The 29 Songs Slayer Have Never Played Live

Here are the 29 songs thrash metal legends Slayer have never played live.

Impressively, they’ve performed every track off of four of their 11 studio albums of original material, which demonstrates the strength of the Slayer catalog and, in particular, a handful of genuinely classic records.

The band formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, comprised of Tom Araya (vocals, bass), Jeff Hanneman (guitar), Kerry King (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums). This foursome represents Slayer’s classic lineup, which remained intact for five albums, starting with 1983’s Show No Mercy through 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss. They all linked back up from 2001 through 2013, dishing out another two albums in 2006’s Christ Illusion and 2009’s World Painted Blood.

Drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt (who was tabbed as the late Jeff Hanneman’s replacement from 2011 through Slayer’s 2019 farewell tour) are the only other musicians who have played on a Slayer studio album.

Almost all groups go through changes, whether it’s lineups or musical direction, and despite a few personnel shakeups along the way, they largely maintained a definitive sound. Sure, they dabbled with nu-metal and groove on the divisive 1998 album Diabolous in Musica, but the aggression never wavered and that’s what counts the most.

Slayer have always been unapologetically Slayer, unafraid of provocation or controversy, transmuting real life horrors into legendary, time-honored heavy metal songs.

With setlist.fm to guide us, we rounded up every original Slayer song that never made its way to the stage (cover songs are NOT factored into this). And, as an added bonus, we even made note of the most and least played song off each album!

Let out on big “FUCKIN’ SLAAAAAYERRRRRR” roar and see the 29 songs Slayer have never played live directly below.