Episode 1 - Convince Me To Like... SLAYER!
Are Slayer the most intense and sophisticated metal band of all time or are they an overrated novelty act that just won’t die?
In our pilot episode, Slayer super-fan Mike Meyer (the kid who carved "Slayer" into his arms and was thus immortalized in the artwork of Slayer's 1994, Divine Intervention record) and Slayer super-fan Craig Faretra argue the merits of these metal demigods against the Slayer-hater and founder of Metal Insider, Bram Teitelman. Jokes and fireworks ensue.
THE GUESTS
THE SUPER-FANS
Craig Faretra
A note from Craig:
“It all began when Van Halen’s 1984 was released and they put out the video for “Jump”. Van Halen I blew me away and I was totally hooked from there.
After that, I decided to try to get into other rock and metal bands, so I checked out the new albums by Ozzy (Ultimate Sin) and Motley Crue (Theatre of Pain). Looking back, those were pretty weak albums, but to a 12 year old they pretty damn heavy.
But then the real game changer came when Iron Maiden released Live After Death. Holy shit, what an amazing album. I don’t even remember how I got into it. I am pretty sure I was sucked in by all the scary Eddie artwork that was all over the place in magazines and on kid’s jean jackets. I got the Live After Death VHS tape, which was basically the first “concert” I ever saw. I must have watched that 2-3x a day for the next two years.
The next game changer for me was Headbanger’s Ball. Every Saturday night at midnight was appointment TV. I got exposed to bands like Megadeth (Wake Up Dead abs Peace Sells), Overkill (In Union We Stand), and King Diamond (Welcome Home). But two bands are noticeably missing from that list...Metallica and Slayer. They didn’t have videos out!!! So it took me a few more years to catch up to those guys. But, finally, Metallica released a video for “One” and a close buddy of mine got me into more of their stuff and I was completely hooked.
So, it took me a long time to get into Slayer. As a kid who went to catholic school and walked the straight and narrow, Slayer always scared me off with what I heard about them (there was a HUGE witch hunt in the 80s on satanism in music, and they were at the center of it). Then I got my driver’s license and started delivering pizza and listening to the local college radio station (Seton Hall’s WSOU) who were playing Slayer’s new music, Seasons in the Abyss and Skeltons of Society. WOW. I couldn’t stop listening to them.
I then got ALL the Slayer albums and couldn’t believe it took me that long to get into them. At an age where I really started questioning the religious beliefs that were pushed on me, Slayer was the perfect band to get into. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a whole lot of friends who were into metal, and the ones that were into metal were more into less extreme bands.
I didn’t get to see Slayer in concert until 1998 on their Diablous en Musica tour. After that, I think I saw almost every single show they ever played in the New York/New Jersey area. I lost count years ago, but I know I’ve seen them at least 40 times. Seeing them for the LAST time on their final tour this past November, at the iconic Madison Square Garden, was both amazing and very bittersweet. It was an amazing ride.
MIKE MEYER
Mike Meyer is a legend with Slayer fans. He has been attending Slayer shows since the mid-1980s and at the time, was notorious for lighting himself on fire, jumping off insanely high objects, getting bloody in the mosh pit and also randomly harassing local bands by continually yelling, “Fuckin Slayer!” at the top of his lungs just to shut them down. In 1994, Mike carved SLAYER into his forearms and then lit them on fire - all captured in an official photo and video session for the album artwork of Slayer’s Divine Intervention record. Could there possibly be ANYTHING more metal?
Despite his Slayer-reputation and fandom, Mike is also a fan of many different genres of music. He’s a lifelong musician who has played rock, metal and bluegrass in bands such as, Wash, Bourbon Jones, The Fauntleroys, I’ll Eat Your Ass For A Quarter, Jumbo Size and Captain Crab. He currently is a dad that resides in California.
THE HATER
BRAM TEITELMAN
Bram Teitelman is the marketing manager of Napalm Records in North America. He is the co-founder of metal and hard rock website Metal Insider and has also worked at Billboard. He plays in the band Black Wail. Glenn Danzig once threatened to kick his ass. He resides in Jersey City, NJ.