When Rage Against the Machine were just starting out, the band members used to sell cassettes of their music at their gigs. As Tom Morello tells us, one of their early fans who shelled out five dollars for the band’s music was none other than Slayer frontman Tom Araya.
Morello was one of the artists who paid tribute to Slayer in our recent video that also featured members of Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, Disturbed, and more. What you didn’t see in that clip was the Rage Against the Machine guitarist telling us a very cool story about an early encounter with Araya.
“Tom Araya, at one of the first-ever Rage Against the Machine shows, came [to the gig],” began Morello. “We were playing a place called Club Lingerie. And after the show I would sell our cassettes for five dollars. And a lot of times industry people would ask for a cassette.”
(Buy: Tickets to Slayer’s Upcoming Shows)
Morello continued, “[Araya] waited in line with the other kids who were at the show, gave me five dollars, and I sold him the cassette. And I was like, ‘Respect, bro, right on!'”
With Slayer ending their farewell tour at the end of this month, and Rage Against the Machine reuniting for a string of 2020 shows, Araya will have some time to check out RATM in concert again next year.
Watch Tom Morello discuss Slayer and Tom Araya in the video above.
