Still Reigning
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor
Released in 2004 and marking the return of Dave Lombardo to the band, Still Reigning is the entire masterpiece which is the Reign In Blood album (the greatest thrash metal album ever recorded in the opinion of many!) and with several other tracks thrown in as well this is a hell of a Slayer show!
According to the Still Reigning Micro Site at Slayer’s official site, the band looked at their 1986 record for an inspiration to record this visual feast. Even the stage design is a direct replication of the original 1986 Reign In Blood Tour stage design! The best part, of course, is the climax - the actual rain of blood that falls on the band during Raining Blood! It has to be seen to be believed!
Certain venues of the last US tour of the band were rigged so that fake blood would, in fact, fall upon on the band members, and this allowed Raining Blood the opportunity to hit home a refreshing, never before seen experience. Sadly, though, guitarist Jeff Hanneman goes out of his position to check on a problem with his guitar, thus he is the only member of the band that doesn’t get soaked with blood on the show!
From the start (Still Reigning has one cool DVD menu!) to the end, this is an ass-kicking thrash fest. Nothing beats the original Slayer lineup performing the entire Reign In Blood album songs, non-stop. This is the closest a fan can get to being at a live Slayer gig. The added bonus on the DVD is an interview with all the members of the band, as they talk about their influences and the history of Slayer over the years. The interview serves as a short documentary on the band’s early influences, right to their present-day plans for the band. This extra bit educates as much as it entertains!
For those who thought Dave might have gone a little soft from his time away from Slayer - you thought wrong! The band might be past their prime, but damn, you have to check out the show to see how sharp his drumming skills still are! He doesn’t slow down one bit, or display any signs of fatigue. It’s pure joy to see the man do what he does best. All hail the greatest thrash metal drummer of our time!
After the main section of the show, Tom parts a few words to the crowd before he goes into a frenetic encore with War Ensemble. Other classics follow, such as South Of Heaven, Spill The Blood and Mandatory Suicide. The selection of songs in the encore is superb - only the band’s masterpieces made it here.
This is an almost perfect release, I shit you not. The only imperfection I can think of would be the lack of bonus materials. The interview alone isn’t enough, when you compare this to War At The Warfield where there’s a lot of extra footage. In the end this serves as a rather minor setback, really, when you take into consideration the quality of the live show on Still Reigning.
This will reign as one of the best DVDs of the genre.
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