I’m not a huge fan of musicians pausing in the middle of a set to express their political views — any more than I’d like to see a politician pause in the middle of a speech and start singing Free Bird. (This despite the fact that I’ve been known to shout Free Bird! in inappropriate venues at inconvenient times.) Still, Slayer frontman Tom Araya gets it right on gun rights whilst addressing a Swiss audience:

I’m not gonna name names, but you can see what’s going on in other countries. ‘Cause they can’t protect themselves. And that’s what I’m talking about: being able to protect yourself and your fellow countrymen and your f**king country. I’m being serious, man. This isn’t a f**king joke. You know, it really sucks to know that other people die, because you can’t protect them. That f**king sucks.

Awesome. Now — to mash up Jimmy Hendrix and Ted Nugent — pardon me while I kiss my GLOCK.

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47 COMMENTS

  1. I shouted Free Bird at a Quintet playing in the Knolls Nest before dinner on a cruise, that was fun

    • Yelling “play Freebird” at a metal show, is somewhat of a tradition. I myself have yelled it at Slayer in ’86. I cracked Rob Zombie up mid-sentence in ’94 doing it. It gave me no end of pleasure irritating Maynard during early Tool shows, by yelling it.

      It warms the iron heart.

      • At least in Detroit, it’s basically become shorthand for “Get off the stage!” Usually when an opener isn’t sitting well with the crowd or running a little long.

        And I can only imagine yelling anything while Maynard is on stage would be like trying to take pictures of Danzig.

      • A friend was a drummer, and I’d go see his band play. I had an agreement with the bass player/front man to shout “Free Bird” at a certain point, and he would flip me off and say “The next one costs you 5 bucks, asshole!” Always broke up the crowd. That, and in some of the cramped biker bars they played, he’d kick me in the ass from stage while I was bent over the pool table. Good times, good times…

    • I’ve been yelling free bird at the local live bar band for the past 3 months. They finally learned it to shut me up…

    • A band I used to play in learned the first 30 seconds of the end solo. If we heard “Free Bird” enough, we’d break into it for a few bars, then go back to whatever was on the set list. Shut ’em up every time.

  3. Never been a fan of Slayer, but I might have to buy a record just to show my appreciation.

  5. YES! Tom Araya is an original badass.

    That is one of the most metal things I’ve ever heard anyone say on stage, and somehow I’m not surprised it came from Slayer. And as an intro to Mandatory Suicide…perfect. (I wish the audio quality was better, but at least somebody caught this live moment and put it out there.)

    Metal fan for life. m/

      • I had a suspicion that FFDP was probably more on our side than most. Their music isn’t quite my cup of tea (I’m more into Megadeth, Testament, Gojira, and Mastodon), but any band that worked directly with a mfgr. on its own custom AR-15 is all right by me.

        And let’s not forget about Tool. One of the most amazing bands in the history of metal, and Maynard James Keenan is definitely on board with the Second Amendment. And Rush. I dunno what their stance is on guns (and they’re Canadian anyway and not metal), but they’re objectively awesome, and they were (still are) unabashed libertarians in a business rife with communists.

        Definitely a minority, but I think there are a lot more people like us in the hallowed halls of culture and entertainment than the establishment Left wants to admit.

  6. Personally, I’d pay big money to see a politician pause in the middle of a speech and start singing Freebird.

    Obama singing “If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?” Mwahahahah!

    Harry Reid singing “For I must be traveling on now ’cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see.” With one eye. Hysterical.

    The Crusty Old Crook singing “And this bird you can not change. And this bird you can not change. Lord knows I can’t change.”

    If there’s a political heaven, you know they have a helluva band.

  7. Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield are both also pro gun. It warms my heart knowing (most) metalheads have it right in regards to our natural rights. \m/

    • Depends on the genre and country of origin. I’ve met plenty of hard left liberals at metal shows.

      • That would be me. I’m a pro gun lefty. I go to a lot of metal shows. I will see Slayer 2 more times this year…maybe 3. I already saw them 2 times this year.

    • Dave Ellefson the bassist from Megadeth is pro gun as well I once saw a pic of him with some of his handguns, a Glock, some revolvers, etc

  9. Never shouted Freebird, but I have shouted, Homer Simpson-style, “No new crap! Play ‘Taking Care of Business!'” when a favorite classic artist introduces the next song as being from their new album.

  11. Yeah, from Slayer, a band that has a song about how hard some vets had it, I’m not surprised the singer holds some conservative views.

  12. I seen slayer when I was 18 in St Louis I knew there was a reason I love them. Damn I’m 36 now I’m getting old

    • You’really not old. I first saw them when I was 16, now i’my 45. Slayer always stayed true to their sound. Never went with trends, never sold out. SLAYER!

      • Another old head here. 46. Metalhead and Guitarist since I was 12. We were ripping out Reign in Blood in ’86 in high school, along with the rest of it. Geesus, that was 30 years ago. Man those were the good old days. Apparently the iron has never left my blood.

    • I went to my last Slayer show when I was 39. Never too old for this, even if their shows are louder than a full indoor shooting range.

      • Hey, age is just a number. Much older than that, although my wife is much younger than you, and we’re going next week to see In This Moment and Hellyeah in concert.

        Metal keeps you young.

  13. Of course they get it. They also remember the murder onstage of Pantara’s guitarist Dimebag Darryl by a psycho with a shotgun.

    Another gun free zone shooting that was.

    Only Live South of Heaven. Just an old Metalhead. Thanks for the Post.

  15. Just saw slayer testament and carcass in chiraq. Im 39. Great show and had the pleasure of meeting tom araya and kerry king. Really cool guys. And very down to earth.

    • That Chicago show was great. To bad the Riv was so F-ing hot. I know Kerry and Gary were both “shut up and play the song” in the clip above. BTW Kerry’s home defence is 2 pit bulls, A Cane Corso…and a F ton of huge ass pythons…

  16. Always loved Slayer, all the way back to at least ’83. They always kicked maximum ass. And, they hated poser bands that looked like chicks. Nothing pussified about them, that’s for sure.

  17. What a blast from the past. My whole life it’s been Guns, Guitars, Women and Computers…. but I’ve only ever made a living off of one of them. Just another well paid corporate schmuck in a shirt now, but the metal never stopped flowing in my blood.

    RIP DD

  18. From the likes of metal heads you will find most are the type that appreciate freedom, choice and personal responsibility. The choice to live as you want and to die as you want are central elements to the metal culture. Never a big slayer fan myself but that’s preference, not judgement. I like more punk stuff like Fear and MOD.

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