TOM ARAYA: New Album Will Be 'Very SLAYER'

SLAYER frontman Tom Araya recently spoke to the Tucson Citizen about the group's July 11 show in Augusta, Maine which was recorded for an upcoming live DVD. The band, who played the 1986 album "Reign In Blood" from start to finish at the gig, were focused on just the final minute of "Raining Blood", the closing song on the 10-track record.

"It's kind of like little kids waiting for a new toy. 'Here it comes. Here it comes,' " Araya said, laughing. "The effect we were trying to achieve only happens at the end of the album, the last minute ... . And when it happened, it was great."
Araya was a bit cagey about the specifics of the special effect that made him so giddy, but he offered a clue. "The album title gives it away. It looked really, really cool."

"Reign in Blood" was SLAYER's third album and the first produced by Rick Rubin for his Def Jam label. Araya wants Rubin to produce SLAYER's next album, which he hopes will see the band in the studio by the end of the year.

"If not Rubin, someone like Rubin, who will work like Rubin. In other words, who will be a part of the process," Araya said, adding that Rubin is very hands-on and acts, necessarily, like a "referee" for SLAYER. Rubin was somewhat involved in the band's 2001 album, "God Hates Us All", in terms of financing and suggesting who should do the final mix.

"He's got an ear for sounds and for talent ... to find people who are really good at what they do," Araya said.

A dozen songs have been written for the forthcoming album, with just some tinkering and lyrics to be done. Because of Ozzfest, Araya notes, the band is in "pause mode." The record, Araya promises, will sound like SLAYER. "You can take my word on it that it will always be very SLAYER," he says. "We'll stick to the core." Read more.