 their wrists back to back too . " This claim was first made by Auschwitz survivor Vera Alexander at the 1961 trial of SS @-@ Hauptscharführer Adolf Eichmann the " architect of the Holocaust " , where it was asserted that Mengele " sewed the veins together " and turned " them into Siamese twins . " This allegation became more widely known when Vera Alexander was featured in the 1985 documentary The Search for Mengele , which has been cited by several authors including Gerald Posner , an expert on Mengele .   Towards the end of the song , there is a line " Feeding off the screams of the mutants he 's creating " , which was taken from the film The Boys from Brazil in which Dr. Mengele was the villain .   = = Controversy = =   The lyrical content of " Angel of Death " contributed to the delay of the release of Slayer 's 1986 album Reign in Blood . The band were signed to Def Jam Records whose distributor , Columbia Records , refused to release the album due to lyrical themes and artwork concerns , deeming the artwork " too graphic " . Reign in Blood was eventually distributed by Geffen Records on October 7 , 1986 . However , due to the controversy , Reign in Blood did not appear on Geffen Records official release schedule .   " Angel of Death " caused outrage among survivors of the Holocaust , as well as their families and the general public . The controversy led to accusations of Nazi sympathizing which have followed Slayer throughout their career . People took Hanneman 's interest in Nazi history and his collection of Nazi medals as evidence of sympathizing – his most prized item being a German Knight 's Cross . Hanneman counteracted asserting :   " I know why people misinterpret it – it 's because they get this knee – jerk reaction to it . When they read the lyrics , there 's nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man , because to me – well , isn 't that obvious ? I shouldn 't have to tell you that . "   According to guitarist Kerry King : " Yeah , ' Slayer are Nazis , fascists , communists ' — all that fun shit . And of course we got the most flak for it in Germany . I was always like , ' Read the lyrics and tell me what 's offensive about it . Can you see it as a documentary , or do you think Slayer 's preaching fucking World War II ? ' People get this thought in their heads — especially in Europe — and you 'll never talk them out of it . "   The song drew accusations of racism , which the band has denied . The band members are often asked about the accusations in interviews , and have stated numerous times that they do not condone racism and are merely interested in the subject .   In 2006 , the song " Jihad " from Slayer 's 2006 album Christ Illusion drew comparison to " Angel of Death " . " Jihad " deals with the September 11 , 2001 , attacks , and tells the story from a terrorist 's perspective . Vocalist Araya was expecting the subject matter to create a similar backlash to that of " Angel of Death " , although it did not materialise , in part , he believes , due to peoples ' view that the song is " just Slayer being Slayer " .   = = Music and structure = =   " Angel of Death " is the longest track on the album Reign in Blood , spanning 4 minutes and 51 seconds , where the total duration of the album is 29 minutes . Additionally , it has one of the most conventional song structures on the album , featuring prominent verses and choruses , where most tracks on the album eschew them . Hanneman and King deliver their ' intricate riffs ' , which offer the few hints of melody on the album according to PopMatters reviewer Adrien Begrand , and Araya bursts out his piercing scream , with Lombardo performing beats of 210 beats per minute .   