THE Kardiashans have been spotted wearing their tees. They seem to have been around forever until they announced their split in 2019. But yet you still find the Slayer brand regularly cropping up, be it on music polls or on online discussions where a Slayer tune is used as anology, or more likely the case, the standard bearer for all things dark, heavy and evil.
Want to know more about this LA band without having to trawl through numerous websites or “torture” your eardrums? Here is a quick guide to the thrash metal titans to make you sound like an old timer who is well versed in all things Slayer.
They are one of the ‘Big Four’
Slayer have been around since the early 80s with their debut record Show No Mercy surfacing in 1984. They are part of thrash metal’s big four artistes alongside Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth. Not only did these bands survive the 90s when grunge swept all before them, they prospered and reached out to even more metalheads, without comprimising their ideals.
Uncompromising sound
While perhaps not as successful as the other three bands, Slayer remain the most unflinching of the lot. No ballads and most certainly no radio-friendly tunes mean the band have never wavered from their uncompromising hundred-mile-an-hour sound. Unrelenting in their ferocity, Slayer have garnered plenty of street cred for not straying from their original blueprint.
G.O.A.T LP
Slayer’s standing in the extreme metal genre is forever cemented by the sheer majesty of its 1986 album – Reign In Blood. It set a new standard in metal albums with the speed of its attack and the fact that its 10 tunes clocked in under half an hour, which was (almost) unheard of at the time with most long players running closer to 40 minutes and beyond. The album is considered by many fans and critics to be the greatest thrash metal record of all time. Stick it on if you do not believe the hype. Chances are it will still melt ear drums.
Def Jam oddity
Slayer were originally on the Metal Blade label before being pinched by producer Rick Rubin to his then fledgling Dej Jam Records. Nothing quite peculiar with bands changing labels except that the Def Jam roster was 100% hip hop and Slayer were its first rock or metal signing. But it was a move that has benefitted the band greatly not least from having Rubin give his invaluable input as producer.
Legend has it that a big part of the success of Reign In Blood was down to Rubin’s simple suggestion to the band to “play twice as fast” after the bearded producer heard the demo tracks. The result was an exercise in sheer heaviness.
Controversy magnet
The band are no strangers to controversy with accusations of them being neo-Nazis first surfacing with the track Angel of Death, which chronicles the horrors of Third Reich mad scientist Dr Josef Mengele. Having very Satanic imagery for their album art, usually by late artist Karry Carroll, did little to endear them to religious conservatives. Their changing of a lyric on a Minor Threat cover Guilty of Being White to “guilty of being right” also saw the band attract more bric brats. Late guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s fondness for wearing Nazi paranphanelia also stoked matters in the 80s though he had explained these were war mementos his grandfather had picked up when fighting for the Allies in WWII.
Grammy winners
Despite their uncompromising sound, Slayer has managed to claw their way into wider consciousness via 11 studio albums of brutal thrash metal, earning themselves five Grammy nominatons. The band took home the golden gramophone in 2007 and 2008 for “Best Metal Performance” for Eyes of The Insane and Final Six respectively.
So now you got the lowdown on Slayer, you might want to dip a tentative toe into their dark world before donning that tee ala Kendell Jenner. Perhaps even starting with guitarist Kerry King’s first post-Slayer album (reviewed below).
