The ultimate

I love heavy metal.  Music with fast drums, distorted guitars, and most of all, the energy of metal is like a drug to me.

There have been lots of bands that I love who have a combination of musicians that write / play magically together.

For me, those rare bands that have made magic are early Metallica, the mighty Pantera, Vivian Campbell-era Dio, Ozzy's original Blizzard of Ozz band with Randy Rhoads, Vital Remains with Dave Suzuki and Glen Benton, Cannibal Corpse's current line-up, Angela Gossow-era Arch Enemy.....

But the ultimate band for me is the original Slayer line-up.  Dave Lombardo is just about THE sound of Slayer, and his drumming is so musical.  Tom Araya's voice and swagger is the face of the band, lyrically and sonically, and Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King's riffs and ridiculously unmusical leads propel their songs forward with aggression and drive.  Their song structures are complex enough to weave them through different forms of aggression, but have the simplicity of hardcore punk that get delivered with more evil than hardcore that brings a brutality to the music.

Sadly, the passing of Jeff Hanneman means that the original Slayer line up will never play together again.  And unfortunately, Lombardo will probably never get along with Araya and King.  Fortunately, I've recently discovered the entire World Painted Blood album, which update the sounds from the classic three albums (Reign, Seasons, South).

I finally got to see Slayer in 2015, and though Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph were fucking excellent, it still wasn't the classic Slayer, even though they were still mighty.