#21

Pros

  • Wrote the greatest album of all time
  • Had a pretty great run from their debut up to Seasons in the Abyss
  • Handful of decent late career tracks
  • Dave Lombardo is an excellent dude
  • Brilliant live

Cons

  • Bunch of twats apart from Dave
  • Kerry King is a super tool
  • Jeff Hanneman stopped being able to write a solo
  • Second half of their career is basically the same song 40 times over

They should be lower than Metallica, but both should be higher than where they’ll end up. Reign in Blood is a perfect album, and both South of Heaven and Seasons of the Abyss have bangers.

Voted 5 to counter all the 1/5 scores from the haters but in reality I think 2.5 - 3 would be a fair score considering how one-note they eventually got and how terrible they are generally. I predict a 2/5 score overall.

Picked Seasons in the Abyss as their best song, love the atmosphere of it. Proper dark and moody, and different enough from everything else they do.

13 Likes
#22

Going to be a cold, rainy, early spring day in a run down English seaside town, all day everyday isn’t it?

1 Like
#23

ftfy

1 Like
#24

listened to reign in blood recently and wasn’t mad about it
i think i like some metal but not this kind of metal?
might give them a 5 anyway

1 Like
#25

I love Slayer and even I know they’re a 2 at best.

Things I like:

  • Reign In Blood is a great metal album
  • They are apparently totally unaware of how silly they are
  • Their live shows are a lot of fun - their set at the Astoria about fifteen years ago where they did all of Reign In Blood in about twenty minutes as an encore was incredible. Also the ATP show they did was good but they were blown away by Melvins, Sleep and Wolves In The Throne Room who opened. Wouldn’t want to watch them sober though.

Things I don’t like:

  • People who are really serious about them (exclusively male metal heads)
  • People shouting “Slayerrrrr” at bands who aren’t Slayer
  • They are all shit people (although Dave Lombardo seems OK, or at least not a vocal dick). At best, complete edgelords. At worst, actual right wing arseholes
  • Pretty much all of their albums before and after Reign In Blood
  • I bought a jigsaw of the Reign In Blood artwork at the start of lockdown and it was too dark to make out what any of the pieces were so I got frustrated and gave up
30 Likes
#26

Diabolus in Musica sounds very Darkplace. Surely their best album? (Never knowingly heard Slayer.) Will likely vote 1, citing the ongoing campaign for this HGATR as an aggravating factor.

#27

Deserve a point knocked off for this. 1/5

16 Likes
#28

think their songs would sound better slowed down a bit

#29

If anyone’s never heard them before and fancies giving them a go here’s a little primer from across their career - some early stuff and some late stuff in there too. Tried to put their best stuff at the start. They do have some variety but you could just listen to Reign in Blood.

1 Like
#30

I love reign in blood and thrash is generally the only style of metal I really enjoy

1 Like
#31

I love heavy metal and have always hated Slayer. Would have liked negative numbers in the poll to properly express my disdain for them.

#32

I saw them at that ATP show (only time I’ve seen them) and the people in the crowd shouting SLAAAAAYYEEEER at all the bands who weren’t Slayer - but were significantly better - really did my head in.

1 Like
#33

1

Muting thread

7 Likes
#34

Going to pretend they stopped existing in 1991 and give them whole-hearted five. They were the first properly extreme band I got into when one of my friends lent me the War at the Warfield DVD, couldn’t quite believe how relentless and just how fucking fast their music was. The run from Hell Awaits to Seasons is phenomenal (although I’ve never rated Seasons as highly as some, production is a bit lacking for me). Reign in Blood still stands up as the absolute blueprint for extreme music. Was lucky enough to see them live in 2004 with the classic Araya/King/Hanneman/Lombardo lineup and they were unreal, just the tightest most vicious live band around.

For their part I think they’ve always embraced the silliness of what they do and never really taken what they say seriously (in some cases not seriously enough). Their lyrics and imagery are what they are and I can see why they put people off, but I still get that same visceral thrill when I hear Angel of Death or War Ensemble today.

3 Likes
#35

wrong.

1 Like
#36

Nah, I think they’re pretty aware. At that ATP I remember Tom introducing the last song.

“Before we go I need to know that you’re ready. I need to know that you’re ready for proper Christopher Lee voice… WAR”

2 Likes
#37

I’ve accidentally voted in the singles poll due to shoddy page loading on my mobile, don’t think I can retract it.

Never heard anything by them before, listening to Reign in Blood now; it’s not the worst thing ever but it’s really not good and have to say I’d be mortified if caught listening to this, would be trying to switch to Pornhub for a less awkward conversation if my wife was to come back from work early.

1 Like
#38

Probably a 2 actually

#39

well they sound quite charming

#40

Never heard them in my life, they look fucking stupid though

6 Likes