Heard the album for the first time round a quarter of a century ago and to this day deem it to be their finest work. The Venom influence is undeniable and they certainly couldn't be accused of reinventing the wheel but to these ears tunes like Fight till Death, Metalstorm/Face the Slayer, The Final Command and Crionics showcase a band on top of their game. Yes they would go on to release far more successful and influential albums but none of that means that their debut isn't a hugely enjoyable listen four decades later. Not bad for a band with no recording budget at the time. Would've been great had they revisited this style on at least one of their subsequent albums.🤘
A classic .
Went chips with the brother to buy it on vinyl ,think is was five pound s .still have it that copy .pocket money was tight 😂
Reign in blood is their best in my opinion
Reign In Blood isn't in Slayer's top 3 IMO.
Fantastic album, still holds up well. Like Kill 'Em All it's dripping in NWOBHM influence, which is no bad thing. Bought that, Live Undead, Hell Awaits and South Of Heaven on tape in the late '80s from a local grocery shop with a surprisingly good metal selection, still play it regularly.
One of the greatest of all time. Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits influenced more than half of what gets discussed here yet both records oft overlooked in terms of discussing Slayers discography
They are without question the 2 best Slayer albums. Only overlooked by posers :abbath:
Oh lads they all have lovely bottoms. First 5 Slayer albums are all great in their own ways. Show no mercy has more musicality on it than the rest. Great stuff
One for the controversial opinions thread but I think Hell Awaits is fairly shite to be honest. Title track is great but aside from that it's subpar.
Quote from: Carnage on January 21, 2024, 10:14:43 PMOne for the controversial opinions thread but I think Hell Awaits is fairly shite to be honest. Title track is great but aside from that it's subpar.
I'll hop in the dinghy with yiz, HA is poop. It's in that weird middle ground of trying to pull away from the NWOBHM roots, and the all conquering shit that followed. And the production is cat.
But in the good spirit of the thread, SNM is a banger. Not my favourite Slayer album (probably my fifth favourite), but still a 10/10 release.
Quote from: Carnage on January 21, 2024, 10:14:43 PMOne for the controversial opinions thread but I think Hell Awaits is fairly shite to be honest. Title track is great but aside from that it's subpar.
agreed....show no mercy their best in my book anyway
QuoteOne for the controversial opinions thread but I think Hell Awaits is fairly shite to be honest. Title track is great but aside from that it's subpar.
Ah that's crack-pipe talk lads. Kill Again, Necrophiliac, Dawn They Sleep, reprising the intro for the outro - 'tis all glorious a hands down classic.
I cant understand how any metal head could call any of the first 5 Slayer shit tbh.We all have our favourites,but none of them could you call shite!.Mad talk!
Beggars belief.
The songs aren't great, the playing is sloppy, and the production's muddy. It's better than Undisputed Attitude (everything is) but other than that it's their worst album for me.
Objectively incorrect.
Could be my favourite/the best Slayer album.
First five folk are saying? There's something about Seasons that always used to irk me. Haven't listened to it in probably 20 years though, so that might have changed. First four essential for sure.
Seasons is mighty, I'd put it on a level with Show No Mercy, just behind South Of Heaven.
I've never heard a note of Show No Mercy. The front cover always made me think it would sound as bad as that drawing looked
Your loss, Lad!
SNM is a banger.
Aye, get on it.
Most Slayer 'fans' pass on 'Show No Mercy' because it's too old and not 'Reign in Blood'. I had this mentality as a youngster but I was wrong, it's as well written/ performed and just as vital as 'Kill em all' by the 'Tallica.
Their best work, IMO, is: 'SNM', 'Hell Awaits' and 'Live Undead'.
If Hell Awaits was the title track and 50mins of silence alone, it'd be a better album than most bands could dream of.
Of the Big 4... only Megadave's debut album was sub-par.
The other three are great!
True, though Fistful Of Metal is pretty average too. Still pisses on KIMB obviously.
Fair enough!
Maybe not as good as SNM or KEA, but still far enough up the ladder to leave a shitty boot print on Megadave's face.
The 2018 remix of KIMB with These Boots at the end (so I can pretend it's not on the album) revealed a solid debut from Megadeth for me, not Kill Em All or Show No Mercy level, but it has some great tracks.
Never bothered with Anthrax's debut, despite liking the two that came after.
