Band
Holds writing credit on 116 of 128 tracks
The two guitarists. Kerry King appears on 85 of the 128 album tracks and Jeff Hanneman on 74, and the pair account for nearly everything the band recorded. Tom Araya writes lyrics on 42 tracks but no music, and the drummers hold one credit between them.
Across all 128 tracks: how many Slayer wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Share of all 128 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Percentage of all 128 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.
| Member | Period | Lyrics | Music | Production | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Araya | 1981-2019, 2024-present | 33% |
13% |
0% |
0% |
| Kerry King | 1981-2019, 2024-present | 59% |
54% |
0% |
0% |
| Jeff Hanneman | 1981-2013 | 38% |
56% |
0% |
0% |
| Dave Lombardo | 1981-1986, 1987-1992, 2001-2013 | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
| Paul Bostaph | 1992-1996, 1997-2001, 2013-2019, 2024-present | 1% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
| Gary Holt | 2013-2019, 2024-present | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
| Tony Scaglione | 1986-1987 | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Slayer's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
Where Slayer sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
All twelve studio albums, including the 1996 punk covers record Undisputed Attitude. The live albums, the EPs and the box sets sit outside this catalogue.
Metal Blade
Metal Blade
Def Jam
Def Jam
Def American
American
American
American
American
American
American
Nuclear Blast
No albums from this decade.
Slayer128 tracks
41Rick Rubin, 41 tracks
DS14Dave Sardy, 14 tracks
MH13Matt Hyde, 13 tracks
TD12Terry Date, 12 tracks
GF11Greg Fidelman, 11 tracks
AW10Andy Wallace, 10 tracks
TW10Toby Wright, 10 tracks
JA10Josh Abraham, 10 tracks
BS7Brian Slagel, 7 tracks
EM3Eric Mastrokalos, 3 tracks
BD3Brett Dodwell, 3 tracks
RH3Roy Hansen, 3 tracks
IM2Ian MacKaye, 2 tracks
CR2Casey Royer, 2 tracks
GT1Glenn Tipton, 1 track
RH1Rob Halford, 1 track
KK1K. K. Downing, 1 track
KD1Kenneth Downing Jr., 1 track
JG1Jack Grisham, 1 track
RE1Ron Emory, 1 track
MR1Mike Roche, 1 track
TB1Todd Barnes, 1 track
LP1Lyle Preslar, 1 track
BB1Brian Baker, 1 track
JN1Jeff Nelson, 1 track
KT1Kyle Toucher, 1 track
SC1Spike Cassidy, 1 track
KB1Kurt Brecht, 1 track
FT1Fredric Taccone, 1 track
IP1Iggy Pop, 1 track
RA1Ron Asheton, 1 track
SA1Scott Asheton, 1 track
DA1Dave Alexander, 1 track
JO1James Osterberg, 1 track
DA1David Alexander, 1 track
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. DS Dave Sardy · MH Matt Hyde · TD Terry Date · GF Greg Fidelman · AW Andy Wallace
Data Insight
Hanneman leads the early records and King the late ones. Hanneman has nine of the ten on Reign in Blood and ten of the eleven on Diabolus in Musica; King has eleven of thirteen on God Hates Us All and eleven of twelve on Repentless, made two years after Hanneman died. Tom Araya writes lyrics on 42 tracks and no music. The drummers write almost nothing: Paul Bostaph has one credit in the whole catalogue and Dave Lombardo none.
Quick Facts
Creative Fingerprint
Two guitarists trading the pen for thirty years, a singer who writes only words, and drummers who write nothing.
The Story
Two guitarists wrote Slayer. Kerry King is on 85 of the 128 album tracks and Jeff Hanneman on 74, and between them they cover almost everything the band recorded.