Just imagine a dark, barren landscape. There is sand, lots of it, and there are the shapes of rocks, and in the distance you can make out ? despite the lack of sunshine and the abundance of sulphuric smoke ? a weird-shaped stone-formation that?s just too uncanny to have ended up there by itself. Save for the whistle of a piercing wind, there?s no sound whatsoever, just emptiness. But then, just when you?re getting accustomed to it, there?s a faint rumble in the distance, and with it, the earth starts shaking. The rumbling sound seems to intensify and soon it becomes obvious it?s produced by thousands of live beings chanting, moving, preparing themselves in unison.
The image of blood-lusting Uruk-hai conjures itself up, but then you realize you were wrong and panicked too early. The roar of the masses was produced by thousands of Slayer-fans welcoming their godlike heroes. The yelling of all these mullet-ed worshippers and other assorted longhaired scum is simply chilling, and when their enthusiastic hollering is joined by the otherworldly noises that precedes the band?s early classic, ?Hell Awaits, ? the gathering of the thrashers and their worshippers can start. And boy, is the audience in for one huge MIND.
At this point (we?re talking 1991 ? right before the emergence of a new paradigm would change the rock landscape quite thoroughly), Slayer were probably the most popular and best (my words) extreme metal band around, having released three albums (the impossibly brutal Reign in Blood, the fairly accessible South of Heaven and the lauded Seasons in the Abyss) that still are considered classics of the genre. In other words: the band was perhaps at the peak of their malevolent powers and this double album is an excellent reflection of that.
Simply put, Decade of Aggression is one of the essential live metal albums out there: not only because the band delivers the goods with an exceptionally focused force (it?s simple baffling how they can keep that pace up for so long), because it?s also one of the very few good-sounding live thrash albums. Of course, the balance is not as excellent as on the band?s seminal albums, but producer/studio wiz Rick Rubin once again did a terrific job.
The insane riffing and senseless solos of Hanneman and King are prominent in all their evil glory, Araya?s howling vocals go to show he?s improved immeasurably since the mid-?80?s, and Lombardo was probably the standard for thrash drumming at this point: his double bass-drum playing, the sheer velocity and tightness of his overall performance, it?s nothing but amazing. More than these arguments, however, it?s the song selection that turns this release into a success.
There are tracks from all their albums (up to that point) and most of their notorious songs are included: the early work is represented by ?The Anti-Christ, ? ?Black Magic? and a surprising ?Chemical Warfare.? Unavoidably, both the opener and closer of Reign in Blood are present too, and both are undisputed selections in the Slayer-canon, with ?Angel of Death? sounding particularly standard-setting. Inevitably, most songs from Seasons in the Abyss (1990) are included, but all my favorite ones (?War Ensemble, ? ?Spirit in Black, ? ?Seasons in the Abyss, ? ?Blood Red?) surely compensate for the presence of ?lesser? tracks (?Dead Skin Mask, ? ?Expendable Youth?).
Throughout the performance, the show remains utterly violent (it must?ve been great to attend Slayer shows at the time, and it probably still is), the audience delirious, and the performances possessed, despite a few slips in Araya?s vocals (which are covered up by their unholy racket). Decade of Aggression Live lives up to its promise, then adds some more, and is an excellent introduction to Slayer?s brutal brand of metal that constantly threatens to collapse under its own immensity, but never does. Highly recommended for those who don?t suffer from migraine and like to cut up and torture little pet animals (supposedly, Slayer fans do it all the time).