SLAYER.
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Slayer's Page.
HISTORY, 1981 - 1996.
1981: Slayer came to life in the LA. Surburb
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 muscians to start a band. Prior to that, he had been in another
band, with Tom Araya. Kerry discovered 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 joing the band. By the
time, Jeff asked Tom, Tom worked in a nearby hospital as a respiratory
therapist.
1982: 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...
1983: 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 Slagel who owned Metal Blade records,
watched them perform. After the show, Brian Slagel went ackstage
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 Perfector for the compilation lp.
Brian Slagel 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 muscians 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
1985: In 1985, Slayer moved on, and recorded
the album Hell Awaits. That album was also produced by Brian Slagel and
also came out on Metal Blade Records. Hell Awaits, which - as the title
says - is more satanic and dark than its predessor. 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 who's been involved with such artists
as Run DMC and Beastie Boys. When Slayer joined Rick's label, Def Jam -
it was Rick's first metal band.
1986: The year 1986 brought something
special to the world. What it was it needless to say really, but I’ll say
it anyway: 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
ThrashSpeed Album. The opener of the album is the notorious Angel Of Death
which deals with the cruelties of Joseph Mengele, the infamous Auschwitz
doctor, who's 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 nazists (which they aren't!).
But in a way it is understandable that some people think Slayer are nazizts.
They use an iron eagle as a band logo and thier fanclub is called Slaytanic
Wehrmacht. In the US. and Canada, Slayer also experienced concertbannings
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.Reign In Blood resulted in Slayer's first gold-record.
It surpassed everyones expectation and sold well over 500.000 copies in
the States, despite being one of the most uncompromising musicial-efforys
ever being
recorded. With actually no airplay, it also apperedon the US-Top 100.
That same year Slayer also recorded a cover of the Iron Butterfly
song, In A Gadda Da Vidda, 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 influcial album and a vast number
of other speed/thrash metal bands followed in Slayer’s 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.
However, all is 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
thrashband 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.
1987: The year 1987 was one long tour
for Slayer, and the year after, 1988, a new Slayer record came out.
1988: 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.
Instead of all the gore, 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 and 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.
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 controversal 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-nazists 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 controversal, no doubt - and that is very cool. They dare
to say things, noone else does.
Jeff Hanneman also wore an iron cross and a German eagle on his
jacket. And he still has some "nazi" stickers on his guitars. But he is
no nazi, just interested in that time period - like myself. As mentioned
before, many people can't deal with that (Slayer's so-called "nazi" image).
Fuck Them!!!. It must be their problem and not Slayer's.
1990: The year 1990 was (as 1986) a benchmark
for Slayer. Why? Seasons In The Abyss came out. Seasons was an album that
combined old and new influences. An album alot heavier than South of Heaven
and also features an aggressive vocal from Tom Araya, who's singing on
the album is just stunning. Tom contributed a lot with a lot of his own
lyrics. It is wellknown that
Tom is very fascinated with serialkillers and the classic Dead Skin
Mask is about Ed Gein, another serialkiller. The song War Ensemble is about
strategic warfare and that song is just perfect at a concert. The mid-paced
tune Expendable Youth is about gangviolence. There is also some fantasy-lyrics
from Kerry King, Spirit In Black, Born Of Fire and Skeletons Of Society
to name some.
Seasons In The Abyss is Slayer's biggest selling album to date
and it very quickly sold gold. I think it also has sold platinum in the
States which is great (1.000.000 copies). Seasons was well received by
the fans and magazines around the world and the album received rare
and brilliant reviwes.
That same year, 1990, a well-known tour was undertaken. The "Clash
Of The Titans" tour. As far as I know it was Slayer who took the
initiative but Megadeth claimed it was their idea! The bill in Europe and
in the US. was not the same. In Europe it was as followes: Suicidal Tendencies,
Testament, Megadeth and Slayer. In the US. it was: Alice In Chains,
Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer.
Slayer and Alice In Chains got along very well. They even shared
dressing rooms! Slayer and Megadeth was fighting constantly - verbally
offcourse.
It was also Slayer who walked away as the clear winners of that
tour. As soon as (co) headliners Slayer started slaying the audience completely
changed. The other bands couldn’t keep up with Slayer and Slayer have always
been blessed with somewhat fanatical fans. During some shows, the audience
shouted "Slayer, Slayer" while Megadeth was playing!!! Megadeth was simply
blown away by Slayer and their fans. Great! Since then, Slayer and Megadeth
has not been the closest friends. In several interviews, Megadeth and Slayer
constantly talked shit about eachother.
