Poised somewhere between speed metal and death metal, Slayer re-invented heavy metal by incorporating punk and classical structures with trademark raging speed, complex arrangements, occult and literary allusions, and intricate rapid-fire guitar solos.
Almost forty years after the origin of the band, Metal Blade records has reissued the classic catalog of Slayer albums — Show No Mercy, Haunting the Chapel, Live Undead, and Hell Awaits — on cassette, vinyl, and compact disc. From the label:
On October 22nd, five-time nominated, two-time Grammy winners Slayer will release CD, cassette, and vinyl re-issues of their classic records Show No Mercy (1983), Haunting the Chapel (1984), Live Undead (1984), and Hell Awaits (1985) via Metal Blade Records. See below for available versions and track-listings; pre-order your copies now at: metalblade.com/slayer
Formed in 1981, Slayer assaulted the world with a new hybrid of metal and punk – heavier, faster and darker than the rest – and set a new standard, defining not only a genre, but an attitude. Throughout Slayer’s history, the band never faltered in unleashing their extreme and focused aural assault, and repudiating temptations, Slayer always chose to remain crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.
Show No Mercy re-issue versions
– jewelcase CD
– cassette (featuring a fold-out J-card and a smokey tint cassette shell)
– 180g black vinyl
– transparent red / black split vinyl (US exclusive)
– orange marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
– transparent red / black splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
– orange / red melt vinyl (EU exclusive)
– red / white splatter vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 1000 copies)Haunting the Chapel re-issue versions
– jewelcase CD
– cassette (featuring a fold-out J-card and a smokey tint cassette shell)
– 180g black vinyl
– opaque red / black split vinyl (US exclusive)
– red / white marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
– black / white splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
– red / white melt vinyl (EU exclusive)
– red / black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 1000 copies)Live Undead re-issue versions
– jewelcase CD
– cassette (featuring a fold-out J-card and a smokey tint cassette shell)
– 180g black vinyl
– midnight blue / black split vinyl (US exclusive)
– grey / black marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
– clear / blood red splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
– blue / white / black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive)
– blue / black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 1000 copies)Hell Awaits re-issue versions
– jewelcase CD
– cassette (featuring a fold-out J-card and a smokey tint cassette shell)
– 180g black vinyl
– transparent orange / black split vinyl (US exclusive)
– red marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
– transparent orange / black splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
– orange / red splatter vinyl (EU exclusive)
– red / yellow / black circle splatter vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 1000 copies)Show No Mercy track-listing
1. Evil Has No Boundaries
2. The Antichrist
3. Die by the Sword
4. Fight Till Death
5. Metal Storm / Face the Slayer
6. Black Magic
7. Tormentor
8. The Final Command
9. Crionics
10. Show No MercyHaunting the Chapel track-listing
1. Chemical Warfare
2. Captor of Sin
3. Haunting the Chapel
4. Aggressive PerfectorLive Undead track-listing
1. Black Magic
2. Die by the Sword
3. Captor of Sin
4. The Antichrist
5. Evil Has No Boundaries
6. Show No Mercy
7. Aggressive PerfectorHell Awaits track-listing
1. Hell Awaits
2. Kill Again
3. At Dawn They Sleep
4. Praise of Death
5. Necrophiliac
6. Crypts of Eternity
7. Hardening of the ArteriesSlayer online:
https://www.slayer.net
Remember to celebrate the National Day of Slayer every June 6th.
Tags: death metal, metal blade records, slayer, Speed Metal
Slayer is just unique. It is above styles & genres. It is the modern sound of Tradition, a timeless thing. This is what life and nature and reality sound like. Hopefully someone can continue what they did.
Real question is, are these going to be the original sound versions or some god awful brickwalled, digitally compressed to 11 remaster?
Who even knows at this point. The past couple reissues were remastered but it doesn’t say it on the ad copy or in the descriptions in the store. I do know that the vinyls are expensive as fuck.
Probably, Chads think its gay unless it is brickwalled. We need to get the incels to rape the Stacys.
Now if only I could get a redux of the original Slatanic Wehrmacht and Hell Awaits tour shirts.
