Slayer - Reign in Blood: Part 4 in a 10-part series looking back at the best thrash metal albums of 1986

Throughout the year, I've been looking back at some of the best thrash metal albums of 1986 -- the year thrash hit its zenith in popularity and creativity. When possible, I've tried to interview band members, producers and others associated with the original albums. I've also tried to time the blog posts to coincide with the 25th anniversary of each album's release, although accurate release dates from 25 years ago can be hard to come by.

This installment commemorates Slayer's landmark third album, Reign in Blood, which was originally released on Oct. 7, 1986. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I honestly believe that Reign in Blood is the greatest 28 minutes and 56 seconds in the history of recorded music. It's an album that undeniably changed the face of metal. I had really hoped to interview one of the guys in Slayer for this post, and I was fairly certain I could make it happen. I'm on good terms with the band's publicist and I've interviewed Kerry King in the past. Unfortunately, the band isn't doing any press until their next album cycle, so I figured the next best thing would be to ask a bunch of other bands about their memories of Reign in Blood and how it has influenced them as artists.

Turns out a whole lot of folks like Slayer. Twenty musicians representing 28 different bands took the time to weigh in on this classic album. Read their responses below, as well as my own Reign in Blood memories...

Top 20 Slayer songs for your International Day of Slayer playlist

Slayer in 1986. 

To commemorate the sixth annual International Day of Slayer - which, if your math skills aren't so great, originated on the incredibly appropriate date of 6/6/06 - I have decided to assemble a playlist of 20 of Slayer's greatest songs.

I should note right off the bat that this isn't a "true" Top 20 list of Slayer's absolute best songs. My goal was simply to create a career-spanning playlist to celebrate the International Day of Slayer. In so doing, I established the following two rules for myself:

1. I had to choose at least one song from each of Slayer's full-length studio albums (I didn't include live albums or EPs, but I did pick a song from their album of punk covers, Undisputed Attitude).

2. The total running time of the playlist could not exceed 80 minutes - the duration of a standard CD-R.

3?aK Episode 21: Kerry King (Slayer)

Back in 2007, when I was the music writer for College Times, Kip Winger blew me off for an interview because he was on “vocal lockdown.” I didn’t want to see the questions I’d prepared go to waste, so for the next year, I asked everyone I interviewed if they’d be willing to get into character and answer the following “Three Questions as Kip.”

If you're new to 3?aK and want a more detailed history of how this project came to be, click here.

OK, now that you're up to speed, let's get on with the show. Playing the role of Kip Winger for this installment of 3?aK will be guitarist Kerry King of legendary thrash metal pioneers Slayer.