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Class 6(66)
Slayer: Show no mercy
17/12/10 || InquisitorGeneralis
Introduction
It seems like the cool thing to do these days is to hate on Slayer and their recent releases. Ok, I admit that “World Painted Blood” was not so great. “Christ Illusion” had a few good moments but it was nothing fantastic. But, Lombardo is back and live Slayer is still the fucking tits. There is a reason they are still headlining decent sized venues and festivals. Seeing them perform alongside Megadeth recently on the American Carnage tour made me realize this. It also made me go back and rediscover shit from the old records that I often times pass over. Enter “Show No Mercy”, Slayer’s first album and one that I admittedly don’t listen to that much besides “Die by the Sword” and “Black Magic”. I loaded “Show My Penis” into the old workout playlist and a full listen later I realized that I have been passing over some solid shit for a long fucken time.
Seeing as every other classic 80’s Slayer record is covered in ze Class6(66) section already this my only option for reviewing old-school Slayer material. I did review the excellent live record “Decade of Aggression” but a certain boozed-up Swede who runs this site with an iron fist and an erratic brain deleted it. “Show No Mercy” is where the Slayer carnival began and what a way to start. Just check out this image of the band back then…
Ah, the good old days; beer was simple and uncrafty, unprotected sex resulted in just unwanted kids and not A.I.D.S, and Slayer was just coming off of a world-shattering run as Dragonslayer. With “Show No Mercy” Slayer brought a sense of darkness and intensity to thrash that would instantly eclipse the influences of Venom and Angel Witch and establish Slayer as the premier evil metal band in ze world. Right from the get-go, Slayer was bringin’ the pain.
Songwriting
7. The tunes on “Show Your Tits” are simple and straightforward. Slayer’s sound certainly has not evolved for the better (like Death’s) or worse (In Flames) over their lengthy career. But, the boys have definitely added a bit more variety and style over the years. “Die by the sword” gives us a glimpse of what would make Slayer a worldwide force a few years later. There is a lot of pre-blasting thrash for sure, but also some slower tunes and a few creative song structures. The opener “Evil has no boundaries” sounds an awful lot like “Hit the lights” by fellow Big 4 alumni Metallica though. But, I am guessing a lot of thrash back in ’83 sounded like that so no harm, no foul. “Metal storm/face the slayer” also helps breaks the basic thrash mold too. That song kicks ass and I would love to (but don’t expect to) hear it live.
Production
8. For being done back in ’83 on what I am sure was not a huge budget, “Show No Mercy” sounds pretty good. I guess I would like a heavier drum sound, but that is the modern techdeath fan in me. Tom’s vocals also sound a bit funny but I think that is due to youth and inexperience over production.
Guitars
9. King + Hanneman= metal. What more do I need to say? Listen to dual-harmony in “Die by the sword” if you need more proof. Or, if that does not convince you (fuckhead) check out “Black magic” for a lesson in thrash guitar build-up perfection. The opening riffs to “Metal storm/face the slayer” (slower) and “Fight till death” (slower) are also ace. Still need more examples? “The Antichrist” from beginning to end. Book ‘em, Danno.
Bass
7. Tom Araya’s pluckin’ is nothing amazing on here, but it never really has been. For singin’ and bassin’ and have, and always will, give Araya credit. His performance on here is consistent, but not head-turning by any means.
Vocals
7. Tom’s youth is evident here and don’t ever expect to hear one of the high-pitched screams found on “Show No Mercy” live. Still, I could not image anyone else, young or old, doing the vocals here. They certainly don’t bother me.
Drums
7. Lombardo’s playing had not yet quite reached the level of awesomeness seen and heard on “Reign in Blood” and “Seasons in the Abyss”. However, he does a solid job thrashing it up. There is noticeably less double bass work on here than on later albums but the songs certainly don’t suffer because of it. Insane fills are also not nearly as common as later on, but Lombardo keeps a steady beat behind the kit nonetheless. Even this far back in Slayer’s career though, you could tell Lombardo would take metal drumming to new places. It would just take another record of two after this to get there.
Lyrics
7. At this point in the game, Slayer was going for shock value instead of the social commentary that would come out on later songs like “Expendable youth” and “Mandatory suicide”. However, there is lots of cool, evil shit going on here about Satan, being tormented, and fighting… till death.
Logo
10. The classic crooked-font Slayer logo inside of a pentagram! Does it get more metal than that? I think not. We’re done here.
Booklet
N/A. Don’t have it, I am sure it is super metal though.
Cover
10. Fire, Satan, Pentagram, Sword, METAL! Who cares if it looks it was drawn by an 8th grader, this cover fucking rules!
Overall and Ending Rant
I really think “Show No Mercy” gets overlooked by fans of Slayer who want to focus on either how awesome “Reign in Blood” is or bitch about how much “World Painted Blood” sucks. There is a big bunch of good songs on here and the raw, gritty style, sound, and feel of the songs is a refreshing break from the more often heard Slayer material. “Show No Mercy” is not as good as the four records that follow it, except for maybe “Hell Awaits”. Still, it is a fucking classic because it started the career of one of the most influential, popular, and long-running extreme metal acts in ze world.
- Information
- Released: 1983
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.slayer.net
- Band
- Tom Araya: vocals, bass
- Jeff Hanneman: guitars
- Kerry King: guitars
- Dave Lombardo: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Evil Has No Boundaries
- 02. The Antichrist
- 03. Die by the Sword
- 04. Fight Till Death
- 05. Metal Storm/Face the Slayer
- 06. Black Magic
- 07. Tormentor
- 08. The Final Command
- 09. Crionics
- 10. Show No Mercy
