Slayer composed the material for
Reign in Blood following their return from a tour of Europe. Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman wrote much of the album's music on their own, and quickly taught it to drummer Dave Lombardo. The band recorded instrumental demos of the songs (which King described as "just the best 10 songs we had at that point") and took them to
Brian Slagel, the band's manager at the time. Following the positive reception Slayer's previous release
Hell Awaits had received, the band's producer and manager
Brian Slagel realized the band were in a position to hit the "big time" with their next album. Slagel negotiated with several record labels, among them
Rick Rubin and
Russell Simmons' Def Jam Recordings. However, Slagel was reluctant to have the band signed to what was at the time primarily a
hip hop label. Slayer drummer
Dave Lombardo was made aware of Rubin's interest, and he initiated contact with the producer. However, Slayer's remaining members were apprehensive of leaving
Metal Blade Records, with whom they were already under
contract. Despite its warm reception, the band members themselves originally did not like the image. King said, "Nobody in the band wanted that cover. We were stuck with it." He even described the artist as a "warped demented freak," although Carroll went on to make cover arts for their next two albums,
South of Heaven (1988) and
Seasons in the Abyss (1990). Carroll also illustrated the cover art for
Christ Illusion (2006). By a differing account, Araya recalled that he "thought it was amazing" and "liked it immediately". He also stated that there were three different variations of the album cover in its conceptual stages, with the final version incorporating elements of all three. It was believed that Columbia Records initially refused to release
Reign in Blood because of the disturbing imagery. Araya refuted this claim in 2016 saying that it was because of the song "Angel of Death" and it had nothing to do with the cover art.
Recording and production Reign in Blood was recorded and produced at Hit City West in Los Angeles with Rubin producing and
Andy Wallace engineering. The album was the label boss' first professional experience with heavy metal, and his fresh perspective led to a drastic makeover of Slayer's sound. Steve Huey of
AllMusic believed Rubin drew tighter and faster songs from the band and delivered a cleanly produced sound that contrasted sharply with their previous recordings. This resulted in drastic changes to Slayer's sound, and changed audiences' perception of the band. Araya has since stated their two previous releases were not up to par production-wise. Guitarist
Kerry King later remarked that "[i]t was like, 'Wow—you can hear everything, and those guys aren't just playing fast; those notes are on time.'" By a differing account, Araya stated the scream was done in two takes, with the second take going on to appear on the album. The album's production is noted by the band Rubin's omission of
reverberation, which King said made the album sound "way more threatening". He compared the band's use of reverb on previous releases to the likes of Venom and Mercyful Fate, saying "we played in Reverb Land, for a lack of a better term." Upon hearing the album's mix, King said the band "[was] like, 'why didn't we think of that before?'" Rubin himself said, "when I hear very fast music like Metallica, and the sounds are big sounds… the whole thing gets blurry, and you can't really hear it [...] If the music you're playing is fast and if the sounds are big, there's not enough space for those big sounds to happen next to each other. There's no punctuation; it becomes a blur [...] I didn't want it to be a blur of bass; I wanted it to be a pulse." Rubin's lack of experience as a heavy metal producer at the time allowed him to work outside the general tropes of the genre. He said, "I didn't have the baggage of what the old way of doing it was [...] And in this case, these forms of music were so new that the old way would've lessened their impact. It wouldn't have made them better." He limited his use of studio effects to what he felt was absolutely necessary. Rubin's approach to the album's production resulted in a "stripped-back, punchy" sound. Hanneman later admitted that while the band was listening to
Metallica and
Megadeth at the time, they were finding the repetition of guitar riffs tiring. He said, "If we do a verse two or three times, we're already bored with it. So we weren't trying to make the songs shorter—that's just what we were into," which resulted in the album's short duration of 29 minutes. King had stated that while hour-long records seem to be the trend, "[y]ou could lose this part; you could cut this song completely, and make a much more intense record, which is what we're all about." The music is abrasive and faster than previous releases, helping to narrow the gap between
thrash metal and its predecessor
hardcore punk, Slayer decided to abandon some of the earlier
Satanic themes explored on their previous album
Hell Awaits, with Araya describing their new themes as "more on a social level".
Lombardo's departure Following the album's recording sessions, Slayer embarked on the
Reign in Pain tour with the bands
Overkill in the United States and
Malice in Europe; they also served as the opening act for
W.A.S.P.'s U.S. tour in 1987. In late 1986, drummer Lombardo quit the band. To continue the tour Slayer enlisted
Whiplash drummer
Tony Scaglione. Rubin called Lombardo daily to insist he return, telling him: "Dude, you gotta come back in the band." Rubin offered Lombardo a salary, but he was still hesitant about returning; at this point Lombardo had been out of the band for several months. Lombardo returned in 1987; Rubin came to his house and picked him up in his
Porsche, taking him to a Slayer rehearsal. == Composition and music ==