1991: In 1991 Slayer wanted to celebrate
their 10th anniversary. That's why the double cd came out. With the
2 cd's, there was also a booklet which contains some various photos of
the Slayer dudes. Decade Of Aggression features songs from their whole
career uptill 1990, including such classics as Angel of Death, Mandatory
Suicide, South of Heaven, Chemical Warfare,
Raining Blood, Black Magic etc.
The album has a killer sound and Decade is probably the best
heavy-live recording ever made! On disc 1 there is 11 songs, on disc 2
there is 10. Needless to say, it sold gold very quickly. I think it also
did platinum. In support of the Decade Of Aggression discs, Slayer did
a concert video. However, the guys in Slayer are very critical about what
they do, and they decided not to release that video because they thought
the quality was too low. The MTV videos, Raining Blood and Black Magic
is taken from that video.
1992: In Febuary/March 1992 all hell broke
loose. The thrash world was shocked and with a reason; Dave Lombardo was
kicked out of Slayer. There had been problems for a long time and now things
have come to an end.Unofficialy Tom, Kerry and Jeff referred to Dave and
his wife Thresa as "Ken and Barbie" because Dave and Thresa spend alot
more time together
than with rest of the band. Dave didn't practice so much either as
he used to because of some back problems he had and that affected his drumming
Early 1992 was the time when Slayer had no drummer. Now what?
Fortunatly for Slayer, Poul Bostaph had just quitted his band Forbidden.
When Slayer knew that, Kerry King phoned Poul Bostaph and invited him to
jam with Slayer. Poul was given a list of songs and 3 weeks later, he was
tested as approved by Tom, Jeff and Kerry. Poul fitted well with the band,
unlike Lombardo which has in later interviews accused Slayer and branding
them for being lazy and beer-drinking alcoholics who watched tv all day
long.
Dave Lombardo was not missed by his former bandmates. In fact,
Slayer had such scant liking for Lombardo that they gave Poul Bostaph the
platinum records that Dave played on and told Dave, that if he wanted a
platinum disc, he could buy one himself!
The next challenge for Slayer was the Monsters of Rock concerts
in Poland, Tjekkoslovakia, Germany and England. The year 1992 was the first
time Slayer did the famous Donnington Festival. Some of the other bands
on that day was: Iron Maiden, Skid Row and Wasp. Slayer did well on that
day but unfortunately it was a very louy weather and most of Slayer's power
dissapeared in the stormy/rainy weather. I've seen War Ensemble, Dead
Skin Mask and Seasons In The Abyss on MTV from that show and that looks
really cool. I also have a bootleg from Slayer at Donnington ‘92 (It's
called Devils Desciples) and it has an abselutely divine sound.
Prior to the Donnington show, Slayer also did the Mannheim Super
Rock Show, where they simply blew the other bands away with that power
that had made them so famous. In 1992 they showed that there is plenty
of hate and anger left in the old demon (if there should be any doubt).
Slayer then dissapeared from the face of the earth and millions
of fans began to wonder and fear the worst...
When Slayer was gone - some other bands tried to capture their
throne of thrash. Bands like Sepultura and Pantera became very successfull
and they reached the same level of Slayer. In 1992 Pantera also released
"Vulgar Display Of Power" a cd which did the same for them what Reign In
Blood did for Slayer 6 years earlier.
The world of metal also changed drastic about that time. Thrash
was a dying genre and only very, very few thrash bands survived. For example
bands like Violence, Death Angel and Dark Angel did not survive.
1993: Late 1993 was the time when Slayer
finally emerged. The emerged with a soundtrack for the movie called "Jugdment
Night" with Emilio Estevez. The song was a medley with songs from "The
Exploited". They did it with singer/actor Ice-T. The song is really 3 (!)
songs: "War", "UK 82" and "Disorder", but Slayer decided to make the song
as one.
Ice-T fits in great with Slayer and the whole song (which is
called "Disorder") is the best 5 min. of music made in 1993!
Late ‘93/ Early ‘94 there was also news from the Slayer camp.
A new Slayer cd! It was said that it would be released in Febuary 1994.
But then it was March 1994, June/July 1994 and August 1994. But in September
1994 the new record finally was here.
