Slayer "God Hates Us All" CD

Do you like Show No Mercy? Hell Awaits? Reign In Blood? Are you a die-hard fan of the early and more evil side of Slayer that was pretty much just straight forward thrash metal that also bordered on the lines of speed metal? Do small changes in a band's sound for an album or two irk you? If all of your answers to those questions were "yes", then God Hates Us All might not be for you. From what I've noticed, this album seems to be one of those "Love it or hate it" affairs. One could love it for how angry/raw the music sounds and just how heavy everything overall is, or one could hate it for those exact reasons because maybe one didn't expect Slayer from the early 80's to descend into groove metal territory and writing lyrics as simplistic and arguably juvenile in songs like Payback and Exile. I can understand the hate side, but as a huge Slayer fan, I've come to appreciate all of their albums (Yes, even Diabolus In Musica) for different reasons.
I love early Slayer for their stripped down approach to dark thrash. The riffs were killer, the music was fast as hell, and Tom's screams were enough to make a grown man shiver. With God Hates Us All, Slayer has mostly stripped away the fast music that we heard in their first 3 albums, although there are some speedy songs here and there. Instead of straight forward thrash, we have more of a groovy thrash record. Some songs go straight for thrash (Payback, War Zone), some go for groove (Here Comes The Pain, Bloodline), and others manage to mix them together (God Send Death, New Faith). It reminds me of Pantera's Vulgar Display Of Power in how both genres are thrown in, and also just how raw everything sounds. I can understand people wanting evil Slayer over angry Slayer, but I really do dig the vibes on this album. I personally really dig the groovy riffage, as they make the songs more catchy and memorable as opposed to just being fast as hell, which can be fun to listen to but it can get a little tiring after a while. I see it as a breath of fresh air for the band, but that's just me.
Now if you're just in it for heavy music and you're not nit-picky about genres, then I can assure you that you will probably really dig this record, for I think it's definitely Slayer's heaviest outing. The distortion of the guitars is what really lends this album the rawness that makes it so distinguishable, and Tom's shouted vocals, which also seems to split fans, make the music sound just downright pissed off. The lyrics, for better or worse, are pretty damn mad at times but you could argue that other bands have done it better. Songs like Payback and War Zone, although are damn solid for me, aren't very creative in the lyrics department and just seem to be angry for the sake of being angry. Then again, when you have an album titled God Hates Us All, you shouldn't really expect brilliant lyricism.
While God Hates Us All isn't the strongest piece of music that Slayer has done, I don't think it's bad at all. Even as someone who isn't into groove metal, I can really dig the riffs and playing on this album. It's a different kind of Slayer, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's not like they decided to become less heavy, so props to the band for doing something different but also keeping their legacy of making aggressive music intact. Aside from Deviance being a somewhat forgettable song, everything else ranges from good to very memorable for me. The collector's edition is also worth checking out for the bonus tracks.

Sample:

Official promo video: