Slayer Guitarist Found Lyrical Inspiration From Snuff Film

In the lyrical world of Slayer, there is no subject too ghastly to cover. They've written about everything from Jewish death camps ('Angel of Death') to serial killer Ed Gein ('Dead Skin Mask') in their legendary career. Even though they've been around since the early '80s, the subject matter in Slayer's songs isn't any less disturbing. On their recently-released 'World Painted Blood,' they definitely bring the pain.

'Unit 731' is about a covert Japanese chemical warfare research and development unit that began in the '30s, while 'Beauty Through Order' details the grisly work of 16th century mass murderer Elizabeth Bathory. With all of these horrific themes being explored, there is still one song on the new album that stands out. We're talking about the track 'Snuff.' For those unfamiliar, a snuff film is a movie that depicts an actual death on camera.

Noisecreep caught up with guitarist Kerry King and asked him what in the world possessed him to write the lyrics for 'Snuff.'



You wrote a song called 'Snuff' for the new album. Even by Slayer standards, that's a creepy subject.

It's funny because that was the last song that I wrote for 'Word Painted Blood,' but I was having trouble with it. I couldn't figure out how the arrangement should go. I also couldn't think about what I should write about. One night, I was driving home from Hollywood after being in the studio all day. I'm about an hour away, so I had time to think about the song.

Anyway, my buddy calls me and says he has a snuff film. I told him to come over with it. That got my mind thinking, and I started writing the lyrics for the song then. The concept of a snuff film got my mind working, and the words came easily after that. It's such a f---ed up subject but so perfect for Slayer (laughter).

Did you watch the film?

That's the thing, I never did. It's not that I don't want to, because I am fascinated by it. I was just in album mode at that time so I didn't think about it too much. People have been asking me about it since the album came out, so I'm not alone on being intrigued by the idea of a snuff film. It's some crazy s--- man!



Maybe you'll write another song about it after you actually see it.

I can tell you that I plan on watching it when we're off tour. I'm actually really interested in the whole thing -- real or not.