Slayer: discography, band history

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The team was formed in 1981 and consisted of four people. To date, Slayer's complete discography consists of twelve studio albums, two extended plays, two live albums, twelve singles, one box set and four DVDs.

The theme for all songs has not changed over the years. The discography of the Slayer band raises the themes of death, hell, Satanism, genocide, massacres, terror and war, the band often ridicules morality and church dogmas. Due to this range of unusual lyrics, the band is often banned in many countries.

Collective formation

In the early 80's, metal sound could be heard almost anywhere. The unusual and outrageous genre was to the liking of the younger generation, as well as future world stars. In 1981, the Ledger auditioned to join their band, where Jeff Hanneman and Carrie King first met. That day, the two musicians immediately liked each other, and after Hanneman played two compositions from the Iron Maiden repertoire for King, they decided to start their owngroup. They were later joined by bassist Tom Araya and former pizza delivery drummer Dave Lombardo.

In the early days, the band was engaged in cover performances, adding their own compositions to their performances. At one point, Brian Slagel was accepted into the group, with whom Slayer later signed a contract.

First albums

The band first gained popularity with the release of their debut album, and with each new one it continued to grow steadily. With the money received from the father of the solo guitarist, the band releases and publishes the album No Mercy on its own. This work in the discography of Slayer has become a classic in the underground thrash metal. In the works of this collection, the band used guitar riffs that were incredible at that time.

The band has established themselves as the fastest musicians on the planet, and the average rhythm of the songs was 250 beats per minute. The total number of discs sold was 40 thousand copies.

By 1985, Slayer received its first budget from companies and was able to release three more albums within 5 years. By the end of the year, they released the dark and atmospheric Hell Awaits, and in 1986, Reigin in Blood. Both albums were certified gold and the band was noticed by future manager Rick Rubin. This period is characterized by great scandals related to the theme of the Holocaust raised in songs.

Peak of popularity

For 8 years of existence, the group was able to find a suitable niche and realize their most successful album in the history of performances. Released in 1988 Southof Heaven received a lot of mixed reviews, but it was he who distinguished himself by the biggest sales, hitting at number 58 on the Billboard 200.

The next album, Season in the Abyss, just like the previous one, received "gold status". Critics took this material even better, placing the work of the musicians already on the 47th line of the Billboard 200. During this period, the group shot the first 2 clips, which turned out to be extremely dark and cruel. The band began touring extensively around the world, and the expansion of Slayer's discography continued into 1994.

Unable to withstand the load, the band's drummer Dave Lombardo dropped out of the band. A replacement was found almost immediately. In the new line-up, the metalworkers released 4 albums. In the period from the mid-90s to the early 2000s, the group's popularity began to decline steadily.

Recent years

Despite the fact that interest in thrash metal began to decline, the band continued with world tours and released albums for a long time. God Hates You All, Christ Illusion, World Painted Blood still sound insanely metallic, but the aging of the band is already clearly visible. More and more conflicts continue to occur in the team, and in 2012 one of the main thought leaders, Jeff Hanneman, dies.

The last album in Slayer's discography was released in 2014. Repentless was released under contract with Nuclear Beam and has many nostalgic moments. The final tour of the group is scheduled for the end of 2018, after which, according to the members, they will cease to exist.like Slayer.