title: Columbo

text: When Columbo first appears in an episode, his genius is hidden by his frumpy, friendly, and disarming demeanor, luring the killer into a false sense of security. In some cases, the killer's arrogance and dismissive attitude allow Columbo to manipulate his suspects into self-incrimination. While the details, and eventually the motivations, of the murderers' actions are shown to the viewer, Columbo's true thoughts and intentions are almost never revealed until close to the end of the episode (he occasionally begins to whistle the tune "This Old Man" as the pieces begin to fall into place). Columbo generally maintains a friendly relationship with the murderer until the end. The point at which the detective first begins to suspect the murderer is generally not revealed, although it is often fairly early on. There are two sides to Columbo's character: the disarming and unkempt detective, and the hidden genius sleuth. The genius sometimes starkly manifests itself through his eyes, as when Jack Cassidy's magician, The Great Santini, manages to escape from police handcuffs that Columbo coyly presents him during Santini's show ("Now You See Him..."). Such moments always bode bad tidings for the killer. In some instances, such as Ruth Gordon's avenging elderly mystery writer in "Try and Catch Me", Janet Leigh's terminally ill and deluded actress in "Forgotten Lady", Donald Pleasence's elegant vintner in "Any Old Port in a Storm", and Johnny Cash's enserfed singer in "Swan Song", the killer is more sympathetic than the victim.


title: Columbo

text: Each case is generally concluded in a similar style, with Columbo dropping any pretense of uncertainty and sharing details of his conclusion of the killer's guilt. Following the killer's reaction, the episode generally ends with the killer confessing or quietly submitting to arrest. There are few attempts to deceive the viewer or provide a twist in the tale. One convoluted exception is "Last Salute to the Commodore", where Robert Vaughn is seen elaborately disposing of a body, but is proved later to have been covering for his alcoholic wife, whom he mistakenly thought to be the murderer. Sometimes, Columbo sets up the murderer with a trick designed to elicit a confession. An example occurs in "Dagger of the Mind", in which Columbo flips an evidentiary pearl into the victim's umbrella, bringing about incriminating activity from Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman. Oddly, the Hallmark Channel's replay of the episode (2020) edits out the revealing scene, thus completely altering the meaning of the ending of the episode.


title: Columbo

text: The character of Columbo was created by the writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link, who said that Columbo was partially inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" character Porfiry Petrovich, as well as G. K. Chesterton's humble cleric-detective Father Brown. Other sources claim Columbo's character is also influenced by Inspector Fichet from the French suspense-thriller film "Les Diaboliques" (1955).


title: Columbo

text: The character first appeared in a 1960 episode of the television-anthology series "The Chevy Mystery Show," titled "Enough Rope". This was adapted by Levinson and Link from their short story "May I Come In", which had been published as "Dear Corpus Delicti" in an issue of "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine". The short story featured a police lieutenant then named Fisher. The first actor to portray Columbo, character actor Bert Freed, was a stocky character actor with a thatch of gray hair.


title: Columbo

text: Freed's Columbo wore a rumpled suit and smoked a cigar; he otherwise had few of the other now-familiar Columbo mannerisms. The character is still recognizably Columbo and uses some of the same methods of misdirecting and distracting his suspects. During the course of the show, the increasingly frightened murderer brings pressure from the district attorney's office to have Columbo taken off the case, but the detective fights back with his own contacts.


title: Columbo

text: Although Freed received third billing, he wound up with almost as much screen time as the killer and appeared immediately after the first commercial. This delayed entry of the character into the narrative of the screen play became a defining characteristic of the structure of the Columbo series. This teleplay is available for viewing in the archives of the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.


title: Columbo

text: Levinson and Link then adapted the TV drama into the stage play "Prescription: Murder." This was first performed at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on January 2, 1962, with Oscar-winning character actor Thomas Mitchell in the role of Columbo. Mitchell was 70 years old at the time. The stage production starred Joseph Cotten as the murderer and Agnes Moorehead as the victim. Mitchell died of cancer while the play was touring in out-of-town tryouts; Columbo was his last role.


title: Columbo

text: In 1968, the same play was made into a two-hour television movie that aired on NBC. The writers suggested Lee J. Cobb and Bing Crosby for the role of Columbo, but Cobb was unavailable and Crosby turned it down because he felt it would take too much time away from the golf links. Director Richard Irving convinced Levinson and Link that Falk, who excitedly said he "would kill to play that cop", could pull it off even though he was much younger than the writers had in mind.


title: Columbo

text: Originally a one-off TV-Movie-of-the-Week, "Prescription: Murder" has Falk's Columbo pitted against a psychiatrist (Gene Barry). In this movie, the psychiatrist gives the new audience a perfect description of Columbo's character. Due to the success of this film, NBC requested that a pilot for a potential series be made to see if the character could be sustained on a regular basis, leading to the 1971 90-minute television production, "Ransom for a Dead Man", with Lee Grant playing the killer. The popularity of the second film prompted the creation of a regular series on NBC, that premiered in September 1971 as part of "The NBC Mystery Movie" wheel series rotation: "McCloud", "McMillan & Wife", and other whodunits.


title: Columbo

text: According to "TV Guide", the original plan was that a new "Columbo" episode would air every week. However, Falk refused to commit to such a busy schedule given his steady work in motion pictures. The network arranged for the "Columbo" segments to air once a month on Wednesday nights. The high quality of "Columbo", "McMillan & Wife", and "McCloud" was due in large part to the extra time spent on each episode. The term "wheel show" had been previously coined to describe this format, but no previous or subsequent wheel show achieved the longevity or success of "The NBC Mystery Movie".


title: Columbo

text: "Columbo" was an immediate hit in the Nielsen ratings and Falk won an Emmy Award for his role in the show's first season. In its second year the "Mystery Movie" series was moved to Sunday nights, where it then remained during its seven-season run. The show became the anchor of NBC's Sunday night lineup. "Columbo" aired regularly from 1971 to 1978. After NBC canceled it in 1978, "Columbo" was revived on ABC between 1989 and 2003 in several new seasons and a few made-for-TV movie "specials".


title: Columbo

text: Columbo's wardrobe was provided by Falk; they were his clothes, including the high-topped shoes and the shabby raincoat, which made its first appearance in "Prescription: Murder". Falk often ad libbed his character's idiosyncrasies (fumbling through his pockets for a piece of evidence and discovering a grocery list, asking to borrow a pencil, becoming distracted by something irrelevant in the room at a dramatic point in a conversation with a suspect, etc.), inserting these into his performance as a way to keep his fellow actors off-balance. He felt it helped to make their confused and impatient reactions to Columbo's antics more genuine. According to Levinson, the catchphrase "one more thing" was conceived when he and Link were writing the play: "we had a scene that was too short, and we had already had Columbo make his exit. We were too lazy to retype the scene, so we had him come back and say, 'Oh, just one more thing.' It was never planned." The catchphrase became the basis for a well-known sales technique known as the "Columbo Close". In this, after the sales person has completed their sales pitch without success and the customer is about to walk away, the sales person uses Columbo's line to present the customer with the most enticing part of their offer.


title: Columbo

text: A few years before his death, Falk expressed interest in returning to the role. In 2007, he claimed he had chosen a script for one last Columbo episode, "Columbo: Hear No Evil". The script was renamed "Columbo's Last Case". ABC declined the project. In response, producers for the series announced that they were attempting to shop the project to foreign production companies. Falk was diagnosed with dementia in late 2007. During a 2009 trial over his care, physician Stephen Read stated that Falk's condition had deteriorated so badly that he could no longer remember playing a character named Columbo, nor could he identify Columbo. Falk died on June 23, 2011, aged 83.


title: Columbo

text: Some actors appeared more than once, playing a different character each time; among those actors are Jack Cassidy, Robert Culp, Tyne Daly, George Hamilton, Martin Landau, Patrick McGoohan and William Shatner.


title: Columbo

text: The first season première "Murder by the Book" was written by Steven Bochco and directed by Steven Spielberg. Jonathan Demme directed the seventh-season episode "Murder Under Glass". Jonathan Latimer was also a writer. Actor Ben Gazzara, a friend of Falk's, directed the episodes "A Friend in Deed" (1974) and "Troubled Waters" (1975).


title: Columbo

text: Falk himself directed the last episode of the first season, "Blueprint for Murder," and wrote the episode entitled "It's All in the Game" in season 10. Actor Nicholas Colasanto, best known for playing Coach on "Cheers", directed two episodes, "Swan Song" with Johnny Cash, and "Étude in Black".


title: Columbo

text: Patrick McGoohan directed five episodes (including three of the four in which he played the murderer) and wrote and produced two. Vincent McEveety was a frequent director, and homage was paid to him by a humorous mention of a character with his surname in the episode "Undercover" (which he directed).


title: Columbo

text: Two episodes, "No Time to Die" and "Undercover", were based on the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain, and thus do not strictly follow the standard Columbo/inverted detective story format.


title: Columbo

text: "Columbo" episodes contain a variety of music that contributes to the uniqueness of each. The score becomes of particular importance during turning points of the plots. "The Mystery Movie Theme" by Henry Mancini, written for "The NBC Mystery Movie" series, was used extensively in the whole of 38 episodes, from 1971 to 1977. Unlike the other elements of the "Mystery Movie" wheel, "Columbo" never had an official theme as such, although some composers, such as Dick DeBenedictis and Gil Mellé, did write their own signature pieces. Several composers created original music for the series, which was often used along with "The Mystery Movie Theme":


title: Columbo

text: Patrick Williams received two Emmys nominations for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 1978 (for "Try and Catch Me") and 1989 (for "Murder, Smoke and Shadows"). Billy Goldenberg was nominated in the same category in 1972 for "Lady in Waiting".


