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Slayer came to life in the LA. Suburb of the Huntington Beach Area. Soon they won the reputation of the Huntington Hooligans. The band was started by Kerry King, a guitarist who was looking for other musicians to start a band. Prior to that, he had been in another band, with Tom Araya. Kerry met Jeff Hanneman, another guitarist, who was very interested in the punk movement that was going on at the time.
Later the two teamed up with a very skilled drummer by the name of Dave Lombardo. Slayer became a reality when singer and bassist Tom Araya joined the band after Jeff Hanneman talked to him about join the band. By the time, Jeff asked Tom, Tom worked in a nearby hospital as a respiratory therapist. Slayer first played in 1982, performing other artists songs. Artists such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
At first, Slayer started playing at small clubs, later they also played in weekends and so the snowball started rolling... Action... However, it was first in 1983 things really started to happen for the band. While performing in a local club called Woodstock, a guy named Brian Slayer who owned Metal Blade records, watched them perform.
After the show, Brian Slayer went backstage with an offer to Slayer about making a number for the upcoming compilation Metal Massacre III. Tom & co. was hooked on the idea and they agreed to make a song but only if Brian would help them record a record. Slayer then did the number Aggressive Perfect for the compilation lp.
Brian Slayer then helped Slayer producing their own record, it was called "Show No Mercy" and it came out in December 1983. Show No Mercy was instantly hailed as a masterpiece by heavy freaks and magazines around the US. and Europe. Many critics laughed of it though. The cover shows a goat / satan type thing and it looks like some sort of a cartoon figure.
But ok, back in 83 all that satan stuff was new and exiting. In 1983, another classic album also came out - you guessed it, Metallica's Kill Em All. Metallica started in 1981, just as Slayer did. Show No Mercy consisted most of a lot of screams, guitar solos and fast drumming. One thing was clear for everyone; Tom, Jeff, Kerry and Dave was appreciated as fine musicians who could play their instruments very well. For example, in one magazine it said: Dave Lombardo is a far better drummer than Lars Ulrich.
No Shit! While Show No Mercy came out in the US. late 83, it first came out in Europe in 84 due to unknown reasons. That same year, Slayer also recorded Chemical Warfare, a song that was hailed as the fastest and heaviest song ever recorded. They also brought us Captor Of Sin - another Slayer classic.
The EP was called "Haunting the chapel." Hell Awaits... In 1985, Slayer moved on, and recorded the album "Hell Awaits." That album was also produced by Brian Slayer and also came out on Metal Blade Records. Hell Awaits, which - as the title says - is more satanic and dark than its professor. With a 100. 000 copies sold in a very short order in the US.
alone, major record companies began to take notice of Slayer. Hell Awaits is more mature and shows us a more mature band - a band which also can handle the slow-paced material. Classics such as At dawn they Sleep, Kill Again, Necrophilliac and Hell Awaits can be found on the album. What a treasure! ! ! ! To say it short: Hell Awaits is made out of broken glass and rusty razorblades and only the stupid were laughing anymore. Because of all that success of Hell Awaits, Slayer was contacted by producer Rick Rubin, a producer whos been involved with such artists as Run DMC and Beastie Boys.
When Slayer joined Ricks label, Def Jam - it was Ricks first metal band. 1985 was also the year where Slayer toured in Europe for the first time. Their first gig in London was at "The Marquee" in London and I know they also played in Denmark as well. The almighty Reign In Blood the finest Thrash Album Ever! The year 1986 brought something special to the world.
What it was it needless to say really, but Ill say it anyway: "REIGN IN BLOOD." An album that killed speed metal as we know it, because no other band could come even close to touch it. It still stands as The Ultimate Thrash Speed Album. The opener of the album is the notorious song Angel Of Death which deals with the cruelties of Joseph Mengele, the infamous Auschwitz doctor, whos terrible tests with human beings never will be forgotten. The song was written by Jeff Hanneman. The blond guitarist have long had the interest of Nazi Germany (SS - Waffen SS etc. ).
He also has a fairly big collection of German war- and nazi medals. Because of that (and the song Angel Of Death), many people have accused Jeff and the rest of Slayer of being nazis (which they arent! ). But in a way it is understandable that some people think Slayer are nazis. They use an iron eagle as a band logo and thier fanclub is called Slaytanic Wehrmacht.
