SLAYER UNDER FIRE FROM CHRISTIAN GROUPS

[Electronicoil]

^^^ what he said.... who said this quote? Karl Marx ? Religion is the Opiate of the Masses... anyways Slayers album coverart have always been controversial... i remember back in 1986 when Reign in Blood came out... same thing... alot of other groups do alot more controversial artwork but they are just picking on Slayer because they are one are the more popular groups and they want to make the papers... the right wing nazi's i mean right wing conservatives lol it seems like they are Christians before americans... if it was the other way around they would be defending Freedom of Speech and/or Expression and defend Slayer's right to such because that is what our country was built on.... Freedom to say whatever the hell we want whether it offends us or not... and i was born and raised catholic (well not really because religion bored me so i never took it up) ... but i consider myself a American before anything else.... funny thing is they defend the Iraq war because it is about giving the Iraquis "freedom" but back home here in the U.S. they want to supress such freedom's if they had the power to do so...

This type of criticism is completely overblown, although I suspect it's exactly the type of thing that Slayer is playing for.

Nobody, as far as I know, is trying to censor Slayer. I know of no Christian group that is trying to ban the sale of their albums or even change the content. Slayer's just playing them .... somewhat cynically I think. They release an album with the Bible covered in blood or Christ beheaded or whatever ..... obviously poking sticks at Christians for a reaction.

And if there is the slightest amount of criticism about this from Christian groups, Slayer fans start crying about Christian facism or censorship or whatever. The Christian groups are best advised, IMHO, just to say nothing at all. Because even the mildest bit of whining about it is going to be blown out of proportion.

When's the last time that you think Kerry King was actually denied the right to say ANYTHING by any Christian ever? What Christian group is denying him the right to buy anything, read anything, say anything, etc?

So much of the criticism here of the Christian groups seems to assume they have all of the control. They clearly don't. They're just being played for fools by Slayer. Moreover, the extent of the "Christian reaction" to Slayer is very minimal. Are you seeing rallies? Massive boycotts? No, of course not. Most churches and most Christians aren't saying a goddamned thing about it.

 

[sumairetsu]

Moreover, the extent of the "Christian reaction" to Slayer is very minimal. Are you seeing rallies? Massive boycotts? No, of course not. Most churches and most Christians aren't saying a goddamned thing about it.

Hence my theory that this is just a planted story by their record label to generate sales and keep the band's name in print.

 

[Electronicoil]

Hence my theory that this is just a planted story by their record label to generate sales and keep the band's name in print.

Agreed.

If you go back and read the quote in the first post of this thread it says that Slayer is "courting controversy" from Christian groups. It doesn't say that Christian groups are persecuting Slayer. I guess just courting controversy is enough to get press now, although I wish Slayer would get more original in their schtick.

 

[Wyvern]

The problem with Slayer is bad management of the media. Kiss never got the problem as you can see

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

This type of criticism is completely overblown, although I suspect it's exactly the type of thing that Slayer is playing for.

Nobody, as far as I know, is trying to censor Slayer. I know of no Christian group that is trying to ban the sale of their albums or even change the content. Slayer's just playing them .... somewhat cynically I think. They release an album with the Bible covered in blood or Christ beheaded or whatever ..... obviously poking sticks at Christians for a reaction.

And if there is the slightest amount of criticism about this from Christian groups, Slayer fans start crying about Christian facism or censorship or whatever. The Christian groups are best advised, IMHO, just to say nothing at all. Because even the mildest bit of whining about it is going to be blown out of proportion.

When's the last time that you think Kerry King was actually denied the right to say ANYTHING by any Christian ever? What Christian group is denying him the right to buy anything, read anything, say anything, etc?

So much of the criticism here of the Christian groups seems to assume they have all of the control. They clearly don't. They're just being played for fools by Slayer. Moreover, the extent of the "Christian reaction" to Slayer is very minimal. Are you seeing rallies? Massive boycotts? No, of course not. Most churches and most Christians aren't saying a goddamned thing about it.

I never said they are stopping Kerry from saying, reading or doing anything he wanted...but believe me don't you think that if they did have the power to do so they would not ban Slayer or any other metal bands if they could just because it doesn't fit their morals of what music,lyrics, cover art etc. is.... I know Slayer/Kerry do it for shock value much like KISS, Alice Cooper etc. did in the 70's with their theatrics... maybe it's getting old with Slayer attacking christians... but then again with the name SLAYER...what do you want them to sing about? .... a Sunday afternoon at grandma's playing bridge with the Golden Girls? lol .... I was born catholic... and you know what? I don't take what Slayer or any other metal band sings about that serious much like i watch the movie Omen and horror movies that seem or do attack christianity.... it is entertainment.. people....get over it... Slayer does what they do good so let it go... much like AC/DC sing about drinking, sex etc...they do what they are good at... just accept it and enjoy the music...

