Slayer formed in Los Angeles in 1982 and always existed to be the heaviest and the fastest – and to stand at the farthest remove from decency and normality.
It worked best in 1986 when they snuffed the genre of ‘thrash’ metal in its infancy with their third album, the 28-minutes of wild staring murder that was Reign In Blood.
Any album which opens with the lines, “Auschwitz, the meaning of pain, The way that I want you to die,” is going to grab your attention.
It certainly pricked up some ears at CBS who refused to distribute the album.
In March 1996, the parents of a teenage murder victim named Elyse Pahler sued the band and their record label, Rick Rubin’s American Recordings, claiming that the band’s lyrics were “satanic” and inspired three boys to rape, torture and stab their daughter to death near her home in San Luis Obispo, Califonia.
The three youths admitted murder and were sent to prison for at least 25 years but the Pahler family insisted that the band knowingly marketed and distributed “harmful and obscene” material to minors. The initial case was thrown out with the judge stating, “There’s not a legal position that could be taken that would make Slayer responsible for the girl’s death”.
The Pahlers launched a second lawsuit which was also dismissed with the judge stating, “I do not consider Slayer’s music obscene, indecent or harmful to minors.”
Tom Araya
Vocals, bass Jeff Hanneman
Guitar Kerry King
Guitar Dave Lombardo
Drums
You May Also Like
George Thorogood & The Destroyers George Thorogood never earned much respect from blues purists, and yet he became a popular favourite…
Slaughter & The Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs emerged from the Manchester punk scene in 1977, led by Wayne Barrett (vocals) and…
Swanee John Swan was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He emigrated to…
BB Steal Heavily influenced by Def Leppard, this Australian hard rock band emerged in 1987 from the ashes…
Genesis In July 1970, a callow 19-year-old, who had a brief career as a child actor in…
Korn Formed in Bakersfield, California, in 1993, Korn pioneered the nu metal genre and brought it into…
Merton Parkas If the Merton Parkas had called their debut LP Just Another Face in the Neo-Mod Crowd, no…
Vapors, The Led by vocalist/guitarist Dave Fenton, The Vapors were a short-lived new wave guitar group that is best remembered…
