When it comes to death metal, no band is more convincing than Slayer.
For other bands, focusing on death, Satanism, the supernatural, and the occult became a cliché; but Slayer's controversial reflections on evil always came across as honest and heartfelt.
The group's sincerity is the thing that makes South of Heaven so disturbing and powerful -- when the influential thrashers rip into such morbid fare as "Spill the Blood," "Mandatory Suicide," and "Ghosts of War," they are frighteningly convincing.
With their fourth album, Slayer began to slow their tempos without sacrificing an iota of heaviness or incorporating any pop elements.
South of Heaven would be Slayer's last album for Def Jam.
When Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons (brother of Joseph "Run" Simmons of Run-D.M.C.) parted company, Slayer went to Rubin's new company Def American, while LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and other rappers recorded for Simmons at Def Jam.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South of HeavenTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman | Slayer | Play | 04:58 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 2 | Silent ScreamTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Live UndeadTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | Behind the Crooked CrossJeff Hanneman | Slayer | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Mandatory SuicideTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | Ghosts of WarJeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Read Between the LiesTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Cleanse the SoulTom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King | Slayer | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Dissident AggressorK.K. Downing, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton | Slayer | Play | 02:35 | 5 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Spill the BloodJeff Hanneman | Slayer | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 36 mins | 84 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 279 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Araya | Bass, Composer, Vocals |
| 2 | Larry Carroll | Illustrations |
| 3 | Douglas Day | Design |
| 4 | Barry Diament | Digital Mastering, Mastering |
| 5 | K.K. Downing | Composer |
| 6 | Steven Ett | Engineer |
| 7 | Glen E. Friedman | Photography |
| 8 | Rob Halford | Composer |
| 9 | Jeff Hanneman | Composer, Guitar |
| 10 | Peter Kelsey | Engineer |
| 11 | Kerry King | Composer, Guitar |
| 12 | Dave Lombardo | Drums |
| 13 | Rick Rubin | Audio Production, Executive Producer, Producer |
| 14 | Howard Schwartzberg | Illustrations |
| 15 | Slayer | Audio Production, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 16 | Glenn Tipton | Composer |
| 17 | Andy Wallace | Engineer, Mixing |
| 18 | Howie Weinberg | Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |