SLAYER vs. SLAYER

Which do you think is better and why?

SLAYER - Show No Mercy
vs
SLAYER - Hell Awaits

As good as Show No Mercy is...Haunting The Chapel and Hell Awaits are the albums where they really captured their sound.

Show No Mercy

Hell Awaits got the nod simply because I've had that disc longer and the songs are more familiar to me. It's also more along the lines of what Slayer would become.

Show No Mercy is no slouch either though.

Show No Mercy.

It was the album that I discovered the band. Despite my disdain for the lyrics, the aggression and songs blew me away, JAW TO THE FLOOR! They really haven't released an album that sounds quite like it ever since.

I also though the band looked wicked with that thick black make-up around their eyes. Others may laugh, but it was showmanship and the anti-glam look.

Show No Mercy

Although I'm really not a big Slayer fan - I only own those two and Christ Illusion.

i love both, but Hell Awaits just has that evil sinister vibe that Slayer is known for. Show No Mercy was lighter in it's approach.

Show No Mercy is a fantastic debut album, but it was still very much locked into the NWOBHM influence, with more "traditional" sounding arrangements and riffs, they were searching for their own sound and were close.

Once they got to Haunting The Chapel they had figured out how to use atonality (one of the few metal bands that ever understood it), dissonant chords and those whip-crack arrangements. The combination of those elements with Araya's horror-ringmaster vocals and those acid bath guitar solos really gave Slayer a unique sound when compared to their contemporaries.

I would pick Hell Awaits simply for the fact that I do not own ,nor have ever heard, Show No Mercy.

S.D. wrote:

Show No Mercy is a fantastic debut album, but it was still very much locked into the NWOBHM influence, with more "traditional" sounding arrangements and riffs, they were searching for their own sound and were close.

Once they got to Haunting The Chapel they had figured out how to use atonality (one of the few metal bands that ever understood it), dissonant chords and those whip-crack arrangements. The combination of those elements with Araya's horror-ringmaster vocals and those acid bath guitar solos really gave Slayer a unique sound when compared to their contemporaries.

The first Anthrax similarly still had that big NWOBHM influence and the second album they found their sound, though very different from the Slayer sound. Same with Metallica. "Kill 'Em All" is pure Diamond Head/Motorhead worship, while "Ride the Lightning", the band found their own sound. Still, there's something about those early albums, "Show No Mercy", "Fistful of Metal", and "Kill 'Em All" that appeal to me. They are raw, full of energy, killer riffs and songs. None of those band really ever repeated the sound of their debut albums.

I went with Show No Mercy although its a very tough decision to choose between the 2 albums. To me though, Show No Mercy captures a certain feel and a certain sound that Slayer were still known for up until a certain point. There was this Judas Priest vibe to it that they have seemed to have completely lost in the last 15 years to me.

ultmetal wrote:

Still, there's something about those early albums, "Show No Mercy", "Fistful of Metal", and "Kill 'Em All" that appeal to me. They are raw, full of energy, killer riffs and songs. None of those band really ever repeated the sound of their debut albums.

I love all those records and agree they have their charms, all those bands were so HUNGRY sounding at the time. But speaking strictly from hindsight they aren't as important to the later development of these groups as the follow-up albums were.

I've known people that only like Show No Mercy (and not the later albums) because it's the easiest one to digest. I prefer a challenge.

Its a hard choice really but I would give the nod to Hell Awaits.

Hell Awaits. Because it sounds more like what Slayer is known for. And I don't like the snare drum sound on SNM.

I went with Hell Awaits. I had Snow No Mercy shortly after it was released and thought it was good, listened to it a lot. Then Haunting The Chapel was released and it was much better. Then Hell Awaits was released and the leap they made from debut to Hell Awaits was amazing. Just the better album!!!!! That one got so much more play than Show No Mercy did from me, and still does. If I want early Slayer, I reach for Hell Awaits.

Ult - Agree with you on the charm of those three early albums, liked em all, listened to them quite a bit. But all three bands just took it to the next level on their sophomore albums.

I voted for Hell Awaits.

Hell Awaits.

A quick look at metal archives showed that there was a NWOBHM band called Slayer that had two releases, I thought at first that this poll was between those two. Or three if you included S.A. Slayer.

Show No Mercy.

Hell Awaits.

As somebody said before - while Show No Mercy is a great debut album it essentially sounds like a Judas Priest/Venom mix on crack. There is not much innovation to be had there - just all out balls and aggression. Also Tom's vocals are not really that good yet and you can hear him struggling sometimes.

Hell Awaits is another type of beast altogether. The tempo changes, the riffs, the atmosphere - that record has it all. Really no flaws to be had there.

I reach for Show No Mercy frequently. I love the proto-thrash feel of that album. I also dig the Venom-esque production. At this point in their career, Slayer are still fusing together elements of hardcore punk, NWOBHM and speed metal. It's a landmark album and is, in my opinion, on par with Metallica's Kill 'Em All in terms of influence.

Even though "Crionics" and "Tormentor" are a couple of my favorite Slayer songs, I'd still have to choose Hell Awaits. That album is so much faster and darker, plus the songs and the band's style are much more developed. They incorporated a lot of different ideas into each song. That was the first Slayer album I ever bought, actually.

My choice was made based on which album I thought contained the best songs, not which one was composed in a more original style.

My two favorite Slayer albums, for very different reasons, so it's a bit of a tough call.

I'll go with Hell Awaits. Though I love most of their albums, I don't think Slayer have ever again sounded as genuinely eerie and evil as they did on that record. It really does sound like it was recorded in the deepest, darkest, slimiest cavern in hell. Great atmosphere, the aggression was kicked up several notches and some of the arrangements are pretty complex for Slayer. For sure a very groundbreaking album at the time and the point where Slayer really found themselves.

They're both great but HELL AWAITS was the first Slayer I ever heard, so it gets the nod for nostalgia points.

I like Live Undead alot too. I was great hearing songs live before they came out on the next lp. Slayer was one of those bands that the early lps were great but the shows were so much more brutal.

Hell Awaits is killer but I like Show No Mercy better