SLAYER’S KERRY KING SAYS HE WAS “INSULTED” BY RICK RUBIN’S RECORD DEAL
Slayer’s split with producer Rick Rubin came after his label offered an “insulting” deal for their 11th album, says guitarist Kerry King.
Repentless, out through Nuclear Blast on September 11th, is their first without Rubin since 1985’s Hell Awaits.
Singer Tom Araya says that, despite the perception that the band made the split, it was the producer who cut the connection with his label American Records.
Slayer previously said the switch took place because the band wanted to foster a more direct connection with fans.
But King tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show’s Alexander Milas, “Solidarity is far stronger than jumping ship and going somewhere else. I thought we’d still be on American – but when we got the offer from American, I was insulted. That to me just said, ‘Good luck, you’re not gonna have good luck here anymore.’ So we found our new friends at Nuclear Blast. I think this is gonna be a nice little progression going forward.”
Araya adds that Slayer didn’t end the 28-year relationship with Rubin. “It was more like he broke the news to us,” the frontman says. “When we started this record it was on the pretext that we’d be working with Rick – but things didn’t pan out. We’ve sort of moved on.”
Repentless is also the band’s first album without late guitarist Jeff Hanneman – and Araya admits some followers have resisted the idea of continuing without the co-founder. “The fans are pretty ruthless, man, and with social media it’s bad,” he says. “People have opinions. Some are positive, and a lot of them are pretty fucking negative. It’s hard to believe – especially considering these people are fans of the band.”
But he adds: “Nothing that I or Kerry say will change what some of these people think or feel.”
additional source: classicrock.teamrock.com
Honestly,I might be in the minority here…But I have no interest in slayer whatsoever,they couldn’t write a decent melodic rock song if they tried for 50 years…I know it’s not thier style but that’s not music,it’s noise
I agree, I tried a few times to listen but it still just sounds like a bunch of jumbled noise to me.
You guys are not alone, I was never a fan of thrash or anything else in that genre like death metal, etc. I need a great melody, a catchy hook and a good, if not great, vocalist.
D 🙂
Reminds me of why I was never a fan of bands like Trixter, or any of the other 3rd tier hair metal. I need some authenticity, originality, and people not afraid to push the boundaries and take a chance. 🙂
Michael B,
To each their own, but I will take melody over speed and shock value any day. As I mentioned before, having a strong vocalist is also important to my ears.
As long as you like it, that is all that matters.
Cheers,
D 🙂
HI Dana. Do you like METALLICA, being that they played thrash for so many years?
Thanks!
Hi Tasker,
Believe it or not, I knew about Metallica many years before they became household names. People that I knew that lived in Queens were friends with Scott Ian of Anthrax and had Metallica’s demo and played Kill’Em All in their cars relentlessly, so I heard that record ad nauseam.
I own four Metallica albums and have seen them play live quite a few times, but would I consider myself a true fan? That all depends on your definition of a “fan.” 🙂
Cheers,
D 🙂
Just because you don’t like doesn’t make it not music, that’s a bit ridiculous. I could just as easily assume the “melodic rock bands” couldn’t play that fast or technical or write about social topics, but I don’t because I have no idea if they could or not. I loved Jeff hanneman but I still think they could be good. Kerry is not nearly as bad a guy as the bandwagoners make him out to be.
I never could take Slayer seriously.
Are these opinions before or after Jeff died and Dave was kicked out of the band? Having seen Slayer a week ago, they haven’t lost one ounce of their energy or intensity on stage.
And Slayer is nowhere near death metal, doom metal, grindcore, hardcore, or whatever you want to call that crap. That shit is as bad as rap!
Having a big name producer can help promote and create anticipation for a record, but if they make a kick ass album without one, that would be the best revenge. Producers used to just be the guys who quietly turned the knobs in the background, but In a way, producers have now become sort of a 5th member of the bands they produce, and “rockstars” in their own right. Mutt Lange was an early pioneer of this way of doing things.
Bands like Slayer have their place. I like melodic hard rock, “classic” metal, thrash metal (though I guess you could call what I like “classic” thrash too compared to some of what’s new today), it’s all good as long as you enjoy listening to it. Some days I feel like Journey, others I’m in a Slayer mood. The first time I heard Slayer was “Angel of Death”. I actually laughed at it – the scream at the beginning, the insanely fast tempo, the out of control with no shred of melody guitar solos, it was completely over the top. But as I got into heavier styles of rock and metal I grew to like Slayer for what they were – ultra aggressive, no apologies thrash. Compared to the other “Big 4” bands, they’ve stayed truer to their original style than the others – which undoubtedly has limited their mass appeal to a smaller (but hard core) crowd. They’re kind of like the AC/DC of thrash – you pretty much know what you’re going to get. Sure, I’d prefer Dave Lombardo was still the drummer and Jeff Hanneman was still there, but Jeff is dead and the ugly side of business appears to have ruined the relationship between Dave, Kerry and Tom Araya. Not a lot of bands reach this point in their careers with all original members, so if you’re a fan and you still want that band to be around you either have to accept them as they are or move on.
Death cannot be helped, and a replacement member is warranted in such a case. But no Dave Lombardo? The man who makes Slayer sound awesome? Sorry, I can’t have my Slayer without Dave. They don’t exist. He really is that important.