Lyrics
Song interpretations
Note that these are more or less "official" song interpretations, most of them are from interviews where Slayer themselves have explained what the songs are about.
(Most artists don't like to analyze their own lyrics, and Slayer is not an exception.) I have not tried to interpret anything myself.
South of Heaven Tom: "It's how I imagine hell on earth, and the decline of mankind."
Mandatory Suicide Tom: "I was influenced by all the anti-war films around at the moment, like "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket".
I can really imagine what the poor sods had to put up with in Vietnam - sacrificed for a load of filth and lies."
Behind the Crooked Cross (About the German Nazi regime) Jeff: "I try to explain how people were influenced mentally then, but it's not an apology [for "Angel of Death"].
I'm really interested in the history of the second world war; I collect iron crosses, flags and things - I've got loads of memorobilia like that in my flat."
Dead Skin Mask The song is about the serial killer Ed Gein who, amongst other things, made a face mask out of flesh from his victims.
He then used to wear the mask and his dead mother's clothes and dance in the moonlight... Read the full story on the Ed Gein page.
Killing Fields Tom: "It's about how people can, in an instant, go off, snap. The idea that no one's immune, blood's thicker than water - blood's got nothing to do with it.
If a person decides he's gonna kill you, he's gonna do it, no second thoughts' I felt it was something I had to write about, the murder and psychology of murder."
SS-3 Tom: "SS-3 is about one of the nazi generals who was assassinated by the British; I can't even think of his name. That's one of Jeff's songs.
He was second to Hitler, and the British were really afraid of him because he wasn't a fanatic like Hitler, but he could consolidate a lot of power.
When they're fanatical, they always get caught; when they're not, that's
when the real danger is."
Serenity in Murder "'Serenity In Murder' is really about the pleasure it would give me to have someone die in my arms. It's based on the fact that when someone
dies they have a serene look on their face even in a time of horror, even if they have a violent death - more so during a violent death."
213 The song is about the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who lived in apartment 213.