Seasons in the Abyss' musical style has been compared by critics to the band's previous two albums, South of Heaven (1988) and Reign in Blood (1986).
[5] Deathmetal.org characterizes Seasons in the Abyss as "an onslaught of sonic distortion" with "abrupt two-string chord barrage and a rippling roar of unleashed tremolo strumming", which accentuates melody in a "hummingbird wingbeat technique" similar to Discharge's Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing.
"War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask", and "Seasons in the Abyss" were described as setting the album's standard and the songs, according to the site, produced a sound that could not be matched by anyone else.
[9] Steve Huey of AllMusic said that it combines the mid-tempo grooves of South of Heaven with "manic bursts of aggression" similar to the style of Reign in Blood.
AllMusic also said that when writing the album's lyrics, Slayer "rarely turns to demonic visions of the afterlife anymore, preferring instead to find tangible horror in real life—war, murder, [and] human weakness.
Huey also wrote that the album "paints Reagan-era America as a cesspool of corruption and cruelty, and the music is as devilishly effective as ever".
An aural blitzkrieg whose chorus climaxes with the lines, 'The final swing is not a drill/It's how many people I can kill,' it is filled with brutal images and blaring guitars, all propelled at the breathless pace of thrash metal."
Considine would later say that the album's music "so accurately sums up the controlled panic of combat that the Army itself has been using Slayer songs to psych its troops for military maneuvers in the Saudi desert".
[10] In an October 2007 interview, Evile frontman Matt Drake described Seasons in the Abyss as "the perfect mix" between the two styles ("speed" and "slow material") showcased on Reign in Blood and South of Heaven respectively.
It was performed by Charles Griffiths and Raymond Hearne of Haken, Dan Goldsworthy, who had previously done artworks for bands such as Accept, Jeramie Kling of Venom Inc., Daniel Firth of Cradle of Filth, Rody Walker of Protest the Hero, and Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater.