Slayer (Band)

RIP Jeff Hanneman: Slayer at Verizon Theater In September 2010

Ed. Note: Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the band, passed away Thursday in Southern California due to liver failure, according to Rolling Stone. Hanneman, 49, had contracted the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis, which doctors believed was the result of a spider bite, ... More >>

Five Art Masterworks That Should Be Metal Album Covers

It's not often that you get the opportunity to combine masterpieces of painting and metal. It's not completely unfounded, considering Guns N' Roses copped from Raphael's School of Athens for the cover of their Use Your Illusion set. But it's rare, like mixing pro wrestling and classical literature. ... More >>

Last Night: Testament and Overkill at House of Blues

Testament, Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam House of Blues February 6, 2013 When it comes to '80s thrash metal, there are the Big Four -- Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax -- and there's everybody else. For a good while there, it looked as if "everybody else" might not survive the grunge- and rap ... More >>

Testament's Dark Roots of Thrash Run Deep

If classic thrash metal's "Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer) ever decided to expand to a "Big Five," then that slot would certainly be taken by California's Testament (sorry, Exodus fans...). And while seemingly every band of a certain longevity will proclaim their latest record "jus ... More >>

Match the Anticipated Crowds For Selected RodeoHouston Concerts

This week's RodeoHouston lineup announcement officially kicked off 2013 for Houston's party people and rodeo fans. The lineup is dependable as always, with your standard country acts, classic-rockers, kiddie-pop acts, R&B, and norteño offerings making up the month of music. Sadly, once again this ... More >>

That's a Big Twinkie: A Soundtrack to the Apocalypse

The last shipment of Hostess Twinkies was supposedly delivered last Tuesday, as Hostess indeed filed for bankruptcy. Twinkies were also linked to great destructive forces in the movie Ghostbusters. This all falls very close to December 21, which marks the end of the Mayan Mesoamerican Long Count C ... More >>

10 Odd Musical Gift Ideas for the Last Christmas on Earth

Back in the day, Christmas shopping for music lovers couldn't have been simpler: just head on down to the record store, pick up the latest hot release or a rare collector's item, wrap it up with a Warehouse Music gift certificate and you were golden. Now that the music business has evolved into a ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Willow Villarreal, Hatetank Maniac

If you are under 30 in Houston and grew up going to punk or hardcore shows off Washington Avenue -- when it was still scary for the right reasons -- you were probably there because Willow Villarreal of Hatetank Productions booked the gig. His booking and promoting work helped bring tons of nationa ... More >>

Return to Glory: Rick Rubin's 5 Best Comeback Productions

Recently, Black Sabbath confirmed that record magnate and production auteur Rick Rubin would be twiddling the knobs on their new record, set to be released next year. It will be their first with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals since 1978, and a lot of their reputation is riding on this. Not that it will ma ... More >>

Talking to James Moody, Co-Captain of HMS Fun Fun Fun Fest

In Texas, only a few major music festivals cater to the punk and indie subcultures. Houston's own Free Press Summer Fest, Chaos In Tejas, 35 Denton, maybe the free and freaky day parties of SXSW, and Fun Fun Fun Fest, put on by Transmission Entertainment in Austin. REWIND: Fun Fun Fun Fest Releas ... More >>

Kill 'Em All and the Origins of Thrash

Twenty-nine years ago today, Metallica released their debut album on Megaforce Records, Kill 'Em All. It wasn't a smash success initially--Mötley Crüe were the reigning kings of metal on the West Coast in 1983, and Kill 'Em All wouldn't go gold for another six years. By that time, of course, Metal ... More >>

Last Night: Mayhem Fest Jagermeister Stage at The Woodlands

Mayhem Festival Side Stage Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 11, 2012 Holding the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at a suburban amphitheater on a weeknight posed a few serious logistical problems, for the touring company and concertgoers alike. In order to meet the venue's curfew, several ... More >>

Last Night: Anthrax, Motorhead & Slayer at Mayhem Fest

See more metal and Mayhem from Wednesday in our slideshow. Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 11, 2012 This year's main-stage bill is probably as close to a genuine, bona fide legacy that Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival will ever come up with, ever. Be ... More >>

Which Mayhem Festival Band Do Parents Hate Most?