title: Columbo

text: "Columbo" also featured an unofficial signature tune, the children's song "This Old Man". It was introduced in the episode "Any Old Port in a Storm" in 1973 and the detective can be heard humming or whistling it often in subsequent films. Falk said it was a melody he personally enjoyed and one day it became a part of his character. The tune was also used in various score arrangements throughout the three decades of the series, including opening and closing credits. A version of it, titled "Columbo", was created by Patrick Williams.


title: Columbo

text: The 1971 episode "Murder by the Book", directed by Steven Spielberg, was ranked No. 16 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time" and in 1999, the magazine ranked Lt. Columbo No. 7 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list. In 2012, the program was ranked the third-best cop or legal show on "". In 2013, "TV Guide" included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time and ranked it 33rd on its list of the 60 Best Series. Also in 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it 57th on its list of 101 Best Written TV Series.


title: Columbo

text: "Columbo" received numerous awards and nominations from 1971 to 2005, including 13 Emmys, two Golden Globe Awards, two Edgar Awards and a TV Land Award nomination in 2005 for Peter Falk.


title: Columbo

text: As of January 10, 2012, Universal Studios had released all 69 episodes of "Columbo" on DVD. The episodes are released in the same chronological order as they were originally broadcast. On October 16, 2012, Universal released "Columbo—The Complete Series" on DVD in Region 1.


title: Columbo

text: Because the "Columbo" episodes from 1989 to 2003 were aired very infrequently, different DVD sets have been released around the world. In many Region 2 and Region 4 countries, all episodes have now been released as 10 seasons, with the 10th comprising the last 14 episodes, from "Columbo Goes to College" (1990) to "Columbo Likes the Nightlife" (2003). In France and The Netherlands (also Region 2), the DVDs were grouped differently and released as 12 seasons.


title: Columbo

text: In Region 1, all episodes from seasons 8 on are grouped differently; the episodes that originally aired on ABC were released under the title "COLUMBO: The Mystery Movie Collection".


title: Columbo

text: The complete series was released on Blu-ray in Japan in 2011 as a ten-season set, taken from new HD masters and original 1.33:1 (4:3) aspect ratio (1989–2003 episodes are presented in 1.78:1 (16:9)). The set contains 35 discs and is presented in a faux-wooden cigar box. It features a brochure with episode details, and a script for the Japanese version of Prescription: Murder. Special features include the original 96-minute version of Étude In Black and the original NBC Mystery Movie title sequence. In addition, many episodes include isolated music and sound-effects tracks. Before this set's release, only the episodes up to Murder, a Self-Portrait were released on DVD in Japan.


title: Columbo

text: The Columbo character first appeared on stage in 1962 in "Prescription: Murder" with Thomas Mitchell in the role of Columbo.


title: Columbo

text: In 2010, "Prescription: Murder" was revived for a tour of the United Kingdom with Dirk Benedict and later John Guerrasio as Columbo.


title: Columbo

text: Falk appeared as Columbo in an "Alias" sketch produced for a 2003 TV special celebrating the 50th anniversary of ABC.


title: Columbo

text: A "Columbo" series of books was published by MCA Publishing, written by authors Alfred Lawrence, Henry Clements and Lee Hays. This series of books, with the first title published in 1972, was mostly adapted from the TV series.


title: Columbo

text: Columbo was also used as the protagonist for a series of novels published between 1994 and 1999 by Forge Books, an imprint of Tor Books. All of these books were written by William Harrington.


title: Columbo

text: William Link, the co-creator of the series, wrote a collection of Columbo short stories, titled "The Columbo Collection", which was published in May 2010 by Crippen & Landru, the specialty mystery publisher.


title: Columbo

text: A statue of Lieutenant Columbo and his dog was unveiled in 2014 on Miksa Falk Street in Budapest, Hungary. According to Antal Rogán, then-district mayor of the city, Peter Falk may have been related to Hungarian writer and politician Miksa Falk, although there is no evidence yet to prove it.


title: Columbo

text: "Mrs. Columbo", a spin-off TV series starring Kate Mulgrew, aired in 1979 and was canceled after only thirteen episodes. Lt. Columbo was never seen on "Mrs. Columbo"; each episode featured the resourceful Mrs. Columbo solving a murder mystery she encountered in her work as a newspaper reporter. Connections with the original "Columbo" series were made obvious: the glaring presence of Columbo's car in the driveway, the dog and Mrs. Columbo emptying ashtrays containing the famous green cigar butts—all featured in the show's opening sequence. References were also made to Kate's husband being a police lieutenant.


title: Columbo

text: Columbo's first name is notably never mentioned in the series, but "Frank Columbo" or "Lt. Frank Columbo" can occasionally be seen on his police ID. This ambiguity surrounding Columbo's first name led to the creator of "The Trivia Encyclopedia", Fred L. Worth, to include a false entry that listed "Phillip Columbo" as Columbo's full name as a copyright trap. When the board game "Trivial Pursuit" included "Phillip" as the answer to the question, "What was Columbo's first name?", Worth launched a 300 million dollar lawsuit against the creators of the game. The creators of the game argued that while they did use "The Trivia Encyclopedia" as one of their sources, facts are not copyrightable and there was nothing improper about using an encyclopedia in the production of a fact-based game. The district court judge agreed and the decision was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in September 1987. Worth petitoned the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case, but the Court declined, denying certiorari in March 1988.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as king of Denmark. At the age of sixteen Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother was appointed king of Greece as George I. Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress. She held the status until Edward's death in 1910, at which point their son George V ascended the throne. Alexandra died aged 80 in 1925.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, or "Alix", as her immediate family knew her, was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade, immediately adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace complex in Copenhagen. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. She had five siblings: Frederick, George, Dagmar (later Empress of Russia), Thyra and Valdemar.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Her father's family was a distant cadet branch of the Danish royal House of Oldenburg, which was descended from King Christian III. Although they were of royal blood, the family lived a comparatively modest life. They did not possess great wealth; her father's income from an army commission was about £800 per year and their house was a rent-free grace and favour property. Occasionally, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the children stories before bedtime.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: In 1848, Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only son Frederick ascended the throne. Frederick was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. A succession crisis arose because Frederick ruled in both Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, and the succession rules of each territory differed. In Holstein, the Salic law prevented inheritance through the female line, whereas no such restrictions applied in Denmark. Holstein, being predominantly German, proclaimed independence and called in the aid of Prussia. In 1852, the major European powers called a conference in London to discuss the Danish succession. An uneasy peace was agreed, which included the provision that Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg would be Frederick's heir in all his dominions and the prior claims of others (who included Christian's own mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife) were surrendered.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Prince Christian was given the title Prince of Denmark and his family moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Although the family's status had risen, there was little or no increase in their income; and they did not participate in court life at Copenhagen, for they refused to meet Frederick's third wife and former mistress, Louise Rasmussen, because she had an illegitimate child by a previous lover. Alexandra shared a draughty attic bedroom with her sister, Dagmar, made her own clothes, and waited at table along with her sisters. Alexandra and Dagmar were given swimming lessons by the Swedish pioneer of women's swimming, Nancy Edberg. At Bernstorff, Alexandra grew into a young woman; she was taught English by the English chaplain at Copenhagen and was confirmed in Christiansborg Palace. She was devout throughout her life, and followed High Church practice.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were already concerned with finding a bride for their son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. They enlisted the aid of their daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, in seeking a suitable candidate. Alexandra was not their first choice because the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the Schleswig-Holstein Question, and most of the British royal family's relations were German. Eventually, after rejecting other possibilities, they settled on her as "the only one to be chosen".


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: On 24 September 1861, Crown Princess Victoria introduced her brother Albert Edward to Alexandra at Speyer. Almost a year later on 9 September 1862 (after his affair with Nellie Clifden and the death of his father), Albert Edward proposed to Alexandra at the Royal Castle of Laeken, the home of his great-uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: A few months later, Alexandra travelled from Denmark to Britain aboard the royal yacht "Victoria and Albert" and arrived in Gravesend, Kent, on 7 March 1863. Sir Arthur Sullivan composed music for her arrival and Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote an ode in Alexandra's honour:


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Thomas Longley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, married the couple on 10 March 1863 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The choice of venue was criticised widely. As the ceremony took place outside London, the press complained that large public crowds would not be able to view the spectacle. Prospective guests thought it awkward to get to and, as the venue was small, some people who had expected invitations were disappointed. The Danes were dismayed because only Alexandra's closest relations were invited. The British court was still in mourning for Prince Albert, so ladies were restricted to wearing grey, lilac, or mauve. As the couple left Windsor for their honeymoon at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, they were cheered by the schoolboys of neighbouring Eton College, including Lord Randolph Churchill.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: By the end of the following year, Alexandra's father had ascended the throne of Denmark, her brother George had become King of the Hellenes, her sister Dagmar was engaged to the Tsesarevich of Russia, and Alexandra had given birth to her first child. Her father's accession gave rise to further conflict over the fate of Schleswig-Holstein. The German Confederation successfully invaded Denmark, reducing the area of Denmark by two-fifths. To the great irritation of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, Alexandra and Albert Edward supported the Danish side in the war. The Prussian conquest of former Danish lands heightened Alexandra's profound dislike of the Germans, a feeling which stayed with her for the rest of her life.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra's first child, Albert Victor, was born two months premature in early 1864. Alexandra showed devotion to her children: "She was in her glory when she could run up to the nursery, put on a flannel apron, wash the children herself and see them asleep in their little beds." Albert Edward and Alexandra had six children in total: Albert Victor, George, Louise, Victoria, Maud, and Alexander. All of Alexandra's children were apparently born prematurely; biographer Richard Hough thought Alexandra deliberately misled Queen Victoria as to her probable delivery dates, as she did not want the Queen to be present at their births. During the birth of her third child in 1867, the added complication of a bout of rheumatic fever threatened Alexandra's life, and left her with a permanent limp.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: In public, Alexandra was dignified and charming; in private, affectionate and jolly. She enjoyed many social activities, including dancing and ice-skating, and was an expert horsewoman and tandem driver. She also enjoyed hunting, to the dismay of Queen Victoria, who asked her to stop, but without success. Even after the birth of her first child, she continued to socialise much as before, which led to some friction between the Queen and the young couple, exacerbated by Alexandra's loathing of Prussians and the Queen's partiality towards them.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Albert Edward and Alexandra visited Ireland in April 1868. After her illness the previous year, she had only just begun to walk again without the aid of two walking sticks, and was already pregnant with her fourth child. The royal couple undertook a six-month tour taking in Austria, Egypt and Greece over 1868 and 1869, which included visits to her brother George I of Greece, to the Crimean battlefields and, for her only, to the harem of the Khedive Ismail. In Turkey she became the first woman to sit down to dinner with the Sultan (Abdulaziz).


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: The Waleses made Sandringham House their preferred residence, with Marlborough House their London base. Biographers agree that their marriage was in many ways a happy one; however, some have asserted that Albert Edward did not give his wife as much attention as she would have liked and that they gradually became estranged, until his attack of typhoid fever (the disease which was believed to have killed his father) in late 1871 brought about a reconciliation. This is disputed by others, who point out Alexandra's frequent pregnancies throughout this period and use family letters to deny the existence of any serious rift. Nevertheless, the prince was severely criticised from many quarters of society for his apparent lack of interest in her very serious illness with rheumatic fever. Throughout their marriage Albert Edward continued to keep company with other women, including the actress Lillie Langtry, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, humanitarian Agnes Keyser, and society matron Alice Keppel. Alexandra knew about most of these relationships, and later permitted Alice Keppel to visit her husband as he lay dying. Alexandra herself remained faithful throughout her marriage.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: An increasing degree of deafness, caused by hereditary otosclerosis, led to Alexandra's social isolation; she spent more time at home with her children and pets. Her sixth and final pregnancy ended with the birth of a son in April 1871, but the infant died the next day. Despite Alexandra's pleas for privacy, Queen Victoria insisted on announcing a period of court mourning, which led unsympathetic elements of the press to describe the birth as "a wretched abortion" and the funeral arrangements as "sickening mummery", even though the infant was not buried in state with other members of the royal family at Windsor, but in strict privacy in the churchyard at Sandringham, where he had lived out his brief life.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: For eight months over 1875–76, the Prince of Wales was absent from Britain on a tour of India, but to her dismay Alexandra was left behind. The prince had planned an all-male group and intended to spend much of the time hunting and shooting. During the prince's tour, one of his friends who was travelling with him, Lord Aylesford, was told by his wife that she was going to leave him for another man: Lord Blandford, who was himself married. Aylesford was appalled and decided to seek a divorce. Meanwhile, Lord Blandford's brother, Lord Randolph Churchill, persuaded the lovers against an elopement. Now concerned by the threat of divorce, Lady Aylesford sought to dissuade her husband from proceeding, but Lord Aylesford was adamant and refused to reconsider. In an attempt to pressure Lord Aylesford to drop his divorce suit, Lady Aylesford and Lord Randolph Churchill called on Alexandra and told her that if the divorce was to proceed they would subpoena her husband as a witness and implicate him in the scandal. Distressed at their threats, and following the advice of Sir William Knollys and the Duchess of Teck, Alexandra informed the Queen, who then wrote to the Prince of Wales. The prince was incensed. Eventually, the Blandfords and the Aylesfords both separated privately. Although Lord Randolph Churchill later apologised, for years afterwards the Prince of Wales refused to speak to or see him.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra spent the spring of 1877 in Greece recuperating from a period of ill health and visiting her brother King George of Greece. During the Russo-Turkish War, Alexandra was clearly partial against Turkey and towards Russia, where her sister was married to the Tsarevitch, and she lobbied for a revision of the border between Greece and Turkey in favour of the Greeks. Alexandra spent the next three years largely parted from her two sons as the boys were sent on a worldwide cruise as part of their naval and general education. The farewell was very tearful and, as shown by her regular letters, she missed them terribly. In 1881, Alexandra and Albert Edward travelled to Saint Petersburg after the assassination of Alexander II of Russia, both to represent Britain and so that Alexandra could provide comfort to her sister, who had become tsarina.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra undertook many public duties; in the words of Queen Victoria, "to spare me the strain and fatigue of functions. She opens bazaars, attends concerts, visits hospitals in my place ... she not only never complains, but endeavours to prove that she has enjoyed what to another would be a tiresome duty." She took a particular interest in the London Hospital, visiting it regularly. Joseph Merrick, the so-called "Elephant Man", was one of the patients whom she met. Crowds usually cheered Alexandra rapturously, but during a visit to Ireland in 1885, she suffered a rare moment of public hostility when visiting the City of Cork, a hotbed of Irish nationalism. She and her husband were booed by a crowd of two to three thousand people brandishing sticks and black flags. She smiled her way through the ordeal, which the British press still portrayed in a positive light, describing the crowds as "enthusiastic". As part of the same visit, she received a Doctorate in Music from Trinity College Dublin.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: The death of her eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, in 1892 was a serious blow to Alexandra. His room and possessions were kept exactly as he had left them, much as those of Prince Albert were left after his death in 1861. She said, "I have buried my angel and with him my happiness." Surviving letters between Alexandra and her children indicate that they were mutually devoted. In 1894, her brother-in-law Alexander III of Russia died and her nephew Nicholas II of Russia became Tsar. Alexandra's widowed sister, the Dowager Empress of Russia, leant heavily on her for support; Alexandra, who had gone to Russia accompanied by her husband, the Prince of Wales, slept, prayed, and stayed beside her sister for the next two weeks until Alexander's burial. Alexandra and her husband stayed on for the wedding of Nicholas to their niece Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, who had taken the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna and became the new tsarina.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: With the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, in 1901, Alexandra became queen-empress as consort to the new king. Just two months later, her son George and daughter-in-law Mary left on an extensive tour of the empire, leaving their young children in the care of Alexandra and Edward, who doted on their grandchildren. On George's return, preparations for Edward and Alexandra's coronation in Westminster Abbey were well in hand but just a few days before the scheduled coronation in June 1902 the King became seriously ill with appendicitis. Alexandra deputised for him at a military parade, and attended the Royal Ascot races without him, in an attempt to prevent public alarm. Eventually, the coronation had to be postponed and Edward had an operation performed by Frederick Treves of the London Hospital to drain the infected appendix. After his recovery, Alexandra and Edward were crowned together in August: the King by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, and the Queen by the Archbishop of York, William Dalrymple Maclagan.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Despite being queen, Alexandra's duties changed little, and she kept many of the same retainers. Alexandra's Woman of the Bedchamber, Charlotte Knollys, the daughter of Sir William Knollys, served Alexandra loyally for many years. On 10 December 1903, Knollys woke to find her bedroom full of smoke. She roused Alexandra and shepherded her to safety. In the words of Grand Duchess Augusta of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, "We must give credit to old Charlotte for "really" saving [Alexandra's] life."


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra again looked after her grandchildren when George and Mary went on a second tour, this time to British India, over the winter of 1905–06. Her father, Christian IX of Denmark, died that January. Eager to retain their family links, both to each other and to Denmark, in 1907 Alexandra and her sister, the Dowager Empress of Russia, purchased a villa north of Copenhagen, Hvidøre, as a private getaway.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra was denied access to the King's briefing papers and excluded from some of his foreign tours to prevent her meddling in diplomatic matters. She was deeply distrustful of Germans, particularly her nephew German Emperor Wilhelm II, and invariably opposed anything that favoured German expansion or interests. For example, in 1890 Alexandra wrote a memorandum, distributed to senior British ministers and military personnel, warning against the planned exchange of the British North Sea island of Heligoland for the German colony of Zanzibar, pointing out Heligoland's strategic significance and that it could be used either by Germany to launch an attack, or by Britain to contain German aggression. Despite this, the exchange went ahead. The Germans fortified the island and, in the words of Robert Ensor and as Alexandra had predicted, it "became the keystone of Germany's maritime position for offence as well as for defence". The "Frankfurter Zeitung" was outspoken in its condemnation of Alexandra and her sister, the Dowager Empress, saying that the pair were "the centre of the international anti-German conspiracy". She despised and distrusted German Emperor Wilhelm II, who was her husband's nephew, calling him in 1900 "inwardly our enemy".


