December 3, 1983 - Slayer and Show No Mercy

A month after my last release a new band joins my library when Slayer released their debut album "Show No Mercy" on December 3, 1983. But who are Slayer? They were a four-piece thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California consisting of Tom Araya (lead vocals, bass), Dave Lombardo (drums), Kerry King (guitars) and Jeff Hanneman (guitars). These guys would join Metallica as one of the Big Four of thrash metal, playing a similar very fast-paced style of metal with lots of blistering solos. They were signed to Metal Blade Records after it's founder  Brian Slagel (who would also produce this album) saw them play a cover of Iron Maiden's "Phantom Of The Opera". Let's check out their debut album!

The album kicks off with "Evil Has No Boundaries" and like other bands with two guitarists but no "lead" guitarist, I'm unsure who is playing what at most moments. The song opens with a pretty fast-paced guitar riff, but it turns out this is the backing riff as the other guitarist starts to do some crazy soloing overtop! Araya let's out a very high-pitched scream in this frantic opening before they settle into a main riff that is still really fast. Araya does like to do these primal screams from time to time, but his regular singing voice for the verse is much lower and scrappier. It's not what most would consider a "good singing voice" but I think the scrappiness and edginess of his voice fits this thrash metal style quite nicely. Araya leads the fast-paced verse as both King and Hanneman play some fast guitars and Lombardo keeps the torrid pace with some solid speedy drumming. The chorus is a bit slower, but not much as King and Hannemen both shout "Evil!" inbetween Araya's chorus lyrics. It's a short chorus and it leads right into a quick guitar solo as we hear some excellent shredding stuff for a few seconds before they resume the main riff. After another verse and chorus it's solo time once again and throughout this whole album words will not do justice: I could say we hear a crazy fast solo with lots of awesome guitar for every solo, and I wouldn't be wrong at all, but every solo is different and unique in it's own face-melting way. After one sweet solo it's immediately followed up by another solo by the other guitarist and this will become a Slayer staple; both guitarists trading solos to great effect! The second solo sounds a bit less crazy and all over the place than the first one, but it's still really great! After the solos both guitarists sync up and start a new riff that is even faster than the main riff! This new part sounds very metal indeed and it takes us to the end of the song where Lombardo plays a nice drum flourish to finish things off. The next song is called "The Antichrist" and Kerry King, while most certainly not a Satan worshiper, did like the anti-religious images and lyrics of other metal bands and they inspired him to write this song. It's driven by some pretty catchy guitar as King and Hanneman sync up once again and Araya plays some solid backing bass. Araya sings in his scrappy voice overtop and the toe-tapping verse leads right into the chorus. Araya switches to a much higher voice for the chorus as he yells "I am the antichrist" and I'm sure lots of American Christians were thrilled with lyrics such as these as well as the inverted cross made out of bloody swords on the album's cover. No radio play for these guys, but that's just fine! They resume the catchy main riff and after another quick verse instead of another chorus it's solo time! We hear a pretty cool guitar solo and afterwards the mood shifts to a new part. Araya and one guitarist combine to form a cool fast-paced new riff and this quickly sets the stage for another guitar solo by the other guitarist! It's cool to hear not