"Angel of Death" is the opening track on thrash metal band Slayer's album Reign in Blood, released on October 7, 1986. Written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman (pictured) and produced by Rick Rubin, it is by far the longest track on the album at 4 minutes and 51 seconds, and features prominent verses and choruses, unlike the other tracks. The lyrics invent a sadistic rant by the Nazi physician Josef Mengele, who conducted human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Despite accusations that the lyrics reflect Nazi sympathizing and racism, which the band vigorously denied, the song has been highly influential in the development of both thrash and speed metal. Although it did not chart, it has been praised by critics, and appears on all of Slayer's live albums. AllMusic's Steve Huey described it as a classic and the album as "the pinnacle of speed metal". One of its riffs was sampled by Public Enemy in their 1988 song "She Watch Channel Zero?!" (Full article...).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_Death_(Slayer_song)
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
The French privateer Robert Surcouf led a 150-man crew to capture the 40-gun, 437-man East Indiaman Kent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Surcouf
1916:
Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Cumberland_vs._Georgia_Tech_football_game
1976:
Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Communist Party of China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Guofeng
1991:
Croatian War of Independence: The Yugoslav People's Army conducted an air strike on Banski dvori, the official residence of the Government of Croatia in Zagreb. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Banski_dvori
2006:
Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Anna_Politkovskaya
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
Down syndrome: (neurology, chiefly US) A medical condition caused by a chromosomal excess, whereby the patients bear a certain resemblance to the Mongoloid race, such as a small head and tilted eyelids, and typically have a delay in cognitive ability and physical growth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Down_syndrome
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
You and I are created for transcendence, laughter, caring. God deliberately did not make the world perfect, for God is looking for you and me to be fellow workers with God. --Desmond Tutu https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu