SLAYER : WORLD PAINTED BLOOD

Slayer
by Jason Walsh

It has been nearly thirty years since four young guys crossed paths in the Huntington Beach region of California, playing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest covers in small venues to unsuspecting patrons who had no idea that the musicians before them would go on to create the most brutal and aggressive music of all time. Never as well would have any of the members of the band expected that this chance meeting would lead them to forming one of the most influential metal bands in the annals of music history. After a chance meeting with Brian Slagel, who was just starting up his independent label, Metal Blade Records, the band would drop their first published track, “Aggressor Perfector,” on the first “Metal Massacre” compilation. This would later lead to the label putting out their first full-length album, “Show No Mercy.” Upon its release, the metal community would never be the same again.

Slayer is just the standard in fast, relentless, and unyielding metal. Period. Thousands and thousands of bands who have followed in their wake have emulated their sound, style, and technique, but at the end of the day, they still reign supreme as the undisputed lords of sonic destruction. Their controversial lyrics and sinister composition has always put them on the “hitlist” with the conservative brigades since the band’s inception, but their legions of loyal fans have continued to keep them the most sought out metal act ever. Albums like “Reign in Blood” and “South of Heaven” remain at the top of the list as inspiration for the thrash metal, black metal, and new metal bands that have come and gone over the years, but when the dust has settled, Slayer continues to rule the wastelands as the signature soundtrack of Hell.




Drummer Dave Lombardo left the band in 1992, which for many, seemed to be the beginning of the end. Slayer continued on with drummer Paul Bostaph, and Jon Dette for a short stint, through the remainder of the nineties, but many fans felt the band was not the same anymore and lacked the initial spark that had hooked so many over the years. During this period, “Divine Intervention,” “Undisputed Attitude,” and “Diabolus in Musica” were released with the new lineup and were not received well by critics and fans alike. On September 11, 2001, Slayer released the follow-up album, “God Hates Us All,” which was overshadowed by the tragic events of that fateful day. With touring problems arising due to national security issues and flight restrictions, the band struggled getting to the stages to play for the fans. Prior to the end of the U.S. tour, Bostaph left the band again and the fates aligned, bringing Lombardo back into the fold. Ever since, the band has remained in its original, “classic” lineup and in 2006, “Christ Illusion” was released, which became one of the band’s highest charting records ever, debuting at #5 on Billboard’s 200 Albums Chart.

Now almost three decades into their journey, they have released ten studio albums, a number of EPs and live records, done countless world tours, been awarded two Grammys, and are currently finishing up on their eleventh studio offering. This summer sees them hitting some festival dates in Canada with Megadeth on the “Canadian Carnage Tour” before starting the “Mayhem Festival Tour” with Marilyn Manson, and the new record’s release looms somewhere over the horizon. A promotional release of “Psychopathy Red” flew off the shelves, leaving the salivating Slayer masses anxiously awaiting the new album‘s debut.

I had a chance to talk with Slayer bassist and frontman Tom Araya about the new record and upcoming tours, as well as the loyalty of the band’s supporters, and yes, even the National Day of Slayer.



JW: So, how are things going for you today?

TOM ARAYA: They’re going good. They’re going good. Actually, I’m in the studio talking to Greg (Fidelman -producer) right now.

JW: Tell me what you got going on this year. You guys got a busy summer ahead of you.

TOM ARAYA: We’ve got a busy summer coming up. We’re going to be doing six shows actually, five Canadian shows, starting June 21. Then we do the Mayhem Festival Tour with Manson and that’s going to go from July through August. Hopefully, we’ll have a record somewhere coming out around that time.

JW: Tell me a little bit about this Canadian Carnage Tour you’re doing with MEGADETH, MACHINE HEAD, and SUICIDE SILENCE. It’s just a couple shows before you start the Mayhem Festival.

TOM ARAYA: It’s five shows. Five festival shows we’re doing with them. I’m assuming there’s something else in the works that’s like a precursor to something that will happen a little later.

