Search - Slaughter :: Best of

Includes everything from their prime

William Matson | Maine | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There isn't a single new song on this greatest hits collection and it only covers two studio albums (and a live record), but it does include everything that a fair-weather fan would ever need. You will find sixteen studio tracks here (not including two live cuts), which means an average of eight songs per studio album. While that might have a few saying Slaughter had no business doing a greatest hits collection at that point of their career, I'll make two statements in their defense.



First being that Slaughter was not on a major label anymore at the time this came out, they had since moved on to CMC International. That meant they were never going to release anything else for the label and the record company had to cash in while they could since Slaughter was still a very viable name commercially. It was either release it back then while the band was still hot or sit on it for ten years and finally put it out when nobody would care anymore. Is that the band's fault?



My second point is that "Mass Slaughter" is one of the few collections in which you won't find anybody complaining about songs being left off. Unless you religiously listen to the albums cover to cover and love every single song, everything that really matters is right here in one place. There is really nothing to complain about with song selection here.



For the record, the albums represented here are: "Stick it to ya," from 1990, "Stick It Live" (live ep from the first tour in 1990) and "The Wild Life," from 1992. While it seems odd to include live versions of two songs that are already here in their original studio versions, it's nice to at least represent "Stick It Live." These are tracks seventeen and eighteen.



To me, the best songs are 'Fly to the angels', 'Streets of broken hearts' and 'Days gone by' for slower tracks. 'Up all night' and 'Burning bridges' are two of my favorite rock tracks from this cd. Everybody else has their own favorites.



If you are a new listener and feel like exploring the music a little more, you might follow this purchase with a later day Slaughter compilation titled "Then and Now" which compiles a fair amount of music that they recorded for a smaller label in the years after "Mass Slaughter" came out. Normally, "Stick it to ya" or "The Wild Life" might be recommended to a casual fan, but if you decide to purchase this, keep in mind that all of the best material from those albums are right here. It doesn't get any better if you are merely a casual fan looking for a taste.



But if you already are (or become) a real diehard, by all means pick those original albums up. In fact, most diehards will skip this release here due to the lack of exclusive or hard-to-find material. Including the Slaughter song 'Shout it out', which is only found on the movie soundtrack, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" would have been a nice touch. Instead, it means a fan has to hunt down that soundtrack to get that song. That is a minor annoyance, only minor because it wasn't their best song. 'Shout it out' is mainly something a completist would be after.



These songs stand the test of time fairly well, compared to a lot of music from Slaughter's era. This is some of the prime music from the early 90's pop-metal scene. You can put on this cd, let it run and won't often need to stop to skip over a track. This was Slaughter at their best, take it or leave it. They didn't have a reputation for being dangerous or menacing, like a Motley Crue or Guns N' Roses, but they didn't need to be, nor did they pretend to be. Fact is, a lot of these songs may be squeaky clean with a fairly slick production, but their music does sound good on the radio or a stereo. This group was talented at writing songs with some serious hooks, strong choruses and catchy melodies. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, by any means.



As of this writing, their most recent studio album ("Back to Reality") was issued back in 1999. Further albums after this hits collection (from 1995 and on) did continue along the same path, and had their share of moments (refer to "Then and Now"), but here the band was clearly at their peak. This material from "Mass Slaughter" is what started the fuss for Slaughter and made them into a household name, albeit for a short period of time, in the early 90's.



"

For those who don't want the first 3 albums...

Chad Ouimette | Ottawa, ON | 12/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...Or if you are just cheap, this compilation is what you are looking for. You get all of the best tracks from the first 2 studio albums STICK IT TO YA and WILD LIFE along with two live cuts from STICK IT LIVE. I am personally not much of a fan of live songs or albums but for everyone else, like a casual fan, this is the only disc you need to bring all thier 1990-1993 works into your CD collection and then concentrate on thier future years for the very best of the Slaughter expierence. 16/18"

Always a slaughter fan

lauraB | ohio | 07/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think this is a great cd. I recommend this one along with their latest studio albulm BACK TO REALITY, and all their other albulms too. If you enjoy good time rock and roll without all the drama and negativity then this is the band for you! I also recommend their live show. Although Tim Kelly will always be missed, the energy is great, and the chemistry is strong."