Remember punk rock in the ’90s? Green Day, The Offspring, Blink 182. Slayer guitarist Kerry King does. In fact, in an interview that was done for Metal Hammer‘s Spotify series, he says that Slayer’s Undisputed Attitude, their 1996 album of punk covers by the likes of D.R.I., Minor Threat and The Stooges, was done in a direct reaction not just to the pop-punk movement 20 years ago, but all of heavy music:

“In particular didn’t like where music was going and I let it get to me for the only time in my career – and that was basically the 90s. I couldn’t understand why things were popular and it just bummed me out completely and I had to forget about it and refocus because it was just bringing me down. “I’m not talking about pop and stuff like that. Heavy music – I didn’t like where heavy music was going.”

He continues: “I remember in particular when we did Undisputed Attitude in 1996, we did that in rebellion to Green Day and the Offspring. It’s not their fault but everyone called them punk bands and me and Jeff were, ‘This isn’t punk, guys.’ We just took offence to it and Undisputed Attitude was that coming out.

Further in the interview, he sort of admits that they fell into the trap of trying to make music they thought people might want to hear, namely their brief flirtation with nu-metal on 1998’s Diabolus In Musica:

It took 1998’s Diabolus In Musica to come out and get past that and then say, ‘This ain’t what Slayer’s about, we gotta redefine and show everybody that Slayer’s still here and not trying to be somebody we’re not.’ I think that’s what God Hates Us All was.

At least they moved past it, and hey, we still stand by “Stain of Mind.”