5) “Kill Again” (Hell Awaits)
That fade in scream around the 4:00 mark seemingly comes out of nowhere and might be construed by more sophisticated song writers as virtually pointless, if not unnecessary, gravy-coated window dressing to an otherwise brutal thrasher. But in these eyes, it adds a little more awesome to an already awesome tune.
4) “Epidemic” (Reign in Blood)
The scream before the solo is pure majesty. Bob Dylan once said that Johnny Cash’s vocals sounded like he was “at the edge of fire” and his voice was "so big that it made the world sound small.” With this bit of scritching brutality from our hirsute Chilean buddy, it sounds like everything is on fire and that the rest of the world is a terrified marble.
3) “Live Undead” (South of Heaven)
The movement from sky-rocket scream to guttural growl, combined by one of Dave Lombardo’s lengthy and patented falling-apart-at-the-seams fills not only sets the mood for the song’s thrashier second half, but illustrates that, ok, maybe Araya didn’t totally give up on the sounds that can be made with two lips, two lungs and one tongue post-"Angel of Death." And if you know where that reference is from, we should hang out sometime.
2) “Aggressive Perfector”
I’ve heard a bunch of different versions of this track, but what I’m referring to in this case is what appears on the deluxe, expanded CD version of Reign in Blood. Here, honestly, the two vocal pole vaults come in at a close second to “Angel of Death.” It’s all diaphragm-pushing, larynx-shredding sweet aggro that would have the testicles of 98% of power metal bands scurrying northward in molten fucking fear.
1) “Angel of Death” (Reign in Blood)
Saying that the scream from “Angel of Death” was going to be at the top of this list is like saying Usain Bolt is somewhat fleet of foot. I shouldn’t have to describe or dissect this classic wail that punctuates what is probably the best song the band has ever written. Hell, chances are you’ve already heard it numerous times today because of this (again) or because you and half of your buddies have it as your ringtone. You've probably already heard this so much today, that I'm not feeling any need to post a clip of it. If you don’t, why the fuck not?
Note: You may have noticed this list only goes up to South of Heaven – we'll be posting a second list shortly.
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