Line #1 YMMV/Slayer


1	* AudienceAlienatingEra: The first Paul Bostaph period is seen as this by some. ''Diabolus in Musica'' in particular takes a lot of heat for its obvious NuMetal influence.
2	* AwardSnub: Not so much award snub as recognition snub; at the 2014 Grammy Awards Jeff Hanneman was not included in the "In Memoriam" montage that pays tribute to musicians who had died in the previous year. What makes it even more frustrating is that Jeff had been the recipient of two Grammy awards in the decade before his death.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
4	** Most of the band's output up to and including ''Seasons in the Abyss'', at the very least. The music after that gets a bit more... controversial, although ''Divine Intervention'' and ''Undisputed Attitude'' at least are still generally regarded as worthwhile.
5	** The entirety of ''Music/ReignInBlood'' is an half-hour of god-tier ThrashMetal.
6	* 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 bad, depending on who you ask, with a VocalMinority of the fans preferring the EpicRocking style of ''Hell Awaits''.
7	* CommonKnowledge: Non-metalheads will sometimes describe Slayer as a DeathMetal band. While Slayer is a major influence on that genre, the band itself falls squarely under ThrashMetal, and are in fact considered one of the "Big Four" of thrash. The key distinction is that their music lacks the HarshVocals that define death metal. This mistake was notably made in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', where Cartman plays "Raining Blood" to scare off hippies while saying that "hippies can't stand death metal.", though it's entirely possible that this itself was part of the joke.
8	* EpicRiff: Tons of them, really. "Raining Blood" is the most obvious.
9	* EvenBetterSequel: ''Hell Awaits'' and ''Reign in Blood'' both got this reaction, as the band evolved their SignatureStyle past the NWOBHM-leaning ''Show No Mercy''.
10	* EvilIsCool: Hence why most of their songs are about Satan, Nazis, serial killers, terrorists, etc.
11	* GatewaySeries: One of the main ones for thrash, and being the most aggressive one of the big four they are the biggest one for more extreme thrash in particular. Also to an extent, extreme metal in general; as Slayer's influence can be felt in almost every DeathMetal band and many BlackMetal ones, Slayer often acts as a key for people to try these genres.
12	* HarsherInHindsight: Because of various issues, the release of ''God Hates Us All'' was delayed until September 11, 2001.
13	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Slayer and the crew [[http://loudwire.com/slayer-crew-rescue-little-kitten/ rescued a little kitten prior to a show in Indianapolis and helped her find a new home]].
14	* MainstreamObscurity: Slayer: "The most talked-about band that no one actually listens to." ''Reign in Blood'' is hailed as their best, but how many people outside the metalhead community have ever tried to listen or analyze it?
15	* MemeticMutation:
16	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9R3_cS6jsk HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!(?)]]
17	** VIVA CHILE MIERDA!! (Go watch the Big Four DVD / blu-ray if you don't get it. Besides, you probably need to be Chilean in order to really get all Memetic about it).
18	** Tom's signature MetalScream, to the point it has its own [[http://tomarayascream.com/ website]], with a button that plays his opening to "Angel of Death."
19	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: One thing that everyone agrees on is that Tom Araya's epic scream in "Angel of Death" is truly epic.
20	* NeverLiveItDown:
21	** The band [[OldShame aren't too fond of being reminded]] how they used to wear eyeliner when they were starting out. Particularly [[HilariousInHindsight amusing]] given some of the infamous homophobic remarks Kerry King has made in interview over the years.
22	** 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''.
23	* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: Tom Araya is Roman Catholic, but that didn't stop him from singing from very anti-Christian songs. It should be noted that the band's most anti-religion songs were written by Kerry King-songs written by Araya generally focused on serial killers and mental illness.
24	* ReplacementScrappy:
25	** Paul Bostaph, who wasn't particularly well-liked the first time around and still isn't held in particularly high regard even in his second time around. He is not a bad drummer ''per se''; he's just unlucky enough to replace [[ToughActToFollow one of the most talented people to ever sit behind a drumset]].
26	* SacredCow: Just like ''[[Music/{{Metallica}} Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning]]'', ''[[Music/{{Megadeth}} Rust in Peace, Peace Sells... but who's Buying]]'' and ''[[Music/{{Anthrax}} Among the Living]]'', ''Reign in Blood'' is considered to be one of the greatest metal albums ever made and talking bad about it will probably be met with a very harsh response. ''Seasons in the Abyss'' and ''South of Heaven'' are considered runner-ups to this trope.
27	* SignatureSong: "Raining Blood", though "Angel of Death", "South of Heaven", and "War Ensemble" are not far behind.
28	* TearJerker: [[DownerEnding The ending]] to the video for ''[[https://youtu.be/FhwRunMCNAo Eyes of the Insane]]" when the soldier [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]]. It hits especially hard for anyone who personally knows a ShellShockedVeteran.
29	* ToughActToFollow: There can be some fans who feel that ''Seasons In the Abyss'' was about as far as Slayer could ever progress with their sound and that every Slayer album afterward just hasn't been able to recapture their glory days. Some go back further with ''Reign in Blood'', or even ''Hell Awaits''.

Context YMMV / Slayer