There were four different artworks released for the album, each of which completed one-fourth of a map that when put together illustrates the earth painted with red.

There are eleven tracks on the album, with origins illustrating death and destruction, war, serial killers, and the Apocalypse.

"[9] The band had recorded thirteen songs for the album, seven written by lead guitarist Jeff Hanneman and six by King, although not all of them were included.

"[13] A listening party for World Painted Blood was held on October 30, 2009 at Duff's Brooklyn in Williamsburg, New York.

The event started at 9:00 pm[7] During the recording of World Painted Blood, King used BC Rich Guitars, Marshall Amplifiers and Cabs, Dunlop strings and picks, EMG pickups, and Korg tuners.

[14] Hanneman used ESP guitars, Marshall Amplifiers and Cabs, Dunlop strings and picks, Monster Cables, and Shure Wireless System.

[14] Record producer Greg Fidelman said that "the fact that the songs were still new and fresh to them, and they hadn't been playing them for six months in rehearsal, kept the vibe and excitement in the studio very high.

"[15] Allmusic said that it expressed moods such as Harshness, Fiery, Confidence, Rowdiness, Aggressiveness, Rebellious, Cathartic, Anger, and Hostility.

Thom Jurek said Lombardo's percussion beats "are WAAAAAAAY up in the mix," and said that "you can understand every word, even on the thrashers" about Tom Araya's vocal style.

Therefore, the first listen or two to World Painted Blood might be a bit confusing for the seasoned Slayer fan, but that changes quickly, and the sound of those drums blasting in one's head will become a more than welcome presence in the mix.

The track was explained by guitarist Jeff Hanneman to initially be about the human race dying off by a mutative disease.

[17] The title of "Public Display of Dismemberment" refers to the consequences that countries outside of the United States give to citizens for crimes.

[26] Originally, "Psychopathy Red" was going to be a b-side of World Painted Blood, but after there was access to it on the internet, they decided to add it to the album's track list.

Along with five other songs, "Hate Worldwide" was nominated for a Best Metal Performance Grammy Award, but lost to "Dissident Aggressor" by Judas Priest, which ironically Slayer covered 22 years earlier on their 4th studio album "South of Heaven", (Priest's 2010 Grammy Award winning version, was a live recording, taken from the 2009 album "A Touch of Evil: Live").

[1] The song itself was said by the band to be a continuation of "Final Six", a bonus track on the special edition of Slayer's 2006 album Christ Illusion, and deals with the end of the world.

"[46] AllMusic's Thom Jurek awarded the album three and a half stars, saying, "In many ways it could be Reign In Blood Revisited… Some compositions on this new recording have more of the band's early–style melody in them, with lightning flare–up riffs between verses: quick unexpected guitar pyrotechnics; and blast beat power drumming from Dave Lombardo pushing it all into red.

Club remarked on the "burden" that "weighs particularly heavy on bands that made their reps with intensity and innovation; Slayer, in particular, was perceived as wandering in the wilderness during the years Paul Bostaph sat behind the drum kit.

It rarely flags in intensity, and it's good enough that if it were inserted in Slayer’s discography right after Seasons In The Abyss — the record it most resembles — it would be an almost seamless transition.

"[37] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters gave the album eight out of ten stars, saying, "It's a slight improvement on Christ Illusion, as more than on any of their previous five albums, the foursome of guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo find themselves revisiting the seminal styles of their 1986–88 heyday.

[40] Blabbermouth's Ryan Ogle gave it 7.5 out of 10 and said it "jumps into fairly aggressive thrash gallop, but doesn't really have that 'straight-for-the-throat' feel you'd expect from track one.

"[47] World Painted Blood sold 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week, landing it at number twelve on the Billboard 200.