Formed: 1982
From:
Huntington Beach,
CA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Background
The thrash metal sound of Slayer was formed in Huntington Beach, CA in 1982. Comprising Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums), they made their debut in 1983, with a track on the compilation Metal Massacre III. After that the rest has been history. The band played at breakneck speed with amazing technical precision, but the intricacies of detail were lost in a muddy production. Araya's lyrics dealt with death, carnage, Satanism and torture, but were reduced to an indecipherable guttural howl. But this chaos called music is what set the ways for Slayer and many bands to follow.
Through the years, Slayer has been hit with much controversy over their lyrics, including lawsuits. But through the years Slayer has managed to build a following from coast to coast. Slayer has played such tours as Monsters of Rock, Ozzfest, and recently toured the U.S. co-headling with Pantera.
Now almost 20 years later, Slayer is still playing just as hard as ever. Will Slayer ever stop? Not likely, considering they are keeping up with thrash bands half their age, after all they did start it!
Latest Slayer News
Below is our complete Slayer news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
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The Big Four Announces Only U.S. Date
It has been announced that the U.S. version of the Big Four festival will be taking place on April 23 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California (the same spot where the Coachella Festival takes place the weekend before). According to postings made here on Facebook and on several other online media outlets the highly anticipated festival, which made numerous appearances throughout Europe, will be the one and only "Big Four" event held in the United States, contradicting earlier reports of a full U.S. "Big Four" tour. In the meantime, the following trailer has been posted online:
The Big Four To Announce U.S. Dates Soon
The "Big Four" of thrash metal, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer, are expected to make an announcement shortly regarding tour dates in the United States of America. More information is expected to be made available tomorrow, but in the meantime, a Facebook page for the event has been set up here.
The four bands made history last year by performing several legs of the European festival, Sonisphere, which culminated in the DVD release, "The Big Four: Life From Sofia, Bulgaria," which featured footage of all four bands, along with the massive collaboration which saw members of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer's Dave Lombardo perform a cover of the Diamond Head classic, "Am I Evil?" More...
More Bands Confirmed For Knebworth Sonisphere
The organisers of the British leg of the Sonisphere Festival has confirmed that four more bands have been added to this year's edition of the event. Heavy rock icons Motorhead will be performing at the festival, as will the other new confirmations Mastodon, In Flames and Parkway Drive. The event takes place from July 8th -10th at Knebworth.
In Flames stated: "We have been in the studio since October recording our new album and we can't wait to come out and play the new song live. The UK has always been very good to us and we love coming back so this is something we really look forward to."
"Holy crap they're actually letting us play this thing!!!" commented Parkway Drive vocalist Winston McCall. "Sonisphere 2011!!! I don't think we can really describe how excited we are to play, and I think Jeff will probably die when Metallica play!"
The lineup is now as follows:
Metallica
Megadeth
Slayer
Anthrax
Slipknot
Motorhead
Biffy Clyro
In Flames
Mastodon
Parkway Drive
Big Four DVD Officially Goes Double Platinum
On June 22nd, 2010 the "Big Four" of thrash metal - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax - performed live in Sofia, Bulgaria for a cinecast. The recording of that show was released on DVD and Blu-Ray under the title "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria."
Megadeth has now announced the DVD has been RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) certified Double Platinum in the U.S. for sales in excess of 200,000 copies. For more information on the DVD/Blue-Ray release check out this location.
Just For Fun
Pantera's "I'm Broken" Christmas Light Show
Brought to you by the same folks responsible for the house synced to Slayer's "Raining Blood," this year they've followed up with Pantera's "I'm Broken." Check out the video below:
Had we found the video sooner, it probably would have made #3 on our Most Metal Christmas Light Shows list.
Just For Fun
The Most Metal Christmas Light Shows
Ever since the amazing display of Christmas lights set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards In Winter" that was so popular it was even used for a Miller Lite beer commercial, setting your lights to music has become more popular despite the need for technical know-how to pull it off. One might think that these displays are largely dominated by Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs - and they'd be right - but there are some people that are metal enough to have the balls to set them to heavier songs, making putting together this list worth the effort and sharing. So here is our top metal Christmas lights list, pulled from the Interwebs:
11. Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
Good song choice, but the light show could use a little more work. Don't worry, we're just getting warmed up here...