JW: So there’s something else in between the two?

TOM ARAYA: Yeah, something’s going on…(laughs). You know, people aren’t just nice to be nice. There’s a reason why people are nice.

JW: Ok…so talk to me about the new record you guys are working on. I heard a couple tracks off of it and a lot olf the fans got to hear “Psychopathy Red.” Tell me about the new record. How are you feeling about it?

TOM ARAYA: Awesome. I got nine songs that are mixed and sound amazing. It’s going to be awesome. It’s really, really good. Really, really good. It’s Slayer. It’s everything you want to hear Slayer do.

JW: The thing I got from listening to them, a lot of it reminds me of the older sound and a lot of the heavier, more aggressive stuff from the older days. It just takes me back.

TOM ARAYA: Yes, I have to agree with you. Wait ‘til you hear the rest of it (laughs). Seriously, it sounds really, really good. Real, real good. Amazing. Won’t toot my own horn…hahaha.

JW: Has it been fun being back in the studio recording again?

TOM ARAYA: No, it’s never fun being in the studio (laughs) but the end result is always, you know, that’s the winner. When you hear the final mixes of stuff, it makes it come together and you’re like, “WOW!!!” But yes, studio time is not the best time.

JW: But it is the means to the end.

TOM ARAYA: Oh yeah. Like I said, in the end what you hear is like, you know, put a lot of work into this. Sounds really, really great. Sounds really good. Greg is doing a really good job.

JW: Tell me about the Mayhem Tour you’re doing this summer. You excited about hitting the road to go do that?

TOM ARAYA: Yeah, actually that’s going to be good. You know, it’s going to be a fun summer tour. I’m going to have my family out with me so it’s going to be fun. You know, we play an hour, which really doesn’t allow for too much, you know what I mean, so we have to seriously decide what songs to play. I t doesn’t give you a lot to do as far as stage time. But you know, summer run, it’s going to be a fun festival. The bands that are playing are really good bands. It’s a good show and I think people are going to get their money’s worth.

JW: And the lineup is great.

TOM ARAYA: Yeah. The bands are really good. The bands on this bill are really good. It’ll be exciting.

JW: So with the record, do you guys have a title for that yet?

TOM ARAYA: No we don’t. Actually, there’s still a few songs that don’t have titles yet (laughs). But, we plan to get them soon.

JW: So, where do you guys go from here. You’re doing these tours over the summer and you’re going to do this record and put it out some time this summer. Is this something you guys are going to keep doing?

TOM ARAYA: This album, once it comes out, we’re probably going to do some fall stuff and then we’ll probably do a U.S. tour starting in January and into the summer. We’ll probably do festivals in the summer over in Europe. But you know, we got a tour for this album cycle that usually lasts about a year-and-a-half to two years. So we’ll be touring. We’ll be touring and playing. And the after that, while we’re touring and playing, we’ll figure out what to do afterwards. Right now, we’re focusing on making sure we do these shows (laughs).

JW: Are you going to take a hiatus from recording and mixing down the record or are you trying to finish up before you start hitting the road.

TOM ARAYA: No, no. We’re still trying to finish up some stuff, recording-wise. From here, we’re rehearsing for the shows that we’re going to in Canada and the Mayhem tour. So, we’re rehearsing right now so there’s no hiatus going on. We’re rehearsing and as soon as we’re done rehearsing here, we’re going to go and start the tour. Then we break for about a week and we start the Mayhem tour. After that, like I said, I’m sure we’ll do some other dates. Probably Japan, Australia, and South America. We’ll be busy for the next year and half or so (laughs).

JW: Now did you think when you started this up almost thirty years ago that you would still be doing this now and on the level that you’re doing it now?

TOM ARAYA: No, I never would have thought that. Ten albums, eleven albums later down the road, you know what I mean? Countless tours. No, I never would have thought it. I was just happy that we were on “Metal Massacre.” (laughs) You know what I mean. When we had one single on that album, that was fine with me. I was happy.

