Show No Mercy
Show No Mercy | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 3, 1983 | |||
Recorded | November 1983 | |||
Studio | Track Record Studios, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Thrash metal, speed metal[1] | |||
Length | 35:02 | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | Slayer, Brian Slagel | |||
Slayer chronology | ||||
|
Show No Mercy is the debut
Although the album was criticized for its poor production quality, it became Metal Blade's highest-selling release,[2] producing the songs "The Antichrist", "Die by the Sword" and "Black Magic", which were played at Slayer's live shows regularly.[3]
Recording
Slayer was the opening act for
Lombardo said in 2015 that he was not pleased with how the drums were recorded. The engineer at the time had difficulties getting the right mix between the toms and the cymbals because they were too loud. The solution was to dampen the cymbals with towels and record the toms and cymbals separately. As such, Lombardo called Show No Mercy his least favorite Slayer album, although he emphasized that the songs were great, just not his performance.[8]
Gene Hoglan, later known as the drummer for bands like Dark Angel and Death, provided backing vocals on the song "Evil Has No Boundaries".[9] "Back at the time it was Jeff [Hanneman] and Kerry doing the 'Evil!' You know, it didn't sound too heavy and I mentioned to like Tom or Jeff or somebody like, 'You know you guys should consider...maybe consider doing like big gang vocals on that, make it sound evil like demons and stuff,' and they were like 'Good idea.' But how about now, we got about eight dudes sitting around in the studio, and now everybody jumped up and yelled 'EVIL!!!' So I was like 'Cool' because I'm like, 'I wanna sing on this record somehow, that's how I can do it,' totally unplanned you know?! Sure enough they were like, 'Fuck we have the time, let's do it.' So I was like 'Yeah, I got to sing on it!'"[10] On recording the drums, Slagel wanted drummer Dave Lombardo to play without using cymbals due to the amount of noise they made, as he was unsure if he could siphon the noise out, which he eventually did.[11]
The band used Satanic themes in both lyrics and live performances to gain notice among the metal community.[12] The back cover featured 'side 666' and inverted crosses, with Hanneman playing his guitar.[12] Due to the imagery and lyrical content, Slayer received mail from the Parents Music Resource Center telling the band to stop releasing records. Araya comments, "Back then you had that PMRC, who literally took everything to heart. When in actuality you're trying to create an image. You're trying to scare people on purpose."[12] The album produced the songs "The Antichrist", "Die by the Sword", and "Black Magic", which were played at Slayer's live shows regularly.[13]
Touring
The band went on their first tour of the United States after the album's release—Slagel gave the band a list of addresses and contact numbers of the venues. Araya was still working at the hospital, and called the members saying, "Today's the day. Are we gonna do this?"
Kevin Reed, a friend of the band, set up the drums and lighting when touring with the band. Reed's father, Lawrence R. Reed, drew the
The band performed in a hotel in
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[14] |
Kerrang! | unfavorable[15] |
Metal Forces | 9/10[16] |
Rock Hard | 9/10[17] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5[19] |
Although the band did not have enough time to sell any records while touring,[5] the album became Metal Blade Records' highest selling release.[2] Five thousand copies was the label's average. Show No Mercy went on to sell between 15,500 and 20,000 copies in the United States; it also went on to sell more than 15,000 overseas, as Metal Blade had worldwide rights.[2] The success of the album led to Slagel wanting the band to release a new record and an extended play.[2]
Show No Mercy was met with polarized opinions and reviews mostly leaning on the negative side when it was issued, but in some recent reviews it came to be considered a classic album. In 1984, Dave Dickson of
Canadian journalist
System of a Down's Daron Malakian has praised Show No Mercy as an influential album that helped shape him as a person and artist. He claimed he introduced Heavy Metal to the people of Iraq with this album when he lived there at age 14.[22]
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Evil Has No Boundaries" | King | 3:09 | |
2. | "The Antichrist" | Hanneman |
| 2:49 |
3. | "Die by the Sword" | Hanneman | Hanneman | 3:36 |
4. | "Fight till Death" | Hanneman | Hanneman | 3:37 |
5. | "Metal Storm / Face the Slayer" | King |
| 4:53 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "Black Magic" | King |
| 4:03 |
7. | "Tormentor" | Hanneman | Hanneman | 3:45 |
8. | "The Final Command" | King |
| 2:32 |
9. | "Crionics" |
|
| 3:29 |
10. | "Show No Mercy" | King | King | 3:06 |
Total length: | 35:02 |
The 1987 re-issue also features songs from the Haunting the Chapel EP.[5]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Chemical Warfare" |
| 6:01 |
12. | "Captor of Sin" |
| 3:27 |
13. | "Haunting the Chapel" |
| 3:57 |
Total length: | 48:27 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Aggressive Perfector" |
| 3:31 |
12. | "Chemical Warfare" |
| 6:01 |
Total length: | 44:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Aggressive Perfector" |
| 3:31 |
Total length: | 38:33 |
Personnel
- Slayer
- Tom Araya – bass, vocals
- Kerry King – guitars
- Jeff Hanneman – guitars
- Dave Lombardo – drums
- Additional Performer
- Gene Hoglan - backing vocals on "Evil Has No Boundaries"
- Production
- Brian Slagel – executive production
- Bill Metoyer – engineering, mixing
Charts
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 44 |
26 |
References
- ^ "40 Years Ago - Slayer Release Their Debut Album 'Show No Mercy'". Loudwire. December 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g German, Eric. "Interview with Brian Slagel". Metalupdate.com. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ^ "Live chat with Tom Araya of Slayer". ESPguitars.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "An exclusive oral history of Slayer". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ "Slayer's King: 'It's Essential to Emulate Your Heroes to Help You Find What You Need to Become'". Blabbermouth.net. November 8, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
- ^ Gargano, Paul (January 25, 2007). "LiveDaily Interview: Tom Araya of Slayer". Livedaily. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- ^ Coffman, Tim (January 15, 2023). "Dave Lombardo Regrets His Performance On Slayer's Show No Mercy". The Pit. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Saulnier, Jason (June 8, 2008). "Gene Hoglan Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ Ramadier, Laurent. "Dark Angel". Voicesfromthedarkside.com. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
- ^ Bromley, Adrian. "Staying focused through the years". Jam.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c La Briola, John (July 22, 2004). "Westword interview with Tom Araya". Westword.com. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ^ ISBN 978-1894959315.
- ^ a b Dickson, Dave (February 23, 1984). "Slayer 'Show No Mercy'". Kerrang!. No. 62. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 8.
- ^ a b Doe, Bernard (1984). "Slayer – Show No Mercy". Metal Forces. No. 3. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ^ a b Stratmann, Holger (1983). "Slayer – Show No Mercy". Rock Hard (in German). No. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone slayer album guide.
- ^ a b Campbell, Hernan M. (April 25, 2012). "Slayer – Show No Mercy (staff reviews)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1849383868.
- ^ "Tribute to Jeff Hanneman (1964–2013)". metalcrypt.com. June 8, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ Revolver (December 3, 2021). "System of a Down's Daron Malakian: Why I Love Slayer's 'Show No Mercy'". Revolver. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.