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

I personally don't like covers like this at all, I think it's inappropriate, disrespectfull and totally unnecessary. This is exactly why I have to defend metal almost every day. Covers like this makes it hard for people to understand that it's about the music (for me) and not about satanism.
I really wish they'd stop it already cause I do enjoy their music, I mean it's hard to tell I guy: "The latest album rocks, oh, and by the way it's called "God Hates Us All', but you should really listen to it you'll probably like it" ...
I think they just screw themselves by being so blatently blasphemous.

I'm not sure if you are a horror movie fan or books... but for argument sakes let say you are... why do you get offended with something like a painting on a band's album but not a movie like The Exorcist or The Omen series? .... this is entertainment and you do not have to like it but that doesn't mean that i shouldnt like it because you are a christian and get offended by it... what Slayer does is Freedom of speech & expression... something that I'm not sure if South Africa has now but i know they didnt have in the past... and why do you have to defend metal anyways? why do you care what they say? like what you like and don't pay others any mind... Metal other then the music aspect has always been about shocking the mainstream.. from the first metal album (Black Sabbath's first album in my opinion) to Slayer in the present time.. Metal has never been about sitting in a circle and singing cumbaya (or however you spell it) .... i have no problem with what slayer sings about or what there album covers look like because to me it is entertainment and they have the right to do what they want or believe in.. who am i to tell them what to do? .... Besides if you want to talk about blashemous songs or album covers... and since you have it in your avatar/signature... Maiden had a little album called Number of the Beast... and I'm sure other bands you like have a album or two that can be construed as blasphemous with their lyrics or coverart... but will that stop you from listening to it? no.... and why? ... because the bottom line is its entertainment and in the end it's all about the Music.... k nuff said...

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

Hence my theory that this is just a planted story by their record label to generate sales and keep the band's name in print.

Not sure how old you are.... but I was around when Slayer's Reign in Blood (i think 1986) came out and trust me the hardcore christian groups did attack Slayer over that album cover.. my guess some of them are still around and haven't forgotten Slayer and see that Slayer are getting big or bigger and still see them as a threat... after all these same groups attack Marilyn Manson.. they (Conservative christian groups) look for the more popular groups... to get noticed... by the media... religion is nothing more then politics as usual... and like politicians they are all media whores...

 

[Thoth-Amon]

Not sure how old you are.... but I was around when Slayer's Reign in Blood (i think 1986) came out and trust me the hardcore christian groups did attack Slayer over that album cover.. my guess some of them are still around and haven't forgotten Slayer and see that Slayer are getting big or bigger and still see them as a threat... after all these same groups attack Marilyn Manson.. they (Conservative christian groups) look for the more popular groups... to get noticed... by the media... religion is nothing more then politics as usual... and like politicians they are all media whores...

Yup. If they were really consistent they would be attacking some of the more underground bands who are WAY more blasphemous and satanic than Slayer.

 

[Wheezer]

what Slayer does is Freedom of speech & expression...

You're the one that mentioned Karl Marx.

and why do you have to defend metal anyways? why do you care what they say? like what you like and don't pay others any mind...

Why have you been so "vocal" in this thread? Defending something? I think you might have missed this part of Zep's quote:

I personally

Metal other then the music aspect has always been about shocking the mainstream..

I think shocking the mainstream is a side effect and not the main motivation. A nice side effect, to be sure, but nothing more than that.

Metal has never been about sitting in a circle and singing cumbaya

The song may be different but the motivation and result is the same, no matter what type of music.

 

[Electronicoil]

but then again with the name SLAYER...what do you want them to sing about? .... a Sunday afternoon at grandma's playing bridge with the Golden Girls? lol

Of course not. But there are plenty of other metal bands that are able to diversify their content a little bit and still not wimp out. Putting this album back to back with "God Hates Us All" strikes me as kind of phoning it in a little bit. And I've actually defended "God Hates Us All," mind you, because while I don't believe it was excellent, I think it has been bashed a bit too much.

The main reason I posted is because the thread title says that Slayer is "under fire from Christian groups" but then the article content doesn't say that at all. It only says that Slayer is "courting controversy" from Christians and that some stupid Slayer fans vandalized a seminary. So who's under fire from whom here, I ask you?

it is entertainment.. people....get over it... Slayer does what they do good so let it go... much like AC/DC sing about drinking, sex etc...they do what they are good at... just accept it and enjoy the music...