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: In 1910, Alexandra became the first queen consort to visit the British House of Commons during a debate. In a remarkable departure from precedent, for two hours she sat in the Ladies' Gallery overlooking the chamber while the Parliament Bill, to remove the right of the House of Lords to veto legislation, was debated. Privately, Alexandra disagreed with the bill. Shortly afterwards, she left to visit her brother, George I of Greece, in Corfu. While there, she received news that King Edward was seriously ill. Alexandra returned at once and arrived only the day before her husband died. In his last hours, she personally administered oxygen from a gas cylinder to help him breathe. She told Frederick Ponsonby, "I feel as if I had been turned into stone, unable to cry, unable to grasp the meaning of it all." Later that year she moved out of Buckingham Palace to Marlborough House, but she retained possession of Sandringham. The new king, Alexandra's son George V, soon faced a decision over the Parliament Bill. Despite her personal views, Alexandra supported her son's reluctant agreement to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's request to create sufficient Liberal peers after a general election if the Lords continued to block the legislation.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: From Edward's death, Alexandra was queen mother, being a dowager queen and the mother of the reigning monarch. She did not attend the coronation of her son and daughter-in-law in 1911 since it was not customary for a crowned queen to attend the coronation of another king or queen, but otherwise continued the public side of her life, devoting time to her charitable causes. One such cause was Alexandra Rose Day, where artificial roses made by people with disabilities were sold in aid of hospitals by women volunteers. During the First World War the custom of hanging the banners of foreign princes invested with Britain's highest order of knighthood, the Order of the Garter, in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, came under criticism, as the German members of the Order were fighting against Britain. Alexandra joined calls to "have down those hateful German banners". Driven by public opinion, but against his own wishes, the King had the banners removed; but to Alexandra's dismay, he had taken down not only "those vile Prussian banners" but also those of her Hessian relations who were, in her opinion, "simply soldiers or vassals under that brutal German Emperor's orders". On 17 September 1916, she was at Sandringham during a Zeppelin air raid, but far worse was to befall other members of her family. In Russia, her nephew Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and he, his wife and their children were killed by revolutionaries. Alexandra's sister, the Dowager Empress, was rescued from Russia in 1919 by and brought to England, where she lived for some time with Alexandra.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra retained a youthful appearance into her senior years, but during the war her age caught up with her. She took to wearing elaborate veils and heavy makeup, which was described by gossips as having her face "enamelled". She made no more trips abroad, and her health worsened. In 1920, a blood vessel in her eye burst, leaving her with temporary partial blindness. Towards the end of her life, her memory and speech became impaired. She died on 20 November 1925 at Sandringham House from a heart attack eleven days before her 81st birthday, lay in state at Westminster Abbey, and was buried in an elaborate tomb next to her husband in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: The Queen Alexandra Memorial by Alfred Gilbert was unveiled on Alexandra Rose Day 8 June 1932 at Marlborough Gate, London. An ode in her memory, "So many true princesses who have gone", composed by the then Master of the King's Musick Sir Edward Elgar to words by the Poet Laureate John Masefield, was sung at the unveiling and conducted by the composer.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra was highly popular with the British public. After she married the Prince of Wales in 1863, a new park and "People's Palace", a public exhibition and arts centre under construction in north London, were renamed the Alexandra Palace and park to commemorate her. There are at least sixty-seven roads and streets in the Greater London area alone called Alexandra Road, Alexandra Avenue, Alexandra Gardens, Alexandra Close or Alexandra Street, all named after her. Queen Alexandra Bridge in Sunderland was inaugurated in 1909.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Unlike her husband and mother-in-law, she was not castigated by the press. Funds that she helped to collect were used to buy a river launch, called "Alexandra", to ferry the wounded during the Sudan campaign, and to fit out a hospital ship, named "The Princess of Wales", to bring back wounded from the Boer War. During the Boer War, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, later renamed Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, was founded under Royal Warrant.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra had little understanding of money. The management of her finances was left in the hands of her loyal comptroller, Sir Dighton Probyn VC, who undertook a similar role for her husband. In the words of her grandson, Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor), "Her generosity was a source of embarrassment to her financial advisers. Whenever she received a letter soliciting money, a cheque would be sent by the next post, regardless of the authenticity of the mendicant and without having the case investigated." Though she was not always extravagant (she had her old stockings darned for re-use and her old dresses were recycled as furniture covers), she would dismiss protests about her heavy spending with a wave of a hand or by claiming that she had not heard.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: She hid a small scar on her neck, which was probably the result of a childhood operation, by wearing choker necklaces and high necklines, setting fashions which were adopted for fifty years. Alexandra's effect on fashion was so profound that society ladies even copied her limping gait, after her serious illness in 1867 left her with a stiff leg. This came to be known as the "Alexandra limp". She used predominantly the London fashion houses; her favourite was Redfern's, but she shopped occasionally at Doucet and Fromont of Paris.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Alexandra has been portrayed on television by Deborah Grant and Helen Ryan in "Edward the Seventh", Ann Firbank in "Lillie", Maggie Smith in "All the King's Men", and Bibi Andersson in "The Lost Prince". She was portrayed in film by Helen Ryan again in the 1980 film "The Elephant Man", Sara Stewart in the 1997 film "Mrs Brown", and Julia Blake in the 1999 film "Passion". In a 1980 stage play by Royce Ryton, "Motherdear", she was portrayed by Margaret Lockwood in her last acting role.


title: Alexandra of Denmark

text: Queen Alexandra's arms upon the accession of her husband in 1901 were the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom impaled with the arms of her father, the King of Denmark. The shield is surmounted by the imperial crown, and supported by the crowned lion of England and a wild man or savage from the Danish royal arms.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Slayer's final lineup comprised Araya, King, drummer Paul Bostaph (who replaced Lombardo in 1992 and again in 2013) and guitarist Gary Holt (who replaced Hanneman in 2011). Drummer Jon Dette was also a member of the band.


title: Slayer

text: In the original lineup, King, Hanneman and Araya contributed to the band's lyrics, and all of the band's music was written by King and Hanneman. The band's lyrics and album art, which cover topics such as serial killers, torture, genocide, organized crime, secret societies, occultism, terrorism, religion or antireligion, fascism, racism and war, have generated album bans, delays, lawsuits and criticism from religious groups. However, its music has been highly influential, being cited by many bands as an influence musically, visually and lyrically; the band's third album, "Reign in Blood" (1986), has been described as one of the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer released twelve studio albums, three live albums, a box set, six music videos, two extended plays and a cover album. Four of the band's studio albums have received gold certification in the United States. Slayer sold 5 million copies in the United States from 1991 to 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and over 20 million worldwide. The band has received five Grammy Award nominations, winning one in 2007 for the song "Eyes of the Insane" and one in 2008 for the song "Final Six", both of which were from the album "Christ Illusion" (2006). After more than three decades of recording and performing, Slayer announced in January 2018 that it would embark on a farewell tour, which took place from May 2018 to November 2019, after which the band disbanded.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer was formed in 1981 by Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo, and Tom Araya in Huntington Park, California. The group started out playing covers of songs by bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Venom at parties and clubs in Southern California. The band's early image relied heavily on Satanic themes that featured pentagrams, make-up, spikes, and inverted crosses. Rumors that the band was originally known as Dragonslayer, after the 1981 film of the same name, were denied by King, as he later stated: "We never were; it's a myth to this day." According to Lombardo, the original band name was to be Wings of Fire before they settled in with Slayer. It was he who designed the iconic logo. For inspiration, Lombardo thought in a perspective of a murderer of how they would carve out the logo with a knife and since he's lefthanded, the logo is unintentionally slanted to the right.


title: Slayer

text: In 1983, Slayer was invited to open for the band Bitch at the Woodstock Club in Anaheim, California to perform eight songs, six of which were covers. The band was spotted by Brian Slagel, a former music journalist who had recently founded Metal Blade Records. Impressed with Slayer, he met with the band backstage and asked them to record an original song for his upcoming "Metal Massacre III" compilation album. The band agreed and their song "Aggressive Perfector" created an underground buzz upon its release in mid 1983, which led to Slagel offering the band a recording contract with Metal Blade.


title: Slayer

text: Without any recording budget, the band had to self-finance its debut album. Combining the savings of Araya, who was employed as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from King's father, the band entered the studio in November 1983. The album was rushed into release, stocking shelves three weeks after tracks were completed. "Show No Mercy", released in December 1983 by Metal Blade Records, generated underground popularity for the band. The group began a club tour of California to promote the album. The tour gave the band additional popularity and sales of "Show No Mercy" eventually reached more than 20,000 in the US and another 20,000 worldwide.


title: Slayer

text: In February 1984, King briefly joined Dave Mustaine's new band Megadeth. Hanneman was worried about King's decision, stating in an interview, "I guess we're gonna get a new guitar player." While Mustaine wanted King to stay on a permanent basis, King left after five shows, stating Mustaine's band was "taking too much of my time." The split caused a rift between King and Mustaine, which evolved into a long running feud between the two bands.


title: Slayer

text: In June 1984, Slayer released a three-track EP called "Haunting the Chapel". The EP featured a darker, more thrash-oriented style than "Show No Mercy", and laid the groundwork for the future direction of the band. The opening track, "Chemical Warfare", has become a live staple, played at nearly every show since 1984.


title: Slayer

text: Later that year, Slayer began their first national club tour, traveling in Araya's Camaro towing a U-Haul trailer. The band recorded the live album "Live Undead" in November 1984 while in New York City.


title: Slayer

text: In March 1985, Slayer began a national tour with Venom and Exodus, resulting in their first live home video dubbed "Combat Tour: The Ultimate Revenge". The video featured live footage filmed at the Studio 54 club. The band then made its live European debut at the "Heavy Sound Festival" in Belgium opening for UFO. Also in 1985, Slayer toured or played selected shows with bands like Megadeth, Destruction, D.R.I., Possessed, Agent Steel, S.O.D., Nasty Savage and Metal Church.


title: Slayer

text: "Show No Mercy" had sold over 40,000 copies, which led to the band returning to the studio to record their second full-length album. Metal Blade financed a recording budget, which allowed the band to hire producer Ron Fair. Released in March 1985, Slayer's second full-length album, "Hell Awaits", expanded on the darkness of "Haunting the Chapel", with hell and Satan as common song subjects. The album was the band's most progressive offering, featuring longer and more complex song structures. The intro of the title track is a backwards recording of a demonic-sounding voice repeating "Join us", ending with "Welcome back" before the track begins. The album was a hit, with fans choosing Slayer for best band, best live band, "Hell Awaits", as 1985's best album, and Dave Lombardo as best drummer in the British magazine "Metal Forces"' 1985 Readers Poll.


