Seasons in the Abyss

Untitled

Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by thrash metal band Slayer. It was recorded in 1989 and released in 1990 through Def American Records, and later through American Recordings after the company changed its name.

Although "War Ensemble" starts the album off at high speed, harking back to Reign in Blood, the album mostly continues the melodic growth and slower pace, as seen on South of Heaven. "Seasons in the Abyss" ends the album in a similar fashion to "Spill The Blood" from South of Heaven, with a clean guitar intro.

Track listing

1. "War Ensemble" (Lyrics: Araya/Hanneman) (Music: Hanneman)– 4:54
2. "Blood Red" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 2:50
3. "Spirit in Black" (Lyrics: King) (Music: Hanneman) – 4:07
4. "Expendable Youth" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: King) – 4:10
5. "Dead Skin Mask" (Lyrics:Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 5:34
6. "Hallowed Point" (Lyrics: Araya/Hanneman) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 3:24
7. "Skeletons of Society" (Lyrics & Music: King) – 4:41
8. "Temptation" (Lyrics & Music: King) – 3:26
9. "Born of Fire" (Lyrics: King) (Music: Hanneman/King) – 3:23
10. "Seasons in the Abyss" (Lyrics: Araya) (Music: Hanneman) – 6:42

Credits

• Tom Araya – Bass, Vocals
• Jeff Hanneman – Lead Guitars
• Kerry King – Lead Guitars
• Dave Lombardo – Drums

• Recorded at Hit City West, Hollywood Sound, and Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Produced by Rick Rubin
• Co-produced by Andy Wallace and Slayer
• Engineered and mixed by Andy Wallace
• Assistant engineered by Chris Rich, David Tobocman, and Allen Abrahamson
• Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York City, USA
• Illustration by Larry Carroll

Miscellanea

• The song Dead Skin Mask was inspired on the murders and habits of serial killer Ed Gein.

• Born of Fire was for a long time just an instrumental leftover song from South of Heaven with a working title Stress due to the fact that Kerry King could not write any good lyrics for it during the South Of Heaven sessions. Eventually it was the last song completed for Seasons in the Abyss.

• The somewhat strange vocal arrangement on the track Temptation was unintentionally done that way. If you listen to the track, you actually hear Tom Araya singing the song twice: once the way he thought it fit and for the second time on the insistence of Kerry King the way he thought it should be sung. The haunting end result came to be because the first vocal track was not erased between the takes. When the producer played the track and heard both vocal renditions simultaneously on the instrumental background, he liked it so much that both vocals were used on the album. Nobody is sure anymore which vocals are the original ones.

Chart positions

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1990	The Billboard 200	40