| "Angel of Death" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Slayer | |
| from the album Reign in Blood | |
| Released | October 7, 1986 |
| Recorded | 1986 |
| Studio | Los Angeles, California |
| Genre | Thrash metal |
| Length | 4:51 |
| Label | Def Jam |
| Songwriter(s) | Jeff Hanneman |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin |
"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".[1] 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.[2]
An exclusive oral history of Slayer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).