Forever Reigning - A Tribute To Slayer is the debut release from US based Satyrn Studios. It features 8 up and coming underground metal acts covering 12 of Slayer's best tracks and really is a true celebration of heavy metal!
After their arrival on the scene in 1981 Slayer have been the real titans of thrash metal, smashing their way through the scene for almost 4 decades. A true Slayer fan knows the weight behind the names Araya, King, Hanneman and Lombardo and owes a debt of gratitude to these guys for providing them with the best soundtracks of their early adulthood. Every metal fan that has ever learned an instrument has been known to attempt to play "Raining Blood" or "At Dawn They Sleep", this is a fact! It is also a given that anyone that has attended a metal show in the last 30 years or so have heard bands play covers of these tracks and probably many more. So why do we need an album of Slayer covers when we already know and love these tracks? I suppose there is no real reason as to WHY but I can assure you that you DO really need this album in your life!
Here we have some incredibly talented bands that know these songs like the backs of their hands and have put their heart and soul into doing justice to these great songs whilst adding their own touch to these well trodden old faithfuls. From what I can gather the bands that have contributed are all American. The only band familiar to me being Industrial metallists Skrog who open up proceedings with their first of two Slayer title tracks "South Of Heaven" (South Of Heaven '88) and later on totally smashing "Divine Intervention" (Divine Intervention '94). Distal Descent absolutely kill it with "Expendable Youth" (Seasons In The Abyss '90), the instrumental "Delusions Of Saviour" (Repentless '15) and the awesome "Mandatory Suicide" (South Of Heaven '88). Skull Fuckers Incorporated bring even more aggressive inflection with their take on the dark "Dead Skin Mask" (Seasons In The Abyss '90) and triumphantly finish off the album in true style with their flawlessly brutal version of "Raining Blood" (Reign In Blood'86), definitely one of the best covers of this song I have heard in a while.
Other contributors are Bloat Toad with "Spill The Blood" (South Of Heaven '88), Disinter play "Show No Mercy" (Show No Mercy '83), SloKill "Disorder" (Judgment Night (soundtrack)'93) and Eulogy In Blood sound off with their version of "Bloodline" (God Hates Us All '01). All of these tracks are fantastic and even though they are cover versions each band puts their own unique style into the tracks giving the songs a revamp so to speak. As great as these songs are one band completely blows the others out of the water. I realise this is just my own personal preference but Overt Enemy's cover of "At Dawn They Sleep" (Hell Awaits '85) is a wonderful thing to behold. Going by the fact that they named their band after a Slayer song kind of proves that these guys are super fans and it is no surprise that their contribution has been well thought out, expertly executed and is absolutely perfect.
Every single band here have nailed their chosen songs making Forever Reigning a truly brilliant tribute to the gargantuan metal legends that Slayer are. This is a love letter to Slayer both in the talent of the bands that have contributed but also to the guys behind the scenes that recorded, mastered and produced Forever Reigning. A lot of careful effort and planning has obviously gone into this and sound wise it is top quality.
Satyrn Studios' executive producer Jay Reiter (also the vocalist in Skrog) comments that "as a fan this is a really big deal for me. It's been fun and challenging to both learn the songs I did, but also put my own twist onto the songs whilst keeping it true to the original source material." He goes on to say "I'm really excited to see where this album takes me". I second this statement and I am sure that many others will appreciate Forever Reigning for the talent behind it and the elements of sheer unbridled heaviness it brings with it and enjoy it as much as I have. I will most definitely be keeping a close eye on Satyrn Studios future releases. One of the most enjoyable cover albums I have come across in recent years.
