Slayer is an American thrash metal band founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King in 1981. Slayer rose to fame as one of the leaders of the American thrash metal movement with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, which has been called "the heaviest album of all time" by Kerrang!. The band is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal bands, along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth.
Slayer is known for its musical traits, involving fast tremolo picking, guitar solos, double bass drumming, and shouting vocals. The band's lyrics and album art, which cover topics such as death, deviants, genocide, necrophilia, insanity, religion, Satanism, serial killers, and warfare have generated album bans, delays, lawsuits and strong criticism from religious groups and the general public. The name Slayer is an acronym for "Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot". This is referenced in the song "Live Undead" from the 1988 album South of Heaven.
Since its debut record in 1983, the band has released two live albums, one cover album, one box set, three DVDs, one VHS, two EPs, and nine studio albums, four of which have received gold certification in the United States. The band has received three Grammy nominations, winning one in 2007 for the song "Eyes of the Insane", and one in 2008 for the song "Final Six". They have headlined music festivals worldwide, including Ozzfest and The Unholy Alliance.
