 South of Heaven was released on July 5 , 1988 , and was the final Slayer album distributed via Def Jam Records . When label co @-@ founders Russell Simmons and Rubin parted ways , Slayer signed to Rubin 's newly founded Def American Recordings label . The album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200 album chart , and on November 20 , 1992 , became Slayer 's second album to be certified gold in the United States . South of Heaven was awarded silver certification in the United Kingdom on January 1 , 1993 , Slayer 's first record to do so in that country . Slayer 's official biography states that " some critics praised the album as demonstrating Slayer 's desire to grow musically and avoid repeating themselves . " Alex Henderson of AllMusic described the record as " disturbing and powerful , " while Joe <unk> of Ultimate Guitar deemed the album a slight departure ; he wrote that while the pace was slowed down , it " didn 't sacrifice any of the <unk> inherent in Slayer 's music . " 