The biggest traveling heavy metal festival of the summer rolls into the Woodlands Pavilion tonight. The annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival has stepped its game up significantly in 2012, dropping metal titans Slipknot, Slayer, Anthrax, Motorhead and more onto Houston's well-groomed northern ... More >>

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

How To Be In A METAL Band: The Blunt Version

With the SXSW trash bags barely at the curb, some musicians are licking their wounds. Discouraged perhaps by a bad sound system, disappointing turnout or their ham-fisted (or shit-faced) fellow bandmates, some are no doubt deciding to pack it in and pursue the straight-job route. Kinko's is always h ... More >>

Sweet Feet: Dave Lombardo And Double Bass-Drum Domination

Slayer's Dave Lombardo is destroying a couple of bass drums just out of frame.​Forty-seven years ago today, drummer Dave Lombardo was born in Havana, Cuba. Never heard of Dave? That's okay. If you've listened to any heavy metal in the past 25 years, you've definitely heard his influence. Roun ... More >>

Machine Head

Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Announces Houston Date: Includes Slipknot, Slayer, Anthrax And More

This morning, the lineup for this summer's mega-metal fest, the Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, was released. It includes re-activated act Slipknot, warhorses Slayer, Anthrax on the Jagermeister side stage, and a third act to be named on March 5. This roadshow hits Houston on July 11 at the ... More >>

The Most Overused Expressions in Music Critics' Twitter Feeds: An Epic List

It is impossible to overlook this peculiar trend any longer: A few choice words and phrases seem to be dominating many of 2011's music critiques, particularly on Twitter. Seemingly forcibly wedged into friends' and journalists' 140-characters-or-less makeshift tweet reviews, the following words and ... More >>

Drinking With Drinkify: Website Concocts Cocktails For You Based On Your Musical Tastes

​The website Drinkify combines your musical tastes with your booze tastes, with sometimes hilarious and dangerous results. The site does what we have been doing since we first took our first sip of the hard stuff, and that's finding the right music for your liver-killing. Though, if you foll ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest: The Dust-Covered Aftermath Featuring The Damned, Spoon, Tinariwen, And Slayer

Photo By Marc BrubakerLots of pictures from Fun Fun Fun Fest 6, including band shots and crowd shots. The dry air and dust at Auditorium Shores made the market for bandanas very lucrative, and a fashion staple was reborn. ​This year Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest moved away from Waterloo Park, the ... More >>

10 Facts About Slayer's Reign In Blood

​Last week, Slayer's 1986 album Reign In Blood turned 25 years old. We were so wrapped up in doing that dog-ass Pink Floyd facts blog - that we paid dearly for in the comments section - and getting ready for our high school reunion, that we forgot all about this anniversary. We apologize for l ... More >>

Houston Press Music Awards Nomination Balloting Closed

Graphic by Monica Fuentes​As of 5 p.m. today, the nominations ballot for the 2011 Houston Press Awards has closed. We greatly appreciate everyone who voted. Our minons are gathered behind the scenes, tied to their desks with Slayer blasting over loudspeakers counting every ballot and punching ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Adds Spoon, Black Lips, Cannibal Corpse

​That probably spooked you all, huh, thinking we added those three to our own BestFest, right? In addition to previously announced biggies like Slayer, The Damned, Public Enemy, the Hot Snakes reunion gig, and the Danzig Legacy project, these new three only sweeten the deal for FFFF attendees ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Leaking 2011 Lineup On Turntable.fm

​After leaking artists including Okkervil River, Odd Future, X and - most people believe - Slayer, Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest has officially begun announcing its 2011 lineup via the brand-new file-sharing/social-media hybrid Turntable FM. Fun Fun Fun began streaming songs from this year's arti ... More >>

Happy (Black) Flag Day, Everybody

#blackflagnerdstuff​Today is Flag Day, a day where we honor the institution of the first United States flag in 1777. You know, Old Glory, the flag that looks really killer on bikinis in the '80s or when B L A C K I E wrapped himself in it at Free Press Summer Fest two weeks ago. The flag is a ... More >>

It's International Day Of Slayer: Ten Slayer Songs For Awkward Life Moments

GroovehouseAll Hail Tom Araya, The Dark Lord.​Today is the sixth International Day of Slayer, started in 2006 to coincide with June 6, 2006, the most evil-numbered date in history. It's also lead singer Tom Araya's birthday, and the guitarist now makes his home on a ranch in Buffalo, Texas - God's ... More >>

