SLAYER Frontman: 'After Being Here For 30 Years, We Have A Hardcore Audience'

AOL Music recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

AOL Music: You've been playing speedy thrash metal for 30 years how are you still doing it?

Araya: I just go out there and play it, dude. I don't really think about it, I just do it. When you start to think about what you're doing, you have a tendency to stray from the path. I just can't headbang anymore, so now I have to do it without headbanging.

AOL Music: Do you think this kind of music is immortal?

Araya: I think if the band is good and the music is good, all music is like that. There's always going to be someone listening to it, and then there's going to be that one person that discovers it. They never discover the shitty bands, they discover the good bands. That's how it was with me I was introduced to ZEPPELIN and SABBATH, and that was at an early age, in the early '70s. It was good music, good songs.

AOL Music: Do you reckon people like Lady Gaga then are just a fad, or will their music become immortal too?

Araya: She's got some good songs, but is it the entire album that's good, or is it just one or two songs? My kids are like that. Whenever they listen to music, they'll sit there and like a certain band, and I'll say "What's the album sounding like?" "I dunno." "What do you mean you don't know?" "Well, I only like these two songs." "Well, you gotta hear the whole album." I told them that it's really important to like all the songs if you don't like all their songs, then you're going to forget about the band really quick. My daughter is really into THE STROKES. And I've heard their stuff it's really good songs, their albums are really good so to me, it wouldn't surprise me if they have staying power.

AOL Music: Are there some SLAYER "fans" out there that only really like the hit songs?

Araya: I see a lot of that out there. People are here maybe for that reason and that reason alone. They'll sit there and be like 'When are they gonna play that song?' and they're lucky, because we'll probably play that song! A lot of bands come out and do new stuff and never play their old shit, and some people will only come to hear that one song. After being here for 30 years, we have a hardcore audience. Maybe two or three percent of the audience out there are hardcore. I'm more about the three percent of the audience, and that's why we're here. I'm here for them.

Read the entire interview from AOL Music.