When the Los Angeles thrash metal band Slayer redefined the parameters of heavy music in 1986 with the horrific Reign In Blood album, few of their fans would have predicted that, nearly a quarter of a century later, their fame would be undimmed and their subject matter still as controversial as ever.
Slayer's distinctive musical attack has guaranteed the band's residence at the peak of the extreme metal scene, with the unearthly lead Guitar wails of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, Dave Lombardo's world-class drums and tom Araya's unique vocals accompanying a fearless lyrical approach.
However, Slayer have moved with the times: when their mosh pit anthems about serial killers and Satanism became outmoded, the band addressed fresh outrages such as religious terrorism, genocide and war, always accompanied by artwork that has achieved cult status in its own right. The controversy surrounding them has been endless, with authorities even accusing Slayer of a white supremacist agenda and Nazi sympathies – just one myth explored and refuted in The Bloody Reign Of Slayer, the first ever biography of this unique band.
Joel McIver's expert biography traces the band's development, album by album, as well as exploring the headline-grabbing moments over Slayer's long and tumultuous career which have become an inseparable part of the cult which surrounds and defines them.