I am "over it" by the way. I have most of Slayers albums and enjoy them quite a bit. I'll buy the new one if it's any good. All I'm saying is that the thread title was misleading compared to the actual content.

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

You're the one that mentioned Karl Marx.



Why have you been so "vocal" in this thread? Defending something? I think you might have missed this part of Zep's quote:






I think shocking the mainstream is a side effect and not the main motivation. A nice side effect, to be sure, but nothing more than that.



The song may be different but the motivation and result is the same, no matter what type of music.

Only thing I am defending is Slayer's right to freedom of speech and expression.... other then that I am just stating opinion.. never really said the shock value was the main motivation just one of the movitations... and like i said everyone always seems to have a problem with Slayer having satanic themes constantly (but yet never mention their other songs that are not Satanic in nature in their albums)... but have no problems with other bands who seem to have the same themes of drugs, girls etc in all their albums... why is it not right to have a constant satanic theme in their lyrics but other bands can have a constant theme in all their albums about drugs,sex, etc... to me music is the main movitation... lyrics and everything else to me at least is just secondary... as for Zep it seem to me he lets his religious beliefs decide his thoughts instead of defending a band's right to speech & expression... metal does not need to be defended.. metal music is metal music... it should not make any apologies for what it is.. if satanic theme music offends you then don't listen to it and listen to Stryper which is a band that is more in with your religious beliefs and doesn't have offending coverart... btw what does me mentioning Karl Marx have to do with it? i merely quoted something he said about religion which to me is true.... religion much like music is a drug for the masses....

 

[EGOR]

whats the problem here...I am a christian and I have no problem whatsoever with what is being said in Slayers Lyrics and covers. Its like..yeah its the devils music right but the devil cant win over good can he!.... that would be absurd...God is like the strongest and the strongest always win right?...... So I listen and show the horns and everything, cause I friggin love Slayer.... for me being a christian as well as being a slayer fan shows how strong my belief is in God. Kerry king will go to heaven for sure cause hes probably a nice guy under them tatoos, the more slayer are satanist the more the lord shall forgive them. If they really-really were really evil my advice to them would be like, get a normal job, and murder people secretly... hide the bodys under floorboards...yknow ....thats like obvious evil behavior..... but hey i dont know kerry king and maybe the guy "has done in a few" in his time and stashed the bodys away?....if so then fair enough.

www.Agankast.com

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

Of course not. But there are plenty of other metal bands that are able to diversify their content a little bit and still not wimp out. Putting this album back to back with "God Hates Us All" strikes me as kind of phoning it in a little bit. And I've actually defended "God Hates Us All," mind you, because while I don't believe it was excellent, I think it has been bashed a bit too much.

The main reason I posted is because the thread title says that Slayer is "under fire from Christian groups" but then the article content doesn't say that at all. It only says that Slayer is "courting controversy" from Christians and that some stupid Slayer fans vandalized a seminary. So who's under fire from whom here, I ask you?






I am "over it" by the way. I have most of Slayers albums and enjoy them quite a bit. I'll buy the new one if it's any good. All I'm saying is that the thread title was misleading compared to the actual content.

Duly noted.. and yes the seminary thing is stupid... but Christians have always had Slayer as one of their favorite targets much like Black Sabbath were back in the day... once when i was a teenager around 1986 I saw a flyer for a meeting at a local church about the dangers of Heavy Metal... me and my friend went to the meeting to joke about it.. we sat in the back... and guess which group was one of their targets... yah... Slayer...

 

[Wyvern]

Yup. If they were really consistent they would be attacking some of the more underground bands who are WAY more blasphemous and satanic than Slayer.

For some reason they tend to attack well known groups and I mean: Led Zeppelin, Rush, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, etc.

Been there, seen that. And the only explanation I have is that those are more in the spotlight and therefore they can "influence" the poor youth and the family values easier. On the other hand you take for granted that Impaled Nazarene or Deicide are not precisely Sunday mass type of bands, so it'll be better to get on the throat of those not so "clear" (of course you have to be deaf, dumb and blind to mistake Slayer for a Disney product).

NOTE: By "they" I refer to psycho extreme fundamentalism. One of my best friends is a evangelic christian who even played in a rock band (damn good sadly split). And if Hugo wasn't thrilled exactly by me playing Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, he is a huge Rush and Zepellin fan and he always believed that kind of extreme fundamentalism only hurt Christianity.

 

[Wheezer]

Only thing I am defending is Slayer's right to freedom of speech and expression.... other then that I am just stating opinion..

The point is that Zep was just offering his opinion and you went after him. Freedom of speech is not a one way street.

