33 Facts About Slayer

Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California.

Slayer released twelve studio albums, three live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays and a cover album.

Slayer sold 5 million copies in the United States from 1991 to 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and over 20 million worldwide.

Slayer was formed in 1981 by Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo, and Tom Araya in Huntington Park, California.

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.

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In June 1984, Slayer released a three-track EP called Haunting the Chapel.

Later that year, Slayer began their first national club tour, traveling in Araya's Camaro towing a U-Haul trailer.

In March 1985, Slayer began a national tour with Venom and Exodus, resulting in their first live home video dubbed Combat Tour: The Ultimate Revenge.

Slayer embarked on the Reign in Pain world tour, with Overkill in the US from October to December 1986, and Malice in Europe in April and May 1987.

At the insistence of Rubin, Slayer recorded a cover version of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for the film Less than Zero.

In late 1987, Slayer returned to the studio to record their fourth studio album.

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 Motorhead and Overkill.

Slayer returned to the studio in early 1990 with co-producer Andy Wallace to record its fifth studio album.

Slayer returned as a live act in September 1990 to co-headline the European Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies, and Testament.

Slayer made its debut appearance with Bostaph at the 1992 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington.

In 1994, Slayer released Divine Intervention, the band's first album with Bostaph on the drums.

Slayer geared up for a world tour in 1995, with openers Biohazard and Machine Head.

Slayer teamed up with digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot to record a song for the Spawn soundtrack titled "No Remorse ".

Slayer toured playing Reign in Blood in its entirety throughout the fall of 2003, under the tour banner "Still Reigning".

The album became Slayer's highest charting, improving on its previous highest charting album, Divine Intervention, which had debuted at number 8.

In 2007, Slayer toured Australia and New Zealand in April with Mastodon, and appeared at the Download Festival, Rock Am Ring, and a summer tour with Marilyn Manson and Bleeding Through.

Slayer said that once the band finished its upcoming album, which was the final record in their contract, the band would sit down and discuss its future.

Slayer headlined the second Mayhem Festival in the summer of 2009.

Megadeth and Slayer joined forces for the American Carnage Tour from July to October 2010 with opening acts Anthrax and Testament, and European Carnage Tour in March and April 2011.

Slayer returned to Australia in February and March 2011 as part of the Soundwave Festival and played in California with the other members of the "Big Four".

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In February 2013, Lombardo was fired right before Slayer was to play at Australia's Soundwave festival due to an argument with band members over a pay dispute.

Slayer and American Recordings released a statement, saying "Mr Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon", although Lombardo claimed there was a gag order in place.

In 2015, Slayer headlined the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival for the second time.

Slayer played one show in Mexico at Force Fest in October 2018.

Slayer is one of the most influential bands in heavy metal history.

Steve Huey of AllMusic believes the musical style of Slayer makes the band stronger than the other members of the "Big Four" thrash metal bands Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, all of which rose to fame during the 1980s.

Slayer has been accused of holding Nazi sympathies, due to the band's eagle logo bearing resemblance to the Eagle atop swastika and the lyrics of "Angel of Death".

Slayer's cover of Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" raised questions about a possible message of white supremacy in the band's music.