Although Slayer would become absolute legends of thrash and their third and fifth albums (‘Reign In Blood’ and ‘Seasons In The Abyss’) would be considered genre classics, the band’s formative years presented a less polished band in many ways. Their debut LP ‘Show No Mercy’ had the speed, but not necessarily the songs or production values. Tracks like ‘Evil Has No Boundaries’ and ‘Die By The Sword’ had a sense of force, but with Tom Araya’s vocal sounding like a man shouting into a bucket and the higher registers of Jeff Hanneman’s guitar cutting through everything at ear bleeding levels, it wouldn’t be until later, via the band’s live shows circa 1991, that the true potential in these songs would become clear. With several years’ distance, other numbers like ‘Fight Till Death’ and ‘Face The Slayer’ just sound a little naive, even if in 1983, Slayer’s speed and aggression was forging a new path for metal.
The band’s second album ‘Hell Awaits’ (released in 1985) presented a massive leap on all fronts. Between its epic title cut, prefaced by brilliant guitar based histrionics and a wall of demonic voices, ‘Kill Again’ showing off a tight band ploughing forth at a hundred miles an hour and showcasing some superbly tight drumming from Dave Lombardo, and ‘Crypts of Eternity’ proving that Slayer were capable of a more melodic side, sounding like a super-charged Judas Priest fronted by a demonic presence, the album had a core of unmissable tracks. ‘Hell Awaits’ still retained a DIY production sound, making it feel a bit more niche in comparison to a few of the other thrash albums that were getting attention in the press around that time, but with absolutely no filler within its thirty seven minutes, it’s not so much an album but a statement of intent. It would soon be eclipsed by the titanic ‘Reign In Blood’ – a record that set a new standard that many thrash bands hoped to reach, but few ever managed – but in the meantime, Slayer had more than made their mark upon the metal underground.
Naturally, anyone interested in purchasing a three disc deluxe edition of ‘Hell Awaits’ will be more than familiar with the original album. The big draw with regards to Metal Blade’s 40th Anniversary Edition is the accompanying 1985 live show from Germany which fills discs two and three. Previously circulating as a bootleg, this gig finally gets its full due, in an audio quality it genuinely deserves. The recording will be an absolute revelation for anyone whose earlier experiences of live Slayer were soundtracked by the brilliant ‘Decade of Aggression’ double set from 1991.
It isn’t by any means a polished or perfect performance or recording, but therein lies most of its real magic. The opening ‘Hell Awaits’ finds Slayer going off at full pelt, taking the source material and injecting some extra speed. It’s so fast in places, Tom has difficulty in getting the lyrics to scan, but set against Kerry King’s buzzsaw-like rhythm guitar work, he sounds genuinely enthused. There’s so much adrenalin present during the final verse, the lyrics don’t even sound like real words, but this also adds to the charm, proving that this is an absolutely live, overdub free experience. With the amount of anger present, it’s almost jarring to hear Araya addressing the crowd immediately afterwards, asking if they’re “going to have a good time” with a jovial presence that would feel more natural at a Kiss show. Into ‘Aggressive Perfector’, the speed is increased, and the slightly unbalanced recording source pushes the drums to the fore, allowing a really aggressive Lombardo to be experienced in full flight. There are many moments where his truly fantastic performance dominates, only really topped by a couple of vocal screams that come through with a force that distorts everything.
A step back into ‘Show No Mercy’ era material with ‘Captor of Sin’ and ‘The Final Command’ offers live takes that run rings around their studio counterparts, with the latter sounding especially impressive due to rhythm guitar work so shrill it could cut glass, but they’re quickly outshone by a rendition of ‘Kill Again’ absolutely loaded with tight as hell drum fills and a demonic vocal that looks forward to the stronger cuts from ‘Reign In Blood’. ‘Crypts of Eternity’ is represented with a performance that shows off a superb contrast between its grinding guitar sounds and speed oriented, descending riff. Even when this number settles into what now sounds like fairly generic thrash, the fledgling Slayer sound like they could destroy most of their peers. There’s a lot of gold here, but the real highlight from the first half of the gig comes from a version of ‘Haunting The Chapel’ that’s so angry, it sounds like there are two drummers on stage, and even though the volume of the rhythm section is such that it half buries the lead guitar solos, this doesn’t spoil the performance. In fact, for those who insist on a genuinely live recording, it possibly improves the overall experience.
Although Slayer arguably hit their musical peak with that track, they’re thankfully far from burnout, and the remainder of the gig comes with almost as much energy applied. Much like the other ‘Show No Mercy’ numbers, ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Die By The Sword’ come across brilliantly. Although they don’t quite match the versions found on ‘Decade of Aggression’ (recorded in California, 1991), both sound superb, and clearly played by a band who’ve really hit their stride over the previous year or so. Elsewhere, ‘The Antichrist’ borders on being utterly frightening, with the lead riff played at such a speed it tears through everything and the solos shared between Hanneman and King attack with ear bleeding tones. In relation to classic, later Slayer performances and heard with a more modern ear, some of Tom’s piercing screams now sound rather…silly, but it’s a minor issue, and certainly doesn’t detract too much from an otherwise superb performance.
At the end of the show, a speed driven ‘Chemical Warfare’ makes Dave Lombardo sound like he’s drumming with an extra arm (the man’s talent is astounding, even at this early stage) and his bass pedal punches through the middle section of the track brilliantly, before a short encore featuring just ‘Praise of Death’ (fading in slightly unnaturally with a note or two missed) goes all out for pure speed. Performance wise, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table for this particular night, but heard retrospectively it actually provides a slightly anti-climatic finish. It doesn’t quite have the impact of ‘Haunting The Chapel’, ‘The Antichrist’ or even ‘Kill Again’, but at the time, it represented one of the purest thrash/melodic death blends from the band’s current album, and they’re clearly very proud of this still brand new number.
The 3CD edition of ‘Hell Awaits’ offers enough officially unreleased material to make it well worth the upgrade. The choice of “Earbook” packaging for the release, unfortunately, has meant the item has a high price point and will be only of immediate interest to the most committed fans. However, for those with deeper pockets and are keen to experience a pre-‘Reign In Blood’ Slayer performing at their best, it’s a reissue that should be considered an important purchase. If the CD reissue had also been offered in a standard sized digibook and without the extra gubbins, making it affordable for everyone else, it would have been perfect…
May 2026