Slayer, Megadeth To Tour Europe Together
Thrash icons Slayer and Megadeth will once again team up for a co-headlining tour. This time the two bands will embark on a full headline tour of Europe. The tour, dubbed the "European Carnage Tour 2011," will reach 22 cities with support acts expected to be announced shortly. You can view the full list of dates, cities and venues below:
Mar. 13 - Kiev, Ukraine - Expo
Mar. 15 - Moscow, Russia - Olimpiski
Mar. 16 - St Petersburg, Russia - Jubileeny
Mar. 17 - Helsinki, Finland - Ice Hall
Mar. 19 - Stockholm, Sweden - Arenan
Mar. 20 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
Mar. 21 - Aarhus, Denmark - SCC
Mar. 23 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest
Mar. 24 - Bamberg, Germany - Stechert Arena
Mar. 26 - Paris, France - Zenith
Mar. 28 - Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
Mar. 29 - La Coruna, Spain - Coliseum
Mar. 30 - Lisbon, Portugal - Pavilhao Atlantico
Apr. 01 - Barcelona, Spain - St Jordi Club
Apr. 03 - Rome, Italy - Atlantico
Apr. 04 - Padova, Italy - Gran Teatro
Apr. 06 - Zagreb, Croatia - Arena
Apr. 07 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
Apr. 08 - Budapest, Hungary - Arena
Apr. 10 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
Apr. 11 - Lodz, Poland - Sportshall
Apr. 13 - Basel, Switzerland - St Jakobshalle
Metallica Drummer Comments On "Big Four" Shows
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has posted the following comment concerning the forthcoming "Big Four" concerts set to take place at the 2011 Sonisphere festivals.
"As soon as the 'Big Four' gigs started rolling across Sonisphere festivals in Eastern Europe last summer, we all felt we were part of something special. The vibe within the bands was more than anyone had anticipated and the vibe with the fans was so next level, it completely blew our minds... there was no way this should not happen again!!!"
Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth have all announced that they will be performing at both the U.K. and France editions of the festival. More information on the U.K. gig can be found here , while the "Big Four" will be appearing in Amnéville, France on Saturday, July 9, 2011.
The Big Four Confirmed For Sonisphere U.K. 2011
The "big four" of thrash metal, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, were confirmed today to be performing at next year's edition of the Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England. The event will take place from July 8th -10th and will also boast performances from Slipknot and Biffy Clyro.
Slayer Frontman Comments On Grammy Nomination
Slayer frontman Tom Araya has posted a message online regarding the band's recent nomination if the Metal category for next year's Grammy Awards. His message reads as follows:
"I admit, I'm excited and kind of surprised. To have Slayer's music recognized by an organization as traditional as the Grammys - five times now - is like that gold star that someone puts up by your name. It's unexpected, but it's cool."
The band will be fighting off competition from Megadeth, Korn, Lamb Of God and Iron Maiden from the award, which if they win will be their third Grammy.
Headline News
Slayer, Maiden, Ozzy Get 2011 Grammy Nominations
Nominees for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance in the 53rd annual Grammy awards have been announced.
Best Hard Rock Performance
Alice in Chains: "A Looking In View"
Ozzy Osbourne: "Let Me Hear You Scream"
Soundgarden: "Black Rain"
Stone Temple Pilots: "Between the Lines"
Them Crooked Vultures: "New Fang"
Best Metal Performance
Iron Maiden: "El Dorado"
Korn: "Let the Guilt Go"
Lamb of God: "In Your Words"
Megadeth: "Sudden Death"
Slayer: "World Painted Blood"
It’s the second nomination in a row for Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Megadeth and Slayer. Maiden has been nominated twice before but never won. Ozzy has won Best Metal performance twice. Soundgarden won both awards in 1995. Slayer and Korn have two awards each and Stone Temple Pilots have one.
The award ceremony takes place on February 13 in Los Angeles, with the rock and metal awards traditionally held in a lower-key venue than the main televised event.