just two great solos, but they are overtop different backing riffs so they each sound really fresh and exciting! This second solo is a little longer and it ends up leading seamlessly back to the main riff as they nicely transition into a final verse. Araya let's out a couple nice primal yells in the final verse and chorus and while to some I'm sure his voice is a big turn-off, I like it. They end the song with a nice final guitar flourish and the thrashing keeps going on track 3, "Die By The Sword". It's another fast-paced metal song led by some solid guitar and they start the verse right away as Araya sings in a high voice somewhere between his usual low/primal high and it reminds me a bit of Iron Maiden's first singer Paul Di'Anno. This solid verse leads into the chorus where Araya simply sings the name of the song a couple times, but thankfully some wicked guitar keeps things interesting. They roll right into another verse and chorus before they slow things down and segue nicely into a heavy new riff. Araya's bass is slow, heavy and sounds pretty sweet as Araya sings in his normal lower voice and we hear some screeching and wailing guitars. I really like this heavier, slower riff and after this new verse King and Hanneman sync up their guitars to start a riff that sets the stage for solo time. One guitarist keeps this new riff going in the background (and it's a pretty sweet rhythm guitar part that is still way faster than most bands play) while the other delivers an extended solo overtop and does a fantastic job! There's several different awesome moments in this one solo and I can't get enough of this not only crazy fast, but crazy precise guitar playing! They play the chorus one last time before bringing another solid song to an end. Up next is "Fight Till Death" and after a cool guitar opening, the main riff is driven by some really fast guitar and bass that doesn't have too much movement for the left hand, but that strumming hand is going nonstop at a relentless pace! It's a nice headbanging main riff and Araya sings a nice scrappy verse overtop that sounds a bit like their fellow thrashers Metallica! The cool guitar opening turns out to be the chorus riff and once again the awesome guitar covers up for some pretty bland lyrics of just singing the name of the song. They resume the torrid main riff and after another verse and chorus a guitarist shoots off on a guitar solo that words do not justice for. He goes incredibly fast and plays some unbelievable guitar, all while the rest of the band keeps up a relentless backing riff that is pretty sweet in it's own right! Saying it's a really awesome solo doesn't seem like enough and it leads right back into the lightning fast main riff. They play a final verse and chorus and Araya really yells out his final "fight till death!" before they end things on another nice note. The final song on this first side is "Metal Storm / Face The Slayer" and King and Hanneman play an amazing opening that has both guitarist playing the same epic riff, but one plays it low on one guitar and the other one high on his. It sounds really cool and they do this for over a minute before finally nicely shifting into a more standard Slayer main riff. It's upbeat and pretty catchy and after over two minutes in Araya finally starts to sing a solid verse overtop. He finishes his verse with a nice primal yell and this leads right into a guitar solo that by this point is unsurprisingly pretty good. After yet another great solo they move to a new part with some more excellent guitar work as the awesomeness just keeps coming! This part sounds pretty sweet as well with great contributions from everyone and this leads seamlessly somehow back into another verse! Araya leads a final solid verse before they finally end their longest song on the album.

