1986. The year of big hair, big tunes, Bon Jovi and spandex. Europe's "The Final Countdown" is the biggest hit record of the year, hitting number one in more countries than I, or the people that bought it would care to mention.
During this period, a variation of the Heavy Metal genre first christened by Steppenwolf in classic "Born To Be Wild"and defined by Black Sabbath's self titled debut in 1970 began to make some waves outside of the tape trading industry where it first found fans.
Thrash Metal. Combining the intricate, solo heavy stylings of "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" utilized by Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Saxon with the brash, speed reliant aggression of punk bands like The Misfits and Dead Kennedys and all encompassing attraction of drug taking, solo wailing, drumkit breaking threesome Motorhead. Beginning with Metallica's far from subtle entrance into the music industry "Kill 'Em All", Thrash was metal for those too punk to like Deep Purple, and those to metal to like The Ramones(which in itself is a mortal sin, The Ramones are great), thus attracting a wide range of followers, sharing in their taste through taped versions of albums and live recordings from gritty clubs around San Francisco.
Since the Metallica's aforementioned debut in 1983, Thrash snowballed - bands like Megadeth and Exodus popping up in the same year, each trying to outdo each other in terms of intricacy and tempo. And with Metallica leaving the pure thrash scene(The Ride The Lightning album in 1984 already showing open attempts to distance away from original thrash, "Fade to Black a ballad beginning with an acoustic guitar, for example) as quickly a they'd coined it, it was up to the others to quite literally pick up the pace.
This race was quickly ended by today's topic of discussion, Slayer.
A band whose 1985 album, "Hell Awaits" was so quick singer Tom Araya had to sing faster than many of today's Grime artists simply to keep up, continued the theme with their third album "Reign In Blood".
Teaming with now world famous producer Rick Rubin, Slayer headed in the studio with the intention of recording the defining "the" Thrash album. And it was just that. Clocking in at 29 minutes, featuring near-250bpm 100 second long "Necrophobic", Slayer did more than any other band in history to bridge the gap between hardcore punk and metal.
For me, it was wonderful. Opening with the jaw dropping "Angel Of Death", a near 5 minute ode to brutal Nazi scientist Josef Mengele, the lyrical horrors screamed by Tom Araya over a tighter-than tight combination of crushingly precise guitar and drummer Dave Lombardo's mind boggling accuracy - typified by the kick drum only roll near the end of the song, single handedly rewriting the concept of speed-metal musicianship.
It was shocking. It was quick. It was heavy. For a kid getting into Metallica, Guns N Roses and Iron Maiden, "Reign In Blood" was the steel boot kicking the door open into a new world of music. Like Linkin Park a year or so before, Slayer served to kick it up a notch or several; consigning me to endless evenings spent wailing my drum kit in a futile attempt to recreate Lombardo's work.
It also cemented my now resolute mentality when it comes to metal. If ever an album said defiance, it was Reign In Blood. I felt like I had to defend it, considering it's abrasive and unrelenting sound. It solidified my angst. It felt empowering(not in lyrical content, I'm not a sociopath) musically, and reminded me constantly that if they can do it, so can I. I didn't have to listen to the Top 40, I didn't have to pretend to care. I had Slayer, and from the moment I stared at the hell depicted on the front cover and the fear tinged excitement gave me goosebumps and the feeling that I shouldn't be listening, they had me.
Even to this day, in my ripe old age of 19, I still listen to "Angel of Death" and smile manically, I still sing along to the riff in "Raining Blood" like an over exuberant schoolboy, and every so often I sit behind a drum kit and attempt to recreate the adrenalin pumping work of Dave Lombardo. And that's the way it'll always be.
It's a shame that many Slayer fans I know couldn't string two sentences together, let alone write about them so passionately and eloquently as you. But as you said, their fans are quite varied, and I for one have always appreciated their musical abilities rather than simply write them off, as one less than appreciative parent put it, as "that noise." Excellent writeup again.
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