On October 20, 1986 American thrash metal band Slayer released their third studio album “Reign in Blood”. The album’s release date was delayed due to concerns over the lyrical subject matter of the opening track “Angel of Death”. Which references Josef Mengele and details atrocities such as human experimentation perpetrated at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The band’s members said that they did not support Nazism and were only interested in the subject.
Loading ...Both reviewers and fans praised “Reign in Blood” which was responsible for bringing Slayer to the notice of a mainstream metal audience. It is now widely regarded as one of the best heavy metal albums of all time.
Larry Carroll, who was at the time working on political graphics for The Progressive, Village Voice and The New York Times created the cover artwork. Despite the positive feedback, the band members did not initially enjoy the picture.
King stated: “Nobody in the band wanted that cover. We had no choice but to accept it.” He even referred to the artist as a “warped demented freak”. Yet Carroll went on to design the covers for their following two albums “South of Heaven” (1988), “Seasons in the Abyss” (1990) as well as “Christ Illusion” (2006).
Columbia Records reportedly declined to release “Reign in Blood” because of the frightening picture. Araya denied this assertion in 2016 claiming that it was because of the song “Angel of Death” and had nothing to do with the cover image.
Slayer
Tom Araya – bass, vocals
Kerry King – guitars
Jeff Hanneman – guitars
Dave Lombardo – drums
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