Earlier this month, Slayer’s seminal third studio LP – Reign in Blood – celebrated its 40th anniversary! During his recent appearance on the Loaded Radio podcast, former drummer Dave Lombardo dove into why Reign in Blood still gives him “chills” after so many years (among other things).
Why Does Reign in Blood Still Give Lombardo “Chills”?
The interview was uploaded to YouTube on Oct. 9, and it didn’t take long for host Scott Penfold to ask Lombardo about being 40 years on from Reign in Blood (which Penfold called “one of the greatest metal albums of all time”).
“Oh, it still, it still gives me the chills when I listen to that album,” Lombardo expressed, adding:
The palms of your hands get sweaty, you know? Your heart rate increases, and you’re just in the moment. I’ve performed those songs so many times in my life on stage, and that adrenaline, just thinking about it, and when I listen to those songs, it triggers that adrenaline. I get charged. [Laughs] If I go into cardiac arrest, play “Angel Of Death” or “Raining Blood” or something, and watch me just pop up, like, “Hey, what’s going on?'”
So, there you have it.
READ MORE: 2 ‘Big 4’ Thrash Stars Host Metal Radio Station in ‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ (Hear Preview)
What Else Did Lombardo + Penfold Discuss?
After diving into Reign in Blood, Penfold asked Lombardo: “Do you still hold thrash very, very close to your heart?”
Lombardo explained:
I enjoy thrash when I hear good thrash, you know? There’s . . . a lot of really positive – or, not positive, [but] commendable attempts. But, . . . since computer software, music recording software, a lot of the music has turned very sterile. So, you kind of miss that push and pull of those albums that were almost – they were kind of, like, restless, you know? They were very just aggressive, I would say, and you could hear it! You could hear it in the recording, and I could see how that translated on to the record because when we were recording those songs, we would look at each other and say, “All right, let’s go. Come on. Let’s fucking kill it. Let’s nail this one. Let’s get this song.” “Faster?’” “Yeah, play it just a little faster.” “Okay, let’s go.” Count four and the band just comes in. . . . Anger, angst, adrenaline –everything.
Finally, Lombardo and Penfold talked about late Slayer co-founder/co-lead guitarist Jeff Hanneman (who died of liver failure in 2013).
“He was a great guy,” “Lombardo began. “He was funny. [He was an] amazing songwriter. He was a trailblazer, man. He came to the band without – you know, self-taught, and took it from there and created some of the most amazing music of our genre.
You can watch Lombardo’s whole chat with Loaded Radio below:
Dave Lombardo Discusses ‘Reign in Blood’ + More (Oct. 9, 2026)
More About Reign in Blood
Although Slayer’s entire 1980s run was crucial to the development and popularization of thrash metal, Reign in Blood is largely considered Slayer’s most important and enduring effort.
Unsurprisingly, Loudwire said as much when we included it in our feature on the best album by 15 legendary thrash metal bands.
Specifically, we surmised:
From its beautifully macabre cover to its honed chemistry of focused and ferocious hookiness, it’s masterful. Of course, “Raining Blood” makes for an iconic finale – its seamless emergence from the militaristic “Postmortem” is downright ingenious – but everything that comes before it is nearly faultless, too. . . . In less than 30 minutes, Slayer cemented their legacy.
The record also placed second on our list of every thrash metal ‘big 4’ album ranked from worst to best (with Metallica’s Master of Puppets taking the gold medal).
Other Slayer News
In case you missed it, Loudwire recently reported on the fact that Slayer vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King will be hosting the metal station (“106.6 The Chamber”) in Grand Theft Auto VI!
As we wrote:
The metal icons are going by the names DJ Tom and DJ Kerry on the station, so they weren’t trying to be as subtle as when they gave Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose the DJ alias Tommy “The Nightmare” Smith in ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.’
Snippets of three metal songs played during the preview for 106.6 The Chamber: Black Sabbath’s “I” (1992), Pantera’s “I’m Broken” (1994) and Slayer’s “Raining Blood” (1986). Two other familiar voices from the rock and metal world is heard during the sample as well: Caity Babs from the SiriusXM stations Octane and Turbo and Shawn the Butcher from Liquid Metal.
“The world’s a heavy place. Give it the thrashing soundtrack it deserves,” Araya can be heard saying right before playing “Raining Blood.”
You can hear a preview of the radio station here, and of course, Grand Theft Auto VI will arrive on multiple gaming platforms on Nov. 19!
Do you agree with Lombardo about Reign in Blood? Would you say it’s among the greatest metal albums of all time?! Let us know.
Also, keep scrolling to see our feature on every big rock and metal album released each day in October history (including two Slayer records)!
Every Big Rock + Metal Album Released Each Day in October History
Here are the all-time best rock and metal albums released for each day in October.
Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll