10 Best Rock Album Openers Of The 1980s
3. Angel Of Death - Slayer (Reign In Blood)
Thrash metal royalty Slayer got together with famous producer Rick Rubin in 1986 with the intention of refining their output. Rubin's input helped the band's sound morph into the one we know today and allowed them to created one of their finest records, Reign in Blood.
As the title would suggest, Reign in Blood is not an album about kittens and rainbows. If you needed any further proof of this, the opening track is about Josef Mengele.
The Nazi scientist who conducted horrific experiments on people during the war was a fascinating historical figure to the group. Their album's opening song was named Angel of Death, one of Mengele's nicknames.
Naturally, some people were worried that opening an album with a song about a war criminal would be a bad idea. However, in the eyes of their fans, it was a genius move.
This song set Slayer out from everyone else on the metal scene. Even the other big four thrash bands weren't writing songs about Nazis, leaving Slayer looking like pioneers at the very forefront of the movement.
Could you do this song today? Absolutely not, but it's very interesting.