"Angel of Death"
1992 bootleg release
Song by Slayer
from the album Reign in Blood
Released	October 7, 1986
Recorded	Los Angeles, California
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	4:51
Label	Def Jam Records
Writer(s)	Jeff Hanneman
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin

Josef Mengele, the SS physician whose acts during WWII inspired the lyrics of "Angel of Death"

"Angel of Death" is the opening track on the American thrash metal band Slayer's 1986 album Reign in Blood. The lyrics and music were written by Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman and are based on Nazi physician Josef Mengele, who conducted human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. "Angel of Death" led to the band facing accusations of Nazi sympathizing and racism throughout their career. Image File history File links Angelofdeath. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... Slayer is an American thrash metal band founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. ... Reign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (281st in leap years). ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State California County Los Angeles County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by its high speed and aggression. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Def Jam Records is an American based hip-hop record label that operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group, which is owned by Universal Music Group. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Jeff Hanneman (born January 31, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is best known as a guitarist in the Thrash metal band Slayer. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Frederick Jay Rubin (born March 10, 1963 in Lido Beach, New York) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American record producer. ... Image File history File links JosefMengele1. ... Image File history File links JosefMengele1. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by its high speed and aggression. ... Slayer is an American thrash metal band founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. ... Reign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. ... Jeff Hanneman (born January 31, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is best known as a guitarist in the Thrash metal band Slayer. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Josef Mengele Dr. Josef Mengele (March 16, 1911 – February 7, 1979), was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. ... Human experimentation involves medical experiments performed on human beings. ... Auschwitz (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was the largest of the Nazi German concentration camps. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Because racism carries connotations of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination, the term has varying and often hotly contested definitions. ...

Despite the controversy surrounding the song and its contribution to the delay in the release of Reign in Blood, "Angel of Death" is featured on all of Slayer's live albums and DVDs and has appeared on the soundtracks of several movies. The song was well received by critics; All Music Guide described it as a "classic."^[1] // Many successful recording artists release at least one live album at some point during their career. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... // In film formats, the sound track is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ...

Composition and origins

Hanneman wrote the song after reading some books about Mengele while on tour:^[2] "I remember stopping someplace where I bought two books on Mengele. I thought, 'This has gotta be some sick shit.' So when it came time to do the record, that stuff was still in my head—that’s where the lyrics to “Angel of Death” came from."^[2]

The lyrics detail Mengele's surgical experiments on patients at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.^[3][4] Mengele's explorations were conducted on such groups as dwarves and twins, and included both physical and psychological examinations.^[5][6] Among the tests he performed that are mentioned in "Angel of Death" are experimental surgeries performed without anesthesia, transfusion of blood between twins, the sewing of bodies, isolation endurance, gassing, injections with lethal germs, sex change operations, and the removal of organs and limbs.^[7] An example of a man afflicted with Dwarfism see dwarf, and for insular dwarfism and other meanings see Dwarf (disambiguation). ... Fraternal twin boys in the tub The term twin most notably refers to two individuals (or one of two individuals) who have shared the same uterus (womb) and usually, but not necessarily, born on the same day. ... Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences) has traditionally meant the condition of having the perception of pain and other sensations blocked. ... Blood transfusion is the taking of blood or blood-based products from one individual and inserting them into the circulatory system of another. ... Isolation can refer to: Isolated point in topology (mathematics) Isolation (psychology), psychological phenomenon. ... Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... This article is about disease-causing organisms. ... Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a persons physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. ... In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, instrument, tool) is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. ... A limb (from the Old English lim) is a jointed appendage of the human or animal body; a large or main branch of a tree; a representative, branch or member of a group or organization. ...

Controversy

The lyrical content of "Angel of Death" contributed to the delay of the release of Slayer's 1986 album Reign in Blood. The band were signed to Def Jam Records whose distributor, Columbia Records, refused to release the album due to lyrical themes and artwork concerns, deeming the artwork "too graphic".^[2] Reign in Blood was eventually distributed by Geffen Records on October 7, 1986. However, due to the controversy, Reign in Blood did not appear on Geffen Records official release schedule.^[2] Reign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. ... Def Jam Records is an American based hip-hop record label that operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group, which is owned by Universal Music Group. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMGs Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (281st in leap years). ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

"Angel of Death" caused outrage among survivors of the Holocaust, as well as their families and the general public. The controversy lead to accusations of Nazi sympathizing which have followed Slayer throughout their career.^[2] People took Hanneman's interest in Nazi history and his collection of Nazi medals as evidence of sympathizing –^[2] his most prized item being a German Knight’s Cross.^[8] Hanneman counteracted asserting: For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... The penultimate expression of the award: the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with golden Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds. ...

