The Metal Thread

Shmoopy said:

Hmm this interesting. Tom Araya from Slayer had never heard metal until he joined the band. He had never even heard Iron Maiden.

Imagine never even hearing a genre then being in one of the most iconic bands of the genre.

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Hanneman wasnt into metal either, he was into punk. Pretty wild to see how all that shit fused together to create one of the giants of music. There's never gonna be anyone like Slayer again.

Shmoopy said:

Hmm this interesting. Tom Araya from Slayer had never heard metal until he joined the band. He had never even heard Iron Maiden.

Imagine never even hearing a genre then being in one of the most iconic bands of the genre.

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I mean it took them a long ass time to find their chops and produce the Slayer sound and riffs we all know and love. Shit I think they formed in like 80-81? and didnt get to the good shit until like what 6-7 yrs later? And IMO they hit the pinnacle of the Slayer in 88-91. Their earlier stuff I listened to and did not like too much, it was pure 100% trash metal and IMO not so good. Well reign in blood was good but not the whole thing, they still had the reminants of the shitty trash in there along like 2-3 good "Slayer" songs and that was in what? 86?. To this day I still think South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss is still their best shit. Yeah their later stuff was also good, but hit and miss for me at least. Where those two albums I mentioned were classics from first song to last. At least I got to see them a few times in that 90s era.

mkopec said:

I mean it took them a long ass time to find their chops and produce the Slayer sound and riffs we all know and love. Shit I think they formed in like 80-81? and didnt get to the good shit until like what 6-7 yrs later? And IMO they hit the pinnacle of the Slayer in 88-91. Their earlier stuff I listened to and did not like too much, it was pure 100% trash metal and IMO not so good. Well reign in blood was good but not the whole thing, they still had the reminants of the shitty trash in there along like 2-3 good "Slayer" songs and that was in what? 86?. To this day I still think South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss is still their best shit. Yeah their later stuff was also good, but hit and miss for me at least. Where those two albums I mentioned were classics from first song to last. At least I got to see them a few times in that 90s era.

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Early Slayer makes a lot more sense once you hear Venom. Show No Mercy and Haunting the Chapel were literally Venom albums. I'd disagree and shift the timeline forward just a bit. By Hell Awaits they were working on becoming their own thing, and Hell Awaits is the hit or miss record. Hell Awaits the song is such a fucking thrash metal masterpiece, deserves to be up there with Creeping Death and Tornado of Souls, that song has an amazing build and just goes off the fucking rails into uncharted territory. The rest of the album is lackluster in comparison, but has it's moments. By Reign In Blood they had basically figured out the formula, and all South of Heaven and Seasons became was a refinement of that sound.

Then they got rid of Lombardo and Divine Intervention was trash, and then Hanneman's arthritis started taking over and you can really hear it on the rest of the catalog. I consider World Painted Blood to be a return to form on those guys, but it was too little too late, especially with Hanneman dying.

Dave looks rough for 61 but still rocking like a champ.