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Show No Mercy ( 1983 )7 Evil Has No Boundaries / Antichrist / Die by the Sword / Fight Till Death / Metalstorm/Face the Slayer / Black Magic / Tormentor / Final Command / Crionics / Show No Mercy Slayer’s Show No Mercy is often considered to be the album that marked the birth of thrash and death metal (although those kudos might also go to Venom’s Welcome to Hell (1981), I guess). The legendary status of Slayer’s Show No Mercy, however, is probably more due to its historical importance than to its actual quality. Don’t get me wrong, the album does have its fair share of excellent songs, and a lot of the hallmarks of the Slayer sound are already present: the brutal riffs, outrageously chaotic solos, menacing attitude and comic book lyrics about all things evil, war, and more … uh … evil stuff. Slayer had been playing with the same classic line-up (Tom Araya (bass), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar), Dave Lombardo (drums)), since their formation in 1982, and although the members’ musical prowess wasn’t as impressive as on later albums, they already show an astonishing versatility, which would have been much more noticeable if the production job hadn’t been so mediocre. While the solos sound ok, the guitar riffs are often reduced to a buzzing grind, and Lombardo’s drumming sounds as if it originated from the Muppet Show. |
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| The album opens in a grand way with “Evil Has No Boundaries,” which has the earlier mentioned trademark Slayer ingredients, but they still sound a bit clumsy at this point. Certainly when you compare this album to a superior produced and tightly played album such as Reign in Blood, for instance, the differences become obvious. While the chorus (those chants give me the shivers) and lyrics (but who cares about those, anyway?) are often laughable, the band displays a ferocious and violent attack that must have been – and, to a lesser degree, still is – stunning. Other highlights are “Die by the Sword”, which borrows quite a lot from Judas Priest, and boasts a great grooving mid-section and a tremendous solo near the end. Equally impressive is the long multi-part introduction to “Metalstorm/Face the Slayer,” in which the band uses its twin-guitar attack to great effect. Other songs also give the impression that the band essentially threw Priest and Venom in a blender and came up with a tightened version of it. “Antichrist” definitely betrays a lot of 70’s metal influences, and has quite an accessible solo.“Black Magic” on the other hand (referring to Venom’s classic Black Metal?) has too much echo on the vocals and an hilarious high-pitched shriek by Araya, but also that typical viciousness of theirs, and a lunatic guitar solo to top it off. Some songs are really unremarkable, though, like “Fight Till Death” which is just your average 80’s speed metal song, and “Final Command,” which includes lightning-fast riffs, but which also has an unremarkable chorus and bizarre lyrics about “Blitzkrieg attacks of German Commands.” Fortunately, the album is saved by the last 2 songs. “Crionics” shows that Araya is still looking for his voice, but it also has a great galloping groove; and the title track, "Show No Mercy", pounds along at a frenzied pace and has a classic solo that will set the devil in you on fire, despite the awfully bad recorded vocals.A friend of mine told me that this is the Slayer album he listens to most, probably since he discovered them way back when they were still a ‘minor’ band. And I can certainly imagine that this record must sound great if you discovered it twenty years ago or if it’s one of the first metal albums you ever bought, because it does sound wild and brutal. On the other hand, if you, like me, discovered the band at a later stage, and started with the late 80’s albums, Show No Mercy might come as a bit of a letdown. So, definitely recommended for metal freaks and Slayer completists, but if you want to have a first taste of what thrash metal sounds like, start with Slayer’s later albums.Note 1: There seem to be dozens of versions available on the market, some just having the ten original songs, while other versions include the Haunting the Chapel EP (1984), or (like mine), a few songs from that EP and a few live cuts from Live Undead (1984)).Note 2: Another cool thing about the version I have, is that the ‘Thanks’-section ends with “Beware Europe, we are going to steal your souls.” I can’t wait. |
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Haunting the Chapel EP ( 1984 )7.5 Chemical Warfare / Captor of Sin / Haunting the Chapel / Aggressive Perfector Hell yeah! The boys are back in town, with an EP that immediately improves on their debut album. Although there wasn’t that much time between the releases of Show No Mercy and Haunting the Chapel, the differences in sound and song-writing are noticeable, as this EP starts to sound more like the ‘classic’ Slayer grind. The 70’s influences have diminished, and have made way for their characteristic monolithic, often monotonous racket. Take “Chemical Warfare” (no relation to the Dead Kennedys- song) for instance, the EP’s best song, and for my money even their best pre-Reign in Blood track. It’s cool to hear how one guitar comes in one channel and is joined by an even louder one during the intro. Then enter the amazing drumbeat, and we’re good to go. You immediately notice their music has become even more brutal and heavy. Maybe it’s also due to Araya’s bass, which is finally audible now, and which lends that extra toughness to the sound. The song massively raves ahead, ignores speed limits, fires off one riff after the other, and trashes everything on its way. The lyrics still aren’t Dylan leftovers (“Gods of the throne must be watching from hell, awaiting the mass genocide, soldiers defeated by death from a smell, bodies lie dormant no life”), but as long as they get the message across (hey, Slayer was thinking along pragmatic lines), things are ok. |