1994: In August ‘94 Slayer played some
monsters of rock concerts in Brazil. They played in 40.000 capacity stadiums
with Kiss, Suicidal Tendencies and Black Sabbath + a few local bands. Slayer
advanced to the next level of glory. All over the world, fans was exited
to see and hear from Slayer again - that is understandable. No band can't
even come close to Slayer's
energy, rage and intensity. I also have a bootleg fron one of the stadium
shows, From the Mixing Desk 1994.
The new cd was called Divine Intervention and show us a very
brutal Slayer. Divine Intevention was being described as Reign In Blood
in the 90s. It became very porpular and has sold 700.000 - 800.000 copies
in little over 1 1/2 years in the US alone.
On its first week it sold nearly 100.000 copies and appeared
on the US top 10, as number 8.
On the album Tom and Kerry was doing most of the work - Jeff
did not do as much as used to because of unknown reasons. That is also
why Divine Intervention; is a very fast record. Classics such as Killing
Fields, Dittohead and Divine Intervention can be heard on the record.
Divine Intervention also features some material wtitten by Jeff
Hanneman, and the song deals with SS-Hangman Reinhard Heydrich. The song
is called "SS-3" and again there was many critics who said Slayer was nazists.
Sepultura vocalist Max Cavelera started by attacking the Slayer and said
they attracted neo-nazists at their shows. He also said that Slayer has
a nazi-image. Then the ball started rolling and suddenly the Slayer - Sepultura
disputes was a big media thing. On a French Tv-show, Slayer said that Sepultura
was a bunch of lowlife cocksuckers from Brazil.
Slayer and Sepultura could have been a killer bill.
Recently I heard that Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer and Sepultura has
been linked to some sort of a festival, very exiting news.
In the fall of 1994, Slayer began their European tour. Slayer
was supported by the much hyped band "Machine Head". In an interview Max
Cavelera also said: "Machine Head will blow Slayer away because Slayer
are old and tired". It was not a surprise that it did not happen that way.
I would rather say, that Slayer blew Machine Head away! But Machine Head
did ok, but if it wasn't for their own fans, noone would have payed any
attention, fine band but it means nothing when Slayer are in the house!
But the Slayer dudes like and enjoy Machine Head, like Kerry King said:
"Machine Head is the perfect opening band for us".
On the European tour, Slayer also brought with them a very advanced
high-tech show. There was alot of computers and that kind of stuff. On
the 17th of December 1994 Slayer played in the KB-Hall near Copenhagen.
It was my first concert ever and Slayer did not dissapoint. I totally blown
away and overwhelmed by Slayer's force and power. Machine Head did good
but was totally overshadowed by the gods.
Late December 1994 Slayer ended their European tour after playing
at sold-out shows almost everywhere they went.
Back to Divine Intervention. It was also a very controversal
album because of the cd-inner sleeve that most knows by now. The fan that
had sliced Slayer in his arms with a razor. As, I think it was Kerry, said:
He did it to show hia dedication to us, but also to get pussy... It was
now clear to anybody that Slayer have very dedicated fans - very loyal
fans. Very, very few bands can match Slayer when it comes to fan-dedication.
The scarification thing can also bee witnessed on Slayer's home video,
Live Intrusion.
Another fan is also very dedicated. Even the Slayer guys find
the incident totally bizarre: A Slayer fan has sliced Slayer in his back
in a tribute to his heroes. When a representative from American Recordings
(Slayer's current label) asked him why he scarres himself, his only reply
was : Slayer have really fanatical fans.
1995: By January 1995 Slayer toured in
the States, supported by Biohazard and Machine Head. In January 1995, American
Recordings also threw a party to celebrate Slayer's sales of more than
4.000.000 records for American
Recordings. All in all they received 32 gold records. Take a look!
After that Slayer toured in the States and it was a very successfull
tour for Slayer with soldout houses everywere. They also got great along
with Biohazard and Machine Head...
In March 1995 they toured in the far East + Australia.
Metallica also emerged in that year, starting by choosing the
bands for the Donnington ‘95 bill. Among them was Slayer and Machine Head.
A usual Slayer put on an impressive show. As a magazine wrote "It seems
like 65.000 people only are here to see Slayer!". Slayer themselves however,
liked their Donnington performance in ‘92 better. I also have a bootleg
from ‘95 with an amazing sound. At Donnington 1995, Slayer played: Chemical
Warfare, Mandatory Suicide, War Ensemble, Divine Intervention, Dittohead,
Dead Skin Mask, Seasons In The Abyss, Raining Blood, Angel Of Death.
