Despite their position as one of the big four of thrash (and, for some, the big one), Slayer have largely resisted the temptation to rake through their back catalogue, with only the odd remaster emerging to sate the appetite of their legions of fans– and even those are some 20-years-old now. Nevertheless, while the band may not be prolific with their reissues, the ever-reliable Metal Blade have somehow convinced the band to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of their auspicious debut, Show No Mercy, with a lovely, limited-edition package (just 6000 copies worldwide), that will have collectors frothing at the mouth.
The Package
A beautiful artefact, Show No Mercy is presented on gold “black dust” vinyl. Remastered from the original tapes by Patrick W. Engel (Darkthrone, Dissection, Sodom), this brand-new version sadly does not feature any additional audio, but it sounds immense, and the 180 grm vinyl is satisfyingly solid and crackle free.
In terms of packaging, the gatefold sleeve is printed on pleasingly thick card and comes housed in a gold-foil slipcase, complete with vinyl slipmat, poster, flyers, signing card, and a 28-page, LP-sized booklet with detailed liner notes. Of all the ephemera, it is undoubtedly the booklet that will attract the most attention. 28-pages in length, it gathers together a surprisingly detailed story of the album, written by J. Bennett and augmented with quotes from the band. Packed with great period images, it’s pretty much the definitive word on the album, and a fantastic read while the album does its evil work of ravaging your eardrums.
The Album
When you think about the big four of thrash, it often feels as if only Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All debut receives much in the way of attention, with Anthrax’s Fistful of Metal, Megadeth’s Killing Is My Business, and Slayer’s Show No Mercy all largely overlooked in favour of what came later. Yet, when you consider the youthful vigour of Show No Mercy in particular, with it’s hyper speed riffing and mature song writing, you can’t help but feel that the album should be more feted than it is. As a result, this stunning 40th anniversary edition provides the perfect opportunity to reappraise a frequently awe-inspiring debut.
Kicking off with Evil Has No Boundaries, it’s amazing to note just how much of the blueprint for Angel Of Death was already present in the band’s writing, from the frantic riffing to the blood curdling scream that sees the band storming the gates of heaven right from the get go. For sure the production (credited to Slayer and Metal Blade main-man Brian Slagel) is treble heavy (as the era demanded), but it’s also surprisingly tight, with good separation between the guitars and enough bass to ground things, even if that aspect is hardly as thunderous as it would become. The band’s youth is, perhaps, more evident on The Antichrist, which sees Tom’s bark occasionally give way to a shriller yelp, but the scything guitars are satisfyingly brutal, and the solos as deliriously atonal as ever. Another track that does much to lay the ground for what was to follow, Die By The Sword features a stunningly heavy descending riff, and it’s no surprise that this is one of several tracks that would remain heavily weighted in the band’s live shows right to the very end. Essentially summing up the Slayer credo, Fight Till Death is a more straight forward thrasher that, frankly, would slot quite neatly onto Metallica’s debut, and then the first side comes to a ferocious close with the unholy pairing of Metal Storm and Face The Slayer, the former a decent instrumental, the latter a crunchy offering that allows a pinch of Maiden-esque melodicism to creep into proceedings.
Kicking off the album’s second side and fading up from a haze of frenzied riffing, Black Magic still sounds as fresh and ferocious as it did when it first emerged to place a hobnailed boot on the neck of the mainstream metal scene. The band’s love of Judas Priest shines through on Tormentor, the frenetic guitar work and melodic chorus proving to be a tad more derivative of the band’s influences than the other tracks found here – especially when Tom ends the track with a wail that could shatter crystal. In contrast, The Final Command is thrash in excelsis, with Tom once again indulging some histrionic wails that, thankfully, were phased out by the time the band recorded the demonic Hell Awaits. Tom adopts a cleaner singing voice for Crionics, a track with a strong Di’Anno-era Maiden vibe, not least in the harmonised guitar passages, the young band showing some serious chops, before Slayer head back into darker territory with album closer Show No Mercy. A hyper-speed blast of thrash metal, it sees Tom practically tripping over Kerry’s lyrics as the band race to the end and, with that, the album is done.
It’s fascinating to listen to the sonic tug of war in which a young Slayer were engaged. On the one hand, tracks like Black Magic, Die By The Sword and Show No Mercy, saw the band pushing the thrash boundaries, laying the foundation for the sheer sonic assault of Reign In Blood. On the other hand, Slayer were clearly still in thrall to the music of their youth, with tracks like Crionics and Tormentor strongly citing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. The result is an engaging, album where you can practically hear the band wrestle their influences to the ground and bludgeon them into the Slayer mould, with a darker, harder band emerging in its wake.
The rest of course, is history, but what shines through this excellent reissue is the timeless vigour of the album. You can feel not only the band’s raw enthusiasm as they tear into the tracks, but also the awesome self-belief that would lead to a career at the very pinnacle of the thrash mountain. Show No Mercy may not be a flawless debut, but you can hear the band’s future practically being shaped as the album progresses, and it still sounds immense, even 40 years after the fact. More than anything else, it’ll make you realise just how damn much you miss this band and, for that alone, this anniversary package is pretty much essential.
Album: 9/10
Reissue: 10/10
