Slayer: News, History & Updates

Slayer Biography

By MAX CAVALERA from SOULFLY, exclusively for Alternative Nation

Early Slayer Records

Max Cavalera: Those early records are insane. If you go listen to Hell Awaits and Haunting the Chapel and Show No Mercy…I mean, I even like that better than the later stuff. I mean, Reign in Blood is great – it’s a shorter record, in your face. But to me, a classic like Hell Awaits, it’s what I really, really dug my claws in – and got me hooked on Slayer. The drumming – [Dave] Lombardo’s drumming – is special. The riffs are great. Tom’s vocals are amazing. The vibe is great. It’s fucking Slayer, man…it’s hard to explain! They’re just awesome.

Slayer’s Extreme Lyrical Topics

Max Cavalera: Yeah, but metal is about that. I think metal is a place where you kind of go to areas where some people are scared to touch. Some people are scared to go there. In metal, we’re supposed to push that, push the envelope, push the boundary. So yeah, I like that they do that.

Reign in Blood vs. Master of Puppets

Max Cavalera: That’s tough, man. But I have to go with Reign in Blood – if I had to pick one to listen to, to get inspired. I love Master Puppets, it’s an amazing record. But Reign in Blood kicks ass all the way through.

Experiencing Slayer Live

Max Cavalera: [Soulfly] did a whole tour in 2002, so we got to watch them quite a lot, every night. It was great. It didn’t happen to us, but a lot of bands were scared to play before Slayer. For us, it was no problem. We had a great show. People loved it. And I got a chance to see them again recently, also. It’s great that you watch them still doing their thing.

Max Cavalera interview conducted exclusively by Greg Prato for Alternative Nation.