Slayer Drummer Dave Lombardo Gets Kicked Off the Tour : February 22, 2013

Black Sabbath isn’t the only band with drummer issues – Slayer will be playing its upcoming Australian tour dates without original drummer Dave Lombardo. The drummer announc ...

Concert Review: Slayer at Mayhem Festival in Atlanta : July 15, 2012

The crowds at Atlanta's Mayhem Festival survived the onslaught of heavy hitting bands who rocked the Jaegermeister and Sumerian Records stages. As evening crept closer to Slipknot' ...

Jagermeister Tour Signs on Slayer, Megadeath and Anthrax : August 16, 2010

Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer will be touring the US this fall for a month's worth of arena shows for the Jagermeister Music Tour's 17th edition. The three metal bands, who perfo ...

Back Problems Sideline Slayer, Megadeath Tour : January 08, 2010

The head banging days of Tom Araya, frontman for Slayer, have finally caught up with not only him but his band as well. Due to the chronic back problems of Araya, the band is havi ...

Slayer and Megadeath Wreck ‘Carnage’ on 2010 Tour : November 27, 2009

Metalheads Slayer were scheduled to make the rounds in Europe to close out the year, but those plans have been scraped as they join forces with Megadeath for a North American tour ...

Slayer Biography

The thrash metal band Slayer was established in 1981 in Huntington Park, California by Kerry King (guitarist) and Jeff Hanneman (guitarist). Other band members include Tom Araya (bass, lead vocals) and Dave Lombardo (drums). The band rose to fame upon the release of "Reign in Blood" in 1986. Along with Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica, Slayer is considered one of thrash metals Big Four acts. "Reign in Blood" has been credited with inspiring the death metal genre.

The musical traits of Slayer's sound involve chanted or shouted vocals, double bass drumming and fast tremolo picking. King, Hanneman and Tom Araya, the band's lead vocalist and bassist, are all contributors to Slayer's lyrics. Hanneman and King are the creators and arrangers of the band's music, with drummer Dave Lombardo as well as Araya also adding other arrangement. The album art and lyrics of Slayer's music, which explore topics like warfare, religion, Satanism and serial killers have resulted in album delays and bans, lawsuits as well as strong criticism from the public and in particular religious groups.

Since releasing their debut album "Show No Mercy" in 1983, Slayer has released a total of eleven studio albums, two extended plays, six videos, one box set and two live albums. Four of their studio albums have been certified gold. The band has also been nominated for five Grammy awards and have won two: in 2007 for "Eyes of the Insane, as well as in 2008 for "Final Six." Both songs appeared on the 2006 album "Christ Illusion." The band has performed at numerous music festivals around the world including Ozzfest, Download and Unholy Alliance. Currently the band is working on another studio album. It is set to be released in 2013.