Seasons in the Abyss is the 5th studio album by Slayer. It seems to me that they started to find a home with this album. They did the first two albums – Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits where they started to discover their sound. They did the masterpiece Reign in Blood and the follow-up Sount of Heaven where they started to do more social commentary stuff. The songs were slower than the furious Reign in Blood but stood out in their own right.
On Seasons in the Abyss, it followed the same themes as its predecessor. There are songs about war and cruelty. There’s a continuation of the signature Slayer harmonies by the guitars, and there are both really fast songs, complex riffs, and slower melodic themes.
Kerry King was more involved in this album both as a songwriter and ad lyricist than on the South of Heaven album. I still say it’s mostly Jeff Hanneman’s music though. Tom Arays is credited with the lyrics on a few of the songs. Some of my favorite songs in fact. Deadskin Mask, about the infamous Ed Gein, and Expendable Youth seems to deal with gang affiliation and the brutal conflicts between different groups to gain territory, meaningless rivalry, and unnecessary death associated with “the colors”.
There are more nuances to Seasons in the Abyss than ever before on a Slayer album I think. There are songs that I tend to skip while listening to it but it’s easy just to remember the great parts. I feel like Dave Lombardo’s drumming is still on top but toned down a little bit in the production compared to South of Heaven. It’s a really good album!
