Lastly…SLAYER!!!!! Following the success of Hell Awaits, Slayer was offered a recording contract with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin’s newly founded Def Jam Records, a largely hip hop-based label. The band accepted and with an experienced producer and major label recording budget, the band underwent a sonic makeover resulting in shorter, faster songs with clearer production. Gone were the complex arrangements and long songs featured on Hell Awaits, ditched in favor of stripped down, hardcore punk influenced song structures.
