Few heavy metal bands are as influential as Slayer. Sure, other bands like Bathory, Hellhammer and Venom were spearheading the charge for true underground extreme metal, but Slayer's ascent to metal's biggest stages afforded the more extreme forms exposure. Sonically, lyrically and visually, Slayer represented true, unapologetic evil.

But it all starts somewhere (we already mentioned Venom) and with Show No Mercy as evidence, Slayer's iconic sound wasn't spawned overnight. For a band whose catalog is fairly linear considering the amount of trends and new styles they've endured, their influences are far-ranging, from organ-heavy classic rock legends to world music adventurers, there's a lot that made Slayer who they are.

See which bands influenced Slayer in the gallery below.

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