Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Tom Araya- Slayer
- Thread starter Indigo Montoya
- Start date
Love Slayer. He writes great lyrics and his voice is perfect for what they do. I'd describe his bass playing as serviceable, I guess.
The best Slayer record to hear Toms playing is Hell Awaits. Clear and up in the mix. My fave Slayer record. I think he's better than what he plays in the band but he plays what their music requires.
He's an anchor. He gives the band what works but on record he's practically inaudible ( other than Show No Mercy and the incomparable Hell Awaits) and live his tone is really dry, it doesn't add anything special but you'd certainly notice if it was gone. He has shining moments of audible awesomeness here and there but really he understands that his best skill in terms of his playing is to thicken the drums and guitars.
The guitars are too loud so we don't really hear him. But anyone who can play that stuff and sing at the same time is damn good.
Tom is a frontman who also plays bass.
Under or over rated? I've never spent a moment rating him at all.
Under or over rated? I've never spent a moment rating him at all.
I've been listening to Slayer for 30 years and I've honestly never even heard the bass in it.
Agree with the post that said he doesn't do anything that is particularly special in the songs, but it would be very noticeable if he was absent. Much like Cliff Williams in ACDC.
While it is true that the bass on Hell Awaits is the most audible of all their albums, that album also has the worst production IMO. Killer songs with a god awful sound. Slayer themselves even say it is their worst sounding album.
While it is true that the bass on Hell Awaits is the most audible of all their albums, that album also has the worst production IMO. Killer songs with a god awful sound. Slayer themselves even say it is their worst sounding album.
Last edited:
Ironically I was watching some Seasons In The Abyss period videos last night. Made me want to go get a reverse headstock BC Rich Eagle.
Compared to his contemporaries in the speed\thrash scene of the mid 80s to 90s, he had a pretty easy job as a bass player. I learned a few Slayer tunes, and he usually sticks to a root for a long time. It is probably because of his singing. He doesn't embellish and is often hard to hear. I don't know much about his story, so I don't know what his interest in the bass truly is. I also don't know what Kerry's influence is on his playing choices.
I love the feel of my TA-600 bass, even if the tone is a little wonky. So there is that.
Compared to his contemporaries in the speed\thrash scene of the mid 80s to 90s, he had a pretty easy job as a bass player. I learned a few Slayer tunes, and he usually sticks to a root for a long time. It is probably because of his singing. He doesn't embellish and is often hard to hear. I don't know much about his story, so I don't know what his interest in the bass truly is. I also don't know what Kerry's influence is on his playing choices.
I love the feel of my TA-600 bass, even if the tone is a little wonky. So there is that.
Yeah I've never seen/read an interview where he talks about his influences or how he even got started playing bass. Was he a guitarist at first? If anyone has any info on that or a link to an interview, I'd like to check it out.
As far as his bass playing goes, I can only hear him on the first two albums. He may suck now for all I know. I've never seen SLAYER live.
I saw them once a very long time ago during the Clash of the Titans tour in the early 90s. I don't remember much about the show other than "SLAYER!!"
Tom is THE classic thrash groove player. Bass wise, you'll occasionally hear notes from him coming through, like on the intro to "Seasons of the Abyss", but his main thing is to add depth to the chords in sync with the rhythm guitar. It's a basic style, well suited to his dual role as lead singer. From what I know, his rig is very simple; ESP sig model bass > dbx 160 comp > Marshall. Raw power.
In that respect, Tom differs greatly from many other bass players of the 80's, who were influenced by Geezer Butler's finger style and fills -- Steve Harris, Frank Bello, Cliff Burton, et al. If you wanted other bass players whom you could call Tom's predecessors, Gene Simmons and (minus the vocals) Ian Hill could be said to have a similar "grooving with the chords" kind of style.
In that respect, Tom differs greatly from many other bass players of the 80's, who were influenced by Geezer Butler's finger style and fills -- Steve Harris, Frank Bello, Cliff Burton, et al. If you wanted other bass players whom you could call Tom's predecessors, Gene Simmons and (minus the vocals) Ian Hill could be said to have a similar "grooving with the chords" kind of style.
Last edited:
