HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Show No Mercy – Slayer

Rewind the clocks to the early years of the 1980s and heavy metal was at its most prominent. NWOBHM had exploded into the mainstream, spear-headed by the likes of IRON MAIDEN and SAXON, and glam ruled the airwaves. But, in a pocket on the West Coast of the United States, something was brewing in the underground. 1983 would prove to be a turning point for heavy metal, as thrash was born and plunged heavy metal in explosive new soundscapes. First, METALLICA would release their blistering debut, Kill ‘Em All, and by year’s end; SLAYER would release their debut effort, Show No Mercy, and heavy music would be changed forever.

Having formed two years prior in Huntington Park, California the band (comprised of Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo and Tom Araya) would begin by covering tunes from heavy metal forefathers IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST and more across numerous parties and clubs. And as the stars aligned, SLAYER were spotted by Metal Blade Records‘ head honcho Brian Slagel, who was so taken aback by their cover of an IRON MAIDEN song, quickly snapped them up to his budding label and the early seeds were sewn for SLAYER to begin crafting their debut.

Despite being snapped up by Metal Blade, Show No Mercy was financed on a shoe-string budget with Araya using his savings and money borrowed from King‘s father to ensure their musical vision could be pressed to tape. Channelling the essence of VENOM, PRIEST, MAIDEN and MERCYFUL FATE with their own Satanic flair, SLAYER hunkered down at Track Record Studios in Los Angeles and rushed the album to release, with it appearing on selves just three weeks after tracks were completed. Although there were issues with the mix, particularly in Lombardo‘s drums, what these four young men didn’t realise at the time was that they were standing on the precipice of changing metal forever.

Upon release in December 1983, Show No Mercy was greeted with polarising reception from the music press. Kerrang! infamously tore the record to shreds, labelling it as “pure unadulterated junk”, whilst Metal Forces declared it to be “one of the heaviest, fastest, most awesome albums of all time!” Despite the polarising reception, and the fact the band did not have any time to sell records whilst touring, Show no Mercy quickly became Metal Blade‘s highest selling release as metal fans become infatuated with the band’s potency for blistering speed with a Satanic edge.

Compared to their contemporaries at the time, namely METALLICA and EXCITER, SLAYER‘s adoration for Satanic imagery set them apart and led to surging notoriety in the metal community. Decades later, the Satanic spin can be seen as purely shock value and designed to push buttons, but back in 1983, Show No Mercy was just one of many records to be targeted by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) who demanded the band to stop releasing records. Today, it can be seen as a clear and laughable overreaction but at the time, there was genuine concern from US conservatives that Show No Mercy was a gateway into Satanism.

Although raw and unpolished, the fervour towards Show No Mercy catapulted SLAYER up the ranks in the heavy metal scene. A subsequent club tour across California to promote their debut resulted in a fresh surge in popularity and sales reached more than 20,000 in the US and another 20,000 worldwide, leading to Brian Slagel desperately wanting the band to release a new full-length and extended EP; 1984’s Haunting The Chapel EP and 1985’s Hell Awaits.

Looking back all these years later, Show No Mercy is often overlooked for what it achieved. And that’s understandable when you look at timeless classics like 1986’s Reign In Blood, 1988’s South Of Heaven and 1990’s Seasons In The Abyss. To be fair, that trilogy of records is world-beating and most bands would aspire to produce such a run of quality metal. Despite what was to follow in the years ahead, Show No Mercy still had its place in the band’s repertoire as their discography grew, with the likes of The Antichrist, Die By The Sword and Black Magic all became staples in SLAYER live shows in the decades that followed. Additionally, the impact Show No Mercy had on the development of extreme music as a whole is enormous, with DARKTHRONE‘s Fenriz citing that Show No Mercy acted as the inspiration for their “current style of fusing NWOBHM with black metal” and Terry Butler [OBITUARY, ex-DEATH] defined the record as “the blueprint for the beginning of death metal”.

With the band spawning another 11 full-length records until disbanding in 2019, looking at what album had the most impact and influence on metal is a point of debate. And whilst the likes of Reign In Blood or South Of Heaven are often the first to spring to mind, Show No Mercy is always worthy of being brought to the debate table as upon its release to the world, another foundation for metal becoming more extreme was explosively laid.

Show No Mercy was originally released on December 3 1993 via Metal Blade Records

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