title: Slayer

text: 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 for their third album "Reign in Blood", resulting in shorter, faster songs with clearer production. The complex arrangements and long songs featured on "Hell Awaits" were ditched in favor of stripped down, hardcore punk influenced song structures.


title: Slayer

text: Def Jam's distributor, Columbia Records, refused to release the album due to the song "Angel of Death" which detailed Holocaust concentration camps and the human experiments conducted by Nazi physician Josef Mengele. The album was distributed by Geffen Records on October 7, 1986. However, due to the controversy, "Reign in Blood" did not appear on Geffen Records' release schedule. Although the album received virtually no radio airplay, it became the band's first to enter the "Billboard" 200, debuting at number 94, and the band's first album certified gold in the United States.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer embarked on the "Reign in Pain" world tour, with Overkill in the US from October to December 1986, and Malice in Europe in April and May 1987. They also played with other bands such as Agnostic Front, Testament, Metal Church, D.R.I., Dark Angel and Flotsam and Jetsam. The band was added as the opening act on W.A.S.P.'s US tour, but just one month into it, drummer Lombardo left the band: "I wasn't making any money. I figured if we were gonna be doing this professionally, on a major label, I wanted my rent and utilities paid." To continue with the tour, Slayer enlisted Tony Scaglione of Whiplash. However, Lombardo was convinced by his wife to return in 1987. At the insistence of Rubin, Slayer recorded a cover version of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" for the film "Less than Zero". Although the band was not happy with the final product, Hanneman deeming it "a poor representation of Slayer" and King labeling it "a hunk of shit", it was one of their first songs to garner radio airplay.


title: Slayer

text: In late 1987, Slayer returned to the studio to record their fourth studio album. To contrast the speed of "Reign in Blood", the band consciously decided to slow down the tempos, and incorporate more melodic singing. According to Hanneman, "We knew we couldn't top "Reign in Blood", so we had to slow down. We knew whatever we did was gonna be compared to that album, and I remember we actually discussed slowing down. It was weird—we've never done that on an album, before or since."


title: Slayer

text: Released in July 1988, "South of Heaven" received mixed responses from both fans and critics, although it was Slayer's most commercially successful release at the time, debuting at number 57 on the "Billboard" 200, and their second album to receive gold certification in the United States. Press response to the album was mixed, with AllMusic citing the album as "disturbing and powerful", and Kim Nelly of "Rolling Stone" calling it "genuinely offensive satanic drivel". King said "that album was my most lackluster performance", although Araya called it a "late bloomer" which eventually grew on people. Slayer toured from August 1988 to January 1989 to promote "South of Heaven", supporting Judas Priest in the US on their "Ram It Down" tour, and touring Europe with Nuclear Assault and the US with Motörhead and Overkill.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer returned to the studio in early 1990 with co-producer Andy Wallace to record its fifth studio album. Following the backlash created by "South of Heaven", Slayer returned to the "pounding speed of "Reign in Blood", while retaining their newfound melodic sense." "Seasons in the Abyss", released on October 9, 1990, was the first Slayer album to be released under Rubin's new Def American label, as he had parted ways with Def Jam owner Russell Simmons over creative differences. The album debuted at number 44 on the "Billboard" 200, and was certified gold in 1992. The album spawned Slayer's first music video for the album's title track, which was filmed in front of the Giza pyramids in Egypt.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer returned as a live act in September 1990 to co-headline the European Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies, and Testament. During the sold out European leg of this tour, tickets had prices skyrocket to 1,000 Deutschmark (US$680) on the black market. With the popularity of American thrash at its peak, the band toured with Testament again in early 1991 and triple-headlined the North American version of the Clash of the Titans tour that summer with Megadeth, Anthrax, and opening act Alice in Chains. The band released a double live album, "Decade of Aggression" in 1991, to celebrate ten years since their formation. The compilation debuted at number 55 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Slayer

text: In May 1992, Lombardo left the band due to conflicts with the other members, as well as his desire to be off tour for the birth of his first child. Lombardo formed his own band Grip Inc., with Voodoocult guitarist Waldemar Sorychta, and Slayer recruited former Forbidden drummer Paul Bostaph to fill in the drummer position. Slayer made its debut appearance with Bostaph at the 1992 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington. Bostaph's first studio effort was a medley of three Exploited songs, "War", "UK '82", and "Disorder", with rapper Ice-T, for the "Judgment Night" movie soundtrack in 1993.


title: Slayer

text: In 1994, Slayer released "Divine Intervention", the band's first album with Bostaph on the drums. The album featured songs about Reinhard Heydrich, an architect of the Holocaust, and Jeffrey Dahmer, an American serial killer and sex offender. Other themes included murder, the evils of church, and the lengths to which governments went to wield power, Araya's interest in serial killers inspired much of the content of the lyrics.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer geared up for a world tour in 1995, with openers Biohazard and Machine Head. A video of concert footage, "Live Intrusion" was released, featuring a joint cover of Venom's "Witching Hour" with Machine Head. Following the tour, Slayer was billed third at the 1995 Monsters of Rock festival, headlined by Metallica. In 1996, "Undisputed Attitude", an album of punk covers, was released. The band covered songs by Minor Threat, T.S.O.L., Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, D.I., Verbal Abuse, Dr. Know, and The Stooges. The album featured three original tracks, "Gemini", "Can't Stand You", "Ddamm"; the latter two were written by Hanneman in 1984–1985 for a side project entitled Pap Smear. Bostaph left Slayer shortly after the album's recording to work on his own project, Truth About Seafood. With Bostaph's departure, Slayer recruited Testament drummer Jon Dette, and headlined the 1996 Ozzfest alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Danzig, Biohazard, Sepultura, and Fear Factory. Dette was fired after a year, due to a fallout with band members. After that, Bostaph returned to continue the tour.


title: Slayer

text: "Diabolus in Musica" (Latin for "The Devil in Music") was released in 1998, and debuted at number 31 on the "Billboard" 200, selling over 46,000 copies in its first week. It was complete by September 1997, and scheduled to be released the following month, but got delayed by nine months after their label was taken over by Columbia Records. The album received a mixed critical reception, and was criticized for adopting characteristics of nu metal music such as tuned down guitars, murky chord structures, and churning beats. Blabbermouth.net reviewer Borivoj Krgin described the album as "a feeble attempt at incorporating updated elements into the group's sound, the presence of which elevated the band's efforts somewhat and offered hope that Slayer could refrain from endlessly rehashing their previous material for their future output", while Ben Ratliff of "The New York Times" had similar sentiments, writing on June 22, 1998 that: "Eight of the 11 songs on "Diabolus in Musica", a few of which were played at the show, are in the same gray key, and the band's rhythmic ideas have a wearying sameness too."


title: Slayer

text: The album was the band's first to primarily feature dropped tuning, making use of the tritone interval referred to in the Middle Ages as the Devil's interval. Slayer teamed up with digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot to record a song for the "Spawn" soundtrack titled "No Remorse (I Wanna Die)". The band paid tribute to Black Sabbath by recording a cover of "Hand of Doom" for the second of two tribute albums, titled "Nativity in Black II". A world tour followed to support the new album, with Slayer making an appearance at the United Kingdom .


title: Slayer

text: During mid-2001, the band joined Morbid Angel, Pantera, Skrape and Static-X on the Extreme Steel Tour of North America, which was Pantera's last major tour. After delays regarding remixing and artwork, including slip covers created to cover the original artwork as it was deemed "too graphic", Slayer's next album, "God Hates Us All", was released on September 11, 2001. The band received its first Grammy nomination for the lead track "Disciple", although the Grammy was awarded to Tool, for "Schism". The September 11 attacks on America jeopardized the 2001 European tour "Tattoo the Planet" originally set to feature Pantera, Static-X, Cradle of Filth, Biohazard and Vision of Disorder. The dates in the United Kingdom were postponed due to flight restrictions, with a majority of bands deciding to withdraw, leaving Slayer and Cradle of Filth remaining for the European leg of the tour.


title: Slayer

text: Pantera, Static-X, Vision of Disorder and Biohazard were replaced by other bands depending on location; Amorphis, In Flames, Moonspell, Children of Bodom, and Necrodeath. Biohazard eventually decided to rejoin the tour later on, and booked new gigs in the countries, where they missed a few dates. Drummer Bostaph left Slayer before Christmas in 2001, due to a chronic elbow injury, which would hinder his ability to play. Since the band's European tour was unfinished at that time, the band's manager, Rick Sales, contacted original drummer Dave Lombardo and asked if he would like to finish the remainder of the tour. Lombardo accepted the offer, and stayed as a permanent member.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer toured playing "Reign in Blood" in its entirety throughout the fall of 2003, under the tour banner "Still Reigning". Their playing of the final song, "Raining Blood", culminated with the band drenched in a rain of stage blood. Live footage of this was recorded at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine, on July 11, 2004 and released on the 2004 DVD "Still Reigning". The band also released "War at the Warfield" and a box set, "Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" featuring rarities, live CD and DVD performances and various Slayer merchandise. From 2002 to 2004, the band performed over 250 tour dates, headlining major music festivals including H82k2, Summer tour, and a European tour with Slipknot. While preparing for the Download Festival in England, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was taken to a hospital with an unknown and mysterious illness, and was unable to perform. Metallica vocalist James Hetfield searched for volunteers at the last minute to replace Ulrich; Lombardo and Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison volunteered, with Lombardo performing the songs "Battery" and "The Four Horsemen".


