Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo, and bassist and vocalist Tom Araya.
They started out playing covers of songs by bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Venom at parties and clubs in Southern California. The band's early image relied heavily on Satanic themes that featured pentagrams, make-up, spikes, and inverted crosses.
In 1983, Slayer was invited to open for the band Bitch at the Woodstock Club in Anaheim, California to perform eight songs, six of which were covers. The band was spotted by Brian Slagel, a former music journalist who had recently founded Metal Blade Records. Impressed with Slayer, he met with the band backstage and asked them to record an original song for his upcoming Metal Massacre III compilation album. The band agreed and their song "Aggressive Perfector" created an underground buzz upon its release in mid 1983, which led offering the band a recording contract with Metal Blade.
The band had to self-finance its debut album. Combining the savings of Araya, who was employed as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from King's father, the band entered the studio in November 1983. The album was rushed into release, stocking shelves three weeks after tracks were completed. Show No Mercy, released in December 1983 by Metal Blade Records, generated underground popularity for the band. The group began a club tour of California to promote the album. The tour gave the band additional popularity and sales of Show No Mercy eventually reached more than 20,000 in the US and another 20,000 worldwide.
South of Heaven was released in July 1988, received mixed responses from both fans and critics, although it was Slayer's most commercially successful release at the time, debuting at number 57 on the Billboard 200, and their second album to receive gold certification in the United States. Press response to the album was mixed, with AllMusic citing the album as "disturbing and powerful", and Kim Nelly of Rolling Stone calling it "genuinely offensive satanic drivel". King said "that album was my most lackluster performance", although Araya called it a "late bloomer" which eventually grew on people. Slayer toured from August 1988 to January 1989 to promote South of Heaven, supporting Judas Priest in the US on their Ram It Down tour, and touring Europe with Nuclear Assault and the US with Motörhead and Overkill.
-Tracklist:
Side A
01. South of Heaven 04:58
02. Silent Scream 03:06
03. Live Undead 03:50
04. Behind the Crooked Cross 03:14
05. Mandatory Suicide 04:05
Side B
06. Ghosts of War 03:53
07. Read Between the Lies 03:20
08. Cleanse the Soul 03:02
09. Dissident Aggressor (Judas Priest cover) 02:35
10. Spill the Blood 04:51
36:54
-Line up:
• Tom Araya : Vocals, Bass, Lyrics (tracks 1-3, 5, 7, 8)
• Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P. 2013) : Guitars, Songwriting (tracks 1-8, 10), Lyrics (tracks 4, 10)
• Kerry King : Guitars, Songwriting (tracks 2, 5, 6), Lyrics (tracks 3, 6-8)
• Dave Lombardo : Drums.
Label: Geffen Records / Def Jam Recordings
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Mastering at Barry Diament Audio, NYC.
Mixed at Newfresh in New York City.
Co-produced by Slayer.
Track 09 originally performed by Judas Priest.
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