As a long time fan of Slayer it is my pleasure to get to say a few good words about them. They formed in 1982 in Huntington Beach, CA by Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. Early on they sounded a lot like Judas Priest, especially the album Show No Mercy, Haunting the Chapel, Hell Awaits. After signing with Rick Rubin they released their land mark album Reign in Blood featuring the songs Angel of Death and Raining Blood. The level of musicianship that Slayer has always shown surpasses any band in their genre. Reigning Blood is one of the defining hardcore/slash metal along with Metallica’s Master of Puppets and DRI’s Dirty Rotten Imbeciles.
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Because Slayer is one of my favorite bands it is hard to pick which songs I think you should listen to first. One of my personal favorites is Angel of Death. The first track of the Reign in Blood album, gives you a good idea of their overall style with other songs such as Ghosts of War from their next album South of Heaven. Also from South of Heaven the song Behind the Crooked Cross and much later the song Catalyst from Slayer’s new release Christ Illusion.
If you like Slayer and want to find bands of a similar style, I recommend Lamb of God and their album As the Palaces Burn. If you like their earlier stuff better than their later stuff, I recommend Iron Maiden’s album Power Slave. The Canadian Metal Band Voivod and their album Dimension Hatross is another good album to pick if you enjoy Slayer.
Information: Slayer formed in 1982 with members Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums). Their albums include Show No Mercy Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss, Divine Intervention, Undisputed Attitude, Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.