title: Slayer

text: The next studio album, "Christ Illusion", was originally scheduled for release on June 6, 2006, and would be the first album with original drummer Lombardo since 1990's "Seasons in the Abyss". However, the band decided to delay the release of the record, as they did not want to be among the many, according to King, "half-ass, stupid fucking loser bands" releasing records on June 6, although "USA Today" reported the idea was thwarted because the band failed to secure sufficient studio recording time. Slayer released "Eternal Pyre" on June 6 as a limited-edition EP. "Eternal Pyre" featured the song "Cult", a live performance of "War Ensemble" in Germany and video footage of the band recording "Cult". Five thousand copies were released and sold exclusively through Hot Topic chain stores, and sold out within hours of release. On June 30, Nuclear Blast Records released a 7" vinyl picture disc version limited to a thousand copies.


title: Slayer

text: "Christ Illusion" was eventually released on August 8, 2006, and debuted at number 5 on the "Billboard" 200, selling over 62,000 copies in its first week. The album became Slayer's highest charting, improving on its previous highest charting album, "Divine Intervention", which had debuted at number 8. However, despite its high positioning, the album dropped to number 44 in the following week. Three weeks after the album's release, Slayer were inducted into the "Kerrang!" Hall of Fame for their influence to the heavy metal scene.


title: Slayer

text: A worldwide tour dubbed The Unholy Alliance Tour, was undertaken to support the new record. The tour was originally set to launch on June 6, but was postponed to June 10, as Araya had to undergo gall bladder surgery. In Flames, Mastodon, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God, and Thine Eyes Bleed (featuring Araya's brother, Johnny) and Ted Maul (London Hammersmith Apollo) were supporting Slayer. The tour made its way through America and Europe and the bands who participated, apart from Thine Eyes Bleed, reunited to perform at Japan's Loudpark Festival on October 15, 2006.


title: Slayer

text: The video for the album's first single, "Eyes of the Insane", was released on October 30, 2006. The track was featured on the "Saw III" soundtrack, and won a Grammy-award for "Best Metal Performance" at the 49th Grammy Awards, although the band was unable to attend due to touring obligations. A week later, the band visited the 52nd Services Squadron located on the Spangdahlem U.S. Air Force Base in Germany to meet and play a show. This was the first visit ever to a military base for the band. The band made its first network TV appearance on the show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on January 19, playing the song "Eyes of the Insane", and four additional songs for fans after the show (although footage from "Jihad" was cut due to its controversial lyrical themes).


title: Slayer

text: In 2007, Slayer toured Australia and New Zealand in April with Mastodon, and appeared at the Download Festival, Rock Am Ring, and a summer tour with Marilyn Manson and Bleeding Through.


title: Slayer

text: In 2008, Araya stated uncertainty about the future of the band, and that he could not see himself continuing the career at a later age. He said that once the band finished its upcoming album, which was the final record in their contract, the band would sit down and discuss its future. King was optimistic that the band would produce at least another two albums before considering to disband: "We're talking of going in the studio next February [2009] and getting the next record out so if we do things in a timely manner I don't see there's any reason why we can't have more than one album out." Slayer, along with Trivium, Mastodon, and Amon Amarth, teamed up for a European tour titled 'The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III', throughout October and November 2008. Slayer headlined the second Mayhem Festival in the summer of 2009. Slayer, along with Megadeth, also co-headlined Canadian Carnage, the first time they performed together in more than 15 years when they co-headlined four shows in Canada in late June 2009 with openers Machine Head and Suicide Silence.


title: Slayer

text: The band's eleventh studio album, "World Painted Blood", was released by American Recordings. It was available on November 3 in North America and November 2 for the rest of the world. The band stated that the album takes elements of all their previous works including "Seasons in the Abyss", "South of Heaven", and "Reign in Blood". Slayer, along with Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax performed on the same bill for the first time on June 16, 2010 at Bemowo Airport, in Warsaw, Poland. One of the following Big 4 performances in (Sofia, Bulgaria, June 22, 2010) was sent via satellite in HD to cinemas. They also went on to play several other dates as part of the Sonisphere Festival. Megadeth and Slayer joined forces once again for the American Carnage Tour from July to October 2010 with opening acts Anthrax and Testament, and European Carnage Tour in March and April 2011. The "Big Four" played more dates at Sonisphere in England and France for the first time ever. Slayer returned to Australia in February and March 2011 as part of the Soundwave Festival and also played in California with the other members of the "Big Four".


title: Slayer

text: In early 2011, Hanneman was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. According to the band, doctors said that it likely originated from a spider bite. Araya said of Hanneman's condition: "Jeff was seriously ill. Jeff ended up contracting a bacteria that ate away his flesh on his arm, so they cut open his arm, from his wrist to his shoulder, and they did a skin graft on him, they cleaned up ... It was a flesh-eating virus, so he was really, really bad. So we'll wait for him to get better, and when he's a hundred percent, he's gonna come out and join us." The band decided to play their upcoming tour dates without Hanneman. Gary Holt of Exodus was announced as Hanneman's temporary replacement. Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O'Brien filled in for Holt during a tour in Europe. On April 23, 2011, at the American Big 4 show in Indio, California, Hanneman rejoined his bandmates to play the final two songs of their set, "South of Heaven" and "Angel of Death". This turned out to be Hanneman's final live performance with the band.


title: Slayer

text: When asked if Slayer would make another album, Lombardo replied "Yes absolutely; Although there's nothing written, there are definitely plans." However, Araya said Slayer would not begin writing a new album until Hanneman's condition improved. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Reign In Blood", the band performed all of the album's tracks at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival at the Alexandra Palace in London.


title: Slayer

text: In November 2011, Lombardo posted a tweet that the band had started to write new music. This presumably meant that Hanneman's condition improved, and it was believed he was ready to enter the studio. King had worked with Lombardo that year and they completed three songs. The band planned on entering the studio in either March or April 2012 and were hoping to have the album recorded before the group's US tour in late May and release it by the summer of that year. However, King said the upcoming album would not be finished until September and October of that year, making a 2013 release likely. In July 2012, King revealed two song titles for the upcoming album, "Chasing Death" and "Implode".


title: Slayer

text: In February 2013, Lombardo was fired right before Slayer was to play at Australia's Soundwave festival due to an argument with band members over a pay dispute. Slayer and American Recordings released a statement, saying "Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon", although Lombardo claimed there was a gag order in place. Dette returned to fill in for Lombardo for the Soundwave dates. It was confirmed that Lombardo was officially out of Slayer for the third time, and, in May, Bostaph rejoined the band.


title: Slayer

text: On May 2, 2013, Hanneman died due to liver failure in a local hospital near his home in Southern California's Inland Empire; the cause of death was later determined to be alcohol-related cirrhosis. King confirmed that the band would continue, saying "Jeff is going to be in everybody's thoughts for a long time. It's unfortunate you can't keep unfortunate things from happening. But we're going to carry on – and he'll be there in spirit." However, Araya felt more uncertain about the band's future, expressing his belief that "After 30 years [with Hanneman active in the band], it would literally be like starting over", and doubting that Slayer's fanbase would approve such a change. Despite the uncertainty regarding the band's future, Slayer still worked on a followup to "World Painted Blood". Additionally, it was reported that the new album would still feature material written by Hanneman.


title: Slayer

text: At the 2014 "Revolver"s Golden Gods Awards ceremony, Slayer debuted "Implode", its first new song in five years. The group announced that they had signed with Nuclear Blast, and planned to release a new album in 2015. It was reported that Holt would take over Hanneman's guitar duties full-time, although Holt did not participate in the songwriting. In February, Slayer announced a seventeen date American tour to start in June featuring Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus. In 2015, Slayer headlined the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival for the second time. "Repentless", the band's twelfth studio album, was released on September 11, 2015. Slayer toured for two-and-a-half years in support of "Repentless". The band toured Europe with Anthrax and Kvelertak in October and November 2015, and embarked on three North American tours: one with Testament and Carcass in February and March 2016, then with Anthrax and Death Angel in September and October 2016, and with Lamb of God and Behemoth in July and August 2017. A lone date in Southeast Asia in 2017 was held in the Philippines.


title: Slayer

text: In August 2016, guitarist Kerry King was asked if Slayer would release a follow-up to "Repentless". He replied, "We've got lots of leftover material from the last album, 'cause we wrote so much stuff, and we recorded a bunch of it too. If the lyrics don't change the song musically, those songs are done. So we are way ahead of the ballgame without even doing anything for the next record. And I've been working on stuff on my downtime. Like, I'll warm up and a riff will come to mind and I'll record it. I've gotten a handful of those on this run. So wheels are still turning. I haven't worked on anything lyrically yet except for what was done on the last record, so that's something I've gotta get on. But, yeah, "Repentless" isn't quite a year old yet." King also stated that Slayer was not expected to enter the studio until at least 2018. In an October interview on Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta's podcast, King stated that he was "completely open" to having guitarist Gary Holt (who had no songwriting contributions on "Repentless") involved in the songwriting process of the next Slayer album. He explained, "I'm entirely open to having Gary work on something. I know he's gotta work on an Exodus record and I've got tons already for this one. But, you know, if he's gonna stick around... I didn't want it on the last one, and I knew that. I'm completely open to having that conversation. I haven't talked to Tom about it, I haven't talked to Gary open about it, but I'm open. That's not saying it is or isn't gonna happen. But my ears are open."


