Bold claim: Slayer fans deserve the full, immersive story behind one of metal’s most electrifying bands. The updated biography-slash-exposé, Slayer 66 2/3: A Metal Band Biography… Or, How Fkin’ Slayer Kicked Fkin’ @ss, now arrives as an audiobook, expanding a narrative that already had readers hooked. For the 2025 holiday season, you can stream or buy it exclusively on Bandcamp: https://slayerbook.bandcamp.com/.
Award-winning journalist D.X. Ferris narrates his own revised, expanded edition, following SLAYER’s surprising reunion that reshapes the band’s legacy. The audiobook runs a substantial 36.5 hours and adds 12 bonus chapters not found in the paperback. The last three chapters cover the band’s 2025 reunion season, including a Hersheypark festival where SLAYER headlined over EXODUS, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, POWER TRIP, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, and KNOCKED LOOSE.
Ferris emphasizes that the book remains current, noting that the bonus chapters function like European B-sides—extra material that deepens the story without changing the core narrative. The original work first appeared in 2013, shortly after SLAYER co-founder Jeff Hanneman’s death, under the title Slayer 66 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years. A 2023 third edition expanded to 350 pages, 33 images, a four-page index, and 450 endnotes and citations. The 2025 fourth edition grows to 639 pages, 70 images, a 10-page index, and 795 endnotes.
Ferris, an Ohio Society of Professional Journalists “Best Reporter Of The Year,” describes the revision as a serious labor of documentation. He even notes that he dressed in a shirt and tie while writing at home, underscoring the work’s importance and the respect he intends to bring to a pivotal chapter in rock history.
The new edition broadens profiles of band members, including EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt, who stood in for Hanneman after his illness in 2011. Ferris also adds new interview subjects, such as Michael Schutzman, owner of the Valley Stream, NY shop Slipped Disc, which hosted early East Coast in-store appearances, and commentary from Emcee Mellow Man Ace and perspectives related to CYPRESS HILL’s scene. Fresh material encompasses thorough archival research, updated statistics, original fan surveys, and a metrics-driven comparison of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands—METALLICA, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX.
Version 4.1 of the fourth edition appeared in May 2025, with the latest sources gathered just weeks earlier. A recurring feature, “The Rick Rubin Watch,” tracks pivotal moments with the legendary producer and longtime Slayer label boss who has collaborated with roughly 10% of Rock Hall inductees.
Ferris, a Pittsburgh native, has contributed to Rolling Stone, Decibel, The A.V. Club, Cleveland Scene, and Alternative Press. Earlier, Continuum (now Bloomsbury Academic) published his Slayer-related work as part of the 33 1/3 series, Slayer’s Reign in Blood. He emphasizes a more accessible tone in this edition, balancing strong opinions with clear evidence and multiple fan surveys that reveal broader sentiment beyond his personal take. One polarizing subject—the 1996 punk cover album Undisputed Attitude—still receives a nuanced, research-backed treatment.
The unauthorized Slayer biography exists in five formats: a 6x9" Uncut edition, an oversize 8.5x11" coffee-table edition, the abridged Long Story Short… and Cheaper versions, a mostly color ebook, and two expanded audio editions.
Photographers contributing to the book include Harald Oimen (co-author of Murder In The Front Row), former Def Jam staffer Tom Tronckoe, and Cameron Edney.
The audiobook originated from Ferris’s long-running podcast Talkin’ Slayer: A Metal Podcast And Half-@Assed Audiobook. Each episode features Ferris reading from the biography, delivering an exclusive essay, answering fan questions, or updating news.
Ferris recalls that the project began while Slayer seemed permanently inactive. When the reunion was announced, the opportunity to deepen the story arose, echoing a line from a famous film about new information reshaping what we think we know. It’s this potential for new insights that makes the audiobook a timely, indispensable companion to Slayer’s legacy.
SLAYER formed in Los Angeles in 1981 and eventually earned two Grammy Awards. After a period of retirement rumors and a final world tour in 2018, the band played a final LA show on November 30, 2019. The revised narrative carefully parses public statements and retirement milestones to present a coherent arc.
Guitarist Kerry King publicly suggested, in a 2024 Rolling Stone interview, that SLAYER might not reconvene. Yet, a swift turnaround followed, with festival appearances announced and a partial return to live performance in 2025, with more shows planned for 2026.
During Slayer’s July 5, 2025, Back To The Beginning sendoff concert for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, the band ranked as the fifth headlining act on a star-studded bill, sandwiched between Sabbath, Osbourne, Metallica, and Guns N’ Roses.
Ferris restructured the fourth edition to be longer yet easier to read, favoring shorter sentences and chapters that resemble tight, punchy riffs. He admits his earlier style leaned toward ornate phrasing, which he now sees as less effective for broad readability. Aiming for clarity, he crafts concise prose that invites both new listeners and longtime fans to engage with the material.
Record Collector’s Joel McIver praised Ferris’s work, calling it perhaps the ultimate Slayer book. He suggested there isn’t a better Slayer biography than this one, and likely never will be.
The audiobook comes in two main versions: a full Uncut edition that traces the broader arc of American thrash and the Big Four’s place in culture, and a Long Story Short… plus Cheaper edition that focuses on Slayer’s chronological path.
Ferris concludes that Slayer remains as relevant as ever and that readers—and now listeners—are still living in Slayer’s world. The book and audiobook are slated for release on Bandcamp and Amazon/Audible in the near future.
If you’re curious about additional perspectives, controversy, or fresh insights into Slayer’s history, this expanded audio edition invites you to listen closely, compare with the band’s public statements, and join the discussion in the comments about what the story means today.
