Tom Araya

Tom Araya
Tom Araya of Slayer performing in 2012
Background information
Birth nameTomás Enrique Araya
Born (1961-06-06) June 6, 1961
Viña del Mar, Chile[1]
OriginSouth Gate, California
GenresThrash metal
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentsBass, vocals
Years active1981–present
LabelsAmerican

Tom Araya (born Tomás Enrique Araya June 6, 1961 in Viña del Mar, Chile[1]) is an Chilean-American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked fifty-eighth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time.

Araya was employed as a respiratory therapist in the early 1980s and used his earnings to finance Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy. Much of Araya's lyrical content is about serial killers, a subject he finds interesting, first making his lyrical contribution to 1985's Hell Awaits with the track "At Dawn They Sleep".

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Keko Paralta Casanova. "Rockaxis - Interview with Tom Araya" (in Spanish). Rockaxis.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2008-02-25.