Talkin' Slayer: A Metal Podcast and Half-@ssed Audiobook

Today's topic is primal crossover: Slammin' to Slayer... Metal Enters the Pit (Chapter 11). Metal and punk collide. Cuts, bruises, busted bones, and broken noses ensue. And, yeah, it's totally worth it. After episode 9, only Patreon supporters get every weekly episode and bonus shows & content. Free listeners will only get an episode every OTHER week, and they'll miss half the story. Learn mor...

HEY PALS. Here's a little taste of something I'm doing now, exclusively for Patreon supporters... mostly. Long story short, it's a new type of mini-episode I'm experimenting with. I'm calling 'em Linkisodes. Until I think of something better. The true content here isn't what you can listen to. It's what you can click below. Here's the deal: 1) Linkisodes are nor...

Today's topic is Metal Moonlighting: Slayer team captain Kerry King signs on to play in the very first lineup of Megadeth, briefly apprenticing under one of his heavy metal heroes, Dave Mustaine. Is Kerry on the way out of his own band? Was it influential for Megadeth? Was it influential for Slayer? The answers are no, no, no, and “Yes, but…” This week is the final episode that is free for all. Af...

Today's topic is Slayer's first record deal and album: Show No Mercy, released on the hall of fame metal foundry that is Metal Blade. VIDEO: Slayer, live, 1983 . Next week is the final episode that is free for all. After episode 9, only Patreon supporters get every weekly episode. Free listeners will only get an episode every OTHER week, and they'll miss more than half the story. Learn...

Today's topic is the International Day of Slayer ... which is today if you're listening in a timely manner. For the first time, Slayer Day founder Jeff Tandy reveals the myths, facts, and misdirections behind the scenes of your favorite hesher holiday. You pal Ferris interviews Tandy in this co-production between the International Day of Slayer and your favorite metal show, Talkin' Sla...

This is not an episode. Not a proper episode. But... Today’s topic is some absolutely killer, very old Slayer footage that is bustin’ out all over the internet. This is probably the best Slayer video I have ever seen. And I’ve seen most of it. It's live footage. It's a long, long interview. It’s live from the Slaytanic inner sanctum. It’s ALL. It’s everything. And it’s from a truly histori...

Today's topics are Jeff Hanneman (again), the State of California's billion-dollar thrash incubator, and the hard-partying major ragin' scene that spawned Slayer, Metallica, many a metal throwdown & countless hesher hangovers. Unless otherwise noted, all sick-arsed riffage and/or music is by in-house rifflord Nige Savage of UK metal band ⁠⁠Chupacabra⁠⁠ . For the next year or so, every week, su...

AND WE ARE BACK, aces high. BEFORE WE GET STARTED... Click here for a video of Ferris unboxing the Hell Awaits 40 megabox set. You axed for it. Here it is . Anyhow... Today's topics are GOAT metal drummer Dave Lombardo and Slayer team captain Kerry F.N. King. And where they grew up. And where Slayer came from, the world that shaped the band. As mentioned on the show: video of Dave Lombardo KIL...

AND WE ARE BACK. The time: two minutes to midnight. Today's topics are Slayer founder — if not mastermind — Kerry King and frontman Tom Araya. Unless otherwise noted, all sick-arsed riffage and/or music is by in-house rifflord Nige Savage of UK metal band Chupacabra . For the next year or so, every week, you get a chapter or two of D.X. Ferris' Slaytanic history book... "Slayer 66 2/3: A Metal Ban...

AND WE ARE BACK, AND SERIOUSLY LISTENING TO MAIDEN AGAIN, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 80s. THE RITUAL HAS BEGUN. Today's topic is Jeff Hanneman. How did Jeff make the difference in Slayer's art & career? Listen up and find out. For the next year or so, every week, you get a chapter or two of D.X. Ferris' Slaytanic history book... "Slayer 66 2/3: A Metal Band Biography... Or,...

Talkin' Slayer, Season 4 begins now . This season kicks off with an all-new tribute to Jeff Hanneman. Today marks the 13th anniversary of his untimely demise. Your host Ferris and some listeners weigh in on why Jeff ruled — no, RULES. Click here for a previous Jeff episode . This week is not your typical show. Things return to normalcy (sic) — more or less — next week. Starting next week, Seas...

Hey, listeners. This is the new, uncut, long trailer for Season 4 of Talkin' Slayer, the world's longest one-year podcast. Season 4 will kick off Saturday, May 2. That date will mark the 13th anniversary of Jeff Hanneman's sad, untimely, depressing demise. The first episode of the season will be an all-new tribute to Jeff. But mostly, in season 4, what you will get every week or so, is a chapter f...

Hey, listeners. Here's a seasonal rerun about that most controversial of all the icons in Slayer's mythology of the profane... the Slayer Leprechaun. But first, there's an update on the show. Season 4 will kick off Saturday, May 2. That date will mark the 13th anniversary of Jeff Hanneman's sad, untimely, depressing demise. The first episode of the season will be an all-new tribute...

