Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, who recruited vocalist and bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo. Slayer's first two albums, Show No Mercy (1983) and Hell Awaits (1985), which were released on Metal Blade Records, did not chart in the United States. The band was then signed to Def Jam Recordings by Rick Rubin, who produced Reign in Blood (1986). The album helped Slayer break into the Billboard 200 for the first time, peaking at number 94. After South of Heaven (1988), Slayer signed to Rubin's new label, Def American, and released Seasons in the Abyss (1990). After the album was released, Lombardo departed Slayer and was replaced by Paul Bostaph.
1994's Divine Intervention, the first album to feature Bostaph, peaked at number eight in the US, the band's best chart performance at the time. Diabolus in Musica (1998) was criticized for its nu metal traits, while God Hates Us All (2001) created controversy for its graphic artwork. Bostaph left the band due to an injury and was replaced by former member Lombardo. Christ Illusion (2006) was Slayer's highest debuting effort on the charts, placing at number five in the US and winning two Grammy Awards. Slayer sold 5 million copies in the United States from 1991 to 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and over 20 million worldwide. Slayer is considered one of the "big four" of thrash metal along with Anthrax, Metallica and Megadeth and has earned six gold certifications and one multi-platinum plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Albums Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US AUSAustralian (ARIA Chart) peaks: "South of Heaven": Top 50 peaks: Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: AUT DEN FIN FRA GER NLD NZ SWE UKPeak chart positions in the United Kingdom:
Show No Mercy Released: December 3, 1983 Label: Metal Blade — — — — — — 44 — — — —Hell Awaits Released: April 8, 1985 Label: Metal Blade — — — — — — 41 — — — — US: 100,000Reign in Blood Released: October 20, 1986 Label: Def Jam 94 — — — — — — — — — 47 US: 766,000 RIAA: Gold BPI: SilverSouth of Heaven Released: July 5, 1988 Label: Def Jam 57 53 — — 11 — 23 31 — 50 25 RIAA: Gold BPI: Silver MC: GoldSeasons in the Abyss Released: October 9, 1990 Label: Def American 40 58 29 — 12 — 19 69 — 47 18 US: 813,000 RIAA: Gold MC: Gold Divine Intervention Released: September 27, 1994 Label: American 8 27 22 — 4 19 18 31 20 10 15 RIAA: Gold MC: Gold Undisputed Attitude Released: May 28, 1996 Label: American 34 16 43 — 27 43 45 33 22 20 31 US: 163,000Diabolus in Musica Released: June 9, 1998 Label: American 31 35 40 — 18 23 32 52 15 29 27 US: 306,000 God Hates Us All Released: September 11, 2001 Label: American 28 15 31 32 12 25 9 30 35 18 31 US: 319,000 Christ Illusion Released: August 8, 2006 Label: American 5 9 6 14 2 52 2 8 10 4 23 US: 175,000World Painted Blood Released: November 3, 2009 Label: American 12 9 13 21 12 28 7 15 16 21 41 US: 160,000 ZPAV: GoldRepentless Released: September 11, 2015 Label: Nuclear Blast 4 3 6 9 3 7 1 2 8 5 11 ZPAV: Gold "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Live albums Title Album detailsPeak chart positionsUSAUSAUTFINFRAGERNLDUKLive Undead Released: November 16, 1984 Label: Metal Blade — — — — — 77 — —Decade of Aggression Released: October 22, 1991 Label: Def American 55 83 — — — 35 79 29 The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria(with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax) Released: October 15, 2010 Label: Universal — 71 — 31 — 59 75 —The Repentless Killogy (Live at the Forum in Inglewood, CA) Released: November 8, 2019 Label: Nuclear Blast — — 36 49 91 16 — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
EPs Title EP details Peak chart positionsDENFINSWESWIHaunting the Chapel Released: June 1984 Label: Metal Blade — — — —Eternal Pyre Released: June 6, 2006 Label: American 3 2 48 88 "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Box sets TitleAlbum detailsSoundtrack to the Apocalypse Released: November 25, 2003 Label: AmericanThe Vinyl Conflict Released: October 12, 2010 Label: American, Sony Hell Awaits (40th Anniversary Edition) Released: May 15, 2026 Label: Metal Blade
Singles
Song Year Peak chart positions AlbumUSSalesDENUK"Black Magic" 1983 — — —Show No Mercy"Hell Awaits" 1985 — — —Hell Awaits"Raining Blood" 1986 — — 64Reign in Blood"Angel of Death" — — —"Postmortem" — — —"Necrophobic" — — —"Criminally Insane"1987 — — —"South of Heaven" 1988 — — —South of Heaven"Mandatory Suicide" — — —"War Ensemble"1990 — — —Seasons in the Abyss"Dead Skin Mask" — — —"Spirit in Black" — — —"Seasons in the Abyss"1991 — — 51"Dittohead"1994 — — —Divine Intervention"Serenity in Murder"1995 — — 50"I Hate You"1996 — — —Undisputed Attitude"Stain of Mind"1998 — — —Diabolus in Musica"Bitter Peace" — — —"Bloodline"2001 — — —God Hates Us All"Disciple" — — —"God Send Death" — — —"Cult" 2006 — — —Christ Illusion"Eyes of the Insane" — 15 97"Jihad" — — —"Final Six"2007 — — —"Psychopathy Red"2009 — — —World Painted Blood"Hate Worldwide" 2 — —"World Painted Blood"2010 14 — —"Implode"2014 — — —Repentless"When the Stillness Comes"2015 — — —"Repentless" 2 — —"You Against You"2016 — — —"Pride in Prejudice" — — —"—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Other appearances Song Year Album Comments "Captor of Sin" 1986 River's Edge soundtrack Originally appears on Haunting the Chapel. "Tormentor" Originally appears on Show No Mercy. "Evil Has No Boundaries" Originally appears on Show No Mercy. "Die by the Sword" Originally appears on Show No Mercy. