Slayer four-disc box set Soundtrack to the Spocalypse features album tracks, rarities and dvd of live performances; five-disc deluxe edition adds concert cd...

Slayer, the fastest, heaviest and darkest band on the planet, goes to extremes for its first retrospective. A three-CD/one-DVD box set regular edition and four-CD/one-DVD specially packaged "ammo box" for the deluxe version, Soundtrack To The Apocalypse (American Recordings/UMe), released November 25, 2003, celebrates the visceral assault that is Slayer. 

A Slayer fan's ultimate experience, Soundtrack To The Apocalypse includes tracks spanning every Slayer album since 1986, soundtrack cuts, Japan-only tracks, more than a dozen rarities, and a DVD of live performances spanning 20 years, all digitally remastered. The deluxe edition adds a full-length concert CD from Slayer's 2002 God Hates Us All tour stop in Anaheim, CA, presented in a "blood pack" sleeve (with faux blood and floating skulls). The tour was the band's first with original drummer Dave Lombardo since 1992. The deluxe edition also includes a wall banner and replica backstage laminate. Both editions have an extensive booklet spotlighting a history based on interviews with each member and long-time producer Rick Rubin. 

Disc 1 opens with five tracks from Slayer's 1986 major label debut, Reign In Blood, considered the most brutal thrash metal album of all time. Among the fan favorites are "Postmortem" and "Raining Blood." The album was the first of four consecutive gold studio albums, an impressive feat for a band that receives little radio or MTV exposure. From 1988's South Of Heaven are five tracks, including the title track. Culled from 1990's Seasons In The Abyss are another quintet, including "Dead Skin Mask." 1991's live Decade Of Aggression contributes three--"Chemical Warfare" and "Hell Awaits" among them. 

Disc 2 continues the chronology with five recordings from 1994's Divine Intervention, three from 1996's Undisputed Attitude, a trio from 1998's Diabolus In Musica and another three from 2001's God Hates Us All. Songs heard on various soundtracks are joined by two cuts previously unreleased in the U.S. from the Japanese Diabolus In Musica, two more from the import God Hates Us All and a bonus cover of the Suicidal Tendencies' "Memories Of Tomorrow" from the Japan-only Undisputed Attitude. 

Disc 3 focuses on rarities, from the earliest known Slayer recordings (previously unreleased 1983 live tracks) to seminal tracks taken from the band's garage rehearsals and even home demo recordings. The Disc 4 DVD showcases performances throughout the band's career and throughout the world as well as various TV appearances from singer-bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and Lombardo. 

Slayer is the band all other such heavy bands are measured against, defining not only a genre but an attitude. As Marc Paschke writes in the liner notes: "It's about restrained aggression and impending danger. It's about the dark cloud that fills the room, energized by the anger and hate and hostility of the audience…Most of all, it's about feeling good." 

Soundtrack To The Apocalypse--it's the feel-good box set for the end of the world.

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