Slayer

Slayer were formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981; the founding line-up included guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. The debut studio album, Show No Mercy, was released in 1983, followed by Hell Awaits in 1985.

Reign in Blood came out through Def Jam in 1986. It was followed by South of Heaven (1988), Seasons in the Abyss (1990), Divine Intervention (1994), Diabolus in Musica (1998) and God Hates Us All (2001).

Christ Illusion was released in 2006, and its songs “Eyes of the Insane” and “Final Six” won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2007 and 2008. World Painted Blood followed in 2009. Jeff Hanneman died on 2 May 2013 at the age of 49.

Repentless, the band’s first album after Hanneman’s death, was released by Nuclear Blast on 11 September 2015. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4 with around 50,000 units sold in its first week, the highest US chart debut of the band’s career.

Slayer’s farewell world tour ended with a concert at the Forum in Inglewood, California, on 30 November 2019. The band returned for festival shows in 2024, played further concerts in 2025 – including an appearance at Black Sabbath’s final concert in Birmingham on 5 July 2025 – and in 2026 announced shows in the US and Latin America marking the 40th anniversary of Reign in Blood. The band has said these are live performances only, with no new music planned.

Current line-up: Tom Araya (vocals, bass), Kerry King (guitar), Gary Holt (guitar), Paul Bostaph (drums)