SLAYER

Rip It Up, Issue 251, 1 July 1998, Page 16

SLAYER

inro THE ABYSS AGAiH r

Jeff HAnnEDiAn of Slayer

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman is certainly in the right band. Since they released Show No Mercy in 1983 he and his bandmates bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, lead guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Paul Bostaph (who replaced Dave Lombardo a few years ago) have put out nine albums of violent, extreme, apocalyptic noise, exploring the dark and twisted side of the human psyche in a way that probably scares the pants off.the devil himself. The body count rises with their new album Diabolus In Musica, and it pretty much goes without saying that it's not a record filled with sweetness, light, and pretty romantic ballads. An intense and crushing metal beast, it resounds with the type of aural savagery that leaves entrails strewn about in it's wakeeven the title makes it clear that the band that brought you Hell Awaits, Reign In Blood and Seasons In The Abyss have not gone soft. While the gravity of Latin manages to instil even the most innocuous phrase with a semblance of religious (or sacriligeous) meaning, the album's title actually refers to a particular interval in the musical |9| 'tritone'/which Hanneman explains relates to Slayer on a couple of levels. "Somebody told us this story about this chord we've always used which turned out to be the tritone. In the 14th Century it was supposed to be evil, and that just by hearing it people would be driven crazy or turned over to the devil. It was really serious—anyone who was caught playing it by the priests of the time was,

ahhh, killed. When we heard that story we thought, 'Yes! We weren't the first to face censorship!"' Slayer's dark subject matter is just the sort of unpleasant business that busybodys zero in on as a corrupter of nations' morals and a pernicious affront to all that is pure. It doesn't seem to register that though Slayer wrote a song inspired by Jeffrey Dahmer ('2l3' from Divine Intervention), or about the Gemini Killer (Undisputed Attitude's 'Gemini'), neither killer was inspired by Slayer—the band are just reflecting what already exists in the 20th century world, and surely even creationists must understand the 'chicken and egg' theory. Still, the band don't make it easy for themselves: their new album features a track called 'Love To Hate', in which Araya sings, "Shooting up hate, nothing beats the rush..." That's going to cause problems. Hanneman sighs: he's heard it all before. "Our material includes stuff about serial killers, murderers, and World War Two Nazis, and we get a lot of criticism for those subjects, but it's very clear really. We're only doing songs about them, we aren't celebrating them and we aren't killing people, y'know. In the same way, we don't practise Satanism," he says. "I get so tired of the really obvious attacks against us. 'You're glorifying the devil!' Well, what's the devil? 'You're going to hell!' Well, what is that? Tell me, please." There's surely worse things out there than Slayer, bands who take it all very seriously. "Those Scandinavian black metal bands are a different deal. I feel like telling them, 'Do you realise you're entertainers?"', he says with exaggerated animation. "Playing music is one of the greatest jobs, especially if you're playing the stuff you really want, get paid for it, and get to play to a lot of different people. Come on guys, what's the killing for?" Though Hanneman is resigned to the fact that Slayer will always attract the problematic attention of the Christian Right, the last time they played the Ozzfest most of the moral out-