Slayer Girlfriend Reigns In Love

Christopher Victorio​A few hours ago, while reviewing the OC Weekly's coverage of the Big 4 metal festival in Indio, Calif., we came across this picture of a female metal fan with a sweet-ass Slayer tattoo in the middle of her abdomen. Why does God creates such beautiful things, and then keeps ... More >>

Jesus Is On the Mainline: The Son Of God In Rock & Roll

​With Easter Sunday coming up, we delved into all the instances of Jesus Christ in rock and roll. He's been a popular lyrical subject since he was born over 2,000 years ago, and his family enterprise runs neck and neck with sex when it comes to the entire lyrical history of music. Hymns or lov ... More >>

Idol Beat: I Do Not Like That will.i.am

​Only nine hopefuls remain in this, the 10th season of American Idol (AKA the Greatest Talent Competition Since the Battle of the Bands at San Dimas High School). It's time to separare the wheat from the chaff, the post-adolescents from the mere adolescents, those who are "in it to win it" fro ... More >>

A Modest Proposal For Houston Concert Audiences

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Don't bother us in the morning until we've had our coffee, and don't bother us - or anyone else, for that matter - at a concert until we've had our music. We've all been there. You spent $100 on concert tickets to a show, which you and your best friend or significant o ... More >>

Last Night: Slayer, Megadeth And Anthrax At Verizon

Photos by GroovehouseSouth of Heaven: Slayer's Tom Araya​Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax Verizon Wireless Theater September 26, 2010 With the end of this concert, Aftermath was sort of sad. Not only did it mark the end of a marathon music week in Houston and for Rocks Off, it also signaled that we ... More >>

Anthrax's Charlie Benante Shouts Out King's X And The Refused

​Of the three bands on the bill at Sunday's Jagermeister Tour Houston stop, Anthrax is perhaps the one with the most varied reach. Sure, everyone loves Slayer, and Megadeth has a dedicated following of Mustaine-iacs, but it was Anthrax who touched the most upon hip-hop and hardcore punk. The ... More >>

Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax

The Amazing Raving Dog

Every day Rocks Off trolls the tubes of you in search of videos to share. If you have something that you think deserves to be video of the day, send a link to jef_rouner at yahoo dot com. ​Raves are not Rocks Off's thing. We tend to make glowstickers cry, Ecstasy sounds more like a punishment ... More >>

Celebrate National Day Of Slayer

lolhome.com​ Henry Rollins talks about Slayer Since 1952, every first Thursday in May has been set aside as a National Day Of Prayer. It's a day for Christians and other religious folk to gather together and pray for our country, the world and ourselves. God is awesome and all that, but thankfully ... More >>

Suck It, Ben Gibbard: Two Weeks At The Wheel With Lady Gaga

​The past two weeks Rocks Off has been driving around Houston with only one disc in his car to listen to. It makes us feel like a billion damned dollars without fail, and can make any banal drive home after the bar feel like even more of a sexy adventure than it already is. It's not Motorhead, it ... More >>

Guitar Zero: Played It 'Til My Fingers Bled...

No, this song is NOT about the year of Woodstock and the Moon Landing. It was the summer winter of '69 2010. Robert told me to come up with five songs I wanted to learn how to play (on guitar, in case you weren't keeping up). The Wife, seeking to maximize the parental utility of my music lessons, h ... More >>

Listology: Toxic Noise DJ Bakka's Top Bone-Crushing Jams

​Every third Wednesday at Boondocks, the space upstairs turns into the most fabulous place in Houston for rockers, punks and metalheads when DJ Bakka revs the turntables for his popular "Toxic Noise" DJ sets. It's like going to visit a high-school bully's bedroom in 1987. If you still miss Shanle ... More >>

He Said She Said: Hot, Sweaty, Angry Workout Songs

​When it comes to exercise, men and women don't have many different reasons for doing it. Mainly, both genders want to look better naked if perchance they find themselves without clothes on around a stranger they want to sleep with. Life expectancy, general health, and mental well-being are all se ... More >>

Pretty Things Peepshow

Porn goes punk goes vintage burlesque

Golden Axe

This metallic duo does its part to further the great debate

Aw, Hell, Yeah!

Wielding a Sword

Make Ours a Red Head

State-of-the-Art Ghouls

White Zombie holds its own with the metal-heads and the punks alike