“steadfastly refusing to cater to the mainstream.”
That is a lie. They toured with Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, nu-metal faggotry and all kinds of AIDS lesions, and practically no real extreme metal like Immortal or Deicide. Slayer sold out just as bad as Metallica, they just cared more about hiding it.
That was from the quoted blurb by Metalblade, and we all know why Metalblade is doing this.
I stopped listening to Slayer at Divine Intervention, and now rarely venture past South of Heaven.
There’s only so much greatness in even the best of bands.
However, I don’t think it would have made sense for Slayer to tour with Immortal, Deicide, Burzum, Ildjarn, Beherit, or Skepticism.
There was not much audience overlap at that point.
Metallica, on the other hand, went right into producing rock music.
I don’t blame either band, but I think it’s important to erect a tombstone at a certain date and say, “after this, the band is normie fodder.”
Metal Blade is re-releasing the classic material. This is great! The format is fairly good, too, although I would drop “Aggressive Perfector.”
The real question is what Jared Kush asked:
I’d even favor going back to the 1980s versions. Remaster nothing; just get a nice clean rip from the original master tapes or vinyl. We don’t need loud; we have volume knobs.
To my mind, Ms. Nancy Phallusi got it right here:
It is worth supporting and celebrating this unique and powerful band.
Thank you for noticing, I was wondering about that as soon as I read the title. Three “perfect” songs and one toothless filler duct taped at the end. Three was more than enough damnit haha.
Sadly, it just does not live up to the other songs, so it feels like an intermission. I still have the early Slayer CDs which tacked the EP onto the end of the first album, and I prefer that, even. You just get a longer playing album that while complete, then goes into musical improvement for awhile.
Imagine how ridiculous it would’ve been as the lead track. But tacking it on at the end somehow makes it okay? Expertise is not required to see that the song belongs elsewhere as it barely even sounds like Slayer. At the risk of taking this a step too far: its inclusion may have (accidentally) ruined the statement the EP was making.
I rarely venture past Hell Awaits, and (bootleg) recordings of the first two albums+ep are their most interesting live material.
Of course Reign in Blood is easy to listen to at any time due to its runtime but it has a different spirit than the two previous albums. I think it was DARG who said we need to reject the spirit of South of Heaven, and I’m starting to agree. Still a great album but it seems their musical discovery started to slow down there…
What killed America and the West? Diversity.
What killed Slayer? Vocals took over from guitars as the lead (instrument which dictates song development).
We can see some of that on South of Heaven, but it’s a mixed bag. As a whole, however, the album shows Slayer at their best in terms of songwriting, in my view.
Everything after that needs to go however. There’s some good stuff on Seasons in the Abyss, but too much singing. Araya is great but the songs need to follow the guitars.
Why remove Aggressive Perfector?
South of Heaven is definitely a mixed bag, but it has some stand out tracks. Live Undead has always been a favorite of mine. It’s hard to articulate, but it has a sense of narrative about it – an atmosphere. It touches the imagination in a way which most do not, as opposed to a less inspired track where the riffs repeat themselves one too many times and you are reminded that these are merely men playing instruments. Another great example would be the majority of Hell Awaits, the best tracks have a feeling they are trying to evoke through the song structure, tone, etc. and they are successful in this endeavor. I wish I could find the words to elaborate, but as I listen to more metal, that is the key trait that I am always seeking.
Aggressive Perfector is much more feral on the live album.
Although clearly removed from the levels of the first 2.5, South of Heaven put them in the exclusive “four great albums” club, which is one reason Jeff is held in such high regard. Well that and the fact he never appeared in a Beastie Boys video.
It’s ok, better than the carnival music from the version they added to Reign in Blood reissues. I see no problem with the original from Metal Massacre III though, and I was curious what you and Brett meant. Granted, they had yet to develop the signature sound that you hear from Haunting the Chapel onward. I could be wrong but lyrically I detect a hint of the nihilistic liberation of Entombed’s Left Hand Path, and if so it’s a perfect start to their career.
Over time, I have come to oppose re-issues. They seem like a cheap way to ignite interest and sell music, but… an even cheaper way is to just re-press and announce a “heritage edition.”