BIOGRAPHY
Slayer was one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics deal with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. Their full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side; this correspondence has helped Slayer's music hold up arguably better than the remaining Big Three '80s thrash outfits (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax). Naturally, Slayer has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the years, with rumors flying about Satanism and Nazism that have only added to their mystique. Over the years, Slayer put out some high-quality albums, one undisputed classic (Reign in Blood), and saw the numbers of naysayers and detractors shrinking as their impact on the growing death metal movement was gradually and respectfully acknowledged. Slayer survived into the 1990s with arguably the most vitality and the least compromise of any pre-Nirvana metal band, and their intensity still inspires similar responses from their devoted fans.
Slayer was formed in 1982 in Huntington Beach, CA, by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman; also recruited were bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo. The band started out playing covers of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden songs, but quickly discovered that they could get attention (and fans) by exploiting threatening, Satanic imagery. The band was invited by Metal Blade's Brian Slagel to contribute a track to the Metal Massacre III compilation (a series which also saw the vinyl debuts of Metallica and Voivod); a contract and debut album, Show No Mercy, followed shortly thereafter. While Slayer's early approach was rather cartoonish, their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess were still highly evident. Two EPs, Haunting the Chapel and Live Undead, were released in 1984, but 1985's Hell Awaits refined their lyrical obsessions into a sort of concept album about damnation and torture and made an immediate sensation in heavy metal circles, winning Slayer a rabid cult following. Def Jam's co-founder Rick Rubin took a liking to the band, signed them to his label, and contributed the first clear-sounding production heard on any Slayer album for the stripped-down Reign in Blood. Due to the graphic nature of the material, CBS refused to distribute the album, which garnered a great deal of publicity for the band; eventually, Geffen Records stepped in. Combining Slayer's trademark speed metal with the tempos and song lengths (if not structures) of hardcore, along with the band's most disturbing lyrics yet, Reign in Blood was an instant classic, breaking the band through to a wider audience, and was hailed by some as the greatest speed metal album of all time (some give the nod to Metallica's Master of Puppets).
South of Heaven disappointed some of the band's hardcore followers, as Slayer successfully broke out of the potential stylistic straitjacket of their reputation as the world's fastest, most extreme band. Drummer Lombardo took some time off and was briefly replaced by Whiplash drummer Tony Scaglione, but soon returned to the fold. 1990's Seasons in the Abyss was well-received in all respects, incorporating more of the classic Slayer intensity into a more commercial — but no less uncompromising — sound. "War Ensemble" and the title track became favorites on MTV's Headbanger's Ball, and Slayer consolidated its position at the forefront of thrash, along with Metallica. Following the release of the double live album Decade of Aggression, Lombardo left the band for good due to personality conflicts with the other members and formed Grip Inc. Slayer remained quiet for a few years; the only new material released after 1990 was a duet with Ice-T recorded for the Judgment Night soundtrack on a medley of songs by the Exploited. After leaving his group Forbidden, Paul Bostaph signed on as the new drummer for 1994's Divine Intervention, which was released to glowing reviews; thanks to the new death metal movement, which drew upon Slayer and particularly Reign in Blood for its inspiration, Slayer was hailed as a metal innovator. The album was a massive success, debuting at number eight on the Billboard album charts. Bostaph left the band to concentrate on a side project, the Truth About Seafood, and was replaced by ex-Testament drummer Jon Dette for Undisputed Attitude, an album consisting mostly of punk and hardcore covers. Bostaph rejoined Slayer in time to record 1998's Diabolus in Musica. The band reunited with Def Jam's Island/DefJam for 2001's God Hates Us All.
| CURRENT LINEUP: | |||
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Tomás Araya - Bass, Vocals (1981-) FORMER MEMBERS: Paul Bostaph - Drums (1994-2001) (Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, Systematic) |
DISCOGRAPHY
Show No Mercy (1983)
1.)Evil Has No Boundries
2.)The Antichrist
3.)Die By The Sword
4.)Fight Till Death
5.)Metal Storm/Face The Slayer
6.)Black Magic
7.)Tormentor
8.)The Final Command
9.)Crionics
10.)Show No Mercy
Haunting The Chapel (EP 1984)
1.)Chemical Warfare
2.)Captor Of Sin
3.)Haunting The Chapel
4.)Aggressive Perfector
Live Undead (Live 1984)
1.)Black Magic
2.)Die By The Sword
3.)Captor Of Sin
4.)The Antichrist
5.)Evil Has No Boundries
6.)Show No Mercy
7.)Aggressive Perfector
Hell Awaits (1985)
1.)Hell Awaits
2.)Kill Again
3.)At Dawn They Sleep
4.)Praise Of Death
5.)Necrophiliac
6.)Crypts Of Eternity
7.)Hardening Of The Arteries
Reign In Blood (1986)
1.)Angel Of Death
2.)Piece By Piece
3.)Necrophobic
4.)Altar Of Sacrafice
5.)Jesus Saves
6.)Criminally Insane
7.)Reborn
8.)Epidemic
9.)Postmortem
10.)Raining Blood
11.)Aggressive Perfector (bonus track)
12.)Criminally Insane (Remix bonus track)
South Of Heaven (1988)
1.)South Of Heaven
2.)Silent Scream
3.)Live Undead
4.)Behind The Crooked Cross
5.)Mandatory Suicide
6.)Ghosts Of War
7.)Read Between The Lies
8.)Cleanse The Soul
9.)Dissident Aggressor
10.)Spill The Blood
Note: Dissident Aggressor is a Judas Priest cover.
Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
1.)War Ensemble
2.)Blood Red
3.)Spirit In Black
4.)Expendable Youth
5.)Dead Skin Mask
6.)Hallowed Point
7.)Skeletons Of Society
8.)Temptation
9.)Born Of Fire
10.)Seasons In The Abyss
Deacade Of Aggression (Live 1991)
Disc 1:
1.)Hell Awaits
2.)The Anti-Christ
3.)War Ensemble
4.)South Of Heaven
5.)Raining Blood
6.)Altar Of Sacrifice
7.)Jesus Saves
8.)Dead Skin Mask
9.)Seasons In The Abyss
10.)Mandatory Suicide
11.)Angel Of Death
Disc 2:
1.)Hallowed Point
2.)Blood Red
3.)Die By The Sword
4.)Black Magic
5.)Captor Of Sin
6.)Born On Fire
7.)Postmortem
8.)Spirit In Black
9.)Expendable Youth
10.)Chemical Warfare
Divine Intervention (1994)
1.)Killing Fields
2.)Sex, Murder, Art
3.)Fictional Reality
4.)Dittohead
5.)Divine Intervention
6.)Circle Of Beliefs
7.)SS-3
8.)Serenity In Murder
9.)213
10.)Mind Control
Undisputed Attitude (1996)
1.)Disintegration/Free Money
2.)Verbal Abuse/Leeches
3.)Abolish Government/Superficial Love
4.)Can't Stand You
5.)Ddamm
6.)Guilty Of Being White
7.)I Hate You
8.)Filler/Don't Want To Hear It
9.)Spiritual Law
10.)Mr.Freeze
11.)Violent Pacification
12.)Richard Hung Himself
13.)I'm Gonna Be Your God
14.)Gemini
Note: Album of 1970's and 1980's punk band covers, the only original track is Gemini.
Diabolus In Musica (1998)
1.)Bitter Peace
2.)Death's Head
3.)Stain Of Mind
4.)Overt Enemy
5.)Perversions Of Pain
6.)Love To Hate
7.)Desire
8.)In The Name Of God
9.)Scrum
10.)Screaming From The Sky
11.)Point
God Hates Us All (2001)
1.)Darkness Of Christ
2.)Disciple
3.)God Send Death
4.)New Faith
5.)Cast Down
6.)Threshold
7.)Exile
8.)Seven Faces
9.)Bloodline
10.)Deviance
11.)Warzone
12.)Here Comes The Pain
13.)Payback
Note: There's a collector's edition of this album that includes Addict and Scarstruck from the God Send Death single as bonus tracks.
Christ Illusion (2006)
1.)Flesh Storm
2.)Catalyst
3.)Skeleton Christ
4.)Eyes Of The Insane
5.)Jihad
6.)Confearacy
7.)Catatonic
8.)Black Serenade
9.)Cult
10.)Supremist
SINGLE DISCOGRAPHY
NO COVER ART AVAILABLE
Angel Of Death (1986)
1.)Angel Of Death
Postmortem (1986)
1.)Postmortem
2.)Criminally Insane (Remix)
3.)Aggressive Perfector (fast version)
NO COVER ART AVAILABLE
Raining Blood (1986)
1.)Raining Blood
PICTURE COMING SOON
Criminally Insane (1987)
1.)Criminally Insane (Remix)
2.)Aggressive Perfector (fast version)
Note: The packaging for the 7" version is shown above, the 12" is the one on the bottom.
Mandatory Suicide (1988)
1.)Mandatory Suicide
South Of Heaven (1988)
1.)South Of Heaven
NO COVER ART AVAILABLE
Regin In Blood Promo (1988)
1.)Raining Blood (Remix)
2.)Angel Of Death (Remix)
3.)Silent Scream (Remix)
4.)Ghosts Of War (Remix)
5.)In A Gadda Da Vida
Note: Concert promo given out on the 1988 tour. In A Gadda Da Vida is an Iron Butterfly cover.
Dead Skin Mask (1990)
1.)Spirit In Black
2.)Dead Skin Mask
Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
1.)Seasons In The Abyss (Experimental mix)
2.)Seasons In The Abyss
3.)Aggressive Perfector (fast version)
Note: This is the Blood Pack version with the skulls. There is a second version of the single that has no skulls in the blood pack, and the tracks switch positions.
Dittohead (1994)
1.)Dittohead
2.)Serenity And Murder
3.)Divine Intervention
Note: Serenity In Murder Appears as Serenity And Murder on this release due to a typing mistake. The singles went to press before it could be corrected.
Live Intrusion ( EP 1995)
1.)Witching Hour
2.)Divine Intervention
3.)Dittohead
Note: All tracks are live. Was released to promote the home video release of the same name.
Serenity In Murder Collectors EP (EP 1995)
1.)Serenity In Murder
2.)Angel Of Death
3.)Mandatory Suicide
4.)War Ensemble
Serenity In Murder (1995)
1.)Serenity In Murder
2.)At Dawn The Sleep (Live)
3.)Dead Skin Mask (Live)
4.)Divine Intervention (Live)
5.)Dittohead (Live)
I Hate You (1996)
1.)I Hate You
Note: This song is a Verbal Abuse cover.
Stain Of Mind (1998)
1.)Stain Of Mind
2.)Raining Blood (Live)
3.)Angel Of Death (Live)
4.)Mandatory Suicide (Live)
5.)Chemical Warfare (Live)
NO COVER ART AVAILABLE
Bloodline (2001)
1.)Bloodline
PICTURE COMING SOON
God Send Death (2001)
1.)God Send Death
2.)Addict
3.)Scarsturck