Album
South of Heaven
South of Heaven is Slayer's fourth studio album, released on 5 July 1988 through Def Jam Recordings. It followed the relentless pace of Reign in Blood, and rather than try to outdo that record, the band went the other way. Tempos were slowed, some guitars were left undistorted and the vocals were toned down. Rick Rubin produced again, though this was the last Slayer record to come out on Def Jam.
Reactions were warm, with some listeners welcoming the change of approach and others who loved the earlier albums feeling a little let down. It reached number 57 on the Billboard 200 and went gold in the US in 1992. The title track and "Mandatory Suicide" have stayed in Slayer's live set ever since, which says plenty about how well the slower, more menacing approach worked.
South of Heaven: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 36:55Tracklist
- 1South of HeavenJeff Hanneman and Tom Araya4:58
- 2Silent ScreamHanneman, King, Araya3:07
- 3Live UndeadHanneman, Araya, King3:50
- 4Behind the Crooked CrossJeff Hanneman3:15
- 5Mandatory SuicideHanneman, King, Araya4:05
- 6Ghosts of WarJeff Hanneman and Kerry King3:53
- 7Read Between the LiesHanneman, Araya, King3:20
- 8Cleanse the SoulHanneman, Araya, King3:02
- 9Dissident AggressorDowning, Halford, Tipton2:35
- 10Spill the BloodJeff Hanneman4:49
- Produced by
- Rick Rubin, Slayer
- Executive producer
- Rick Rubin
- Recorded at
- Hit City West (Los Angeles), Chung King (New York City)
- Recorded
- December 1987 – February 1988
- Mixed by
- Andy Wallace
- Mixed at
- New Fresh
- Engineered by
- Steve Ett, Bill Freesh, Peter Kelsey, Andy Wallace
- Label
- Def Jam Recordings
- Length
- 36:55
Singles
- “South of Heaven” · 1988
- “Mandatory Suicide” · 1988
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1988 | 25 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1988 | 57 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1988 | 11 |
| German Albums · 1988 | 23 |
| Dutch Albums · 1988 | 31 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 2025 | 31 |
| Swedish Albums · 1988 | 50 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1988 | 53 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1988 | 89 |
| Ireland 2 · 2006 | 91 |
All 11 charts
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2016 | 198 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Silver |
| United States | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
67.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.7k
ListenBrainz listeners
95k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
37k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 5 July
Every year →
More from Slayer
Full discography →
Show No Mercy
1983
Haunting the Chapel
1984
Live Undead
1984
Live Undead / Haunting the Chapel
1984
Hell Awaits
1985
Reign in Blood
1986
Seasons in the Abyss
1990
Decade of Aggression Live
1991
Divine Intervention
1994
Undisputed Attitude
1996
Diabolus in Musica
1998
God Hates Us All
2001
Soundtrack to the Apocalypse
2003
Christ Illusion
2006
World Painted Blood
2009
Repentless
2015
The best of 1988
All of 1988 →
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Iron Maiden · 1988
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Blow Up Your Video
AC/DC · 1988
So Far, So Good… So What!
Megadeth · 1988
Delicate Sound of Thunder
Pink Floyd · 1988
No Rest for the Wicked
Ozzy Osbourne · 1988
Operation: Mindcrime
Queensrÿche · 1988
EP
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Ultramega OK
Soundgarden · 1988
Power Metal
Pantera · 1988
State of Euphoria
Anthrax · 1988
More on Def Jam Recordings
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 5 July 1988 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 July 1988 | |
| Wikidata | 5 July 1988 | |
| US release | 5 July 1988 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 5 July 1988 | earliest UK or European date |
25 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | American Recordings | 731458679721 | other |
| — | XW | American Recordings | 0060254757970 | other |
| 1988 | XE | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420310 | other |
| 1988 | GB | London American Recordings | 042282808028 | other |
| 1988 | DE | Def American Recordings | 720642420317 | other |
| 1988 | CA | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420327 | other |
| 1988 | XE | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420327 | other |
| 5 July 1988 | US | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420310 | original |
| 5 July 1988 | GB | Def Jam Recordings | 042282808011 | original |
| 5 July 1988 | US | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420327 | original |
| 25 August 1988 | JP | Def Jam Recordings | 4988014721400 | other |
| October 1988 | US | Def Jam Recordings | 075992420327 | other |
| 1994 | US | American Recordings | 075992420327 | other |
| 1994 | FR | American Recordings | 743212484922 | other |
| 24 March 1995 | JP | American Recordings | 4988017054567 | other |
| 1996 | XE | American Recordings | 5099749180024 | other |
| 11 August 1998 | US | American Recordings | 074646940822 | other |
| 5 June 2002 | JP | American Recordings | 4988005302281 | other |
| 2006 | XE | American Recordings | 5051011604027 | other |
| 2006 | AU | American Recordings | 9325583039133 | other |
| 24 July 2007 | US | American Recordings | 886971288629 | other |
| 2009 | XE | American Recordings | 886971288629 | other |
| 16 April 2013 | AF | American Recordings | 602537352265 | other |
| 5 July 2013 | XE | American Recordings | 602537352265 | other |
| 10 December 2013 | US | American Recordings | 602537467921 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| coverartarchive | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |