Slayer

Undisputed Attitude
American Recordings
Slayer used to be at the forefront of the heavy metal scene. They fit the bill perfectly with their odd-shaped guitars, leather clothing and posturing, but now, I’m afraid, metal like Slayer play it is a thing of the past. They seem to have realised this and instead of sticking to their guns, they’ve opted to jump on the punk/hardcore bandwagon. And as a fan of real punk, I’m here to dispute their attitude. This record is packed with covers of early hardcore bands, ranging from TSOL to GBH to Minor Threat. There are also three Slayer originals. Granted, there’s really nothing that wrong with Slayers versions of the songs, they play ‘em fast and hard the way they should be. But something is missing, and it’s probably the emotion, spontaneity and originality which made the original versions of the songs so cool in the first place. Slayer claim to be paying homage to their punk ‘roots,’ but if they stopped and thought about it, they have no punk roots. If a spiky haired punk had attended a Slayer show (not that one would have wanted too) in 1983, they would have been severely beaten down, if not killed. The other thing that bothers me about their sudden turn into a punk band is the way they can’t just get on with it, they have to be jerks and put everyone down in the process. Lead guitarist Kerry King was quoted in the press release of the album as saying ‘What we play is real punk, not this Green Day B.S.’ If King wants to renounce his former ways, fine. But he shouldn’t question other people’s ability to be something he never was.

Alice in Chains

Unplugged
Columbia Records
Finally, a new album from the band I took my very name from. Like Nirvana and Pearl Jam before them, AiC have managed to totally revise and revitalise their musical career. Unplugged is made up mostly of previously released tracks from their three albums and two EP’s, and one excellent unreleased track, ‘Killer is Me’. The album is dominated by blusey guitar playing from Jerry Cantrell and Scotty Olsen. Also in top form are the vocals, brought to you by songwriter Cantrell and lead vocalist Layne Stayley. Most of the songs are slower and more reflective than their past hard-rock work, including ‘Nutshell,’ and ‘Brother’, previously released on the Jar of Flies mini-album. Other songs include ‘Got me Wrong,’ ‘Heaven Beside You’ and the closer, ‘Over Now’, all from their recent eponymous album. If you are a fan of Alice (the band, not me) then you should definitely check this album out. So snap this up quickly, because remember what happened to Nirvana just after they recorded for Unplugged?

Slayer