This is the unofficial Slayer FAQ, maintained by Janek Hellqvist <janek@slaytanic.com>. The latest version of this
FAQ can always be found in HTML form at http://www.slaytanic.com/faq.html.
There is no text version available yet.
The icon marks
items that have been changed the past two weeks.
Additions (questions, answers, corrections etc) are very welcome. Mail them to Janek or use this form on this page.
June 21, 1998 Corrected the info about the ESP Kerry King signature guitar in section 1.2. Thanks to Metalli426@aol.com!
Added more bands that Slayer have toured with to section 5.3. Thanks to
Slayer365@aol.com!
Added the new album to the discography in section 3.1.
April 18, 1998 Added info about the new album to section 3.7.
October 22, 1997
Added info about the rumoured release date for the new album to section 3.7.
Added an incomplete list of released Slayer videos to section 3.8.
Added a question about the back of the UA booklet to section 3.9.
Added a question about joining the fan club throught the Internet to section 1.4.
Added info about Paul Bostaph's current and Dave Lombardo's current and past equipment to
section 1.2.
August 16, 1997 Added info about two guest appearances to section 5.4.
July 26, 1997 Added a list of Slayer's fastest songs.(section 3.6) Thanks to
David Schellhaas and Morgan Hirosuke Miki!
July 13, 1997 Added info about the European Clash of the Titans tour. (section 5.3)
Added more info about Tom's guest performance on Alice in Chains' "Dirt".
(section 5.4) Thanks to Kim Borgholt!
July 12, 1997 New question: Why did Kerry shave his head? (section 2.7)
New question: What did Tom Araya do on Alice in Chains' "Dirt"?
(section 5.4)
May 17, 1997 Added a question about Slayer wearing make-up. (section 1.3)
Added Testament to section 5.3. Thanks to "Slateman".
May 7, 1997 Added info about Tom's strings (section 1.2) and a separate
page with info about Ed Gein.
Another answer to the "Slayer satanists?" question.
(section 4.1)
How did the band come up with the name
"Slayer"? Jeff or Kerry came up with the name "Dragon
Slayer" after seeing the movie "Dragonslayer" (1981), but the band thought
it sounded corny, and took off "Dragon". "Slayer" was born.
Jeff Hanneman: ESP & Jackson guitars, Marshall JCM
800 amp, D'Aquisto .09-.42 strings,
D'Andrea picks.
Kerry King: ESP and B.C. Rich guitars, Marshall JCM 800
amp, Boss
10-band equalizer, D'Aquisto
.09-.42 strings, D'Andrea picks.
Tom Araya: Hill custom bass, D'Addario XL strings.
Paul Bostaph: Tama Artstar II drums, Paiste
cymbals, Remo and Aquarian drum heads, Vic Firth sticks.
Dave Lombardo: (anno 1990) Tama drums, Paiste
cymbals, Aquarian drum heads, Rimshot sticks.
Nowadays, Dave uses Tama drums, Paiste cymbals, May microphones, Meinl, Remo drum heads
and Pro-Mark sticks. (Info taken from the Grip Inc. CD "Genesis".)
Why did they wear make-up in the beginning? Kerry:"To me, the make-up represented rebellion from
fucking LA 'pretty' make-up. It was like, 'What can I do to distance myself from
Mötley Crüe and Poison as much as possible?'. That had a lot to do with out
motivation." Tom:"After that, everyone and their fucking mother came out
wearing that shit..."
What kind of music do they play? Slayer's style of metal is usually defined as thrash metal (or
possibly speed metal). People often ask if Slayer play death metal - the answer
is no, but Slayer are major influences (both musically and lyrically) to most death metal
bands.
Why did Dave Lombardo leave the band?
There was a constant conflict between Dave and the rest of the band about him wanting to
spend time with his wife. He brought her with him on the tours, which wasn't always
appreciated by the others.
Why did Paul Bostaph leave the band?
