"Angel of Death" is the opening track on American thrash metal band Slayer's 1986 album Reign in Blood. The lyrics and music were written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman. They detail the Nazi physician Josef Mengele's human experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
"Angel of Death" led to accusations of Nazi sympathizing and racism against the band, which they vigorously denied but which followed them throughout their early career. Despite the controversy and the resulting delay in the release of Reign in Blood, the song remained a live favorite, and has appeared on all of Slayer's live albums.
The song has been described as highly influential in the development of thrash metal or speed metal, and is highly regarded by some critics; AllMusic's Steve Huey called it a classic and the album "the pinnacle of speed metal". The half-time riff was sampled by Public Enemy in their song "She Watch Channel Zero?!" from the 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
Background and lyrics
thumb|right|upright|150px|[[Josef Mengele inspired the song.]]Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman wrote "Angel of Death" after reading books about Nazi physician Josef Mengele while on tour with the band. They detail Mengele's surgical experiments on patients at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Mengele's explorations were conducted on such groups as dwarfs and twins, and included both physical and psychological examinations. Among the tests he performed that are mentioned in "Angel of Death" are experimental surgeries performed without anesthesia, transfusion of blood between twins, isolation endurance, gassing, injections with lethal germs, sex change operations, the removal of organs and limbs, and abacination.
Composition and music
The song opens with stop-start guitar riffs utilizing power chords and tremolo picking, accompanied by cymbal hits that are muted by Dave Lombardo. According to Adrien Begrand of Decibel, guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King "[announce] their presence with grandeur and intimidation," and according to him, the track's intro "epitomized [the genre] in 30 seconds."
When drummer Lombardo left Slayer in 1992, they recruited a full-time replacement in Forbidden drummer Paul Bostaph. Bostaph made one mistake out of the nine songs the band trialled him with, on "Angel of Death".
Controversy
thumb|180px|Graphic used by the band in the 1990s
The lyrics of "Angel of Death" delayed the release of Reign in Blood which was originally scheduled for April 1986. The band was signed to Def Jam Records, whose distributor, Columbia Records, refused to release the album due to its subject matter and artwork, which they believed were "too graphic". The band members have consistently denied the accusations, stating that they do not condone racism or Nazism and are merely interested in the subject. In 1987, Hanneman told the NME magazine:
Some took Hanneman's interest in Nazi history and his collection of Nazi memorabilia (his most prized item being a German Knight's Cross) as evidence of sympathizing.
King also dismissed the accusations: