Few names elicit more raised-fist worship than Slayer, a group synonymous with bruising music and dark imagery.
“Reign in Blood,” Slayer’s 1986 speed metal classic, set the template for countless thrash musicians,
virtually creating death metal in the process. The Rick Rubin-produced disc has held up well over the years, even as the band has ventured in new directions.
Slayer is touring behind last year’s “Christ Illusion,” which reunited drummer Dave Lombardo with Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman and founding guitarist Kerry King. We spoke with King in advance of Slayer’s Fillmore Auditorium show about touring, politics and why metal never will be truly tamed.
Q: Music critics have been saying that metal is going mainstream lately. Do you agree?
A: There’s an upsurge of new bands putting out quality stuff, but I think metal doesn’t reinvent itself as much as it regurgitates itself. You ride out the people diluting what the better bands are doing, and you get a new batch of guys coming out of L.A. or New York or New England or whatever.
Q: Slayer had its network TV debut on the Jimmy Kimmel show earlier this month, even though the band has been around for 25 years.
A: And it was late-night TV, too!
Q: What took so long?
A: People are still scared of us because we’re the bad guys. We don’t sing about happy thoughts or things that are safe in the media. The main song we wanted to play on that show was “Jihad,” and they deleted like 40 percent of the lyrics.
Q: You’re up for a Grammy for “Eyes of the Insane,” which you also performed on Jimmy Kimmel. That’s your second nomination, right?
A: Yeah, but as popular as metal is supposedly getting it still won’t be televised, which is silly. If you’re going to give someone an award but you don’t think enough of it to put it on TV, why do you even have the award?
Q: Would you be alarmed if people started accepting Slayer in mass numbers?
A: I don’t know, man. I like our size because if you get too big you get people that like you just because it’s cool. I don’t ever want to be like that. I want people to like us because they’re into it, not just as a product of the propaganda of the press.
Q: Your new album deals with religion and war. During your meet-and-greet with American troops in Germany last fall, did you discuss politics or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
A: Not really. A lot of them came to the show that night. We probably had 30 people from the base there. We took them all upstairs after the gig and had a party.
Q: The band is playing everything from clubs to coliseums on this tour. Preference?
A: Either one gets old if
you get stuck doing it. But chances are the intensity of a smaller performance is better because you’ve got more diehard fans there.
Q: Your band has inspired dozens of others. Are there any out there you particularly like?
A: We just got off a tour with Children of Bodom. Alexi (Laiho, singer) and Janne (Wirman, keyboards) play really well together. Camaro’s got a new record coming out, as does Phil from Machine Head. We’ve also toured a lot with Mastodon. They’re a very musically talented band but I can’t sit and watch them five times in a row.
Slayer plays at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Fillmore Auditorium. Tickets are $30 through Ticketmaster.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
