Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in 1981 in Huntington Park and dissolved in 2019. The band was formed on the initiative of guitarist Kerry King, who invited another Cuban-based guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist and vocalist of Chilean nationality, Tom Araya, to join in. From the beginning, the musicians developed their own style based on intensive guitar riffs with solos performed with a tremolo as well as the characteristic singing of the band's vocalist. 1)
According to Nielsen SoundScan, from 1991 to 2013, Slayer sold 4,900,000 copies in the United States and over 20 million worldwide. Slayer has won the Recording Industry Association of America six gold certifications and one multi-platinum plaque. 2)
In the band’s 35-year span, Slayer has released 12 albums: Show No Mercy (1983), Hell Awaits (1985), Reign in Blood (1986), South of Heaven (1988), Seasons in the Abyss (1990), Divine Intervention (1994), Undisputed Attitude (1996), Diabolus in Musica (1998), God Hates Us All (2001), Christ Illusion (2006), World Painted Blood (2009) and Repentless (2015). 3)
Thrash metal is a heavy metal music subgenre characterized by its aggression and quick tempo. Slayer is credited as one of the “big four” thrash metal bands alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, and these four American bands have pioneered and popularized the genre. From 1990 to 1991, for the 'Clash of the Titans' tour, which is considered the height of the genre, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax performed. 4)
The band used pentagrams, make-up, spikes, and inverted crosses in their demonstrations in their early shows. Themes like murder, serial killers, torture, genocide, human experimentation, Satanism, hate crimes, extremism, religion, anti-religion, Nazism, warfare, and even necrophilia are covered in their lyrics and album art. This caused a lot of controversy at the time and resulted in public and religious organizations banning songs, delays, litigation, and criticism. 5)
In 1993, in the Stephen Hopkins-directed action thriller film Judgment Night, the band collaborated with Ice-T on the song “Disorder.” The band also made a song for the 1997 superhero film Spawn titled “No Remorse (I Wanna Die)” with German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot. Sum 41 released a music video for “What We're All About” in 2002, a single from the soundtrack to the movie Spider-Man, featuring Kerry King performing the guitar solo of the songs. 6)
The 1983 debut album by Slayer, Show No Mercy, had no recording budget. By combining the savings of Araya, who worked at the time as a respiratory therapist, and borrowing money from King's father, the band had to self-finance the LP. The release of the album was very rushed; it only reached shelves three weeks after the songs were finalized.7)