Buy New & Used Slayer Vinyl LPs

There is nothing in the world more influential than Slayer — well, except for maybe, like, the Bible or something? But even Jesus Christ himself fails to stand in influence compared to these Gods of rock. The thrash metal band — originally formed in California back in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo, and bassist and vocalist Tom Araya — are the flying V guitar that launched a thousand flying V guitars.

Slayer’s music is so synonymous with the definition of metal that it’s hard to tell where the line begins and ends. In other words, before Slayer, did headbanging even… exist? We kid, but also not really. The fact remains that over this monstrous four-decade career, Slayer released 12 studio records that sold over 20 million copies. Alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, Slayer stands on the Mount Rushmore of thrash metal bands. Slayer officially disbanded in 2018, but their dominance will stand forever.

What made Slayer such a revolutionary act was not only musical with the speed at which they played — and trust us, they played fast and loud — but also their boldness to enter lyrical spaces that were considered taboo at the time. With their breakout album Reign In Blood in 1986 (which, fun fact for your next dinner party, was produced by Rick Rubin and released on Def Jam Records), they pushed into the mainstream world with lyrics that centered on death, torture, genocide, murder, Satanism, and a bunch of other things that might not be the best to bring up around grandma.

In order to sing along to their most famous song, you gotta scream about raining blood. It’s... not really for the faint of heart. Yet herein lies the brilliance. Slayer provided a blueprint on how the theatrics of metal can be an effective artistic release, how humans process these complicated emotions and the importance to stare these strange things down. Slayer rode the edge, unafraid to push boundaries and scare the shit out of you. A true punk spirit that will forever remain across the genre of metal. Oh, and let’s not forget: Slayer is one of the best logos of all time. 

More Than Just Slayer Records For Sale

Yes, Reign In Blood is a perfect album, Divine Intervention kicks ass, and Christ Illusion might make you put your head through a window (in a good way), there’s a whole slate of thrash metal worth exploring. Browse our selection of artists like Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Anthrax for more metal classics.