Show No Mercy

Show No Mercy is the debut on which SLAYER hurled high-speed riffs, rough vocals and unrelenting drums. The sound is coarse and raw, but that unrefined momentum becomes the whole work’s ominous appeal. It is a record that pushed the influence of the NWOBHM and Motörhead of the time faster and more evil. Led by “Evil Has No Boundaries,” “The Antichrist,” “Black Magic” and “Die by the Sword,” the songs put dark imagery and aggression forward without hesitation. Songs like “Metal Storm / Face the Slayer” and “The Final Command” breathe early SLAYER’s rough appeal too. The golden-era lineup of Tom Araya, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo was already complete at this point. Recording as-is the dangerous heat leading to their later extreme music, it is one of the origins of thrash metal.