When drummer Lombardo left Slayer in 1992 , the band hired 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 " . Before the " big double bass part " there is a lead section , which Bostaph could not understand , as he had to learn from live records recorded with Lombardo . Bostaph could not tell how many revolutions the guitar riff goes before the bass sequence . The band members told him there were eight , " perfecting " the song afterwards .   = = Reception = =   Although " Angel of Death " did not enter any charts , it received strong praise from critics in reviews for Reign in Blood . Clay Jarvas of Stylus Magazine noted that the song " smokes the asses of any band playing fast and / or heavy today . Lyrically outlining the horrors to come , while musically laying the groundwork for the rest of the record : fast ,
Ġtheir Ġwrists Ġback Ġto Ġback Ġtoo Ġ. Ġ" ĠThis Ġclaim Ġwas Ġfirst Ġmade Ġby ĠAuschwitz Ġsurvivor ĠVera ĠAlexander Ġat Ġthe Ġ1961 Ġtrial Ġof ĠSS Ġ@ - @ ĠHau pt s char f Ã¼ h rer ĠAdolf ĠE ich mann Ġthe Ġ" Ġarchitect Ġof Ġthe ĠHolocaust Ġ" Ġ, Ġwhere Ġit Ġwas Ġasserted Ġthat ĠM enge le Ġ" Ġse wed Ġthe Ġveins Ġtogether Ġ" Ġand Ġturned Ġ" Ġthem Ġinto ĠSi ames e Ġtwins Ġ. Ġ" ĠThis Ġallegation Ġbecame Ġmore Ġwidely Ġknown Ġwhen ĠVera ĠAlexander Ġwas Ġfeatured Ġin Ġthe Ġ1985 Ġdocumentary ĠThe ĠSearch Ġfor ĠM enge le Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhas Ġbeen Ġcited Ġby Ġseveral Ġauthors Ġincluding ĠGerald ĠPos ner Ġ, Ġan Ġexpert Ġon ĠM enge le Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTowards Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġthere Ġis Ġa Ġline Ġ" ĠFeed ing Ġoff Ġthe Ġscreams Ġof Ġthe Ġmutants Ġhe Ġ' s Ġcreating Ġ" Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġtaken Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfilm ĠThe ĠBoys Ġfrom ĠBrazil Ġin Ġwhich ĠDr . ĠM enge le Ġwas Ġthe Ġvillain Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCont rovers y Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġlyr ical Ġcontent Ġof Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġcontributed Ġto Ġthe Ġdelay Ġof Ġthe Ġrelease Ġof ĠSlayer Ġ' s Ġ1986 Ġalbum ĠReign Ġin ĠBlood Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġwere Ġsigned Ġto ĠDef ĠJam ĠRecords Ġwhose Ġdistributor Ġ, ĠColumbia ĠRecords Ġ, Ġrefused Ġto Ġrelease Ġthe Ġalbum Ġdue Ġto Ġlyr ical Ġthemes Ġand Ġartwork Ġconcerns Ġ, Ġdeem ing Ġthe Ġartwork Ġ" Ġtoo Ġgraphic Ġ" Ġ. ĠReign Ġin ĠBlood Ġwas Ġeventually Ġdistributed Ġby ĠGe ffen ĠRecords Ġon ĠOctober Ġ7 Ġ, Ġ1986 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġcontroversy Ġ, ĠReign Ġin ĠBlood Ġdid Ġnot Ġappear Ġon ĠGe ffen ĠRecords Ġofficial Ġrelease Ġschedule Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġcaused Ġoutrage Ġamong Ġsurvivors Ġof Ġthe ĠHolocaust Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġtheir Ġfamilies Ġand Ġthe Ġgeneral Ġpublic Ġ. ĠThe Ġcontroversy Ġled Ġto Ġaccusations Ġof ĠNazi Ġsympath izing Ġwhich Ġhave Ġfollowed ĠSlayer Ġthroughout Ġtheir Ġcareer Ġ. ĠPeople Ġtook ĠHann eman Ġ' s Ġinterest Ġin ĠNazi Ġhistory Ġand Ġhis Ġcollection Ġof ĠNazi Ġmedals Ġas Ġevidence Ġof Ġsympath izing ĠâĢĵ Ġhis Ġmost Ġprized Ġitem Ġbeing Ġa ĠGerman ĠKnight Ġ' s ĠCross Ġ. ĠHann eman Ġcounter acted Ġasserting Ġ: Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠI Ġknow Ġwhy Ġpeople Ġmisinterpret Ġit ĠâĢĵ Ġit Ġ' s Ġbecause Ġthey Ġget Ġthis Ġknee ĠâĢĵ Ġjerk Ġreaction Ġto Ġit Ġ. ĠWhen Ġthey Ġread Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġ, Ġthere Ġ' s Ġnothing ĠI Ġput Ġin Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġthat Ġsays Ġnecessarily Ġhe Ġwas Ġa Ġbad Ġman Ġ, Ġbecause Ġto Ġme ĠâĢĵ Ġwell Ġ, Ġisn Ġ' t Ġthat Ġobvious Ġ? ĠI Ġshouldn Ġ' t Ġhave Ġto Ġtell Ġyou Ġthat Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto Ġguitarist ĠKerry ĠKing Ġ: Ġ" ĠYeah Ġ, Ġ' ĠSlayer Ġare ĠNazis Ġ, Ġfascists Ġ, Ġcommunists Ġ' ĠâĢĶ Ġall Ġthat Ġfun Ġshit Ġ. ĠAnd Ġof