title: Slayer

text: In a June 2017 interview with the Ultimate Guitar Archive, Holt said that he was ready to contribute with the songwriting for the next album. When speaking to "Revolver", King was asked if there were any plans in place for the band to begin working on the album, he said, "Funny thing is, "Repentless" isn't even two years old yet, though it seems like it is. But from that session, there are six or eight songs that are recorded—some with vocals, some with leads, but all with keeper guitar, drums and bass. So when those songs get finished lyrically, if the lyrics don't change the songs, they'll be ready to be on the next record. So we already have more than half a record complete, if those songs make it." He also gave conceivable consideration that it could be released next year, "I'm certainly not gonna promise it, because every time I do, I make a liar of myself! [Laughs]" When asked about any plans or the timeline the band would like to release the album, King said, "It depends on touring—getting time to rehearse, getting time to make up new stuff. We haven't even done Australia on this run yet at all. We're hitting Japan finally later this year. But if things go well, I'd like to record next year. But timelines change "all" the time." In an October 2017 interview, Holt once again expressed his desire to contribute to the songwriting for the next Slayer album, saying, "When that time comes and we are ready for the next album, if Kerry wants me to contribute, I've got riffs. I've got stuff right now that I've written that I am not using for Exodus, because it was kind of maybe just unintentional subconscious thing, like, 'It sounds a little too Slayer.'"


title: Slayer

text: On January 22, 2018, Slayer announced their farewell world tour through a video featuring a montage of press clippings, early posters and press photos spanning the band's entire career. Although the members of Slayer have never publicly explained why they were retiring from touring, it was thought that one of the reasons behind this decision was at the expense of Tom Araya's desire not to tour anymore and to spend more time with his family. This was confirmed by former drummer Dave Lombardo in a 2019 interview, who said: "Apparently, from what I hear. Tom has been wanting to retire when I was in the band — he wanted to stop. He had the neck issues. He's been wanting to retire for a long time now. So now that he's got it, I'm happy for him, and I hope he gets what he wants out of life and his future."


title: Slayer

text: The farewell tour began with a North American trek in May and June 2018, supported by Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth and Testament. The second leg of the North American tour took place in July and August, with Napalm Death replacing Behemoth, followed in November and December by a European tour with Lamb of God, Anthrax and Obituary. The farewell tour continued into 2019, with plans to visit places such as South America, Australia and Japan; in addition to European festivals such as Hellfest and Graspop, the band toured the United States in May 2019 with Lamb of God, Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse. Slayer also played one show in Mexico at Force Fest in October 2018.


title: Slayer

text: On December 2, 2018, Holt announced that he would not perform the remainder of the band's European tour to be with his dying father. Vio-lence and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel would fill in for him as a result.


title: Slayer

text: Holt had stated that Slayer would not release a new album before the end of the farewell tour. On how long the tour would last, Holt's Exodus bandmate Steve "Zetro" Souza commented, "I'm speculating it's gonna take a year and a half or two years to do the one final thing, but I believe it's finished. Everybody knows what I know; just because I'm on the outside, I have no insight on that." The final North American leg of the tour, dubbed "The Last Campaign", took place in November 2019, and also included support from Primus, Ministry and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals. Despite being referred to as a farewell tour for Slayer, their manager Rick Sales has stated that the band is not breaking up, but has no intention of ever performing live again. Kristen Mulderig, who works with Rick Sales Entertainment Group, has also been quoted as saying that there would be Slayer-related activities following the tour's conclusion. However, within two days after the tour's completion, King's wife Ayesha stated on her Instagram page that there is "not a chance in hell" that Slayer would ever reunite to perform more shows or release new music.


title: Slayer

text: In March 2020, when talking to "Guitar World" about his latest endorsement with Dean Guitars, King hinted that he would continue to make music outside of Slayer, simply saying, "Dean didn't sign me for nothing!" King stated in an August 2020 interview on the Dean Guitars YouTube channel that he has "more than two records' worth of music" for his yet-to-be disclosed new project. Bostaph later confirmed that he and King are working on a new project that will "sound like Slayer without it being Slayer — but not intentionally so."


title: Slayer

text: In addition to King and Bostaph, the other members of Slayer have remained musically active. Holt continues to record and perform with Exodus, releasing a new album, "Persona Non Grata", in 2021. Lombardo has been involved with various acts since his third split with Slayer in 2013, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, the Misfits, Mr. Bungle and Testament, the latter of where he had previously served as the drummer for the band's 1999 album "The Gathering" and rejoined in March 2022. Jon Dette has been a member of at least two bands, Animetal USA and Meshiaak, and performed with Anthrax and Volbeat as a fill-in drummer. Araya, aside from an appearance in the Bay Area thrash metal documentary film "Murder in the Front Row", has not been publicly active in the music industry nor given any interviews since the conclusion of Slayer's final tour.


title: Slayer

text: The members of Slayer have expressed mixed opinions about a reunion. When asked by the "Let There Be Talk" podcast in June 2020 about the possibility of the band ever reforming, Holt stated, "If it does, if it ever happens, it has nothing to do with me. Someone else would call and say, 'We wanna [do this].' To my knowledge, it's done. And I think it "should" be that way. The band went out fucking on a bang, went out on Slayer's terms, and how many people get to say they did that?". Holt stated in March 2021 that he was open to a potential Slayer reunion, but it was unlikely to happen in the near future: "Look, if the powers that be ever — like, in a year or something — said, 'Hey, you know what? We feel like playing some shows,' I'm there to do it. But those aren't decisions for me to make, or even me to really speculate on. As far as my knowledge, the band is over, and the final show was November 30, 2019. And I'm full speed ahead with Exodus now." In October 2021, King expressed regret that Slayer had retired "too early." While congratulating Machine Head on their 30th anniversary as a band, he said, "Apparently, it's 30 years, which is quite an achievement. Not a lot of bands get there. We did, and then we quit too early. Fuck us. Fuck me. I hate fucking not playing." When interviewed two months later by "Metal Hammer", King did not rule out the possibility of any more "Big Four" shows with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, but expressed doubt that a Slayer reunion would ever happen: "The way that I'm moving forward is I don't think Slayer are ever going to play again. There's no business of me playing by myself!" King's wife Ayesha has also ruled out the possibility of a Slayer reunion, saying that her husband and Araya will "never be Slayer again".


title: Slayer

text: Slayer is considered a thrash metal band. In an article from December 1986 by "the Washington Post", writer Joe Brown described Slayer as speed metal, a genre he defined as "an unholy hybrid of punk rock thrash and heavy metal that attracts an almost all-male teen-age following". Describing Slayer's music, Brown wrote: "Over a jackhammer beat, Slayer's stun guitars created scraping sheets of corrosive metal noise, with occasional solos that sounded like squealing brakes, over which the singer-bassist emitted a larynx-lacerating growl-yowl." In an article from September 1988 by "the New York Times", writer Jon Pareles also described Slayer as speed metal, additionally writing that the band "brings the sensational imagery of tabloids and horror movies" and has lyrics that "revel in death, gore and allusions to Satanism and Nazism." Pareles also described other "Big Four" thrash metal bands Metallica and Megadeth as speed metal bands. Slayer's early works were praised for their "breakneck speed and instrumental prowess", combining the structure of hardcore punk tempos and speed metal. The band released fast, aggressive material. The album "Reign in Blood" is the band's fastest, performed at an average of 220 beats per minute; the album "Diabolus in Musica" was the band's first to feature C tuning; "God Hates Us All" was the first to feature drop B tuning and seven-string guitars tuned to B. AllMusic cited the album as "abandoning the extravagances and accessibility of their late-'80s/early-'90s work and returning to perfect the raw approach", with some fans labeling it as nu metal.


title: Slayer

text: King and Hanneman's dual guitar solos have been referred to as "wildly chaotic", and "twisted genius". Original drummer Lombardo would use two bass drums (instead of a double pedal, which is used on a single bass drum). Lombardo's speed and aggression earned him the title of the "godfather of double bass" by Drummerworld. Lombardo stated his reasons for using two bass drums: "When you hit the bass drum, the head is still resonating. When you hit it in the same place right after that, you kinda get a 'slapback' from the bass drum head hitting the other pedal. You're not letting them breathe." When playing the two bass drums, Lombardo would use the "heel-up" technique.


title: Slayer

text: In the original lineup, King, Hanneman and Araya contributed to the band's lyrics, and King and Hanneman wrote the music with additional arrangement from Lombardo, and sometimes Araya. Araya formed a lyric writing partnership with Hanneman, which sometimes overshadowed the creative input of King. Hanneman stated that writing lyrics and music was a "free-for-all": "It's all just whoever comes up with what. Sometimes I'll be more on a roll and I'll have more stuff, same with Kerry – it's whoever's hot, really. Anybody can write anything; if it's good, we use it; if not, we don't."


title: Slayer

text: When writing material, the band would write the music first before incorporating lyrics. King or Hanneman used a 24-track and drum machine to show band members the riff that they created, and to get their opinion. Either King, Hanneman or Lombardo would mention if any alterations could be made. The band played the riff to get the basic song structure, and figured out where the lyrics and solos would be placed.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer is one of the most influential bands in heavy metal history. Steve Huey of AllMusic believes the musical style of Slayer makes the band stronger than the other members of the "Big Four" thrash metal bands Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, all of which rose to fame during the 1980s. Slayer's "downtuned rhythms, infectious guitar licks, graphically violent lyrics and grisly artwork set the standard for dozens of emerging thrash bands" and their "music was directly responsible for the rise of death metal" states MTV, ranking Slayer as the sixth "greatest metal band of all time", ranking number 50 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". Hanneman and King ranked number 10 in "Guitar World"s "100 greatest metal guitarists of all time" in 2004, and were voted "Best Guitarist/Guitar Team" in Revolver's reader's poll. Original drummer Lombardo was also voted "Best Drummer" and the band entered the top five in the categories "Best Band Ever", "Best Live Band", "Album of the Year" (for "Christ Illusion") and "Band of the Year".


