Hell Awaits - 1985 / SLAYER
Después de unos cuantos meses, aquí está esta nueva crítica (retrocrítica, como llaman ellos a las reseñas de discos que no son novedad) para METAL HAMMER ESPAÑA.
LABEL: METAL BLADE RECORDS / COMBAT
RELEASE DATE: 8th of April, 1985
MEMBERS:
KERRY KING – Guitar
JEFF HANNEMAN – Guitar
DAVE LOMBARDO – Drums
TOM ARAYA – Bass guitar, vocals
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| Slayer's famous logo |
TRACKS:
HELL AWAITS
KILL AGAIN
AT DAWN THEY SLEEP
PRAISE OF DEATH
NECROPHILIAC
CRYPTS OF ETERNITY
HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES
VIDEOS:
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| An early picture of the band. From left to right, King, Lombardo, Hanneman and Araya |
SLAYER are a must listen if you are into extreme metal. I guess we can all agree on that. Despite that assertion, and as far as I am concerned, the endless supply of fresh musical options, and the far from enthusiastic reviews received by what I deem the band's second era (the first one would be a much shorter one, ending after the first serious departure of drummer DAVE LOMBARDO from the band, little after the release of the live album DECADE OF AGGRESSION, in 1991), have prompted me to pay little or no attention to anything released by them from the latest years of the previous century on. But, regardless of what I could think of all those later records, the early years of the californians (Huntington Park) are simply spectacular, and Slayer's first five albums are pretty much cornerstones in all thrash. In fact, I also happen to like a lot the two records which came right after those five and that aforementioned live album. They are DIVINE INTERVENTION (1994) and UNDISPUTED ATTITUDE (an album released in 1996 and comprised mostly of covers of punk bands Slayer looked up to).
HELL AWAITS, from 1985, was the second album in that flawless first string of records and, most likely the least famous one of them all. Slayer had made their debut two years prior with the great SHOW NO MERCY (maybe my favourite debut in all american thrash and a really cherished by the fans album) and, after Hell Awaits, in 1986 it would be turn for what is widely considered their best effort, REIGN IN BLOOD, a raging, out of control beast which made them take the spotlight by storm. After it, SOUTH OF HEAVEN and SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (1988 and 1989, respectively) turned out to be, back in the day, a tad divisive for the fans, for several reasons, but they not only are amazing records, but they also ended up being quite popular among the Slayer fanbase.
So, Hell Awaits was left bookended between an amazing first album and Slayer's ultimate record, which I think detracts a little bit from its overall impact. Mostly among thrash devotees who are not die hard Slayer fans and usually dig Reign In Blood, and perhaps those two albums which were released after it.
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| Tom Araya |
This second opus was recorded and mixed between the ELDORADO RECORDINGS and TRACK RECORD studios, located in Hollywood the former, and in LA the latter, and was produced by the band itself, together with Metal Blade's founer and mainman, BRIAN SLAGEL. Slayer took a quantum leap towards more extreme territory with Hell Awaits because, as much as Show No Mercy was a brutal record from start to finish, it also was, in my opinion, the umpteenth example of JUDAS PRIEST worshipping by a thrash band. Beefed up and faster, no doubt, but also with that familiar feeling of listening to the legends from Birmingham on steroids in songs like DIE BY THE SWORD or CRIONICS, with TOM ARAYA even singing higher than he would soon start to. Hell Awaits is just a different kind of beast. Most of the songs are long for Slayer's usual standards, but that did not prevent the band from creating a more extreme, darker and much more sinister, starting with the wild artwork drawn by the deceased american artist ALBERT CUELLAR, with his very own personal vision of hell. It matches perfectly the album's title. The same applies to a darker production which, according to Araya, is sub par for today's standards but could not fit better the record's message. All songs were written by guitarists KERRY KING and JEFF HANNEMAN, as well as the lyrics, which the singer also contributed to.
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| Slayer, Lucifer's favourite metal band |
Speaking of hell. I am aware of the fact that in the forty plus years that have gone by since the release of Hell Awaits, heavy metal has reached levels of sonic extremism that definitely overcome what Slayer put on display here. But, regardless of the impact that Hell Awaits could have on the scene in 1985 (starting with its title, artwork and songs names), which I guess was huge, I do not think there has ever been a better musical depiction of evil and said hell than the opening, titular track. First, there are those noises and cacophonies to begin with, culminated in an increasingly louder voice which, aparently, says Join us, but backwards. When it ceases, soon after the first minute is gone, another voice says Welcome back and that's when the proper music begins, creating an oppresive and sick atmosphere from the get go. Dave Lombardo joins on drums and it all feels like a macabre parade, as if all those tortured souls depicted on the front cover were heading to that destination. And if those three first minutes of building are the prelude to the ultimate punishment, this arrives right after, thanks to the unrelenting speed King and Hanneman play at, much more in line with that on the next record, rather than the first's. The same can be said about their soloing. Araya's voice when he utters the line the song (and the album) is named after, is sheer, malicious glory. Again, evil turned into music. There's no need explaining what the lyrics are about.
KILL AGAIN wastes no time in going on the offensive with Lombardo's double kicks at full tilt, plus one or two riffs that anticipate the arrival of death metal. I have always thought that the line between eighties thrash and early death metal was, quite often, very thin, and this song could make for a good example. By the time Araya begins singing, the song has already moved on and it never ceases to amaze me how he manages to pronounce every single word in the glorious refrain at the right speed, for it is fast. This is about some criminal's neverending homicidal psychosis, told from the murderer's point of view. The song's name is already too explicit.