The "Live Intrusion" home video, which was long awaited, came
out in the fall of ‘95. As mentioned before, it opens with the scarification
scene with the Slayer fan. The video contains 12 Slayer songs + a cover
of Venom's "Whitching Hour", performed by Tom and Kerry + Rob and Chris
from Machine Head. In between songs, there are private clips with Slayer.
The video became very successfull and landed on the US sales
video chart as # 1.
1996: Undisputed Album with sad news in
its wake.
Slayer have always liked punk and suddenly we all got the news
that Slayer was going to release an album of punk-covers. An album of punk
covers? That was not typical for Slayer to do such a thing. However, Slayer
had in a long time talked about releasing a cover album, and now was the
time
Many people thought that Slayer in Poul Bostaph had found the
perfect drummer, that was going to be in the band forever. But no! After
the recording of the cover album, Poul quitted Slayer. He was bored with
metal in general and wanted to work with the band "The Truth About Seafood".
Short after, Slayer got the Testament drummer, Jon Dette. Prior to that,
rumours circulated that Slayer, had invited former Machine Head drummer
to join Slayer. Not true. There was also rumours that Slayer wanted to
rejoin with Dave Lombardo, but that was only a rumour. As Kerry King Said
We did not even think of that, even as a joke!!
One thing is very typical for Slayer and that is that most of
their records are delayed Undisputed Attitude was no exception. Undisputed
Attitude was first called "Selected and Exhumed". Undisputed Attitude was
available in May ‘96. It was finished in October/November 1995!
Undisputed Attitude features covers of such artists as: "T. S. O. L.”
, “D. I" and "Verbal Abuse". It also features 3 new Slayer cuts: "Can't
stand you", "Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers" (DDAMM) and "Gemini". The
"Gemini" is a very cool and slow-paced song with deals with the cruelties
of a serialkiller (the "Gemini" killer). "Gemini" was originally recorded
for a soundtrack, but was later dumped due to unknown reasons.
The two songs from Jeff Hanneman : "Can't stand you" and "Drunk
Drivers Against Mad Mothers" are not real Slayer songs. It is two songs
he once wrote for a punk-side project in 1984, that never came to be. All
the 3 new songs are extremely cool, and I like them alot.
Slayer also made a video for Undisputed Attitude, it is "I Hate
You", and the song (and the video) is really great. They also
released a single, Superficial Love/Abolish Government. The single
features Slayer's version and the original form TSOL.
In May 1996 they also headlined the legendary heavy-festival
"Dynamo Open Air" in Holland. The also appered on the largest rock festival
in northern Europe, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. From what I heard,
they blew Sepultura away, who played just after Slayer. Check out the pics
here! 2 days after, Slayer co-headlined the "Graspop Metal Meeting" in
Belgium with Iron Maiden.
A new - yet to be titled - Slayer album should be out in the
first quarter of 1997. Personally, I do not think the new one is going
to be as fast as Divine Intervention. Jeff has allready written 3
songs and I know they currently have 4 or 5 songs done by now. Recently
I heard that Slayer are to start recording the new album on Jan. 1st 1997.
I don't know how much Undisputed Attitude has sold by now, but
I do not think as well as the real Slayer records, but I really like Undisputed
Attitude, most of the songs are killer.
I also heard that a new Slayer home-video is due fairly soon
(late ‘96). It is going to be more of a home video than a concert video.
I am really looking forward to that video, because the guys in Slayer are
very funny. Among others it should feature some stuff from Egypt, where
they recorded the "Seasons In The Abyss" video.
In October, Slayer also did the OzzFest, arranged by Ozzy Osbourne.
The bill was: Neurosis, Fear Factory, Biohazard, Sepultura, Danzig, Slayer
and Ozzy Osbourne. I heard from reliable sources that Slayer performed
good (as usual).
What Slayer do, they do best and no other band can match them
in terms of fanloyalty, intensity, rage, power and controversy.
(goto TOP)
SLAYER
MEMBERS
Name: Kerry
King
Plays: Guitar
Born: June 3rd 1964 in Los Angeles, USA
Kerry was born in 1967, in LA. He was the one
to start the whole thing.
