HOW SLAYER CONQUERED THE UK
Before turning back the hands of time to Slayer’s first real tour of the UK, we must consider the backdrop to their visit. Back in 1987, thrash was barely out of its infancy. The ‘Big 4’ had already been crowned, but Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth had released no more than three albums each, and though each band had toured the UK, commercial reward was still in the future. For the average rock fan, the jury remained out on a style of music that naysayers considered a flash in the pan or just plain unmusical. There seemed something different about Slayer. They felt just a little more edgy than their rivals, and a bit less cartoonish. Were they really Devil-worshippers? No one knew for sure, and few dared to ask.
Although the Californians’ third full-length, the Rick Rubin-produced , was their, was inspired by the Auschwitz concentration camp butcher Josef Mengele. Slayer’s attitude was simple: is art… if you don’t want to put it out, it’s your loss. They found another distributor. The controversy only heightened an increasing sense of notoriety, though zero fucks were given when people began branding them as Nazis. “If you’re afraid of words then you’re a fucking idiot,” reasoned guitarist Kerry King.
