Slayer

Walk down a street in Huntington Park, California these days – where nine out of ten residents speak spanish at home – and you're likely to hear corridos and duranguense blasting from every other truck rolling down the block. Twenty-five years ago, you would have heard something a little bit different: the glorious carnage of Slayer.

The Grammy-winning, thrash metal legend was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, along with vocalist-bassist Tom Araya and drummer Tom Lombardo. Like other bands formed during the metal '80s, Slayer satisfied an urge for aggressive, anti-establishment music. But unlike most, Slayer was technically Latin music: Araya (aka Tómas Enrique Araya) was born in Chile while Lombardo was born in Havana, Cuba. Both moved to the U.S. with their families as infants.

Orignally named Dragonslayer, the four-piece combined the dark fantasy of Iron Maiden with the frenetic energy of punk bands like Minor Threat. Slayer released two studio albums on indie Metal Blade records before signing to Def Jam, home of rap acts Run-D.M.C., The Beastie Boys and L.L. Cool J. Their 1986 major label debut, Reign in Blood, produced by Rick Rubin (Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash), is considered by many to be a modern metal classic.

Two decades and seven studio albums later, Slayer remains one of the genre's most respected and commercially successful acts. The members of Slayer, now graying and well into their 40s, continue to tour with many of the bands they once inspired.

Correction: In an earlier version, Huntington Park was incorrectly described as 95% Mexican. Instead, 80% of its foreign-born residents were born in Mexico.