 

[Nemesis_lxix]

I’ve been through this freedom of speech conversation countless times and I know when freedom turns into offence and blasphemy.Just by reading the original post I find the artwork to be most terrefing and I never support these kind of acts.
The entire “anti-Christian” starts to apear stupid after the age of 15.
So many out there try to persuade us of how much anti-Christian they are,that this is becoming a trend.

The religiouse groups in this particular case were not suppose to loose their temper over this,simply because they are not in any way threatened by an artwork,nor is the religion damaged by such acts that have ocured in the past.
What would one asune after reading what happened is that the band intended to provoke with that cover and personally I find stupid as hell.Good quality music doesn’t need to provoke and offend in order to sell (if that is the case here).

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

I’ve been through this freedom of speech conversation countless times and I know when freedom turns into offence and blasphemy.Just by reading the original post I find the artwork to be most terrefing and I never support these kind of acts.
The entire “anti-Christian” starts to apear stupid after the age of 15.
So many out there try to persuade us of how much anti-Christian they are,that this is becoming a trend.

The religiouse groups in this particular case were not suppose to loose their temper over this,simply because they are not in any way threatened by an artwork,nor is the religion damaged by such acts that have ocured in the past.
What would one asune after reading what happened is that the band intended to provoke with that cover and personally I find stupid as hell.Good quality music doesn’t need to provoke and offend in order to sell (if that is the case here).

Much like your anti-gay "sig" not being offensive to some and perhaps also being stupid after 15. Most of metal sings about Anti everything... not just christianity... anti religion, anti politics, anti control period... the coverart is just that coverart... you do not have to look at it... you can throw it away and keep the CD in a plain plastic case... like I said I am catholic by birth and do not take what Slayer or other bands sing about or paint etc seriously... it is entertainment much like watching a horror movie... people tend to take music lyrics/art more serious then movies and books that do the same thing which has always baffled me... Don't the directors/writers of books and movies sometimes inject their beliefs in movies/books or try to provoke christian or other groups sometimes to generate sales and sometimes because its their own beliefs and they have the right to believe in what they want and express it in music, movies, books , art etc.? ... I think it's called artistic expression... If not we might as well throw so called "freedom" out the door and Bush can stop ranting and raving about spreading "freedom" around the world (including his personal crusade of "freedom" in Iraq) ... think of Slayer's music as a horror movie or book but just in musical form... maybe you will think differently and not take it so serious or offensive... people who get offended easily take life too serious and do not enjoy life as much because they are too busy worrying what others think or what something means or this or that... just listen to the music and enjoy if you are a Slayer fan.. after all like i said before it's all about the music....

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

The point is that Zep was just offering his opinion and you went after him. Freedom of speech is not a one way street.

Yes he has the right to say what he wants.... just do not like that he said others don't just because it offended him and his religious beliefs.. and also since im not a religious person i usually do not like when someone is shoving their religious beliefs down my throat.. but I would defend his right to say what he wants (as well as Slayer and any other groups that are deemed offensive to the status quo)to the death because i believe in freedom of speech strongly... that is just me i guess <shrugs> ....

 

[dcowboys311]

The religious freaks who have a problem with Slayer's album cover can go f*ck themselves. I find it VERY hypocritic that these self-righteous pieces of $hit make a big stink about Slayer and any other band that does anything they don't like - but it's OK when they ostracize, judge, condemn and blacklist homosexuals?

So the second Christians complain about something that blatantly defiles thier religion, they can go fuck themselves, but when bands release albums complaining about Christianity, they're "fucking metal?" Give me a break. It sounds like the people in the metal world are the hypocrites. I'm tired of the double standard.

 

[USMC0341]

I personally don't like covers like this at all, I think it's inappropriate, disrespectfull and totally unnecessary. This is exactly why I have to defend metal almost every day. Covers like this makes it hard for people to understand that it's about the music (for me) and not about satanism.
I really wish they'd stop it already cause I do enjoy their music, I mean it's hard to tell I guy: "The latest album rocks, oh, and by the way it's called "God Hates Us All', but you should really listen to it you'll probably like it" ...
I think they just screw themselves by being so blatently blasphemous.

I don't waste my time worrying about people that I'd have to defend or explain any of this to. If I have to explain or defend anything then I don't want to have anything to dowith them.

Do you have any problems with Clive Barker or Tom Savini? Stephen King? There are horror movies out there that touch on more co0ntroversial shit than a Slayer album.

Just out of curiousity...under exactly what realm is that album cover "inappropriate"?

Everyone in the world has the right turn the page and not buy it.

JB