The Girl in the Slayer Vest

In 2002, I was in my Senior Year of High School. I was only 17, and still getting into metal. At this point, I had already gone to my first metal show (Megadeth, October 2001), and I was trying to find more bands to get into. At this point, I had gone from Aerosmith and Hair Metal to Metallica to Megadeth. I wasn't into Anthrax just yet, and Korn and the rest of Nu-Metal didn't really interest me much. So what could fill the void?

Enter Tower Records and their recommendation for the top essential metal albums. In it, they listed the three best Slayer albums, and the list help up incredibly true. I had never listened to Slayer, and I got my first taste with "South of Heaven". By graduation, I owned most of their discography.

When I think of my art, there are a lot of bands that help inspire me and drive me to draw. Slayer are in the Top 5 of bands that contributed to me directly doing art.

Did Slayer make to want to do things? HELL YEAH! It drove me to create, it drove me to draw, it drove me to go skateboarding, and it drove me to want to do amazing stuff with my life!

When I lost my mom, there were a few songs and albums that helped me get through it, and I can't tell you how much the song "Disciple" helped. It drove me to create the best art I could, and helped me scream and understand how I felt.

Whenever I wear my Slayer shirt, I feel strong and determined. It isn't because I'm supporting a band, the music, or the scene; its because this band helps to give me the confidence to believe in myself.

And if I learned anything the last 2 days, its this: Metal heads don't cry, we just listen to Slayer and tough it out.

Jeff Hanneman, rest in peace!