小简介
SLAYER是美国著名速度金属乐队,与金属、大屠杀、ANTHRAX并称为激流四巨头.与金属，铁娘子，潘多拉并称为金属四巨头
Jeff Hanneman 已于今2013年离世.
乐队成员
现任成员
Tomás Henry Araya - Bass & Vocals (1982-)
Jeff Hanneman - Guitar (1982-)
Kerry King - Guitar (1982-) (ex-Megadeth)
Dave Lombardo - Drums (1982-1987, 1987-1992, 2001-) (ex-Testament, Grip Inc., Fant?mas, Apocalyptica, ex-Voodoocult)
过去成员
Tony Scaglione (1987, live only) (Deathrash, Whiplash (US), Ludichrist - Drums
Paul Bostaph (1994-1996, 1997-2001) (Testament, Forbidden (US), Exodus, Systematic) - Drums
Jon Dette (1996-1997, live only) - Drums
1981年，SLAYER诞生于洛杉矶的Surburb地区，这支日后影响巨大的乐队最初是由Kerry King发动的。在SLAYER之前，他曾与智利籍的贝司手Tom Araya一起在另一个不知名的乐队里待过。当Kerry King遇到朋克运动的热衷分子，吉他手Jeff Hanneman后，他发觉这个金发的小伙子正是他寻找已久的合作者。于是Kerry和Jeff开始一起搞一些创作。不久后，技术精湛的鼓手Dave Lombardo加入了他们。SLAYER的正式诞生还要归功于Jeff Hanneman，正是他劝说主唱兼贝司手Tom Araya假加入乐队。当时，Tom是附近一家医院的主治医师。
SLAYER的首场演出是在1982年。那时的演出多半是翻唱JUDAS PRIEST和IRON MAIDEN的作品。鉴于他们的演出效果还不错，慢慢地他们能够在比较大的俱乐部进行一些周末的专场演出了。雪球就这样开始越滚越大...
1983年，杀手机器正式开启。一天，当他们在当地一家“Woodstock”俱乐部演出时，一个叫Brian Slagel（Metal Blade唱片公司的创始人）专程来看他们的现场。演出完毕后，Brian Slagel在后台询问Slayer是否愿意在Metal Blade的一张合辑中演绎一首歌。Tom和他的朋友们对这个想法很感兴趣，不过他们有更好的提议。商量了一会之后，SLAYER告诉Brian他们答应录一首歌，但同时要求Brian为他们录制一整张专辑，双方一拍即合。不久后，SLAYER在合辑Metal Massacre III中录制了Agressive Perfector这首歌。而Brian Slagel则帮他们制作了首张专辑Show No Mercy。
恐怕Brian和SLAYER都不会想到，这张专辑很快就被众多重金属杂志和地下乐队奉为经典教程，专辑带给世界的是一种前所未有的暴风雨般的激烈乐风。也有不少批评家嘲笑Show No Mercy的封套设计，诚然，封面上的山羊/撒旦形象怎么看也象是卡通画上的造型，不过怎么说呢，回到1983年，敢于公然在封面上采用全身撒旦形象的恐怕还是头一遭吧（VENOM在1981年的首张专辑的封面上采用了撒旦的头像）。
Show No Mercy中充满了尖叫，大量双吉他solo和疾速的鼓点。对乐迷来说，Tom，Jeff，Kerry和Dave的乐器演奏水平之高是一个显而易见的事实。举个例子，当时一家杂志的文章这样说，“作为一个鼓手来说，Dave Lombardo的技术比Lars Ulrich强的太多了”，天知道。
因为某些原因，Show No Mercy直到1984年才在欧洲露面。这期间SLAYER也没闲着，他们先是推出了一张EP，Haunting the Chapel，其中收录了Chemical Warfare，一首绝对经典的SLAYER式的歌曲——疾速而厚重。除了这首歌外，EP中还收录了另一首经典歌曲Captor of Sin，所以这张EP虽然只有短短的三首歌，却受到了一致好评，有人甚至认为Haunting the Chapel EP是SLAYER唯一没有缺憾的作品。
同年晚些时候，SLAYER再接再厉，推出了现场专辑Live Undead，这是世界上第一张Thrash Metal现场专辑。从这张专辑中，人们认识到SLAYER到底有多棒，他们不光在录音室里能达到那样的速度，在舞台上同样能达到！
1985年，SLAYER录制了专辑Hell Awaits，仍然由Brian Slagel制作，Metal Blade发行。Hell Awaits比之前作更为黑暗和更为露骨的撒旦主义倾向，这无疑吸引了更多渴望与众不同的歌迷。由于专辑在短期内仅在美国就卖出了10万张，大唱片公司开始注意并SLAYER并与他们进行接触。Hell Awaits比Show No Mercy更为全面的展示了SLAYER的才华：这支乐队不仅能把快歌玩的出色，他们同样能把慢节奏的歌做的非常成功，这里的慢节奏不是指那种软绵绵的情歌，而是类试At Dawn They Sleep和Hell Awaits这样沉重，压抑的慢拍作品。专辑里同样有Kill Again和Necrophilliac这样的速度金属经典歌曲。总而言之，Hell Awaits给人的感觉就象是一堆破碎的玻璃渣和生锈的剃刀——极端的刺激与适度的收敛。尽管常常被忽视，这仍是一张非常宝贵的专辑。
正是由于Hell Awaits的成功,SLAYER开始与制作人RICK RUBIN联系,RICK RUBIN在这之前是一些说唱硬核乐队,如RUN DMC和BEASTIE BOYS的制作人.当SLAYER加入RICK的唱片公司 DEF JAM时,他们是RICK制作的第一只金属乐队.
