Slayer albums have been a point of contention ever since Seasons in the Abyss. Since then, nothing has seemed to satisfy the entire cult known as the Slayer fan base. Another tired stab from the ageing legends is unlikely to change that.

That is not to say there is no good material on World Painted Blood. Sure, tracks like “Unit 731” and “Hate Worldwide” are boring attempts to recapture the old thrash charm. Songs like “Snuff,” though, prove to be new approaches to that same thrash tradition.

A good majority of the songs experiment with techniques not typical of Slayer. The singing in “Beauty Through Order” and the grindcore-esque riff of “Public Display of Dismemberment” might turn some fans off, but the experienced musicians actually do a great job pulling it off. Songs like “Human Strain” and “Playing With Dolls” build on the Christ Illusion sound and show that the band has mastered the styles of contemporary metal acts.

There are some huge weaknesses in the album, though. With a couple exceptions, the lyrics seem more mindlessly violent and stereotypically metal than the intelligently crafted words on the last album. While Slayer has been susceptible to these types of lyrics before, they have always done a good job balancing the different faces of the metal community. World Painted Blood tries too hard to bridge the mindless metal persona with developing music ideas that alienated some fans on previous albums. Had Slayer released an album that purely built on Christ Illusion, it would have been well within their reach to master a sound that they had only begun to explore. Instead, they chose to appease Slayer fans with little appreciation for growth, and likely failed because of the unavoidable developments in the bands music.