Jeanette Araya, sister to SLAYER frontman Tom Araya, has authored a book titled Bloodline: The Araya Story back in 2015. The book is a family narrative that traces their late father, Javier Araya‘s journey from Chile to Los Angeles in pursuit of better living conditions. It delves into the challenges he faced, his spiritual journey, and his eventual role as a preacher in their community.
The book also encompasses an intriguing anecdote about Javier Araya addressing the satanic imagery projected by his son’s band, as mentioned in Jeanette‘s conversation with Blabbermouth. This offers readers a unique insight into the familial dynamics and the Araya family’s life behind the public eye.
“In the late ’70s, my brother Tom joined a heavy metal band and disrupted the quiet harmony of our ‘normal lives,'” Jeanette revealed. “Dad was unaware of the aggression and the message in the lyrics of the band and was very supportive and proud of my brother. But when the visual images of the nature of the songs began to surface, he was crushed. He had become a minister at the local church and belonged to many healing and prayer groups. He gave communion on Sundays he assisted in all baptismal [services] and funerals; church had become his life.
She continued: “One day, after a prayer group meeting, this lady approached my father with tears in her eyes and asked him for help. She began explaining to him about the difficulties she was having with her teenage son, that he had become satanic and pleaded with my father to come to her house and do a healing prayer session, So my father agreed and took my mother along. When they entered the house, the boy was sitting there and was very upset at his mother for doing this.
“My father thought he would be more comfortable if they prayed with him in private so he asked the boy if it would be better if they prayed in his room. When they walked into the boy’s room, my father’s face became pale and my mother was very nervous. The first thinghe saw was a poster of SLAYER on the wall with my brother’s picture dead center. So SLAYER was one of my father’s biggest challenges in life because of the love he had for his son and the financial support that he needed from him at the time.”
Tom Araya, despite the band’s use of satanic imagery, identifies as a Christian.
SLAYER played its final show of their farewell tour in November 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Kerry King‘s wife, Ayesha King, said that there is “not a chance in hell” that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more shows.
Bloodline: The Araya Story is available on Amazon here (affiliate link).
