A Brief History of Slayer

In 1981 Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, both guitarists, met and decided to form a band. Kerry King recruited former bandmate Tom Araya to play bass guitar and sing. Dave Lombardo was brought in to play drums and Slayer was formed.

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At an early gig Slayer caught the attention of Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel, who quickly singed them to a recording contract. Slayer hit the studio in November 1983 to record their debut LP “Show No Mercy”.  They did their first national tour in support of the album.
Slayer use of dark and satanic imagery quickly caught the attention of the PMRC. The Parents Music Resource Center, or PMRC, tried to monitor violent or potentially offensive media content in the late ‘80s. Although the band members are not satanists or occultists, they put forth a dark act that has lent them notoriety ever since.
Slayer joined Rick Rubin’s Def Jam Records with their third studio album, the seminal “Reign in Blood”. Considered by many to be one of the all time best albums of the genre, Reign in Blood would be Slayer’s first Billboard charting album.
The band continued to gain popularity, tour and record albums. In 1991 Slayer released “Decade of Aggression”, a two disc live album recorded at three concerts in 1990 and 1991. They would then begin working on their sixth studio album “Divine Intervention” on which Slayer continued to play their own style of heavy thrash metal rather than choose to make more mainstream musical choices as some of their contemporaries did.
In 1996 Slayer recorded “Undisputed Attitude”, a tribute to the bands hardcore punk roots. Along side a new original song, and few songs written for a Slayer side project, the band covered songs by D.R.I., Minor Threat, Verbal Abuse, T.S.O.L., D.I., Dr. Know, and The Stooges. Recorded but left off the American release were also covers of G.B.H. and Suicidal Tendencies.
Slayer has continued to tour and record, most recently with 2009‘s “World Painted Blood”. They have fought censorship and won Grammy Awards. They have no plans to slow down.

Cover of World Painted Blood