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| Dave Lombardo, one of extreme metal's most famous and finest percussionists |
Change of subject with AT DAWN THEY SLEEP, which tells a story, also in the first person, about vampirism and some topics linked to it. Music-wise feels less urgent than Kill Again, with a more restrained beginning and Araya's bass making itself really present. The song grows and speeds up little by little, in a way that you can't help but headbanging like crazy when a little bit concealed bridge and refrain show up (Blood sucking
creatures of the night / Apparition from the pits of hell). Both axemen solos are as perverse as the chosen theme, and the best is yet to come: after a slower and somber section, Slayer pick up the pace until they all reach the moment when Araya screams Kill as if he was possessed, on top of the punishment Lombardo rewards his kit with, and the song enters its frantic final part. As a fun fact, as far as the lyrics are concerned, it needs to be said that they were written by Hanneman and King, but neither was present when Araya taped his vocals parts. On the sheet the lyrics were scribbled there was one word with a typo, or something similar, that the singer could not figure out which word was; given that the guitarists were both absent and those were the days when no one could be reached immediately, Araya chose to record that word as it was spelled. The outcome was that, instead of the word Admonish, another nonexistent one was recorded, that word is not understandable when listening to the song (neither is similar to the word which it was supposed to replace), and the band refused to correct it.
Those first three numbers may be the best known ones on the entire record, but what came next is still on par. PRAISE OF DEATH picks up where Kill Again left it off, but only even faster. A single drum hit by Lombardo is the cue to present this frantic and relentless fest of sonic violence with almost no respite. The drummer himself takes the spotlight with his double bass, right after the first guitar solo (by King), and before a brief moment of truce with Araya's bass. After that, more soloing (by both guitarists) and we are not even halfway through the song. It slows down a little with a mid-paced instrumental section and more lead guitar, and when it seems we've reached the end, it all starts again for a last minute of mayhem. Praise Of Death, loyal to its name and to Slayer's usual inclinations when it comes to write their lyrics, is a full on nihilistic anthem which tells about the inevitability of death, to which one arrives after what is, according to the song, the violent daydream life consists in. Perfect to raise your spirits, right? Be that as it may, this song had to be something worthy to experience in a live setting.
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| RIP Jeff Hanneman; 1964 - 2013 |
NECROPHILIAC is the shortest track on the record, and Slayer could not lose out on the occasion to launch themselves into another unstoppable race such as Praise O Death's, but only with more nuances this time around than in the previous song (despite Praise Of Death being like one minute and a half longer than Necrophiliac). The main riff is as sinister as it is addictive, and there's a bit which reminds me a lot of what in a few years time would be heard in the refrain of the very well known and wonderful AGENT ORANGE, by Germany's SODOM. And there's more, because right before the first solo (King), Slayer give a taste of the famed opening riff in the much better known RAINING BLOOD, which would close the next album. But, once again, the best part is not here yet: when the band finishes off a final, clearly slower section, with the line Down to the fiery pits of
hell (again the same sentence), a very cool gallop begins, and it reminds you of traditional metal, although heavier, only to speed up to leave a very intense last minute, already with Hanneman as the protagonist. The lyrics are some sort of horror movie in which a necrophile vandalizes a grave to... you know, and he ends up bringing the devil's child into the world. Said chil will soon take revenge on him.
From the shortest track, to the lenghtiest one. In fact, if I am correct, CRYPTS OF ETERNITY is Slayer's longest ever. Its almost seven minutes of running time give the band the chance to develop different ideas and create something more complex and progressive. I like some other tracks better (this one is my least favourite one), and I guess it can be said that this band thrives in different scenarios (those in which wild speed is the rule) although, having said this, this song is another victory. Slayer traverse several landscapes (with or without Araya's vocals), but always at a moderate pace, considering what they usually are, until, come the sixth minute, this song gets faster and both guitarists even join forces to double their leads, a la IRON MAIDEN or who knows what, before parting ways with their own solos. This is about witchcraft, dark arts and wickedness, very usual subjects during the band's early days.
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| Kerry King |
Hell Awaits ends with HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES, another short and fast number with no intention of taking any prisoners. As expected in this regard. So much that the track is so frantic as to host two entire verses and a transition when onñy seventy seconds have passed. Said transition leads into the subsequent guitar solos by both axemen. The funny thing is that, after a mere two minutes and ten seconds of chaos, this song, instead of coming to an end, mutates into a second half that ties itself with an instrumental section whic is almost identical to the beginning of Hell Awaits. This section fades out slowly and, aparentñy, this fade out trick is unique in Slayer's career. It seems as if the band wanted to come full circle, letting you know that there is no escape from everything the album entails. Neverending torture. The song's name alludes to arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), but not in the usual, medical sense, but as a metaphor for societ's state (Fear runs wild in the veins of the world).
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| A later, controversial logo; Slayer prompted to claim there was no ideology involved, but only visual, theatrical taunting |
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its release, although one year after it, a new, commemorative edition, was released last May by Metal Blade. Besides a remastered version of the album, it comes with tons of goodies (mostly on the vinyl version). But I think the most appealing item within the package is an entire live show performed by Slayer in 1985 (the 18th of June, if I'm not mistaken), in Bochum, Germany. That show includes all seven songs on hell Awaits, another seven from Show No Mercy, and the intermediate EP, HAUNTING THE CHAPEL, from 1984, in its entirety (including AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR).
Essential to thrash fans and of inestimable value to all exreme metal, both from the days when Hell Awaits hit the shelves, and today's.
Thanks for reading!
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