1986年对于金属迷来说是奇妙的一年,不仅是因为METALLICA的MASTER OF PUPPETS,更重要的原因似乎已经没有必要再赘述了.每个人都知道那就是伟大的REGIN IN BLOOD,这是一张极端致命的速度金属专辑.因为从此以后.不会再有乐队做出接近REGIN IN BLOOD水准的专辑了.这无疑剥夺了很多乐队的饭碗.这张专辑由10首短促暴烈的歌曲组成,经典的吉他RIFF俯仰皆是.较之之前的两张专辑,这张专辑更注重在技术的表达和歌曲的编排上下文章.减少了黑暗的成分,增加了更多血腥暴力的内容.专辑的第一首歌,也是最好的ANGEL OF DEATH,描写的是关于JOSEPH MENGELE的残忍故事.这个声名狼籍的奥斯维辛集中营德国医生用活人做实验的经历.是人们无法忘却的噩梦.这首歌是JEFF HANNEMAN创作的,这个金发碧眼的吉他手一直对纳粹德国很感兴趣.他甚至还收藏了相当数量的德国战时纳粹勋章.不少人因此指责JEFF和SLAYER一伙人为纳粹主义分子(事实并非如此).这些人之所以这么说不过是因为这样比较容易解释SLAYER的行径. ----他们用铁鹰作为乐队的标志.用"魏玛屠场"作为自己歌迷俱乐部的名称.在美国和加拿大,SLAYER被列入了警方的黑名单.而诸如CBS这样的大唱片公司拒绝任何与REGIN IN BLOOD相关的发行工作.所以直到1986年10月,REGIN IN BLOOD才由 DEF JAM公司自费发行.而欧洲歌迷要等到1987年1月才能亲手从货架上拿到这张专辑.实在不好说专辑中哪首歌是经典,因为10首歌都是!从最开始的速度金属力作ANGEL OF DEATH到营造黑暗氛围的结束曲REGIN IN BLOOD.无一不是上上之作,短短的28分钟里.SLAYER以精湛的技术,完美的编排,充沛的力度和血腥的歌词完成了THRASH/SPEED最经典的时刻.
Slayer was one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics deal with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. Their full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops paint an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side; this correspondence has helped Slayer's music hold up arguably better than the remaining Big Three '80s thrash outfits (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax). Naturally, Slayer has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the years, with rumors flying about Satanism and Nazism that have only added to their mystique. Over the years, Slayer put out some high-quality albums, one undisputed classic (Reign in Blood), and saw the numbers of naysayers and detractors shrinking as their impact on the growing death metal movement was gradually and respectfully acknowledged. Slayer survived into the 1990s with arguably the most vitality and the least compromise of any pre-Nirvana metal band, and their intensity still inspires similar responses from their devoted fans.
Slayer was formed in 1982 in Huntington Beach, CA, by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman; also recruited were bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo. The band started out playing covers of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden songs, but quickly discovered that they could get attention (and fans) by exploiting threatening, satanic imagery. The band was invited by Metal Blade's Brian Slagel to contribute a track to the Metal Massacre, Vol. 3 compilation (a series that also saw the vinyl debuts of Metallica and Voivod); a contract and debut album, Show No Mercy, followed shortly thereafter. While Slayer's early approach was rather cartoonish, their breakneck speed and instrumental prowess were still highly evident. Two EPs, Haunting the Chapel and Live Undead, were released in 1984, but 1985's Hell Awaits refined their lyrical obsessions into a sort of concept album about damnation and torture and made an immediate sensation in heavy metal circles, winning Slayer a rabid cult following.
Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin took a liking to the band, signed them to his label, and contributed the first clear-sounding production heard on any Slayer album for the stripped-down Reign in Blood. Due to the graphic nature of the material, CBS refused to distribute the album, which garnered a great deal of publicity for the band; eventually, Geffen Records stepped in. Combining Slayer's trademark speed metal with the tempos and song lengths (if not structures) of hardcore, along with the band's most disturbing lyrics yet, Reign in Blood was an instant classic, breaking the band through to a wider audience, and was hailed by some as the greatest speed metal album of all time (some give the nod to Metallica's Master of Puppets).
South of Heaven disappointed some of the band's hardcore followers, as Slayer successfully broke out of the potential stylistic straitjacket of their reputation as the world's fastest, most extreme band. Drummer Lombardo took some time off and was briefly replaced by Whiplash drummer Tony Scaglione, but soon returned to the fold. 1990's Seasons in the Abyss was well received in all respects, incorporating more of the classic Slayer intensity into a more commercial -- but no less uncompromising -- sound. "War Ensemble" and the title track became favorites on MTV's Headbanger's Ball, and Slayer consolidated their position at the forefront of thrash, along with Metallica. Following the release of the double live album Decade of Aggression, Lombardo left the band for good due to personality conflicts with the other members and formed Grip Inc.
Slayer remained quiet for a few years; the only new material released after 1990 was a duet with Ice-T recorded for the Judgment Night soundtrack on a medley of songs by the Exploited. After leaving the Forbidden, Paul Bostaph signed on as the new drummer for 1994's Divine Intervention, which was released to glowing reviews; thanks to the new death metal movement, which drew upon Slayer and particularly Reign in Blood for its inspiration, Slayer was hailed as a metal innovator. The album was a massive success, debuting at number eight on the Billboard album charts.
Bostaph left the band to concentrate on a side project, the Truth About Seafood, and was replaced by ex-Testament drummer Jon Dette for Undisputed Attitude, an album consisting mostly of punk and hardcore covers. Bostaph rejoined Slayer in time to record 1998's Diabolus in Musica. The band reunited with Def Jam for 2001's God Hates Us All. In 2004, they unleashed the four-disc anthology Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, followed by an album of all-new material, Christ Illusion, in 2006.