Artist Direct interviewed Tom Araya of Slayer andJoe Duplantier of Gojiraabout being on tour together and, as expected, it was a pretty interesting read.
Which Slayer record means the most to both of you?
Tom Araya:Wow! I can tell you which ones mean a lot to meThe initial three we did with Rick RubinReign in Blood,South of Heaven, andSeasons in the AbyssandWorld Painted Blood. Those albums mean a lot because I participated in the creative aspect of those four quite a bit actually. I put a lot intoDivine Interventiontoo. The other albums, not so much, because of personal issues going on in the bandwe just did a lot of collaborating. We wrote a lot of songs together. When Jeff had a lot of material and music in a record, those were the records I had a big part in. When he didn’t, it was only his songs I got involved in. I guessSeasonswould be at the top of the list. That was a crowning moment for my writing as far as putting energy into all of the songs on that album and being allowed to do what I did on it.Seasonsis the most meaningful out of all of them.Reign In Bloodis a great record for what we didespecially for being our first record with Rick Rubin.Seasonswas the one for me.
Joe Duplantier:Of course, the first records I heard wereReign In BloodandSouth of Heaven. I remember I was going to high school. That was a big change for my life. Someone gave me a cassette ofReign In Bloodand one ofSouth of Heaven. I had just discoveredMetallicaat the time, and that was the fastest and most evil music I was listening to [Laughs]. I heard Slayer, and I was like, “Holy shit! What is this?” I remember looking through the window of the bus and seeing all of the buildings, houses, and people in the street, and all of a sudden, I was completely disconnected from reality. It’s a very precise feeling that I still have today when I think about it. The sound, the darkness of the music, and the vibethere’s something warm in the production, the intention, and the power behind the music. I felt all of that very strongly. For me, it was a big shock to discover Slayer at the time. That was my first contact with Slayer. For me,Diabolus in Musicawas another shock. At the time when it came out, the production, guitar sounds, and everything were so raw that I thought it was a very clever album. There was a craziness going on in the music business at the moment and all the bands were moving towards a certain vibe. This album went completely to the other side. I was like, “Yeah! This is what we need to do! We need to stay raw as fuck!” [Laughs] Those three albums are the ones that mean the most to me.
Is conjuring imagery an important part of writing lyrics for you both?
Tom Araya:Yeah, you’re painting mental images with words. Whatever image the person thinks of or comes up with is an individual thing. To me, you’re singing, but you’re literally painting the imagery. You want to use phrasing and imagery that will give the person the exact image you want to convey. You color it with certain adjectives. I really try to use words to not only paint, but to give a feeling.
Joe Duplantier:I think everybody gets it. The images you conjure strike people in their subconscious. You’re right it’s very exciting to put words together and create a picture, instead of explaining something or writing a statement or text to explain that idea. You just paint a picture that’s very well-described. It’ s closer to poetry than literature. When people ask me, “What is this song about?”, I’ll say, “Well, it’s supposed to be this way. Sometimes, it’s impossible to explain it though”.
Check out the rest of the interview.
