Whenever an established act loses its frontman, especially one as talismanic as Max Cavalera, fans are usually left choosing sides. Do you go with the musician striking out on their own or do your allegiances remain with the band? Largely dependent on the situation, an amicable split can leave listeners happily following both parties down separate paths to the promise of glory but when open hostility is at the heart of the separation, loyalties are often put to the test.Continue reading
Bay Area thrashers Vio-Lence might have only been around for eight years but what a magnificent near-decade it was. From their classic hyper-aggressive debut Eternal Nightmare (MCA Records) to the controversial lyrics of ‘Torture Tactics’ and a deliciously questionable vegetable soup and vinegar “vomit bag” plastic record sleeve, the band also launched the career of a certain Robb Flynn who went on to form 1990s game-changers Machine Head, eventually to be followed by guitarist Phil Demmel. With three studio albums under their belts, the band went their separate ways in 1993, only becoming a full-time going concern again in 2019.
With only founding guitarist Prika Amaral remaining from their original 2010 line-up, Brazilian thrashers Nervosa return with a much more international look on their fourth full-length studio release, Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records). Joining Amaral this time is Spanish vocalist Diva Satanica, Greek drummer Eleni Nota, and former Abbath bassist Mia Wallace.
When Reign in Blood (Def Jam) catapulted Californian thrashers Slayer into the big leagues, the 1986 (or 1987 if you lived in the UK) seminal release also created a problem for the band. How exactly do you follow perfection?
The lights came up… and it was all over.
This has been the scenario for thousands of shows I have seen. Maybe 6,000 plus shows that I have attended or performed in since I was a small child. The final bow, thunderous applause, and the blinding lights of the house coming on, our shared experience ending as we gather ourselves to go to the bar, or home. Except this was different. This was the last time I would ever see Slayer. It was definitely hitting me, long before the final notes of ‘Angel of Death’ rang out and the final jets of pyro screamed across the top of the band in a way that would excite Beavis and Butthead to no end. Continue reading
From the first day of December 2019, we enter a dark, horrifying new era. Life without Slayer.
Sorry. Life without SLAAAAAYYYERRR!!!
There, that’s better.
From the moment I discovered Slayer on a compilation album called Speed Kills back in 1985, my life was changed forever. Just the sound of their name was enough. Everything you needed to know about the band encapsulated in two perfect syllables, especially when screamed at an ear-splitting volume or when chanted with thousands of other like-minded blood-hungry psychopaths.Continue reading
Phil Anselmo has created a brutal new song for the theme song of Slayer’s Tom Araya’s upcoming “Hair Metal Shotgun Zombie Massacre” project! Check out a teaser for the track, out today on all digital platforms worldwide via Art Is War Records, is available below. Directed by Joshua Allan Vargas, who has worked on music videos for Down, Soil, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals and Warbeast, the film is about a hair metal band that, while struggling to find its own identity, decides to record its first full-length album is a creepy cabin located in the middle of a notorious cemetery. Written by Joshua Allan Vargas and Jvstin Whitney, based on a story by Jvstin Whitney, “Hair Metal Shotgun Zombie Massacre ” features cameos by Araya, Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) and David Vincent (Morbid Angel). Film narration was provided by actor Norman Reedus. Continue reading
In a wide-ranging interview over at Metal Hammer, drummer Dave Lombardo (Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross) penned a lengthy tribute to his late Slayer bandmate Jeff Hanneman. Hanneman passed away in 2013, and Lomardo exited Slayer for the final time as well in 2013. All of metal misses Jeff’s spirit and talent. We’ve been covering the coming end to Slayer’s career for some time, so catch up on our retrospectives, live reviews and other news about the thrash legends. Continue reading
What do you do for an encore when you have released arguably the greatest album in metal history, at the zenith point for the genre? Well if you are Slayer, you blow people’s minds and release South Of Heaven (Def Jam) as the follow-up to Reign In Blood (also Def Jam). Although some of its slower mid-tempo jams threw fans for a loop, Slayer’s fourth album is full of gritty, true to life bangers and classic tracks. Let’s revisit this masterpiece which turned thirty years old today. Continue reading
Go and see your heroes at least once before they are gone. I say this once a week to friends of mine. I hear all the time that “I can’t believe I missed so and so and now they are done”. For some of us, that list is long. Luckily, I have seen almost everyone on my bucket list, minus a few glaring omissions (AC/DC with Bon Scott, Queen). I’ve seen Slayer in all their iterations. Every lineup and era since 1991, which was my very first time. All of them ruled. However, when they announced their start of this farewell tour, it wasn’t a question to me if I was going or not? It was a question of how many times will I get to go? How many times will they come around? That number is up in the air as of this writing, but I am tickled that I got to go to see them at Mohegan Sun Arena in Montville, Connecticut. Thanks to my brother for life Dan Christian for hooking me up with a ticket and the great hangs. I saw a bunch of my metal brothers and sisters at the show and everyone was damn happy to be there, even if it also felt like a New Orleans funeral march at times with grave, sweaty faces. Continue reading