To attempt to explain Slayer’s importance and impact on music today is a lesson in futility. Not because it can’t be done, but because there truly is no reason to do so. Slayer is one of a handful of Extreme Metal bands that have been able to transcend the limitations of the genre and enter into the world’s musical zeitgeist. And the group managed to do so without forsaking its music’s undying aggression and sense of danger. While the members have grown a bit greyer around the temples, they have consistently built upon their prior works to create a range of sound expression that can only be described as Slayer, through and through
Perhaps the band’s greatest accomplishment has been its ability to balance the fury that’s kept fans enraptured for almost four decades with its ability to infiltrate pop culture as a whole. The group’s most widely known song, “Raining Blood,” deals with the concept of destroying Heaven, and its opening can be recognized by just about any Rock fan in three notes’ time. In many ways, Slayer has become shorthand for Metal as a whole. More than even Metallica, Slayer is seen as the entry into the world of “true” or “real” Metal for many, fans and critics alike.
One only has to look at the lineup of Slayer’s farewell tour to see just how far-reaching the band’s influence has spread. Thrash colleagues Testament and Anthrax, New Wave of American Heavy Metal titans Lamb of God and Poland’s favorite Satanists, Behemoth, are all on tap and all can trace a direct line to Slayer’s legacy. The group has endured the loss of one of its principal songwriters (R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman), an ongoing feud with longtime drummer Dave Lombardo and the realities of 40 years of abuse on vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King, but the Slayer name and brand has stood tall. The ride may be winding down, but the band’s accomplishments will rightfully be passed down like that well-worn copy of Seasons in the Abyss that we’ve all owned at one point or another.