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" 1987 Less than Zero soundtrack Iron Butterfly cover. Later appears on Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. "Angel of Death" 1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch soundtrack Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "Disorder" 1993 Judgement Night soundtrack Collaboration with Ice-T. Medley and Covered of songs by The Exploited. Later appears on Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. "Epidemic" 1996 The Perfect Woman soundtrack Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "No Remorse (I Wanna Die)" 1997 Spawn: The Album Collaboration with Atari Teenage Riot. Later appears on Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. "Human Disease" 1998 Bride of Chucky soundtrack Later appears on Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. "Here Comes the Pain" 1999 WCW Mayhem: The Music Appears on God Hates Us All. "Hand of Doom" 2000 Nativity in Black II Black Sabbath cover. "Spirit in Black" Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 Originally Appears on Seasons in the Abyss. "Bloodline" Dracula 2000 soundtrack Later appears on God Hates Us All. "Angel of Death" Mrs. Death 2: Hells Fury soundtrack Originally appears on Reign in Blood "Born to Be Wild" 2002 NASCAR: Crank It Up Steppenwolf cover. "Angel of Death" Jackass: The Movie soundtrack Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "Divine Intervention" 2003 Haggard: The Movie soundtrack Originally appears on Divine Intervention. "Warzone" 2004 UFC: Ultimate Beat Downs, Vol. 1 Originally appears on God Hates Us All. "Spill the Blood" 2006 Jackass Number Two soundtrack Originally appears on South of Heaven. "Eyes of the Insane" Saw III soundtrack Originally appears on Christ Illusion. "Raining Blood" 2007 Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "Raining Blood" Skate Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "Final Six" 2008 Punisher: War Zone soundtrack Originally appears on the special edition of Christ Illusion. "Raining Blood" 2009 Guitar Hero Smash Hits Originally appears on Reign in Blood. Has a different mix compared to the Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock release. "War Ensemble" Guitar Hero: Metallica Originally appears on Seasons in the Abyss. "Chemical Warfare" 2010 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Originally appears on Haunting the Chapel. "War Ensemble" 2013 Rocksmith 2014 Originally appears on Seasons in the Abyss. "Angel of Death" 2015 Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "Raining Blood" Originally appears on Reign in Blood. "South of Heaven" Originally appears on South of Heaven. "Seasons in the Abyss" Originally appears on Seasons in the Abyss. "Dead Skin Mask" Originally appears on Seasons in the Abyss. "Angel of Death" 2019 Rock Band 4 DLC Originally appears on Reign in Blood.
Videos Music videos SongYearDirectorAlbum "War Ensemble" 1990Seasons In The Abyss "Seasons in the Abyss"1991 Di Puglia Gerard "Serenity in Murder" 1994Jon ReissDivine Intervention "Dittohead" "I Hate You" 1996 Josh TaftUndisputed Attitude "Stain of Mind"1998Diabolus In Musica "Bloodline" 2001 Evan BernardGod Hates Us All "Eyes of the Insane" 2006Tony PetrossianChrist Illusion "Beauty Through Order" 2010Ben HibonWorld Painted Blood "World Painted Blood" Mark Brooks "Repentless" 2015BJ McdonnellRepentless "You Against You" 2016 "Pride In Prejudice"
Video albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications USVideo AUSRyan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 256. AUT FIN GER JPN NLD NZ SWI UK Live Intrusion Released: October 31, 1995 Label: American 1 3 — 3 — — — — — 3 War at the Warfield Released: July 29, 2003 Label: American 3 13 — 2 58 — — — — 5 RIAA: Gold Still Reigning Released: October 26, 2004 Label: American 7 7 — 7 — — — — — 14 RIAA: Gold The Unholy Alliance Live(with Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom, and Thine Eyes Bleed) Released: October 30, 2007 Label: American — 14 — — — — — — — — ARIA: Gold The Big 4 Live From Sofia, Bulgaria(with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax) Released: October 15, 2010 Label: Universal 1 1 1 1 4 6 7 1 3 1 RIAA: 2× Platinum ARIA: 2× Platinum BVMI: Gold RMNZ: Gold "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
References
External links Slayer at Discogs