Slayer was one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme American thrash metal bands. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King and later recruited bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and drummer Dave Lombardo to complete the lineup. Along with Megadeth, Metallica, and Anthrax, the band was part of what is known as the "Big Four" thrash metal bands of all times. With their 1986 release Reign in Blood, which has been called "the heaviest album of all time", Slayer rose to fame as the leader of the American thrash metal scene. The album became an instant classic, breaking the band through to a wider audience, and hailed as the greatest speed metal album of all time. During the late 80’s, the band continued to put out some high-quality albums and saw the numbers of detractors shrinking as their impact on the growing death metal movement was gradually and respectfully acknowledged. In total, the band released two live albums, one box set, two DVDs, two EPs, and ten albums. Of those albums four of received gold certification (500,000 or more copies sold) by the RIAA in the US. The band has also received two Grammy nominations and won once for Best Metal Performance in 2007 for the song “Eyes of the Insane”.