SlayerThere's something intangibly, symbiotically wonderful about scenarios where respected institutions "lower" themselves to the realms of exploring or highlighting far more interesting subcultures than what the mainstream is used to.
On the one hand, the presence of/affiliation with the underground or sense of cultural "cool" does wonders for an ageing relic in terms of bolstering its ongoing relevance, while, on the other, the attention paid and gravitas afforded to the fringe by a "more legitimate", more established, more mainstream source tends to act as a validator for cultures that had previously spent a whole lot of time being feared, mocked and/or misunderstood.
It is, thus, pretty darn bolstering to see the US Smithsonian Institute's National Museum Of History turn to veteran metal icons Slayer to be a part of a new installation designed to explore the origins of thrash metal as it blossomed in Bay Area rebellion against the encroaching LA armies of hair bands in the latter decades of last century.
As LoudWire notes, the Smithsonian brought in Slayer members Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph to provide an oral history of the band and the wider scene in which they blew up, the clip (Slayer & The Origins Of Thrash) forming part of the museum's wider Places Of Musical Innovation video series, which explores the kind of locations that "stimulate creative minds and spark a surge of invention and innovation".
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It's a fascinating thing to behold, listening to the members recount their memories of struggling to get gigs for not being glam enough, hearing Iron Maiden for the first time, the finer points of headbanging, and the open arms with which the Bay Area welcomed their similarly maligned contemporaries.
Check it out below, and get educated.
