YMMV / Slayer

• Audience-Alienating Era: The first Paul Bostaph period is seen as this by some. Diabolus in Musica in particular takes a lot of heat for its obvious Nu Metal influence.
• Award Snub: 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.
• Awesome Music:
  • 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.
  • The entirety of Reign in Blood is an half-hour of god-tier Thrash Metal.
• Broken Base: 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 Vocal Minority of the fans preferring the Epic Rocking style of Hell Awaits.
• Common Knowledge: Non-metalheads will sometimes describe Slayer as a Death Metal band. While Slayer is a major influence on that genre, the band itself falls squarely under Thrash Metal, and are in fact considered one of the "Big Four" of thrash. The key distinction is that their music lacks the Harsh Vocals that define death metal. This mistake was notably made in an episode of South Park, 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.
• Epic Riff: Tons of them, really. "Raining Blood" is the most obvious.
• Even Better Sequel: Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood both got this reaction, as the band evolved their Signature Style past the NWOBHM-leaning Show No Mercy.
• Evil Is Cool: Hence why most of their songs are about Satan, Nazis, serial killers, terrorists, etc.
• Gateway Series: 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 Death Metal band and many Black Metal ones, Slayer often acts as a key for people to try these genres.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Because of various issues, the release of God Hates Us All was delayed until September 11, 2001.
• Heartwarming Moments: Slayer and the crew rescued a little kitten prior to a show in Indianapolis and helped her find a new home.
• Mainstream Obscurity: 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?
• Memetic Mutation:
  • HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!(?)
  • 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).
  • Tom's signature Metal Scream, to the point it has its own website, with a button that plays his opening to "Angel of Death."
• Most Wonderful Sound: One thing that everyone agrees on is that Tom Araya's epic scream in "Angel of Death" is truly epic.
• Never Live It Down:
  • The band aren't too fond of being reminded how they used to wear eyeliner when they were starting out. Particularly amusing given some of the infamous homophobic remarks Kerry King has made in interview over the years.
  • On a musical level, the Nu Metal-influenced Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All will never be forgiven by some fans. Even King isn't a fan of Diabolus.
• Offending the Creator's Own: 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.
• Replacement Scrappy:
  • 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 one of the most talented people to ever sit behind a drumset.
• Sacred Cow: Just like Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Rust in Peace, Peace Sells... but who's Buying and 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.
• Signature Song: "Raining Blood", though "Angel of Death", "South of Heaven", and "War Ensemble" are not far behind.
• Tear Jerker: The ending to the video for ''Eyes of the Insane" when the soldier commits suicide. It hits especially hard for anyone who personally knows a Shell-Shocked Veteran.
• Tough Act to Follow: 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.

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