"I know why people misinterpret it – it's because they get this knee–jerk reaction to it. When they read the lyrics, there's nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man, because to me – well, isn't that obvious? I shouldn't have to tell you that."^[9]

According to guitarist Kerry King "'Yea, Slayer are Nazis, fascists, communists'—all that fun shit. And of course we got the most flack for it in Germany. I was always like, 'Read the lyrics and tell me what’s offensive about it. Can you see it as a documentary, or do you think Slayer’s preaching fucking World War II?' People get this thought in their heads—especially in Europe—and you’ll never talk them out of it."^[2] Kerry King (born June 3, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is a guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the thrash metal band Slayer. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The song drew accusations of racism, although the band denied these claims, and countered that vocalist Tom Araya is of Chilean origin, while drummer Dave Lombardo is of Hispanic ancestry.^[2] In addition, the band's producer and close friend Rick Rubin has Jewish ancestry, and King had a guest appearance on the Jewish hip hop group Beastie Boys' song "No Sleep till Brooklyn".^[2] The band members are often asked about the accusations in interviews, and have stated numerous times that they do not condone Nazism or racism and are merely interested in the subject.^[10] Image File history File links Angel_of_Death_clip. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Because racism carries connotations of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination, the term has varying and often hotly contested definitions. ... Tom Araya (born Tomás Enrique Araya June 6, 1961 in Valparaíso, Chile) is the vocalist and bassist of the American thrash metal band Slayer. ... Dave Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a heavy metal drummer born in Havana, Cuba. ...  Countries where Spanish has official status. ... Frederick Jay Rubin (born March 10, 1963 in Lido Beach, New York) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American record producer. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... The Beastie Boys are a musical group from the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. ... No Sleep Till Brooklyn is a song by the Beastie Boys. ...

In 2006, the song "Jihad" from Slayer's 2006 album Christ Illusion drew comparison to "Angel of Death".^[11] "Jihad" deals with the September 11, 2001 attacks, and tells the story from a terrorist's perspective. Vocalist Araya was expecting the subject matter to create a similar backlash to that of "Angel of Death", although it did not materialise,^[12] in part, he believes, due to peoples' view that the song is merely "just Slayer being Slayer".^[13] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Christ Illusion is the tenth studio album by Slayer, which was released on August 8, 2006 on American Recordings. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... This article is becoming very long. ...

Music and structure

"Angel of Death" is the longest track on the album Reign in Blood, spanning 4:51 minutes, where the total duration of the album is 28 minutes.^[2] Hanneman and King deliver their intricate riffs, which offer the few hints of melody on the album,^[1] and Araya bursts out his piercing scream,^[14] with Lombardo performing at an average of 210 beats per minute.^[15] Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Beats per minute (bpm) is a unit typically used as either a measure of tempo in music, or a measure of ones heart rate. ...

When drummer Lombardo left the band in 1992, due to conflicts with band members and his desire to bring his wife on tour,^[16] the band chose Testament drummer Paul Bostaph.^[17] Bostaph made one mistake out of the nine songs the band trialled him with, on "Angel of Death".^[17] Before the "big double bass part" there's a lead section, which Bostaph could not understand, as he had to learn from live records recorded with Lombardo.^[17] Bostaph could not tell how many revolutions the guitar riff goes before the bass sequence. The band members told him there was eight, "perfecting" the song after.^[17] Testament is an American thrash metal band from California. ... Paul Bostaph (born March 6, 1964 in San Francisco, California) is a heavy metal drummer, who has played for the bands Forbidden (originally known as Forbidden Evil), Slayer, Testament, and Systematic. ...

Reception

Slayer's eagle logo bearing resemblance to the Eagle atop swastika

Although "Angel of Death" did not enter any charts, it received strong praise from critics in reviews for Reign in Blood. Clay Jarvas of Stylus Magazine noted that the song "smokes the asses of any band playing fast and/or heavy today. Lyrically outlining the horrors to come, while musically laying the groundwork for the rest of the record: fast, lean and filthy."^[18] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into swastika. ... This article is about the online music and film magazine. ...