Dateline: January 31, 2026. Jeff Hanneman would have turned 62 today. So here's a rerun of a spotlight episode about Jeff. This one looks at his creative output on & after after the polarizing Diabolus in Musica album. Diabolus was the last Slayer record that Jeff creatively dominated. In my Slayer fan surveys, Diabolus is fans least favorite, by A LOT — like 36% of fans say it's their...

BACK. This is Talkin' Slayer, episode #88 of 55. (If you don't count Season 3, which goes to Patreon supporters only.) Happy holidays if you're holidaying. Today's topics are: The new SLAYER 66 2/3... audiobook is here . I tell you all about it. Then you get some enhanced reruns... We talk Kerry King. We talk Jeff Hanneman. Then we talk Kerry King more. The SLAYER 66 2/3... audiobo...

Episode #87 of 55. Today's topic is a show report from Slayer's mini-festival in Hershey, PA 20 September 2025. It was their final show of the year, lucky #6. The full day of kick-@ss featured sets by Exodus, the Cavalera Conspiracy, Power Trip, Suicidal Tendencies, Knocked Loose, and F.N. Slayer. And I tell ya all about it. Get ready for the sights, the sounds, the scene, the smells, and all the...

Back. We are talkin' Slayer. This week's topic is the Great Hanneman Gear Grab: What happened to Jeff's guitar collection, mostly, and why, and how? Tune in. And unless you're a Patreon supporter, this is pretty much the end of Talkin' Slayer, Season 2: New Sh*t Has Come To Light . The episode wraps with some details on what's next in coming months. Plus a few words of grat...

This week's topic: We have set lists from the last few shows, with a detailed report from our dude in London, Kevin Gale. BANISHED FROM THIS DYING WORLD, THE LORD OF GALE AWAITS!! It's read by your pal Ferris, who provides some additional commentary. ALSO... Video: The entire London set: Not pro shot, sound muffled, but very up-close. Video: The entire London set: Worse sound, not as close, not ba...

SHORT SHARP SHOCK MINI-EPISODE Today's topics are 2) A recap of Slayer's righteous return to the stage 3 July 2025 in Cardiff, Wales... including the setlist. 1) Some speculation on what comes next. And 3) commentary on it all. DEEZ NOTES, as referenced in the show: One Slaytanic playlist of pretty much the entire Cardiff show, plus all other video available at the moment, including altern...

LAST WEEK, Patreon supporters got a super long chapter about the era around World Painted Blood, the final album with musical mastermind Jeff Hanneman. THIS WEEK'S TOPIC is the Big Four American Thrash Metal Bands. You’re getting  two chapters about the boys... ALL the boys. The rivals. The allies. The frenemies. All of the above. United and strong. Mostly. Press play and hear the new & improv...

Today's topic is Christ Illusion , the 2006 reunion album by Slayer's classic lineup. And when it's over, I drop some flowers for the late, great Sacha Jenkins . DEEZ NOTES Shownotes... things referenced in the show... mostly: Audio: From Christ Illusion: “Black Serenade,” original version . Audio: “Black Serenade,” take 2. Video: Slayer's Grammy-Winning "Eyes of the Insane" Audio: Slayer's Grammy...

Talkin' Slayer, Episode 78.5. JUNE 6 IS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY SLAYER. And it's Tom Araya's birthday. Happy birthday, Tom! Tom, of course, has the most metal birthdate: 6/6/61. To commemorate, enjoy these rerun chapters about... 1) The origins of this most momentous holiday. And... 2) Slayer's most infamous show. Manic fans tore up part of the Madison Square Garden complex, then kno...

Episode 77, The New Chapter 66: Talkin' the Kerry King Band, Again, More... Part 1 As referenced in the show... or not... UNBOXING VIDEO: Your pal Ferris unboxes the new edition of the book and tells you all about it for 26 minutes . Episode 57: A long report from the summer 2024 Kerry King-Mastodon concert Episode 64: A much shorter report from the January 2025 Kerry King headlining show The Kerr...

Talkin' Divine Intervention a Little, Talkin' Undisputed More, Talkin' Diabolus, Talkin' Hell Again Links to things mentioned — or implied, or not mentioned — in the episode this week. Click below for... Kathryn Hanneman's Official Jeff Hanneman feed, featured a Slaytanic slew of reposts from fans worldwide on May 2 . The new & improved & updated & embiggened book Ferris reads from eve...

Today's topic is Jeff Hanneman. This is a long three-part tribute, timed to be here for the 12th anniversary of Jeff's sad, untimely demise. Talkin' Slayer is a deeply researched podcast that uncovers the history of Slayer, the thrashiest of the Big Four American thrash bands, one episode at a time... sometimes two. Host & award-winning journalist D.X. Ferris has written two books about the band....