Bostaph left Slayer to concentrate on his solo-project "The Truth About
Seafood", a side-project from his Forbidden years.
Who is Mr. Gein in "Dead
Skin Mask" (from "Seasons in the Abyss")?
The song is about the serial killer Ed Gein. Read the full story on the Ed Gein page.
What's wrong with the end of "Reign in Blood"? Why is half of
"Postmorterm" mixed into track #10?
John Dette answered this on WebChat:
"When you play the record and go to track ten it starts off with the fast part.
I think that's the way it worked out on the CD, I remember asking them about that and they
said for some reason that's how it worked out."
In other words, it seems like the CD pressing company just made an error during the
initial pressings, and noone bothered to correct it later.
What is "213"
(track #9 on "Divine Intervention")? Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killer psycho that murdered 13 people, lived in
apartment 213 in a building in Milwaukee. As you should know by now, Tom
Araya is very interested in the minds of killers and psychos... Read more about Jeffrey
Dahmer.
Are Slayer satanists?
Tom Araya answered the question about the satanic rumours on WebChat:
"The rumor, it's true, yeah, that was a rumor. But whether that's actually
true, I don't think so. I think we would have been dead by now or we would have killed
some guy in some band that was bigger than ours and we wanted to be bigger than
them."
Interview question: "Did you adopt the satanic image solely for
effect?"
Tom: "Yeah. When we started the band, it was something that people were afraid
of. We were carving an ugly, scary image for ourselves and people freak out on shit like
that. The slowly but surely I realised that we could still do this, but take it from
another angle. That's when I started writing more about the evils of now."
Are Slayer nazis or racists?
Tom: "I don't like people accusing us of being right-wing. 2 of us [this was
1988 when Lombardo was still in the band] aren't even American - how could we be
fascists?"
Tom: "...America and England, where some sections
accused us of being fascists. All I can say to that is, that we never wanted to influence
anyone politically. We make it obvious on "Behind
the Crooked Cross" that we're not nazis. We're not very involved in politics,
even though we occasionally include statements in our songs."
What caused the conflict between Slayer and Sepultura?
The conflict seem to have been intiated by Sepultura bashing Slayer for their use of Nazi
and 3rd Reich images and symbols, claiming it was irresponsible and a bad influence on the
kids. Read more in the misconceptions section of this FAQ.
During the AmericanClash of the Titans tour, Slayer toured
and performed together with Anthrax and Megadeth. Alice In Chains
was the supporting act during this tour. Slayer didn't get along very well with Dave
Mustaine of Megadeth, due to alleged backtalking from him.
During the EuropeanClash of the Titans tour, Slayer toured
with Suicidal Tendencies, Megadeth and Testament.
In 1991, Slayer toured with Testament.
Machine Head and Biohazard supported Slayer on the Divine
Intourvention tour.
Death Angel, summer of 86.
Over Kill, winter 87.
WASP, early 88.
Judas Priest, late 88.
Sepultura, Fear Factory, System of a Down, Clutch, Kilgore, 1998.
Tom Araya guest screamed on Alice in Chains' "Dirt".
Slayer became good friends with Alice in Chains during the Clash of the Titans tour.
Later, Jerry Cantrell (singer & guitarist in AiC) asked Tom if he wanted to do a
"typical Slayer scream" on the record. Tom asked, "Sure, what should I
do?". He was told to scream "I AM IRON GLANCE", and after getting
permission from American Recordings, he was allowed to appear on the record. Tom's scream
can be heard on the unnamed track on "Dirt". The scream is available on the sounds page.
Kerry King played the solo on Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till
Brooklyn" from the "Licensed to Ill" album. You can listen to
the solo on the sounds page.
Public Enemy sampled the slow riff from the middle of "Angel
of Death" and used it as the lead motive in their song "She Watch
Channel Zero?!" from the album "It takes a nation of millions to hold
us back". You can listen to the song on the sounds
page.
icon marks
items that have been changed the past two weeks.