Genre: Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Satanic Panic Fuel
Formed: 1981 โ Huntington Park, California
Known For: Scaring your parents, melting your face, and inventing “murder in musical form” ๐ก๏ธ
๐ฅ WHO ARE SLAYER?
Slayer were the most evil of The Big Four โ where Metallica got epic, Megadeth got political, and Anthrax got party hatsโฆ Slayer just got faster, louder, and angrier.
Their sound?
๐ Buzzsaw guitars
๐ฅ Blast beats before blast beats were a thing
๐ฉธ Lyrics about war, death, Satan, and serial killers
๐ Zero compromise. Ever.
They were thrashโs chaos engine. A band that could scare a nun just by soundchecking.
โ๏ธ THE BLOOD-SOAKED LINE-UP
- Tom Araya โ Bass/Vocals / Scream king / Murderous wail merchant
- Kerry King โ Guitar / Bald, tattooed riff-brewer of hell
- Jeff Hanneman (RIP) โ Guitar / Nazi memorabilia collector, riff genius ๐
- Dave Lombardo โ Drums / The Godfather of Double Kick
- Paul Bostaph โ Drums (when Dave wasnโt smashing heads)
No gimmicks. No keyboards. Just shredding, screaming, and slaying.
๐ฟ FULL DISCOGRAPHY โ RANKED BY HELLFIRE ๐ฅ๐ง
1๏ธโฃ Show No Mercy (1983)
๐ฉธ Satan + denim = thrashโs first scream. Raw and rowdy.
๐ง Evil Has No Boundaries, Die by the Sword
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Like Venom and Judas Priest made a demon baby.
2๏ธโฃ Hell Awaits (1985)
๐ฅ More complex, more terrifying, more HELLISH.
๐ง At Dawn They Sleep, Kill Again
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
3๏ธโฃ Reign in Blood (1986)
โ 29 MINUTES OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION.
๐ง Angel of Death, Raining Blood
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
*Shortest. Fastest. Most perfect. EVER.
4๏ธโฃ South of Heaven (1988)
๐ฏ๏ธ Slowed it down. Made it creepier. Still absolutely brutal.
๐ง Mandatory Suicide, Silent Scream
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
5๏ธโฃ Seasons in the Abyss (1990)
๐ง Slayerโs most balanced album. Hooks + chaos.
๐ง War Ensemble, Dead Skin Mask, Seasons in the Abyss
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
If you want โaccessible Slayer,โ this is it. Still terrifying.
6๏ธโฃ Divine Intervention (1994)
๐ช Post-Hanneman writing era. Still tight, still nasty.
๐ง Dittohead, Serenity in Murder
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
7๏ธโฃ Undisputed Attitude (1996)
๐ด Hardcore punk covers. Slayer go full circle.
๐ง I Hate You, Guilty of Being White
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ
8๏ธโฃ Diabolus in Musica (1998)
๐ Slayer flirt with nu-metal tuning?! Itโs weird. Itโs… fine.
๐ง Bitter Peace, Stain of Mind
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Dark horse album. Not their worst. Not their best.
9๏ธโฃ God Hates Us All (2001)
๐ฅ Released on 9/11. No, really. Pure spite.
๐ง Disciple, Bloodline
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Riffed-up rage with modern crunch.
๐ Christ Illusion (2006)
๐งจ Dave Lombardo returns! And so does the ferocity.
๐ง Eyes of the Insane, Jihad
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
โฐ๏ธ World Painted Blood (2009)
๐ฉธ Their last with Jeff Hanneman. Ends an era.
๐ง Psychopathy Red, Hate Worldwide
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐ฉธ Repentless (2015)
โ๏ธ No Jeff. No problem. Slayer still sound like fookinโ Slayer.
๐ง Repentless, You Against You
Riff Rating: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Final album. Still mean. Still Slayer.
๐ง RIFF REPORT ESSENTIAL PLAYLIST
๐ธ Angel of Death โ The scream. The riff. The carnage.
๐ธ Raining Blood โ Best 2-minute intro in metal history
๐ธ South of Heaven โ Creepier than your uncleโs VHS drawer
๐ธ War Ensemble โ Military-grade thrash
๐ธ Dead Skin Mask โ Ed Gein-core. Still chilling.
๐ธ Disciple โ โGOD HATES US ALL!โ โ pure pit anthem
๐ธ Seasons in the Abyss โ Their most โbeautifulโ (donโt tell Kerry)
๐ธ You Against You โ Final form Slayer
๐งก WHY SLAYER STILL TERRIFY AND INSPIRE
Because they:
- Never sold out
- Never played slow for radio
- Wrote about war, religion, murder, Satan โ and made it art
- Inspired death metal, black metal, hardcore, your cousinโs scary band
- AND they did it all without smiling. Ever.
They made thrash evil. And thatโs why we love them.
๐ค FINAL VERDICT FROM THE RIFF REPORT:
Slayer werenโt just a band โ they were a fookinโ weapon.
A musical warhead, built for blast beats, banshee screams, and breakdowns that punch your spine in reverse order. ๐คฏ
So whether youโre carving pumpkins or battling the apocalypseโฆ
Crank Slayer. Mosh alone. Frighten the neighbours.
Because one thingโs always true:
SLAAAAAYYYYEEEERRRRRR!!!