JW: What was that like when you were young, you guys were out playing shows and doing cover songs and all of a sudden you had that song “Aggressor Perfector” on a compilation. What was that feeling like, being a young guy and going “oh my god, we’re on this record?”

TOM ARAYA: It was awesome, dude. That’s what you want. You know what I mean? You want to get a song on a record. That’s what I wanted, you know what I mean? And then (Brian) Slagel (Metal Blade Records) says, “why don’t we do an album?” Like what?!? “Give me an album and I’ll put it out.” That song, when we wrote that song, we went back and rewrote a lot of music and came up with a lot of material for “Show No Mercy.” So that was a very inspiring song and we just took it from there, you know what I mean?

JW: And like I said, thirty years later, is this still fun for you? Do you still dig doing this?

TOM ARAYA: Oh, yeah. Yeah, the stage time is the best time. And the fact that people want to come and listen to your music which is a phenomenon in itself (laughs). You know what I mean? That people actually want to come and listen to music that you created and play it. It’s amazing sometimes.

JW: That’s got to be a really amazing feeling. And literally, Slayer has a legion of hardcore, loyal fans. There is a buzz in the air when Slayer comes to town. There’s a feeling and people know when you’re coming. It’s got to be a great feeling to hit that stage and just see all those people out there and know they are totally digging what you guys are doing.

TOM ARAYA: And it is. It’s a very good feeling. Very good feeling, man. Very good feeling. I can’t really describe it. But it is. It’s a good one (laughs).

JW: So, I have to ask you about something. Someone passed this one along to me and told me to ask you about the “National Day of Slayer.” Tell me about that?

TOM ARAYA: That was something that was done by some kids, I can’t recall from where, and they started doing it one year and they’ve been doing it for the past four years now. I’m not sure. On June 6, they wanted to do a “National Day of Slayer,” which is my birthday. They’ve been doing it and this year our publicist thought it would be cool, since they’ve been doing this for three or four years now, that it would be kind of neat to put a little plug together. It’s really cool and kind of neat that they are continuing the Slayer legacy (laughs).

JW: And that’s got to be a good feeling.

TOM ARAYA: It is. It’s great. It’s cool. They’ve been doing this for four years now and I guess they have a nationwide gathering, you know what I mean? People write in and type in what they did that day and what they plan to do that day. Listen to Slayer all day or do something they consider would be a Slayer type of mentality.

JW: That’s awesome.

TOM ARAYA: It’s kind of neat. You know what I mean? It’s kind of cool and that it was celebrated in country of Chile, where I’m from, so the whole country celebrates my birthday. I think it’s a trip.

JW: That’s pretty awesome. And that’s the thing, with your fans you are getting into several generations of fans. You have the fans that are the young kids or the older guys that saw you back in the day and now some of those people are grandparents now.

TOM ARAYA: Yeah. Yeah (laughs).

JW: And now their kids and grandkids are coming out to see Slayer. I mean, that’s got to be crazy.

TOM ARAYA: Yeah, it is crazy. It is crazy. We’d done in-stores and stuff and a few were where you get a proud father with a baby and then the next time you see him, the baby’s grown, with their own baby, like you said. Yeah, it is crazy and pretty neat to see. And you can see it out in the audience too. Faces. And then the fans are so loyal that whenever you play any certain cities you recognize faces. You know you’ve been seeing the same faces for the past twenty-five years, so it’s kind of neat when you’re like looking at the audience and you’re like, “Dude! I recognize you!” and they know you recognize them. It’s kind of cool (laughs).

JW: That’s awesome. So my last question for you, what you say to people that might read this about checking out the new record and why they should hit the show when Slayer comes to town?

TOM ARAYA: They should check out the new album because it’s fucking awesome. That’s why.

JW: Fair enough.

TOM ARAYA: That’s why they should check out the new album, because it’s fucking awesome. Seriously. It is amazing. And then they should come see us because we’re Slayer (laughs). That’s about it.