He was the one to start Slayer. He got together
with Jeff at first. Then
they met with Dave Lombardo, who they could use,
because they was looking
for a drummer. In 1983, Kerry helped out Megadeth
a few times, during
concerts, because Megadeth had some problems
with a guitarist.
One of Kerry's hobbies is breeding snakes and
show-dogs. It has even
evolved into some sort of a business for him.
Kerry is a man who isn't
afraid to open his mouth and sometimes that causes
trouble. He says what
he wants to, completely. In 1995, he was the
one to say, in an interview
to Kerrang, that Kirk Hammet was "the most overrated
player ever to
grace the pages of a guitar magazine" Many readers
couldn't deal
with that, and Kerrang received tons of letters
about that. After that
incident, the relationship between Metallica
and Slayer has not been the
best.
He was married in 1990 and he has a child also.
He lives in Phoenix,
Kerry King and Lars Ulrich, has been described
as the most influencial
persons in heavy/thrash metal. Because Kerry
started Slayer and Lars Ulrich
started Metallica. Those two bands, has influenced
countless other bands.
The entire thrash generation, was build on Show
No Mercy and Kill'em all.
Kerry is a big fan of hockey and football fan.
Usually he wears a sports
shirt, when performing.
Name: Jeff
(Jeffrey?) Hanneman
Plays: Guitar
Born: August 19th 1964 in Oakland, USA
Jeff Hanneman wrote probably the most well-known
thrash song ever. It was
Angel Of Death. It shouldn't be nessacary to
say, from where he got the
inspiration to that song. Many know, that Jeff
for a long time, had the
interest in nazi-Germany and german/nazi medals.
Because of that, Jeff
and the rest of Slayer, has been accused for
being nazists by a bunch of
assholes.
However, Jeff once collected germany medals. He
do not have a huge
collection, but pretty big. It started out that
way, that Jeff's father
(who fought in the Normandy in '44) asked Jeff
if he wanted a medal. Jeff
accepted and eventually he asked if he could
have another one. He then
began to buy medals from different dealers, and
he soon learned to discover
the fake medals from the real ones. I think he
stopped collecting, because
he said that it was too expensive.
Jeff also has a brother, I do not know his name
though. With Toms brother,
John, they started the band "Bloodcum" but nothing
happened with that band,
so they're dead and gone by now. I remember I
bought their record, what a
piece of shit!
Hanneman itself sounds very German, and I don't
know if he has or had some
family or whatever, in Germany. He also looks
very Scandinavian-like, blond
hair, blue eyes and tall.
I only have one Tv-interview with Jeff. The HBB
special from November
1994. Like the rest of the guys, he also jokes
and laughs alot.
Like Tom and Kerry, Jeff is very interested in
Ice Hockey and often
wear a hockey shirt. He lives, like Tom, out
in nowhere, to be away from
the hectic life, they normally have. As far as
I know, he hates basketball.
He likes drinking beer (Heineken) (Who doesn't
??). He also likes staying
healthy and work on his tan.
Name: Tom
(Tommy) Araya
Plays: Bass, Vocals
Born: June 6th 1961 in Valparaiso, Chile
Tom Araya is from Chile. He was born in 1962.
He also has a brother,
John, which is Slayer-guitar tech. John Araya
once had the band, "Bloodcum"
with Jeff's brother (I do not know his name!).
As many know, Tom is very
fascinated with serial-killers. He has been writing
about Ed Gein and Jeffrey
Dahmer among others. He jokes alot and laugh
alot, which is great and very
funny to watch. I do not think I have one interview,
where he don't laugh.
He lives in Texas - out in the middle of nowhere.
He was the last to join Slayer. Once, he had a
job in a hospital. Then Jeff
approached him about joining Slayer. Tom did
know Kerry though. They both
played in a band, prior to Slayer, but then Tom
was kicked out of the band
and Kerry left shortly after.
Nowadays, he writes most of the lyrics on Slayer's
records. He do not
write the music. When Tom want to write about
a specific serial-killer,
the other guys in Slayer says, he changes a lot.
Tom wants to become
that person he writes about, but offcourse Tom
do not kill people. Jeff
once said, that he sometimes pictures Tom completely
naked, blood all over
and with a knife in his hand.
Recently, he became a father to a little girl,
who was born in mid May
1996. Congratulations. But he says, that him
becoming a father, not will
affect Slayer in any way - shorter tours, less
imput or something like
that. Phew!!!
