Slayer
Show No Mercy

THE REVIEW

The album I'm about to review was released way back in 1983 and it is the first unforgettable album by the legendary Slayer... "Show No Mercy"!

The record was composed by the classic Slayer lineup, namely Tom Araya on bass and vocals (his famous falsetto screams are very frequent... note "Evil Has No Boundaries" and "Tormentor") the two guitars, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and on drums the great Dave Lombardo who was not yet using his famous double bass pedal.
In terms of importance, it can be considered on par with Metallica's "Kill 'Em All," released almost at the same time, as it helped define the characteristics of thrash metal.

The album opens with "Evil Has No Boundaries" followed by the magnificent "The Antichrist" and "Die By The Sword" and "Fight Til Death" (note the themes dealt with in the songs... very trivial... style death blood etc). The fifth track is the superb "Metal Storm/Face The Slayer" which, compared to later songs like "Angel Of Death" or "Hell Awaits" does not seem to have been written by the same group, as it is so filled with NWOBHM influences. Then comes "Black Magic" still performed in concerts today and opened by an intro in fading. The next three songs ("Tormentor", "Final Command" and "Crionics") are not bad at all, but they can't compare to the previous ones and the title track (opened by a drum solo by Lombardo) that closes the album.

The only negative factor, in my opinion, is the guitar solos, very trivial like the lyrics... pure Slayer style, after all... In short, an album really not bad at all... but don't expect the violence and mayhem of Reign In Blood.

P.S. This is my first review... don't kill me!!