History YMMV / Slayer

* BrokenBase: The fast, thrashing riffs of ''Reign in Blood'' or the slower, heavier songs of ''South of Heaven''? ''Reign In Blood'' is either the band's best album or their JumpingTheShark moment depending on who you ask, with a VocalMinority of the fans preferring the EpicRocking style of ''Hell Awaits''. ''God Hates us All'' is also quite polarizing.

* CoveredUp: Music/ToriAmos did a weird cover of their "Raining Blood" in ''Strange Little Girls''. You can take a listen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz0Q91VFsOk here]] and see whether her [[TheCoverChangesTheMeaning cover changes the meaning]]. Slayer themselves enjoyed it and sent her one of their band T-shirts in appreciation.

** Religious groups have constantly accused Slayer of being Satanists. However, Tom Araya is Catholic and Kerry King is an atheist, stating repeatedly that he doesn't believe either God or Satan exist. Araya has also stated that he regards the band's lyrics as entertainment, and doesn't mind singing the anti-religion lyrics of some of their songs.

** They have been accused of supporting Nazism, thanks to the songs "Angel of Death" and "SS-3" and their cover of Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" (which changed the phrase to "guilty of being right" at the end), and the fact that guitarist Jeff Hanneman collects Nazi medals and other war paraphernalia. The band has stated that they don't condone Nazism. Also overlooked is the fact that both Tom Araya (a Chilean) and Dave Lombardo (a Cuban) are of Hispanic descent.

* CoveredUp: Music/ToriAmos did a weird cover of their "Raining Blood" in ''Strange Little Girls''. You can take a listen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz0Q91VFsOk here]] and see whether her [[TheCoverChangesTheMeaning cover changes the meaning]].

** Religious groups have constantly accused Slayer of being Satanists. However, Tom Araya is Catholic and Kerry King is an atheist, stating repeatedly that he doesn't believe either God or Satan exist.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Show No Mercy'' has a lot of {{NWOBHM}} influence that isn't obvious on their later work. In the run-up to their second album, ''Hell Awaits'', the band had been listening a lot to Music/MercyfulFate's ''Don't Break the Oath'', and it shows, with multiple songs being influenced by ProgressiveMetal and [[EpicRocking approaching seven minutes in length]]. This, again, was not generally repeated in the band's later material.

* EvilIsCool: Hence why most of their songs are about Satan, Nazis, terrorists, etc.

* AwesomeMusic: Most of the band's output up to and including ''Undisputed Attitude''. The music after that gets a bit more... controversial.

* MagnumOpus: Generally considered to be ''Reign in Blood'', although opinions vary and some consider it their JumpingTheShark moment. ''Hell Awaits'' and ''South of Heaven'' are also quite well regarded.

** On a musical level, the NuMetal-influenced ''Diabolus In Musica'' and ''God Hates Us All'' will never be forgiven by some fans. Even King isn't a fan of ''Diabolus''.

* EvilIsCool: Hence why most of their songs are about Satan, Nazis, terorists, etc.

* BrokenBase: The fast, thrashing riffs of ''Reign in Blood'' or the slower, heavier songs of ''South of Heaven''? ''Reign In Blood'' is either the band's best album or their JumpTheShark moment depending on who you ask, with a VocalMinority of the fans preferring the EpicRocking style of ''Hell Awaits''. ''God Hates us All'' is also quite polarizing.
* [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch]]: The songs "Angel of Death" and "Jihad" take the point of view of a certain individual (Dr. Josef Mengele and a Muslim terrorist, respectively) and have had many people say that Slayer sympathizes with them. However, anybody who has read the lyrics can tell that they are not sympathetic towards them. The band wrote the song "SS-3" [[TakeThat specifically to annoy religious groups.]] In fact, during the 90's Slayer used a variation of the Nazi ''Reichsadler'' (replacing the swastika with the band's name) specifically to gain attention.

* FaceOfTheBand: Kerry King, specially for its tattooed and [[BaldOfAwesome bald]] looks.

** Slayer is generally thrash metal! It is not DeathMetal! Can't you get it right, [[SouthPark Mr. "Hippies Can't Stand Death Metal"]]?

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Go look up the lyrics of "Angel of Death". We'll wait. And that's just one example.
** The lyrics for "Dead Skin Mask", a song about murderer Ed Gein, are also quite nightmarish.

* EvilIsCool

* MemeticMutation: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9R3_cS6jsk Slayer likes Satan and Hell!]]

* UnfortunateImplications: Some people took offense when ''God Hates Us All'' was released on...September 11, 2001. The band, however, had no control over this; it was just a "New Release Tuesday," with their album at least [[DreamTheater not getting pulled]]. No one could have predicted the events of September 11 and the release date was probably determined weeks, if not, months in advance.

* GannonBanned: The album is called ''Reign in Blood'', not ''Raining Blood''.