
8. Temptation
9. Born of Fire
10. Seasons in the Abyss