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“Captor of Sin,” on the other hand, immediately starts off with chaotic guitar noodling (can anyone tell me, by the way, the difference between a Hanneman and a King solo?), but after a few sudden tempo changes, it finds its groove. It’s also during this song that I suddenly became aware of the still sub-par production, as Lombardo’s efforts are buried beneath the weird, murky sound, while Araya’s vocals are too prominent, in my opinion. Next is the title track, which I also like, although it can’t hold a candle to the opening track. There’s some powerful riffing though, and also on this song the band seems to have left the more classic hard-rock structure behind, and instead opts for a linear multi-part approach. By consequence, it makes songs like these much less accessible (because it takes more listens to get it), but it would become an essential ingredient of late 80’s thrash and speed metal. The EP closes with “Aggressive Perfector,” one of the earliest Slayer songs, and (I think) recorded the year before. The sound is much thinner during this song, especially the guitars sound really cheap while Araya spits out his expressive lyrics. Like lots of early stuff by bands such as Iron Maiden or Motörhead, the song almost seems more punk than metal, apart from the solo, that is. Anyway, Haunting the Chapel shows a more mature, focused, and confident Slayer, a band that slowly but steadily would become the quintessential thrash band. Worth checking out even for “Chemical Warfare” alone, this EP is a must-have for any serious thrash fan and religious discussion group. |
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Hell Awaits ( 1985 )7.5 Hell Awaits / Kill Again / At Dawn They Sleep / Praise of Death / Necrophiliac / Crypts of Eternity / Hardening of the Arteries… And the boys returned with their darkest, most diabolical album to date. Indeed, they would make even louder and more brutal music than this later on in their career, but they would never focus this much on the (literal) dark side again. Hell Awaits is definitely not your average rock album, as it focuses, amongst others, on murder and other sins, hell, and basically “death” in general (especially as a result of murder). Make no mistake, with these guys the torture never stops. The music fits the subject matter well, in that it is even less compromising than Show No Mercy: loud and brutal, but this time around they got rid of the excess clumsiness, and replaced it with a more focused execution and elaborate song-writing, which resulted in an average song length of more than 5 minutes. Usually, I’m not fond of ‘thrash epics,’ but somehow it works on this album, which is mostly due to the consistently challenging material and amazing musicianship. Just imagine how this must have sounded at the time. Take Anthrax’ Spreading the Disease, for instance, which was also released in 1985. |
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Anthrax’s album can hardly be considered a match for this album in terms of sheer intensity and power. Just to clarify things: Hell Awaits not a good album because it was the most extreme of its time (which it probably wasn’t anyway), but because it was so extreme, yet succeeded in being one hell (!) of an enjoyable album, despite the lousy production job (that would change with the next album, though). The album boasts a classic intro, with guitar feedback, demonic sounds and other Exorcist-style sound effects, before Lombardo enters with a martial rhythm and takes the band into a plodding groove, which goes on for quite some time. After the third minute it becomes faster of course, and the band creates its trademark thrash racket again, while Araya delivers his lyrics ridiculously fast. It’s also on this track that the band pulls a James Earl Jones, with that guttural baritone (“Hell Awaits!”) representing Mr. Satan, I presume. During “Kill Again,” Araya has this awkward phrasing, which can be a bit off-putting at first (we want our thrash straightforward, don’t we?), but it’s the music that steals the show, especially Lombardo’s impressive drumming, alternating between bursts of machine gun-assault and more conventional drum kit harassment. The song also boasts a few solos, and the booklet even mentions who plays them. I have the impression that King’s solos are a bit more aggressive and chaotic, but I might be wrong. Anyway, the way these guys torture their fret boards is definitely something else. The next track, “At Dawn They Sleep” is probably my favourite, with its “Raining Blood”-intro, constant tempo shifts, and powerful last part (that really speeds things up). Usually, I’m not a sucker for a band’s more technically evolved material, as I tend to equate it with showing off, but it is simply one of the best tracks here, and for the first time, it’s Lombardo who gets to shine (double kick solo at the end). The rest of the album is good too, but my favorites are mostly in the beginning of the record. “Praise of Death” is thrash as brutal and effective as it comes, with a frenetic energy and an excellent vocal performance by Araya, and a great section where the silent, wailing guitar makes way for another assault. Somehow, I never got into “Necrophiliac,” one of the album’s most notorious tracks (for obvious reasons). Although it starts quite powerful, it soon slips into monotony, and also Araya doesn’t put on his best performance. “Crypts of Eternity” is another more complex song that really suffers from the amateur production, as the guitars are almost inaudible. Noteworthy are the Halford-shriek and the accelerating last section, though. “Hardening of the Arteries” closes the album with classic thrash material, while the end section seems to take us back to the beginning of the album. Hell Awaits shows a band at a transitional stage and during its darkest period. Hell Awaits also shows a more focused and mature (?) Slayer. While the evil that men do would stay a favourite theme, Slayer would never again make an album this obsessed with diabolical themes. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing depends on the listener, and some people actually listen to this all day long. As for me, I say: on with the next one! |