Adrien Begrand of Popmatters remarked that "There's no better song to kick things off than the masterful "Angel of Death", one of the most monumental songs in metal history, where guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman deliver their intricate riffs, drummer Dave Lombardo performs some of the most powerful drumming ever recorded, and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya screams and snarls his tale of Nazi war criminal Joseph Mengele."^[14] PopMatters is an international magazine of cultural criticism. ...

Capitalizing on the publicity generated by the controversy, the band utilized Nazi imagery by adapting a logo to one similar to the eagle atop swastika, during the Seasons in the Abyss period. Hanneman placed SS stickers on his guitar, and wrote "SS-3" a song about Reinhard Heydrich, the second in command in the Schutzstaffel organization.^[19] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into swastika. ... Seasons in the Abyss is an album by thrash metal band Slayer. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... The R-5 was a theatre ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. ... Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo, SD and Kripo Nazi police agencies) and Reich governor of Bohemia and Moravia. ... The   (German for Protective Squadron), abbreviated (Runic) or SS (Latin), was a large security and military organization of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) in Germany. ...

Appearances

"Angel of Death" has appeared in several movies, including Gremlins 2, in a scene when the gremlin Mohawk is turning into a spider.^[20] It appears in Jackass: The Movie during a car stunt,^[21] and features in the 2005 Iraq War documentary Soundtrack to War, which details the role of music on the contemporary battlefield.^[22] The half–time riff was sampled by Public Enemy in their 1988 song "She Watch Channel Zero",^[2] and featured in the multi–platform video game Tony Hawk's Project 8. Nolan Nelson, who selected the soundtrack for the game asserts the song is "one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever recorded. Don’t know who Slayer is? I feel sorry for you."^[23] Jackass: The Movie Jackass: The Movie directed by Jeff Tremaine was released on October 25, 2002 with the tagline Do not attempt this at home. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Soundtrack to War is a 90 minute documentary by Australian war artist George Gittoes. ... Public Enemy, also known as PE, is a hip hop group from Long Island, New York, known for their politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... Tony Hawks Project 8 is the eighth installment in the Tony Hawks Series. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ...

A Slayer tribute band called Dead Skin Mask released an album with eight Slayer tracks, "Angel of Death" being one of them.^[24] The death metal band Monstrosity covered the song,^[25] and the track was featured on classical band Apocalyptica's 2006 album Amplified / A Decade of Reinventing the Cello.^[26] Al Sur Del Abismo (Tributo Argentino A Slayer), a Slayer tribute CD compiled by Hurling Metal Records, featured sixteen tracks covered by Argentina metal bands, Asinesia covered "Angel of Death".^[27] A compilation album of bands that have been featured in the Ozzfest line-up, of which Slayer have headlined multiple times, features "Angel of Death".^[28] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Death metal is a heavy metal subgenre. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Apocalyptica is a Finnish musical group consisting of three, formerly four, classically trained cellists and, since 2005, a drummer. ... Amplified, released in 2006, is a greatest-hits-like album from cello rock group Apocalyptica containing two new songs: Repressed and Angel of Death. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

"Angel of Death" is the first track featured on Slayer's compilation box set Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. The song is also featured on the live album Decade of Aggression and the music DVDs Live Intrusion, War at the Warfield and Still Reigning. Soundtrack to the Apocalypse is a box set by Slayer with three CDs plus one DVD (Standard Edition) or four CDs plus one DVD (Deluxe Edition). ... Decade of Aggression is a double live album by Slayer and was released in 1991 through Def American Records (later renamed to American Recordings). ... Live Intrusion is a home video by Slayer which was released in 1995 through American Recordings. ... War At The Warfield is a home video by Slayer which was released in 2003 through American Recordings. ... Still Reigning is a home video by Slayer which was released in 2004 through American Recordings. ...

"Angel of Death" is listed as being one of the favorite songs of fictional mercenary Mattias Nilsson from Mercenaries 2.<ref=Mercenaries 2: World in Flames>http://mercs2.com/mercs.php</ref> Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the upcoming sequel to 2005s Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. ...

it was featured as the opening track to the BMX video wide awake nightmare by square one BMX, and can also be heard in bmx video Barcelona vacation

References