rage was directed at Marilyn Manson, who remains public enemy number one to the horrified watchdogs of moral decency. "Sure, Marilyn Manson have deflected a lot of that attention away from us. They're singing about Satan and evil stuff, but they've sort of upped it by wearing women's clothes. "So those people are going, 'Slayer are here and they're singing about Satan, and Marilyn Manson are here singing about Satan AND THEY'RE DOING IT DRESSED IN WOMEN'S CLOTHING!', so it's kind of clear who wins on that," Hanneman laughs, (although it's a little unclear who his mirth is at the expense of). Something else that Manson and Slayer have in common are the, er, overzealous fans quite prepared to mutilate themselves as a show of allegiance to the band. There's a video clip that shows the Slayer logo being carved into somebody's arm; and the sleeve of 'Serenity In Murder' has an image of the bleeding back of a fan who's had the same thing done to him. Hanneman is ambivalent about such behaviour. "I think it's borderline crazy. The record company set up the first one for the video, and there was a doctor on hand to make sure it was sterile and didn't get infected. That other guy was pointed out to us at a show, but there's been others. Sometimes someone will ask you to sign '• their arm ‘and it'll have a Slayer scar on it, then it's 'Oooooh, O.K'. But if that's what you want to do, fine." If it's a brutal soundtrack to self-inflicted violence the fans want, they won't be disappointed with the new album, as Slayer's song remains the same uncompromised thundering squall—which is not to say there hasn't been some musical growth, where the focus ha|p| widened from lOOOmph steamroller heaviness to \\ include other elements.. || u y || ' One of the things that really separates Diabolus In Musica from Slayer's other albums is the richer texture of sound, and the fact that's there's tunes (no, really) lying hidden beneath the violent layers of frenetic noise. Harmonies shine through the grinding attack on 'Stain Of Mind', and 'Desire's restrained vocal is unlike anything they've attempted before, even taking steps toward vocal melody. "The biggest thing we wanted to try out on this album was new vocal ideas, and I think that Tom made it work," he says, adding that the most radically innovative songs turned up by chance. "The album was finished about a year ago but there was the problem with the record companybecause American shifted to Columbia [from Warners]and we didn't know what was gonna happen with it. So we went back into the studio, and Kerry and I wrote 'Desire' and 'Death's Head', and we were really pleased with how they turned out." The greater clarity of Diabolus In Musica's production doesn't necessarily mean that Slayer are banking on any crossover radio or MTV play, as they ".. quit hoping for radio years ago, after it never happened"; but the new material has more of a chance than any that preceded it— HM|M| S L ...j

something that surely wouldn't have happened if Rick Rubin hadn't been back in the production seat. "Well, Rubin's been missing since before Divine Intervention, and I think that the sound quality suffered—something just wasn't right", Hanneman explains. "Rick works well with us, and he's been a fan since the beginning. He's great in the studio, and offers good suggestions when we need them. Sometimes we feel like he's the fifth member of Slayer." Rubin was also absent for the 1996 album of punk and hardcore covers Undisputed Attitude, an idea which indirectly came about through Hanneman, who was a big hardcore fan at the time Slayer were formed, and introduced the others to it. They incorporated punk elements into their extreme approach, and over a decade down the track Slayer decided to pay homage to acts such as TSOL, Minor Threat, DRI and Verbal Abuse —something that wasn't popular with all of their fans. "It depended on where the fans were coming from, the hardcore side or the metal side, as to how they took to it. But the whole thing was misunderstood. It wasn't supposed to be a real album, it was just something we wanted to do." And what about the bands that were covered on the album? "We had some feedback, generally along the lines of 'How did you get that guitar sound'? TSOL asked that, definitely." Just by looking at Diabolus In Musica's cover artwork, those fans alienated by the last release should be able to work out that this is a more characteristic Slayer album. Hanneman is dent for them. "Rick knows this female photographer who does exhibitions, and when he asked her if she'd like to do the cover of the Slayer record, she was like 'Yes! Finally!" So she did up all these photos, with make-up and props of course, because it's all fake head wounds in the booklet; the pierced lips were real though, and that relates back to the bloody arms. "So Rick Fed-Exed all the photographs to me and Tom and Kerry, and we each saw the one of the guy in the mask that looks like a 14th century monk, and knew that was it. It tied into the title so well." Hanneman says that they'll be heading back to New Zealand early next year, but for now,Slayer are to embark on a thorough US tour with Clutch and System Of a Down, having done a string of dates in Europe that took in four festivals, including the British leg of the Ozzfest. He's looking toward to their own shows after the disorientation of big festivals. "Festivals are always different than regular shows, they're more like outdoor picnic parties. Sometimes we'll have to go on in the afternoon or something, and it's weird playing when it's still light." Hanneman laughs. "You wonder, 'Does Satan come out in the sun?"

Tony Nero