South of Heaven - Slayer - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Following the game-changing success of their Rick Rubin-produced third album Reign in Blood (1986), Slayer tried out a different approach for their next project, South of Heaven, which emerged in 1988 on Def Jam Recordings and packed the same punch as its predecessor in spite of its slower tempos. An all-encompassing survey of the so-called decline of American morality, title track "South of Heaven" sees the thrash metal dignitaries add a more menacing, diabolical edge to their anger-fueled sound as they plunge eerily into a doom-laden hellscape. Cue eternal damnation, "Judgment Day," and "the Second Coming" as well as "Ingrate souls condemned for all eternity." With South of Heaven, which became the band's second album to chart on the Billboard 200 and their last for Def Jam, Slayer had designs on switching up their sound, and it paid off; their ruminations on evil and the darker side of humanity feel more disturbing and evocative than ever.