Ġcourse Ġwe Ġgot Ġthe Ġmost Ġfl ak Ġfor Ġit Ġin ĠGermany Ġ. ĠI Ġwas Ġalways Ġlike Ġ, Ġ' ĠRead Ġthe Ġlyrics Ġand Ġtell Ġme Ġwhat Ġ' s Ġoffensive Ġabout Ġit Ġ. ĠCan Ġyou Ġsee Ġit Ġas Ġa Ġdocumentary Ġ, Ġor Ġdo Ġyou Ġthink ĠSlayer Ġ' s Ġpreaching Ġfucking ĠWorld ĠWar ĠII Ġ? Ġ' ĠPeople Ġget Ġthis Ġthought Ġin Ġtheir Ġheads ĠâĢĶ Ġespecially Ġin ĠEurope ĠâĢĶ Ġand Ġyou Ġ' ll Ġnever Ġtalk Ġthem Ġout Ġof Ġit Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsong Ġdrew Ġaccusations Ġof Ġracism Ġ, Ġwhich Ġthe Ġband Ġhas Ġdenied Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġmembers Ġare Ġoften Ġasked Ġabout Ġthe Ġaccusations Ġin Ġinterviews Ġ, Ġand Ġhave Ġstated Ġnumerous Ġtimes Ġthat Ġthey Ġdo Ġnot Ġcondone Ġracism Ġand Ġare Ġmerely Ġinterested Ġin Ġthe Ġsubject Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ2006 Ġ, Ġthe Ġsong Ġ" ĠJihad Ġ" Ġfrom ĠSlayer Ġ' s Ġ2006 Ġalbum ĠChrist ĠIllusion Ġdrew Ġcomparison Ġto Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġ. Ġ" ĠJihad Ġ" Ġdeals Ġwith Ġthe ĠSeptember Ġ11 Ġ, Ġ2001 Ġ, Ġattacks Ġ, Ġand Ġtells Ġthe Ġstory Ġfrom Ġa Ġterrorist Ġ' s Ġperspective Ġ. ĠV ocal ist ĠAr aya Ġwas Ġexpecting Ġthe Ġsubject Ġmatter Ġto Ġcreate Ġa Ġsimilar Ġbacklash Ġto Ġthat Ġof Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġ, Ġalthough Ġit Ġdid Ġnot Ġmaterial ise Ġ, Ġin Ġpart Ġ, Ġhe Ġbelieves Ġ, Ġdue Ġto Ġpeoples Ġ' Ġview Ġthat Ġthe Ġsong Ġis Ġ" Ġjust ĠSlayer Ġbeing ĠSlayer Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠMusic Ġand Ġstructure Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġis Ġthe Ġlongest Ġtrack Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum ĠReign Ġin ĠBlood Ġ, Ġspanning Ġ4 Ġminutes Ġand Ġ51 Ġseconds Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthe Ġtotal Ġduration Ġof Ġthe Ġalbum Ġis Ġ29 Ġminutes Ġ. ĠAdditionally Ġ, Ġit Ġhas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġmost Ġconventional Ġsong Ġstructures Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum Ġ, Ġfeaturing Ġprominent Ġverses Ġand Ġch or uses Ġ, Ġwhere Ġmost Ġtracks Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum Ġesche w Ġthem Ġ. ĠHann eman Ġand ĠKing Ġdeliver Ġtheir Ġ' Ġintricate Ġr iffs Ġ' Ġ, Ġwhich Ġoffer Ġthe Ġfew Ġhints Ġof Ġmelody Ġon Ġthe Ġalbum Ġaccording Ġto ĠPop Mat ters Ġreviewer ĠAd rien ĠBe grand Ġ, Ġand ĠAr aya Ġbursts Ġout Ġhis Ġpiercing Ġscream Ġ, Ġwith ĠLomb ardo Ġperforming Ġbeats Ġof Ġ210 Ġbeats Ġper Ġminute Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWhen Ġdrummer ĠLomb ardo Ġleft ĠSlayer Ġin Ġ1992 Ġ, Ġthe Ġband Ġhired Ġa Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġreplacement Ġin ĠForbidden Ġdrummer ĠPaul ĠB ost aph Ġ. ĠB ost aph Ġmade Ġone Ġmistake Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġnine Ġsongs Ġthe Ġband Ġtri alled Ġhim Ġwith Ġ, Ġon Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġ. ĠBefore Ġthe Ġ" Ġbig Ġdouble Ġbass Ġpart Ġ" Ġthere Ġis Ġa Ġlead Ġsection Ġ, Ġwhich ĠB ost aph Ġcould Ġnot Ġunderstand Ġ, Ġas Ġhe Ġhad Ġto Ġlearn Ġfrom Ġlive Ġrecords Ġrecorded Ġwith ĠLomb ardo Ġ. ĠB ost aph Ġcould Ġnot Ġtell Ġhow Ġmany Ġrevolutions Ġthe Ġguitar Ġriff Ġgoes Ġbefore Ġthe Ġbass Ġsequence Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġmembers Ġtold Ġhim Ġthere Ġwere Ġeight Ġ, Ġ" Ġperfect ing Ġ" Ġthe Ġsong Ġafterwards Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRe ception Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġ" ĠAngel Ġof ĠDeath Ġ" Ġdid Ġnot Ġenter Ġany Ġcharts Ġ, Ġit Ġreceived Ġstrong Ġpraise Ġfrom Ġcritics Ġin Ġreviews Ġfor ĠReign Ġin ĠBlood Ġ. ĠClay ĠJar vas Ġof ĠSt yl us ĠMagazine Ġnoted Ġthat Ġthe Ġsong Ġ" Ġsmokes Ġthe Ġasses Ġof Ġany Ġband Ġplaying Ġfast Ġand Ġ/ Ġor Ġheavy Ġtoday Ġ. ĠL yr ically Ġoutlining Ġthe Ġhorrors Ġto Ġcome Ġ, Ġwhile Ġmus ically Ġlaying Ġthe Ġgroundwork Ġfor Ġthe Ġrest Ġof Ġthe Ġrecord Ġ: Ġfast Ġ,