Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 9, 1990, through Def American Records. Recording sessions began in March 1990 at Hit City West and Hollywood Sound, and ended in June 1990 at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. It was the band’s last album to feature their full original lineup with drummer Dave Lombardo until his return on the band’s 2006 album Christ Illusion. Seasons in the Abyss’ musical style has been compared by critics to the band’s previous two albums, South of Heaven (1988) and Reign in Blood (1986). Upon its release, Seasons in the Abyss received a generally positive reception and peaked at number 40 on the US Billboard 200. It was later certified gold in the United States and Canada. By 2017, it had sold over 813,000 copies in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan inception.
According to Nathan Brackett, author of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Seasons in the Abyss continued the band’s sound as displayed in their first four albums. The songs on the album have complex guitar riffs that proceed at both “blinding speed” tempos and mid-tempo hefts. Brackett said that the songs’ themes shy away from the “fantasy and into the hells here on Earth” and instead was “music to conquer nations by”.
Tracklist:
Side 1
- War Ensemble
- Blood Red
- Spirit in Black
- Expendable Youth
- Dead Skin Mask
Side 2
- Hallowed Point
- Skeletons of Society
- Temptation
- Born of Fire
- Seasons in the Abyss
Slayer
Tom Araya: bass, vocals
Kerry King: guitars
Jeff Hanneman: guitars
Dave Lombardo: drums
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Andy Wallace: co-production, engineering, mixing
Larry Carroll: artwork, illustrations
Chris Rich: assistant engineering
David Tobocman: assistant engineering
Allen Abrahamson: assistant engineering
Robert Fisher: graphic design
Rick Sales: management
Howie Weinberg: mastering
Sunny Bak: photography
Marty Temme: photography
