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DARK SECRETS: Tom araya | Rare Historical Photos

“We weren’t after our version of Iron Maiden’s Eddie, but it needed to be striking.” The story behind Slayer's grim Reign In Blood album artwork

Slayer intended to make pop fans "ill" with their grotesque representation of hell. It worked…

Metal Hammer

"The LAPD chased down some of the miscreants and beat them to the ground with their nightsticks." How one of the worst riots in the history of music got a legendary metal band banned from a major Hollywood venue

Slayer were used to controversy, but when they rocked up to play the Hollywood Palladium in 1988, they didn't expect this.

Metal Hammer

“Every song we came up with was like the greatest thing. Every time we’d write another it was like, ‘Oh my god’”: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and more remember how thrash metal took over the world 40 years ago

1986 was the year where thrash metal broke through. We got the genre’s leading bands to look back on those whirlwind 12 months.

Metal Hammer

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"It was the perfect tragedy. Heavy metal albums found in their rooms, antisocial behaviour." How Lemmy, Corey Taylor, Henry Rollins and the metal community united to save three teenagers at the heart of a murder case that shocked America

The story of the West Memphis Three captured the attention of the metal world - and some of its biggest artists took action

Metal Hammer

“I thought it was frat boy stuff...it's my least favourite record of our history.” The story of thrash metal legends Slayer 'going nu metal' and regretting it almost immediately (and why that album is much better than you remember)

When Slayer began to dabble with contemporary influences in the 90s, it didn't end well for them

Metal Hammer

“We thought, ‘Wow, that’s really cool – this was the guy that did all those crazy, terrible things’”: How Slayer made Angel Of Death – the fastest, freakiest and most controversial song in thrash metal history

The opening song from 1986’s Reign In Blood affirmed Slayer as thrash metal’s scariest scare-mongers

Metal Hammer

“I did like Bob Dylan, but he was a great con man! He strung a lot of nonsense together and made it seem like it was really important”: Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister’s opinions on Dylan, the Eagles, Slayer and his friend Ozzy Osbourne

“Some of the Eagles' songs are fantastic," he said

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“I remember looking up at this big billboard that said, ‘God loves you all.’ I thought, ‘He sure as hell doesn’t like me right now!’”: The prophetic Slayer song that marked the end of one of thrash metal’s greatest songwriting partnerships

Released on 9/11, this Slayer classic could not have been more timely

Metal Hammer

In perhaps the first wholesome story in Slayer history, Tom Araya renewed his wedding vows over the weekend – and Gary Holt officiated the ceremony

Holt swapped his Kill The Kardashians top for a clerical shirt on Saturday

Metal Hammer

"People thought we were Nazi sympathisers, and nothing could be further from the truth." The highs, lows, controversies and epic comebacks of Slayer

How one Mercyful Fate-worshipping little band from California changed the face of metal forever

Metal Hammer

“Most of these dudes don’t fall quite as far as I did. They don’t develop a meth habit and end up shoveling dog s**t for $6 an hour”: Gary Holt on his thrash metal redemption story, balancing Exodus and Slayer – and why even Hetfield cheats on downpicking

Exodus and Slayer mainstay Gary Holt reveals what compelled him to finally roll up his sleeves and unflinchingly tell his life story

Guitar World

“One of the most aggressive forces to ever scratch its way out of thrash metal’s womb – but not always”: The essential slow Slayer songs

Despite their reputation as one of thrash metal’s fastest bands, Slayer haven’t been afraid to lift the pedal from the metal on occasion. Here’s when they did it best.

Metal Hammer

Slayer’s Kerry King admits he isn’t close with Tom Araya: “He’s not the guy I started the band with”

King says that Slayer’s singer/bassist is “a very different person” compared to when they started the band together in 1981

Metal Hammer

“A lot of Slayer riffs aren’t really for bass players – there’s just too many notes”: Slayer’s Tom Araya charts his incredible 4-string journey

From starting on a Paul McCartney Höfner ripoff to pioneering some of the heaviest metal ever committed to tape, Tom Araya admits he's no bass virtuoso… but he “can play fast sometimes”

Guitar World

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Metal Hammer

“I said, ‘There’s a band called Iron Maiden? Who’s that?’”: Tom Araya didn’t listen to metal before joining Slayer

Despite being one of metal’s most revered frontmen, Tom Araya knew nothing about the genre until his Slayer bandmates clued him in

Metal Hammer

The 10 bands that defined Aftershock festival 2024

From metal legends to rising stars, Aftershock was stacked with amazing moments

Metal Hammer

“I’m not a Satanist, I’m an atheist, but I write the best Satanic lyrics on the planet”: How Slayer went from thrash provocateurs to metal’s unlikeliest elder statesmen

Some bands mellow with age – but not thrash icons Slayer

Metal Hammer

The 20 songs that defined Slayer's career (and the stories behind them)

The ultimate guide to thrash metal titans Slayer - as told through their greatest songs

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Metal Hammer

“As far as I was concerned, we were done and never going to play again”: Kerry King was as shocked as the rest of us when Slayer reunited

The Slayer guitarist has expressed his surprise at the thrash icons getting back together in a new interview

Guitar World

“Me not being in Slayer sucks. I want Slayer to exist. This is the only way I know how to do that”: Thrash icon Kerry King on flying solo, the reunion shows that were never going to happen – and why he doesn’t demo with modelers

Kerry King takes us behind the making of From Hell I Rise, the thrash album of the year and the comeback of a metal icon who has every intention to keep on slaying, Slayer or no Slayer

Metal Hammer

"I thought maybe Mercyful Fate might come knocking, but no." Inside the rebirth of Slayer legend Kerry King

Five years since Slayer hung up their spikes, Kerry King is roaring back with a new band, a new album - and a newfound sense of enthusiasm

Metal Hammer

“Don’t get used to this being a yearly event”: Slayer reunion shows will be rare, says guitarist Kerry King

The returning thrash metal legends won’t be road warriors post-comeback, according to their guitarist

Metal Hammer

“I think Jeff not being around had a lot to do with Tom leaving Slayer”: Jeff Hanneman wouldn’t have wanted Slayer to retire, says Kerry King

Slayer guitarist Kerry King has said that the late Jeff Hanneman would have wanted the metal legends to stay together

Metal Hammer

"We were like, ‘These guys are just like us, this is crazy! We want to hack things up with machetes with them!’” Members of Metallica, Megadeth, Ghost and more talk the years that made Slayer into the ultimate thrash icons

Slayer might not have been the first band in thrash metal, but they became the genre's ultimate champions

Metal Hammer

“I think fire goes hand-in-hand with the devil, and I’m no stranger to talking about the devil...” Slayer guitarist Kerry King releases new single Residue and incredibly fiery music video

It’s the second song released from King’s debut solo album, out next month

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