In the US. and Canada, Slayer also experienced trouble getting booked at places and CBS, a major record-distribution company refused to have anything to do with Reign In Blood. That is why Reign In Blood came out on Def Jam Records in October 1986. Actually, I've tried writing to the Wehrmacht several times, but I've never received an answer. I know that I am not the only one facing that problem.
Unfortunately! ! However, Slayer fans in Europe had to wait till January 1987, before they could lay their hands on the album. It is pointless to mention which songs on the album that are classics, because they all are! ! Lyric wise, Reign In Blood consisted most of satanic + gore infected lyrics. The first Gold-Record, a step to glory Reign In Blood resulted in Slayers first gold-recor in 1987. It surpassed everyones expectation and sold well over 500. 000 copies in the States, despite being one of the most uncompromising musical-efforts ever being recorded.
With actually no airplay, it also apperson the US-Top 100. That same year Slayer also recorded a cover of the Iron Butterfly song, In A Gamma Da Video, for a soundtrack for the movie Less Than Zero. The LA-Quartet also won very quickly the reputation of being super-energetic on a stage - resulting in amazing concerts whereever they performed. No other band dare taking Slayer as a support band, because the headliners would simply be blown out of the sky. That is still valid today. By the way, the Grr picture on the back of Reign In Blood was shot during the Heavy Sounds festival in Holland.
Short after, many other bands did the same kind of Grr pictures on their records. Reign In Blood was and is a very influ cial album and a vast number of other speed / thrash metal bands followed in Slayers wake. Another band, Metallica, had also brought something special - the Master of Puppets album, which is a very good album! . Personally I prefer Reign In Blood. Problems - part I However, all was not well in Slayer. In some time there has been problems within the members of the band.
Tom, Kerry and Jeff on one side, Dave on the other. The problems got so serious, that Dave dropped out of the band for a while and was briefly replaced by Tony Scaglione from the thrash band Whiplash. He did not do very well though and luckily for Slayer, Dave returned to the fold and the band resumed their tour in the US. and Canada. There were rumours that said that Gregg Hall (former Sacred Reich) should replace Dave, if Dave didn't returned to Slayer. The year 1987 was one long tour for Slayer, and the year after, 1988, a new Slayer record came out.
On and on South Of Heaven... South Of Heaven came out in 1988. South of Heaven was not, as many at that time expected, as brutal and fast as Reign In Blood. It was a lot slower and heavier that Reign In Blood. Because of that South of Heaven was at first dismissed by many, but was later accepted by the fans. South of Heaven was mostly written by Jeff Hanneman and Tom Araya.
Kerry King have always been a faster songwriter than Jeff, so that may be one of the reasons why South of Heaven is a slower album. South of Heaven was also Tom Araya's first major songwriting input. Different lyrics! Instead of all the usual gore and satan-stuff, South of Heaven was about topics such as nazism, war, abortion and tv-preachers.
South of Heaven, Mandatory Suicide and Silent Scream are songs everyone knows. Like Reign In Blood, South of Heaven was also produced by Rick Rubin. Slayer then did some massive touring around the US. and Europe, and that finally brought them to Denmark. They delivered a killer-concert in Saga in Copenhagen. Unfortunately I did not attend to the show.
Personally I think South of Heaven is a brilliant album but also somewhat overlooked by many, which is a damn shame. Despite the circumstances South of Heaven sold well, and Slayer also received a gold-record for that album. A sizeable reputation... Slayer had now built a reputation as one of the premier thrash bands of all time and they also belonged to the so-called big-four, Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. Slayer had now existed in 7 years.
And still they were impressive live performers. In 1988 they did a show at the Hollywood Palladium. The show was totally sold out and nearly a 1000 people had to stand outside and listen. It resulted in a major fight and the police was alarmed. It the news it was said that it was Slayer that started the problems! (Which they did not! ). There was some problems though.
Because of all the controversial songs like Angel of Death and Behind The Crooked Cross, Slayer had now been the unwilling idols for a growing band of white supremacists and neo-nazis all over the US. and Europe. In some German neo-nazi magazines, Slayer was (and is) rated as a cult band. A band that supported the reich (or something like that! ). Slayer is very controversial, no doubt - and that is ve...
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Research essay sample on Metal Blade Records Angel Of Death
