SLAYER HISTORY The pioneering speed metal band Slayer formed in Huntington Beach' Calif. in 1982 when guitarist Kerry King and his friend' punk guitarist Jeff Hanneman formed a heavy metal cover band with Tom Araya "vocals-bass" and Dave Lombardo "drums"two aspiring local musicians. Within two years the group was performing original material at local clubs where they caught the attention of Brian Slagel president of indie label Metal Blade Records who quickly signed them!!! Slayer's first "album" [Show No Mercy] was released in December of 1983 though its intense frenetic drumming broke new ground in heavy metal. A few months later Slayer released the [Haunting the Chapel] which refined their "heavy" oriented sound. The album Hell Awaits gave the band their first taste of success selling over 100'000 copies in the U.S. despite little promotion. [Now an underground sensation] Slayer caught the attention of rap impresario Rick Rubin who signed the group to his Def Jam Records label to increase the diversity of his roster. Slayer's first album Reign In Blood, was immediately hailed as a breakthrough in heavy metal by critics and fans alike, combining the speed of punk and hardcore with the guitar and imagery of more traditional metal bands. evil tracks like 'Necrophobic and Angel of Death clocked in at nearly 250 beats per minute! Though the album virtually established the genre of speed metal later popularized by Metallica on Master of Puppets and influenced countless other bands. Slayer gained unwelcome publicity for its rampant Satanic and Nazi imagery. despite statements by the band that they supported neither belief system. Public outcry caused CBS Records Def Jam's distributor to reject Reign in Blood forcing Def Jam to seek alternate distribution through Geffen. many Slayer concerts were greeted by protesters or even canceled. With virtually no airplay and difficulties with distribution it came as a surprise when Reign in Blood reached the Top 100 and went gold. As Slayer's popularity grew the band began to suffer from internal disputes. Drummer Dave Lombardo left the band briefly during a 1987 tour, but later returned. Their next effort, 1988's South of Heaven, marked a departure from the speed of [Reign in Blood] returning to a more traditional metal sound. the album went gold. Slayer became widely known for their energetic live shows which were nearly constant during the late 80s-1990's Seasons in the Abyss cemented Slayer's status as one of the most popular metal acts of the decade selling over a million copies in the [US] alone and winning rave reviews from metal fanzines worldwide.
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