Last year’s Best Hard Rock Grammy went to AC/DC for "War Machine," which won over Alice in Chains’ "Check My Brain," Linkin Park’s "What I’ve Done," Metallica’s "Unforgiven III" and Nickelback’s "Burn it to the Ground." The Best Metal Performance was won by Judas Priest for "Dissident Aggressor," which was up against Lamb of God’s "Set to Fail," Megadeth’s "Headcrusher," Ministry’s "Senor Peligro" and Slayer’s "Hate Worldwide."
Read the full article at RockAAA.com.
Just For Fun
Man Syncs Christmas Lights To Slayer Classic
Fans of American thrash metal legends Slayer are well known for dedication to the band and expressing their love for their music in unique ways, but this one may top them all. A man in the United States has been able to successfully sync his Christmas lights with the classic Slayer song, "Raining Blood," with amazing results. You can check out a video of the thrashy festive fun below. The video was made last year but the creator has promised that he will do the same this year with a different Slayer song.
Slayer Posts New Jagermeister Video
Slayer has posted a fifth Jagermeister tour video online, which can be viewed below.
Nikki Sixx Interviews Kerry King and Dave Mustaine
A new audio interview has been posted online between Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx on the Sixx Sense radio show with Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Slayer's Kerry King. Mustaine and King discuss some behind the scenes details of the Big Four DVD. You can hear the audio interview below:
Dave Mustaine And Kerry King Discuss Performance
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Slayer's Kerry King have posted a video clip online discussing Kerry joining Megadeth on stage in Los Angeles for the first time in 26 years. The clip can be viewed below.
Metal Bits
Sometimes there are interesting bits in the metal world that aren’t exactly newsworthy on their own, might not qualify as “just for fun,” or might even be too old to warrant a new post of its own. So here’s a round-up of some interesting metal bits around the ‘net this week:
Episode 3 of "Shit Phil Says” is now up on Metal Injection.
Abigail Williams members lob a dildo at IWrestledABearOnce via Metal Sucks.
An acoustic "Radio Disney Version" of Slayer's "Raining Blood" has been making rounds online:
And from the same video author I discovered a fake Rammstein cover of "99 Luftballons" (Nena Cover):
Don't miss our own Top Ten Halloween Metal Songs list from Dan of Autumns Eyes.
And worth re-linking here, is "Another 'Hardcore Dancing How-To' Video" that Metal Injection uncovered.
Slayer To Release Limited 7" Single For Metal Club
Wrapping up one of the most memorable years of the band's career, SLAYER will make available a previously unreleased track, "Atrocity Vendor," as part of a special limited-edition 7-inch single. Written by Kerry King, the track was recorded during the 2009 "World Painted Blood" sessions, and will be released on "Black Friday," November 26, exclusively through Metal Club, the North American indie store consortium that works to connect the metal community with their local "brick and mortar" record stores.
"Atrocity Vendor" will be paired with the Tom Araya/Jeff Hanneman-penned track "World Painted Blood," and released in a clear sleeve on a red vinyl disc. Go to mymetalclub.com to find a Metal Store record shop near you.
As previously announced, Slayer footage from the Big 4 DVDs was recently released online, as was footage of Kerry King playing with Megadeth on tour.
Slayer Posts Performance Footage From Big Four DVD
American thrash legends Slayer have posted a full performance clip taken from the upcoming "Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" DVD. The song featured is "Disciple" which is included on Slayer's "God Hates Us All" album. You can view the video below:
Kerry King Performs With Megadeth In California
Slayer guitarist Kerry King, who was briefly a member of Megadeth when the band first started, joined his old band on stage last night at the Hollywood Ampitheater to perform the song, "Rattlehead." You can check out fan filmed footage of the appearance below. This marks the first time King has performed with Megadeth since 1984. More...
Megadeth Checks In With Video Update From Tour
Megadeth has checked in with a brief video update from the Jagermeister tour, which can be viewed below. The band also commented on the clip: "How would you describe Jägermeister in one word? That’s the question we posed to the bands on the Jägermeister Fall Music Tour. Find out what members of co-headliners Slayer and Megadeth, as well as special guest Anthrax had to say in this latest video clip below."
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