KIMB is a grand album with a shit mix. The two remixes have, between the pair of them, almost gotten it right but still not quite. It's a far stronger album than Fistful of Metal, though. Samuelson was a fucking savage drummer and now you can hear what he was doing.
The digitally downtuned These Boots..., so 21st Century Mustaine could get even remotely close to singing the new lyrics in tune, is the greatest crime against taste and decency ever committed by Mustaine. It shows how little influence anyone around him has that that was allowed to be released.
Anthrax were definitely bottom of the big 4 pile for debut albums. They got very good very gast though and weathered the 90s and early 2000s better than others, creatively at least. As mentioned above, the remixed KIMB showcases the amazing drumming of Samuelson, who was streets ahead of the competition skills wise. It is also jam packed with amazing riffs.
Rattlehead,Looking Down The Cross, Mechanical etc.
And while not a debut album, Ride The Lightning is 40 this year. This album is still in my top 10 all-time albums (possibly even top 5)
Samuelson was a lethal drummer. Didn't he play jazz fusion before joining Megadeth?
Yep, him and Poland. The pair of them went a long way to what makes those first two albums so unique.
For a band who would never hit the heights of their peers, Fistful of Metal isn't that bad as a debut. Remix of Killing Is My Business... def revealed a different beast, but sticking to the debuts as released, Kill 'Em All and Show No Mercy were well out in front imo.
Quote from: Bürggermeister on January 23, 2024, 04:19:11 PMYep, him and Poland. The pair of them went a long way to what makes those first two albums so unique.
Poland as well, knew that I didn't imagine this.
Blows my mind that MegaDave hired Vinnie Coliauta AKA one of the greatest jazz/fusion/session drummers to ever live and his brief was effectively "play like Nick Menza".
Quote from: Ducky on January 23, 2024, 05:07:16 PMQuote from: Bürggermeister on January 23, 2024, 04:19:11 PMYep, him and Poland. The pair of them went a long way to what makes those first two albums so unique.
Poland as well, knew that I didn't imagine this.
Blows my mind that MegaDave hired Vinnie Coliauta AKA one of the greatest jazz/fusion/session drummers to ever live and his brief was effectively "play like Nick Menza".
Menza was no slouch either and for a guy who craves success, telling Vinnie to sound like an ingredient to the older successful formula makes some degree of sense.
Ya, he was hired as a session musician. He's not playing with Chick Corea.
Although, Return To Forever > Return To Hangar :laugh:
I don't even know what Return to Hangar is so it must be true.
Live album, I think?
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on January 23, 2024, 04:30:39 PMFor a band who would never hit the heights of their peers, Fistful of Metal isn't that bad as a debut. Remix of Killing Is My Business... def revealed a different beast, but sticking to the debuts as released, Kill 'Em All and Show No Mercy were well out in front imo.
Agreed, it's decent speed metal. Anthrax get a lot of flak whatever they do anyway.
Back to Slayer, the earlier material showcases a better singing style from Tom Araya, not sure why he decided to embark on a screaming marathon for much of their later career.
I never understood why Slayer never played Tormentor live more. It's a class song.
Arayas shouting I'm so angry vocals come across as very contrived on the later albums .They are a real turn off .
Show no mercy was the first LP I ever bought and remains one of my favourite metal albums of any genre along with reign in blood .
Anthrax are utter shite by the way
Took my first listen to this the other day. Didn't like it tbh. Don't really have anything else to say about it because it wasn't awful or anything but I guess I'm just not in the mood for that. Oh well
Quote from: astfgyl on January 30, 2024, 11:45:07 PMTook my first listen to this the other day. Didn't like it tbh. Don't really have anything else to say about it because it wasn't awful or anything but I guess I'm just not in the mood for that. Oh well
Die By the Sword, Black Magic, and Fight Till Death are classics. Then again, I think Hell Awaits is hot poop, so what do I know :laugh:
I like SNM but I prefer the versions of those tunes on Live Undead.
Quote from: astfgyl on January 30, 2024, 11:45:07 PMTook my first listen to this the other day. Didn't like it tbh. Don't really have anything else to say about it because it wasn't awful or anything but I guess I'm just not in the mood for that. Oh well
First time ever? Mad the ones that just end up passing you by for whatever reason.
Aye, never heard a note of it until the other day. Will likely end up giving it another go because I'm on a right Slayer buzz at the minute but as it is it's a bit too nwobhm compared to the rest. Like I mentioned it's not even bad or shit tunes or anything it's just not the time