Name: Paul
Bostaph
Plays: Drums
Born: March 26th
1964 in San Francisco, USA
Paul
is a native from the Bay Area scene in San Francisco. In the 80's he played
with the thrash
band, Forbidden, and
with them he did 2 records. Paul then got somewhat tired of playing heavy
music; he felt that
it was too limiting. After the break with Forbidden, John Tempesta told
him that
Slayer were seeking
a new drummer. Kerry wanted Paul to join Slayer, but at first Jeff wasn't
too
keen on the idea. Paul
has always been a big fan of Slayer, so it took him a nanosecond to accept
the offer.
Paul was then given a
list of 9 Slayer songs and he had like 12 days to learn them. After that,
it was
the plan that Paul should
be tested in an audition that lasted 3 days. Paul passed the audition with
flying colours. He even
did a song that wasn't on the list - Silent Scream, a very drum-demanding
song. As Paul said :
I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off with my walkman with
Slayer
in it... and I pretty
much ate, breath and slept Slayer in 12 days. The hardest song for him
was
"Angel of Death" because
he didn't know how long the lead section was.
In 1992, when Paul was
still new in Slayer, he was contacted by Testament who wanted him to do
a show with them. And
so Paul is also on the Testament live album, Return To The Apocalyptic
City.
Then the drummer played
some clubdates in the States before flying to Europe and do the large
Monsters Of Rock dates.
Paul did well and the rest of the Slayer guys was very pleased with him.
He also gets fine along
with Tom, Kerry and Jeff.
From what I know, Paul
is somewhat shy about meeting new people, he also seems like to be a very
modest person. He is
very dedicated to Slayer. He helps the others designing t-shirts, writing
lyrics
etc.
Like the other Slayer
guys, he is interested in sport. Actually, Paul plays soccer in his sparetime
for
a team in San Francisco
- I was told that he is pretty good at it also.
Paul learned to play
drums to listen to his heavy records, mostly Iron Maiden. He tried to pull
off
what Nicko did.
Many people said : Paul
Bostaph has awfully big shoes to fill. To that, Tom said Actually, the
shoes
are a little too tight.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Drumset: Artstar II
(1993) in chrome laminant (custom) finish.
A. 4x14 Brass Picollo(snare)
B. 8x8 tom
C. 10x10 tom
D. 12x12 tom
E. 13x13 tom
F. 14x14 tom
G. 16x16 floor tom
H. 14x20 gong drum
I. 18x22 bass drum
Cymbals: Paiste
1. 19" power crash
2. 8" paiste bell
3. 22" 2002 nova china
4. 15" hi-hats (2002
sound edge on top, Paiste sound edge on bottom)
5. 20" 2002 crash
6. 19" 3000 power crash
7. 15" hi-hats mounted
on X-Hat (Same hi-hat combo as above)
8. 22" Paiste heavy
china
9. 20" 3000 power crash
10. 22" Paiste dry-heavy
ride
11. 20" Paiste heavy
china
12. 20" sound formula
full ride (with rivets)
13. 38" Gong
Sticks: Vic firth American Classic Rock Crusher model, Stick Handler drumstick
tape,
Beato drum gloves
Microphones: Shure
Hardware: All Tama, including
a leverglide hi-hat stand, Iron Cobra bass drum pedals
(with DW beaters), and
stilt series stands. Skid-ex slip retardent used on pedals to prevent
feet from slipping.
Heads: Remo coated Emperor
on snare batter(with square piece of white cloth duct taped to head
for muffling), clear
Emperors on tops of toms with clear Ambassadors underneath, clear emperors
on bass drums with Falam
slam pads to protect from beater impact. Small pillows used in bass drum
for muffling.
Slayer's drummers
in time order:
1. Dave Lombardo
After Slayer in Vodoo Cult, now in Grip Inc.
(Slayer)
1981 - 1992
2. Tony Scaglione
Replaced Dave on the 86 Tour when he quit the first
time
(Whiplash)
1986
3. Poul Bastaph
Since February'97 in SLAYER again
(Forbidden)
1993 - 1996 (UA), 02.1997
- ?
4. Jon Dette
Previously in Testament and Evil Dead
(Testament)
1996 (UA tours) - 1997
(goto TOP)
GoTo
Slayer's Page.
© 10.1998 Pablo, russia.
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