title: Slayer

text: Music author Joel McIver considers Slayer very influential in the extreme metal scene, especially in the development of the death metal and black metal subgenres. According to John Consterdine of "Terrorizer", without "Slayer's influence, extreme metal as we know it wouldn't exist." Kam Lee of Massacre and former member of Death stated: "there wouldn't be death metal or black metal or even extreme metal (the likes of what it is today) if not for Slayer." Johan Reinholdz of Andromeda said that Slayer "were crucial in the development of thrash metal which then became the foundation for a lot of different subgenres. They inspired generations of metal bands." Alex Skolnick of Testament declared: "Before Slayer, metal had never had such razor-sharp articulation, tightness, and balance between sound and stops. This all-out sonic assault was about the shock, the screams, the drums, and [...] most importantly the riffs."


title: Slayer

text: Groups who cited Slayer among their major influences include Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Slipknot, Gojira, Carnifex, Hatebreed, Cannibal Corpse, Pantera, Kreator, Sadistic Intent, Mayhem, Darkthrone, System of a Down, Lamb of God, Behemoth, Evile and Lacuna Coil. Steve Asheim, drummer for Deicide, declared that "there obviously would not have been a Deicide as we know it without the existence of Slayer." Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser affirmed that "without Slayer, Sepultura would never be possible." Weezer mentions them in the song "Heart Songs" from their 2008 self-titled "Red" album. The verse goes: "Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Slayer taught me how to shred..." Dave Grohl recalled, "Me and my friends, we just wanted to listen to fucking Slayer and take acid and smash stuff."


title: Slayer

text: The band's 1986 release "Reign in Blood" has been an influence to extreme and thrash metal bands since its release and is considered the record which set the bar for death metal. It had a significant influence on the genre leaders such as Death, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Napalm Death. The album was hailed the "heaviest album of all time" by "Kerrang!", a "genre-definer" by "Stylus", and a "stone-cold classic upon its release" by AllMusic. In 2006, "Reign in Blood" was named the best metal album of the last 20 years by "Metal Hammer". According to Nielsen SoundScan, Slayer sold 4,900,000 copies in the United States from 1991 to 2013.


title: Slayer

text: A lawsuit was brought against the band in 1996, by the parents of Elyse Pahler, who accused the band of encouraging their daughter's murderers through their lyrics. Pahler was drugged, strangled, stabbed, trampled on, and raped as a sacrifice to the devil by three fans of the band. The case was unsealed by the court on May 19, 2000, stating Slayer and related business markets distribute harmful products to teens, encouraging violent acts through their lyrics, and "none of the vicious crimes committed against Elyse Marie Pahler would have occurred without the intentional marketing strategy of the death-metal band Slayer." The lawsuit was dismissed in 2001, for multiple reasons including "principles of free speech, lack of a duty and lack of foreseeability." A second lawsuit was filed by the parents, an amended complaint for damages against Slayer, their label, and other industry and label entities. The lawsuit was again dismissed. Judge E. Jeffrey Burke stated, "I do not consider Slayer's music obscene, indecent or harmful to minors."


title: Slayer

text: Slayer has been accused of holding Nazi sympathies, due to the band's eagle logo bearing resemblance to the Eagle atop swastika and the lyrics of "Angel of Death". "Angel of Death" was inspired by the acts of Josef Mengele, the doctor who conducted human experiments on prisoners during World War II at the Auschwitz concentration camp, and was dubbed the "Angel of Death" by inmates.


title: Slayer

text: Slayer's cover of Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" raised questions about a possible message of white supremacy in the band's music. The controversy surrounding the cover involved the changing of the refrain "guilty of being white" to "guilty of being right", at the song's ending. This incensed Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye, who stated "that is so offensive to me." King said it was changed for "tongue-in-cheek" humor as he thought the allegation of racism at the time was "ridiculous".


title: Slayer

text: In a 2004 interview with Araya, when asked, "Did critics realize you were wallowing in parody?" Araya replied, "No. People thought we were serious!...back then you had that PMRC, who literally took everything to heart, when in actuality you're trying to create an image. You're trying to scare people on purpose." Araya also denied rumors that Slayer members are Satanists, but they find the subject of Satanism interesting and "we are all on this planet to learn and experience."


title: Slayer

text: The song "Jihad" of the album "Christ Illusion" sparked controversy among families of the September 11 victims.<ref name="Slayer SPARK 9/11 CONTROVERSY"></ref> The song deals with the attack from the perspective of a religious terrorist. The band stated the song is spoken through perspective without being sympathetic to the cause, and supports neither side.


title: Slayer

text: Seventeen bus benches promoting the same album in Fullerton, California were deemed offensive by city officials. City officials contacted the band's record label and demanded that the ads be removed. All benches were eliminated.


title: Slayer

text: In India, "Christ Illusion" was recalled by EMI India after protests with Christian religious groups due to the nature of the graphic artwork. The album cover was designed by Slayer's longtime collaborator Larry Carroll and features Christ in a "sea of despair", with amputated arms, missing an eye, while standing in a sea of blood with severed heads. Joseph Dias of the Mumbai Christian group "Catholic Secular Forum" in India took "strong exception" to the original album artwork, and issued a memorandum to Mumbai's police commissioner in protest. On October 11, 2006, EMI announced that all stocks had been destroyed, noting it had no plans to re-release the record in India in the future.


title: Lars von Trier

text: Lars von Trier ("né" Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominating and awarding his films on numerous occasions, once listed him as "persona non grata" for flippant Nazi remarks during an interview; depictions of graphic violence and unsimulated sex in some of his films have drawn criticism; and he has been accused of mistreating actresses during filming, including Björk and Nicole Kidman. Trier's career has spanned more than four decades and his works have gained notoriety for his trademarks including European frequent actors (particularly Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgård), different thematic trilogies, handheld camerawork, upsetting subject matters, genre and technical innovation, confrontational examination of existential, social, and political issues, and his treatment of subjects such as mercy, sacrifice, and mental health.


title: Lars von Trier

text: Von Trier is the creator of the avant-garde filmmaking movement Dogme 95 alongside fellow director Thomas Vinterberg, as well as founder and shareholder of the Danish film production company Zentropa Films, which has sold more than 350million tickets and garnered eight Academy Award nominations.


title: Lars von Trier

text: Von Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark, north of Copenhagen, to Inger Høst and Fritz Michael Hartmann (the head of Denmark's Ministry of Social Affairs and a World War II resistance fighter). He received his surname from Høst's husband, Ulf Trier, whom he believed to be his biological father until 1989.


title: Lars von Trier

text: He studied film theory at the University of Copenhagen and film direction at the National Film School of Denmark. At 25, he won two Best School Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools for "Nocturne" and "Last Detail". The same year, he added the nobiliary particle "von" to his name, possibly as a satirical homage to the equally self-invented titles of directors Erich von Stroheim and Josef von Sternberg, and saw his graduation film "Images of Liberation" released as a theatrical feature.


title: Lars von Trier

text: In 1984, "The Element of Crime", von Trier's breakthrough film, received twelve awards at seven international festivals including the Technical Grand Prize at Cannes, and a nomination for the Palme d'Or. The film's slow, non-linear pace, innovative and multi-leveled plot design, and dark dreamlike visual effects combine to create an allegory for traumatic European historical events.


title: Lars von Trier

text: His next film, "Epidemic" (1987), was also shown at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. The film features two story lines that ultimately collide: the chronicle of two filmmakers (played by vonTrier and screenwriter Niels Vørse) in the midst of developing a new project, and a dark science fiction tale of a futuristic plaguethe very film von Trier and Vørsel are depicted making.


title: Lars von Trier

text: Von Trier has occasionally referred to his films as falling into thematic and stylistic trilogies. This pattern began with "The Element of Crime" (1984), the first of the "Europa" trilogy, which illuminated traumatic periods in Europe both in the past and the future. It includes "The Element of Crime" (1984), "Epidemic" (1987), and "Europa" (1991).


title: Lars von Trier

text: He directed "Medea" (1988) for television, which won him the Jean d'Arcy prize in France. It is based on a screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer and stars Udo Kier. Trier completed the Europa trilogy in 1991 with "Europa" (released as "Zentropa" in the US), which won the Prix duJury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, and picked up awards at other major festivals. In 1990 he also directed the music video for the song "Bakerman" by Laid Back. This video was re-used in 2006 by the English DJ and artist Shaun Baker in his remake of the song.


title: Lars von Trier

text: Seeking financial independence and creative control over their projects, in 1992 vonTrier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen founded the film production company Zentropa Entertainment. Named after a fictional railway company in "Europa", their most recent film at the time, Zentropa has produced many movies other than Trier's own, as well as several television series. It has also produced hardcore sex films: "Constance" (1998), "Pink Prison" (1999), "HotMen CoolBoyz" (2000), and "All About Anna" (2005). To make money for his newly founded company, vonTrier made "The Kingdom" (Danish title "Riget", 1994) and "The KingdomII" ("RigetII", 1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital, the name "Riget" being a colloquial name for the hospital known as Rigshospitalet (lit. The Kingdom's Hospital) in Danish. A projected third season of the series was derailed by the death in 1998 of Ernst-Hugo Järegård, who played Dr. Helmer, and that of Kirsten Rolffes, who played Mrs. Drusse, in 2000, two of the major characters, led to the series' cancellation.


title: Lars von Trier

text: In 1995, von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement, which they called Dogme 95. The Dogme95 concept, which led to international interest in Danish film, inspired filmmakers all over the world. In 2008, together with their fellow Dogme directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, vonTrier and Thomas Vinterberg received the European film award for European Achievement in World Cinema.


title: Lars von Trier

text: In 1996 von Trier conducted an unusual theatrical experiment in Copenhagen involving 53 actors, which he titled "Psychomobile1: The World Clock". A documentary chronicling the project was directed by Jesper Jargil, and was released in 2000 with the title "De Udstillede" (The Exhibited).