Plus punk bands & 'REAL' indie acts who put out singles or EPs because they couldn't afford to put out full length albums.

Eh, not necessarily. I just "got" them earlier this summer.

Steely Dan throughout the 1970's, more or less churned out the same well produced jazz infused sound, and their level of consistency never really dropped...........therefore a greatest hits/best of is a good way to listen to them.

Well, there doesn't seem to be a lot of conversation about metal bands on here so maybe I won't get much help with this but:

As a true and genuine metal head I have always found myself apart from the rest on this one subject...

SLAYER.

This isn't really about a particular album but the band in general. I haven't heard all of their albums but that's because the one's I've heard just didn't do it for me. Maybe someone could point me in the direction of a particular album I should definitely check out? Also it would be nice to know why so many people like them so that I know what to look for.

I mean, honestly, the song Angel of Death alone is enough to make me hate them. I can't get over the repeated screaming of the phrase Angel of Death over and over and over and over and over again for long enough to even try listening to the instruments. I just don't think they're that special and on top of that, even if their music were amazing...

THEY ARE F***ING CHRISTIANS!!! How can anyone respect them? I just don't get it.

Slayer play a brand of very heavy and aggressive metal, you either like it or you don`t. There`s not too many metal bands out there, that play with the same intensity, heaviness, musical ability and overall consistency. They`ve been around for some time now, and the consistency level of their albums is pretty amazing, and they`ve never really deviated from their root thrash sound.

Angel of Death is early Slayer, hence basic Slayer but for some their finest moment, personally I prefer their material just after this.

The influence of Slayer is immense in metal. The whole death metal scene is rooted in the Slayer sound, practically all the central European thrash bands have been influenced by Slayer, and a multitude of half baked metal wannabe bands have tried to emmulate them.

I would without hesitation, put them into a top ten of greatest and most influential metal bands of all time.

When I think of the phrase "No Compromise" I think Slayer.

I didn't think much of Slayer until I tried to beat "Raining Blood" on expert in Guitar Hero 3 :-p

So I just went back and listened to some of my slayer albums and I think I put my finger on why I don't like them. Honestly, their instrumentals are amazing. Like... f***in great.

But Tom Araya's vocals just irritate me. They are so horrible. I wish I could describe why I don't like them... i guess it just sounds like he's yelling over and over and over again with the same tone at the same volume level and it pains me to try to listen to a whole album of it. It just overwhelms the bomb instrumentals.

The other reason I can't get into them is I can't get over what utter liars they are. I mean... they are christians. They are genuine, god-fearing, christians.

Slayer is like a metal quick fix for me. Their songs are usually short (especially on Reign In Blood) and as Unknown Soldier has been saying, they are consistently intense. I have to be in the mood for them, but when I am it pumps me the **** up.

So i guess there's no help for me if I just can't stand araya's vocals? I mean... does anyone have anything positive to say about them? They're just not brutal... they're not heavy... they're just.... annoying.

There are quite a few posts where we all had something positive to say...

His vocals work with the music to me. I like them, personally, but I have a high tolerance for weird vocals. And his aren't that weird.

And they are pretty brutal and heavy if you ask me. Just use the baby test. Play it to a baby and it will probably start crying. That's pretty brutal.