War Ensemble

About This Project

Controversial — that is the one word that best describes Slayer. At first glance, this band might will scare the bejeezus out of you. But maybe there is more here than meets the eye. Like horror movies, Slayer’s lyrics discuss topics of serial killers, necrophilia, Satanism, religion, anti-religion, Nazism, violence, and warfare. Happy thoughts, right? Some might say it’s these “I can’t believe he just said that” fear-factor moments that keeps the headphones on and you on the edge of your seat. Personally, I can care less about most of their content—it’s their shtick. For me, and this band, it’s all about the riffs. And for a 13 year old boy discovering this music for the first time, there was nothing cooler because it was everything you weren’t supposed to be doing. It was rebellion.

Slayer is one of the preeminent forefathers of thrash metal having had some of the fastest music, best drummers, and twin-guitar attacks in all of heavy metal. Jeff Hanneman (who passed away in 2013) and Kerry King wrote the book on speed metal as were ranked ranked number 10 in Guitar World’s “100 greatest metal guitarists of all time” in 2004, and were voted “Best Guitarist/Guitar Team” in Revolver’s reader’s poll.

War Ensemble is a WYSIWYG for war. It holds no punches as it describes battle, promoting the fight in the act of war. Many soldiers turn to intense rap and metal to get psyched while being deployed for combat. Because of this, I wanted this poster to look like a top secret military document. Something mysterious and crossed-out because of the highly critical and controversial message it contains.

MUSIC VIDEO /

SONG /

LYRICS /

Propaganda death ensemble
Burial to be
Corpses rotting through the night
In blood laced misery
Scorched earth the policy
The reason for the siege
The pendulum it shaves the blade
The strafing air blood raid

Infiltration push reserves
Encircle the front lines
Supreme art of strategy
Playing on the minds
Bombard till submission
Take all to their graves
Indication of triumph
The numbers that are dead

Sport the war, war support
The sport is war, total war
When victory’s really massacre
The final swing is not a drill
It’s how many people I can kill

Sport the war, war support
The sport is war, total war
When victory’s really survival
The final swing is not a drill
It’s how many people I can kill

Be dead, be from above
When darkness falls
Descend onto my sights
Your fallen walls
Spearhead break through the lines
Flanked all around
Soldiers of attrition
Forward their ground
Regime prophetic age
Old in its time
Flowing veins run on through
Deep in the Rhine
Center of the web
All battles scored
What is our war crimes
(Era forever more…war)

Propaganda war ensemble
Burial to be
Bones shining by the night
In blood laced misery
Campaign of elimination
Twisted psychology
When victory is to survive
And death is defeat

Sport the war, war support
The sport is war, total war
When the end is a slaughter
The final swing is not a drill
It’s how many people I can kill