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9.5 Angel of Death / Piece by Piece / Necrophobic / Altar of Sacrifice / Jesus saves / Criminally Insane / Reborn / Epidemic / Postmortem / Raining Blood There it is, the album we had been waiting for. Reign in Blood caused quite a stir in the metal world when it was released (yes, that is an understatement). There had been bands around who were either as fast or as heavy as Slayer (D.R.I., Dark Angel, etc) and who occasionally turned in tremendous stuff, but the release of this album replaced the old standard with an entirely new one. Incredibly aggressive and wild, but also accomplished and advanced, Reign in Blood almost single-handedly revolutionized thrash metal, and never before or since have I heard an extreme metal album that sounds this brutal. Ok, I must admit I’m not even a metal specialist, but this full-throttle assault beat all reasonable expectations. The band had made more progress in one year than many other bands in an entire career, with all the members getting the opportunity to show their strengths to the fullest. |
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Araya’s vocals and bass sound a lot more confident than before, Lombardo once again displays an awe-inspiring technique at the drum kit, while King and Hanneman prove they were metal’s prime guitar duo (although the nod might also go to Hammett/Hetfield at the time, who were maybe less violent but an awesome combination nevertheless), by providing enough riff monsters for five albums (this is the moment to ask the Robert Fripp fans in the audience to wipe that disdainful smirk off their faces). Especially Hanneman shines on Reign in Blood, as it became obvious by now that he was the main creative force of the band, and turned in most of their classic tracks (and there’s only one track on this album he didn’t (co-)write). Maybe the most decisive aspect of the album, though, is its unequalled sound. Metal Blade’s Brian Schlagel had been replaced by Rick Rubin who did a classic production job. Of course there were people who complained about the result (guitars too loud, weird drum sound, etc), but it sounds just fine to me, and ‘powerful’ is the key word. The album is book-ended by two of my all time favorite thrash songs: the notorious “Angel of Death” and equally disturbing “Raining Blood.” Those two tracks are also the album’s two longest tracks (both approaching the five minute-mark), while in between them, 8 short bursts of fury are crammed, none of which reaches the three minute-mark. From the first seconds of “Angel of Death” it becomes clear that this isn’t your average album, as the band - after a short introduction and Araya’s high-pitched scream - launches a frantic pace that leads to the first verse that introduces the song’s morbid concerns. Often criticised for its extreme graphic lyrics (“Surgery, with no anaesthesia, feel the knife pierce you intensely, inferior no use to mankind, strapped down screaming out to die” isn’t exactly what you might impress your parents-in-law with), the song focuses on the horrible experiments of Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele, without conveying any message or judgement, stressing the elements of torture instead. While the first section of the song is awesome in all its ferocious velocity, it’s probably the mid-tempo midsection which made it so beloved, sounding massive but also quite accessible at the same time, and proof of the fact that Lombardo, besides being a speedy hard-hitter, could keep a groove going as well. It isn’t funk, though. The last section picks up the initial speed again, but this time the heavy riffing is replaced by the mind-blowing guitar torments of Hanneman and King, who make their six-stringed victims scream, neigh (anyone agree that it often sounds as if they were mimicking horses?) and screech. “Raining Blood,” the final song, is another bulldozer-track, but it’s (apart from the classic intro) even faster than the opening track, and another treatise on joyful matter such as ‘souls of a treacherous past’ and ‘the hour of reprisal’. The staccato mid-tempo section that follows guarantees some head-banging pleasure before the track and album collapse into an apocalyptic noise that closes the album (unless you also listen to the rain storms after it). As I mentioned before, the eight tracks in between are usually short and incendiary pieces of thrash that obliterate most other metal albums with an unseen viciousness. None of them is as impressive as “Angel of Death” on a composition level, but as a 20-minute slab of violence, it’s unsurpassed. It’s no use giving a detailed description of all the songs, as there happens so much during so little time (sudden accelerations galore), but if highlight elements need to be pointed out: “Necrophobic,” the fastest of ‘em, which has enough lyrics to keep J.J. Cale busy for 10 minutes, clocks in at 1:40, “Criminally Insane” is the one song that begins with a silent (ouch) section, “Epidemic” starts off with a thrilling drum solo before it offers great galloping guitar parts, and “Postmortem” is as thrash as thrash can be. Certainly not for the faint of heart or those unfamiliar with metal’s louder products, Reign in Blood works best as a bone-crunching aural assault, due to its focused musicianship, extraordinary production and brevity. While the shorter songs in between are probably too much for most of us in their mind-numbing pace and brutality, the first and last track prevent the album from sounding to monotonous, and show that by 1986, a bunch of Californian bums had become the reigning thrash outfit.Note: again, several editions are available. Currently, the most available edition is the original album, plus a remix of “Criminally Insane,” and a version of “Aggressive Perfector” that is about twice as heavy as the original (included on most editions of Show No Mercy and Haunting the Chapel). Oh yeah, one more thing: the photo on the back of the LP and expanded CD-edition (Hanneman, King and Araya fighting over a few beer cans (Stella Artois) and Lombardo seducing the photographer) was taken in Belgium. So far Belgium’s contribution to the pantheon of thrash greats. |
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