Side two begins with "Black Magic" and it slowly fades in as we hear a very fast guitar riff grow louder and louder. The rest of the band joins in to complete another fast-paced riff with some cool synced up guitars by King and Hanneman. After this near minute-long opening, they segue into an even faster main riff that has all four members playing at a ridiculous speed. Araya begins to sing the first verse and I love how perfectly on time Lombardo is on drums despite the torrid pace. They zip right through a couple of solid verses and after another primal yell by Araya it's guitar solo time. As usual, we're greeted with a really fast and pretty sweet solo but it's not a long one and it leads right into another new part. This new riff is slower than the last one and it also sounds pretty good as Araya sings a new verse overtop. This leads into another guitar solo and both guitarists get a chance to shine as they play back-to-back! The first solo is pretty sweet for sure, but I like the second one even better as we hear lots of awesome guitar at the end of this song. There is just no let-up at all with these guys and it continues on the next song "Tormentor" which has a slow and heavy opening that I like. They segue nicely into a faster main riff led by some quick, catchy guitar and Araya comes in to sing the first verse. Everyone sounds great as he sings a solid verse and the guitars, bass and drums all play some solid stuff. This leads into a very similar chorus with some slightly slower guitar but it's a short chorus and it's right back to the catchy main riff. After another verse and chorus Araya does another nice primal yell and it's off on the guitar solo. It sounds like one guitarist the whole way through the solo, and he plays some wicked guitar culminating in a really fantastic finish! The ending to the solo is quite amazing and they bring it nicely back to the catchy main riff for a final verse. Instead of a final solo, they opt for another guitar solo and it's hard to argue with that decision as we hear a short, very fast and very cool solo by the other guitarist. At the end of this solo Araya screams the name of the song and holds his final note for a decent bit as Lombardo plays a slow drum roll that brings this song to a close. Track 8 is "The Final Command" and it opens with a hell of a guitar riff that is not just really fast but also sounds really good. The other guitarist perfectly syncs up and when the force of the riff is doubled it sounds even heavier! It's pretty incredible that both King and Hanneman are so in tune with each other that they can seamlessly sync up at crazy fast speeds. This wicked opening rolls right into a really fast main riff as Lombardo nicely keeps a torrid pace and Araya sings a nice quick verse. The verse and chorus are pretty much one and the same, the only difference being Araya gies really high for a second and then sings "awaiting the final command". Another verse and chorus fly by in no time and it's solo time already as one guitar breaks away and plays some epic stuff. After a furious opening the other guitarist syncs up with him as they simultaneously finish off an awesome solo that without skipping a beat roses right back into the main riff. They play a final verse and chorus and this banger is wrapped up in two and a half amazing minutes. Fantastic stuff! Up next is "Crionics" and while it's pace would still be considered pretty fast by most band's standards, it sounds slow compared to their usual torrid pace. They kick right into the main riff led by some catchy guitar and Araya's voice sounds clearer in a verse that while still metal does sound a bit tame for Slayer. It's not bad by any means though and when they reach the chorus the guitars get even slower as Araya sings about freezing the whole human race in ice. It's a short chorus and it's right back to the main riff for another verse and chorus. They finally start to speed things up as they get faster and faster in a nice building riff that culminates with a nice drum fill by Lombardo. Coming out of the fill they start up a very fast-paced more standard Slayer riff with King and Hanneman both playing some excellent guitar. This new part gets your head banging nicely and after some great music everything but one guitar falls away for a very epic effect as we get shot off on yet another great new riff. The rest of the band forms a backing riff to support this cool new guitar and this sets the stage for the other guitarist to solo overtop of this! The backing riff alone is really cool but the solo overtop sounds awesome and they fit together quite well! This is a fantastic way to end yet another great song, but we're finally at the end of this wonderful album and the final track is the title track "Show No Mercy". Lombardo opens the song by himself and you really appreciate his drumming when nothing else is in the way as he starts up a furious drumbeat that sounds pretty incredible. His precision at breakneck speeds is something to behold and after a sweet opening the rest of the band joins in as they settle (as if Slayer could ever really "settle") into another relentless main riff. Araya sings a fast verse overtop the torrid main riff and the chorus isn't any slower this time as they tear right through that with relentless aggression as well. After another verse and chorus fly by it's guitar solo time and for the last time this record we're treated to a pretty awesome solo. After a final verse and chorus leave us in the dust they bring the song and record to an epic conclusion as we hear some guitar feedback that sounds pretty crazy and trippy to finish things off.

That is the end of "Show No Mercy" and I thought it was a pretty awesome debut effort by Slayer. There's not a lot of variety when it comes to this album, but Slayer know what they are good at and they play this new thrash metal style at a really high level. Both Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman are great guitarists, Dave Lombardo is an excellent speedy drummer and Tom Araya adds a unique vocal style to complete this fine quartet. I love thrash metal and I can't wait to hear more awesome music from Slayer soon! This happens to be my final release of the year and so begins the year-end wrap-up! Only six albums this year is one less than last year, but the emergence of thrash metal has put an underground positive spin on 80s music!

Favourite song of the year: This is a really tough decision this year as I could realistically choose any song off Metallica or Slayer's first albums. There's a lot of excellent choices but if I had to pick one it would be Metallica's "Phantom Lord".

Top 3 Albums of the Year

1. Kill 'Em All by Metallica
2. Show No Mercy by Slayer
3. Piece Of Mind by Iron Maiden

Metal reigns supreme in this year's rankings and I have a funny feeling these three bands are going to be popping up a lot this decade as they all play some great stuff. What will 1984 bring to the table? I can't wait to find out!