{"id":1616,"date":"1984-07-01T00:00:29","date_gmt":"1984-07-01T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=1616"},"modified":"2012-06-10T01:06:17","modified_gmt":"2012-06-10T01:06:17","slug":"feature-slayer-mf6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-slayer-mf6\/","title":{"rendered":"SLAYER – Killer Instinct (MF6, 1984) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SLAYER – Killer Instinct<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nK.J. Doughton<\/span>
\nMetal Forces, Issue 6 (1984)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Slayer (l-r): Kerry King, Dave Lombardo, Jeff Hanneman and Tom Araya<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Pic: Lowell Katz<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nBecause of the groundbreaking success granted to Metallica after the release of their Kill \u2019Em All<\/em><\/a> opus, a swill of imitators have hastily invaded the \u2018death metal\u2019 spectrum made fashionable by Ulrich and co in an effort to gain their own slice of recognition. Some succeeded, but most met with miserable fates. Anthrax and Exciter, who also pioneered this spectrum to some extent and started out strong, as well as such lesser talents as Hellhammer, Sodom and Atomkraft, have all failed to contribute anything more than another variation on the \u2018chuka-chuka\u2019 rifferama, and the entire death metal boot camp has currently hit an artistic rock bottom due to such uncompromisingly dull units failing to improve or expand on what\u2019s already been done.<\/p>\n

Well, if that\u2019s where these bands want to stay, more power to \u2019em \u2013 I\u2019ve always admired a bands refusal to compromise in the name of hardcore metal and thrashus maximus, but the sad truth is that this stubborn loyalty to the realms of speed and open E chords cannot be utilized successfully on a mass level. While most death metal bands couldn\u2019t probably care less whether or not they\u2019re successful in international terms, I\u2019d think that it would get awfully boring to play to the same club crowds time and time again.<\/p>\n

However, if a band simply refuses to progress or sell out to any degree, preferring instead to thrash it out \u2019til oblivion, they might as well do it right. And by right I mean by pulling all the stops to be the fastest, dirtiest, heaviest, loudest and most obnoxious band in the world, at all costs and without exception. LA\u2019s Slayer<\/a> go by such a philosophy.<\/p>\n

Their debut LP of last year, Show No Mercy<\/em><\/a> (Metal Blade), attested to their extreme direction with brilliant effect, full of blur-fast, Satanically-tinged thrash metal and a totally uncompromising attitude. Every cut exceeds the 100mph mark, with not a melody or vocal harmony within earshot \u2013 just an onslaught of pure, unadulterated, wonderful noise!<\/p>\n

Their recently released Haunting The Chapel<\/em> EP further proved that Slayer are bound and determined to do nothing but push the boundaries of death metal beyond the sound barrier, with such cuts as the gloriously fast \u2018Chemical Warfare\u2019 setting a new standard in audio-brain impalement.<\/p>\n

After talking with Slayer founder and guitarist Kerry King, I\u2019m further convinced that such terms as \u201cprogression\u201d and \u201ccommercialism\u201d have no part in the Slayer vocabulary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll always be the way we are now,\u201d insists King. \u201cHowever, I\u2019m not criticising bands just because they want to go in a different direction as long as it\u2019s truly what they want to do. When they start doing it for the sake of money alone, I think that\u2019s a cop-out. As for myself, I\u2019ve always been a thrasher at heart and I can\u2019t see that changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n
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Kerry King<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Pic: Lowell Katz<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

After forming Slayer roughly three years ago by recruiting bandmates Jeff Hanneman (guitar), Tom Araya (vocals \/ bass) and Dave Lombardo (drums), King and co cut \u2018Aggressive Perfector\u2019 for the Metal Massacre II<\/em> compilation. At that time, Slayer had initially been following the direction of many LA heavy metal bands by wearing some embarrassingly out of place make-up that was soon removed permanently after the band\u2019s first appearance in San Francisco last January, to coincide with the release of Show No Mercy<\/em>; the rabid Bay Area crowds had apparently convinced the mascara-laden foursome that they were best without cosmetics!<\/p>\n

One thing the band haven\u2019t abandoned is their explicit Satanic imagery. During the band\u2019s live appearance, the amplification stacks are adorned with two inverted-cross light fixtures, and their wardrobes, full of stud-encrusted leather and porcupine-like spikes, is so downright excessive it makes them appear almost reptilian (especially King, whose costume looks like it would critically maim any punters who dare get too close!).<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the main reason we\u2019ve chosen the Satanic direction is because it\u2019s easy for me to write Satanic lyrics. No, seriously it\u2019s because such an image contrasts most of the so-called heavy metal bands here in LA. We\u2019re the only true \u2018thrash metal\u2019 band around here! The other LA bands sound exactly the same. I mean, if you heard songs by Quiet Riot, Ratt and Great White all side by side on the radio, you\u2019d probably think they were all the same band. Soon, people will get tired of such bands and will come to see us instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are always telling me that you don\u2019t need the Satanic black metal aspects of heavy metal in your music to be heavy. However, if we didn\u2019t use them we\u2019d end up sounding dangerously close to other bands, like Metallica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, Slayer have recently written a piece that actually has no mention of Satan!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d insists King. \u201cIt\u2019s called \u2018Kill Again\u2019, and while it doesn\u2019t have any demonic lyrics, it does mention a priest getting his only son murdered by a homicidal maniac!\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s a start I guess….<\/p>\n

\u2018Kill Again\u2019 will appear on the band\u2019s second LP, entitled Hell Awaits<\/em>. The disc is due out in January, again on Metal Blade Records in the US, with Roadrunner releasing the album in Europe.<\/p>\n

Other featured cuts include \u2018Necrophiliac\u2019 (most disgusting lyrics ever!), \u2018Praise Of Death\u2019, \u2018At Dawn They Sleep\u2019, \u2018Hardening Of The Arteries\u2019 and \u2018Altar Sacrifice\u2019, which King claims is their fastest song ever!<\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t catch Slayer during their recent North West jaunt and Bay Area appearances, or their Country Club triumph of early September, be on the lookout for them in the future \u2013 the band hope to open some Bay Area Mercyful Fate shows in San Francisco, and play the October 12th Aardschok Festival, not to mention do a five-date Canadian tour. Also, East Coast appearances are tentative, but nothing\u2019s been clarified at this point in time. All I can say is that Slayer are definitely one of the heaviest onstage experiences going, so prepare to indulge in some heavy \u2018Chemical Warfare\u2019 when they lurk your way!<\/p>\n

Interview taken from Metal Forces, Issue 6 (1984)<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SLAYER – Killer Instinct K.J. Doughton Metal Forces, Issue 6 (1984) Slayer (l-r): Kerry King, Dave Lombardo, Jeff Hanneman and Tom Araya Pic: Lowell Katz Because of the groundbreaking success granted to Metallica after the release of their Kill \u2019Em All opus, a swill of imitators have hastily invaded the \u2018death metal\u2019 spectrum made fashionable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-slayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1616"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5876,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1616\/revisions\/5876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}