For the third episode of their ongoing video series "Early Days," Slayer look back at their first recordings, which they made during "swing shift hours" between midnight and 6 a.m. to save money when they were still a struggling band. They also reveal that the iconic goatman-with-sword image on the cover of the band's debut full-length, Show No Mercy, was painted by a friend's dad, based on photos he took of how the group stood during live performances. They then detail the process of finding drummer Paul Bostaph following Dave Lombardo's split with the group. For a time, Lombardo's drum tech was filling in, but his errors made him a poor fit for the group. Bostaph's audition went much more smoothly, with the percussionist blazing through nine tracks with the band with only one memorable mistake made.
Singer Tom Araya recalls, "Paul came in and he knew his shit. It was just one of those where you just start jamming and you're like, 'We don't even need to see the next guy,' you know. 'Scratch all the other guys for next week because this is the guy right here.'" Bostaph gives his own version of the story, including meeting an unimpressed Jeff Hanneman. The drummer was very nervous about trying out for the band (who were idols of his), but it all worked out well as, he remembers, the three band members took him out after the audition and told him, "That was pretty good" — high praise in Slayer land.
