Slayer's first album, Show No Mercy, is a classic
in every sense of the word. Created in 1983 amidst disco, glam-rock and
big-hair bands, it has the screaming guitar solos and hard-rock chords
that made the metal genre what it is today.
Slayer's vocals have always been pretty clean (compared
to growling that sounds like gravel on a chalkboard, anyway), but the
earlier you go, the cleaner it gets. Nearly every word on this album
can be clearly understood, and with songs like "Die by the Sword," "The
Antichrist," and "Metal Storm," every syllable is of equal importance.
The patterns are pretty simple and the guitars are
a little screechy, but this is a great album. Slayer has some incredible
albums - Diabolus in Musica, Reign in Blood (everybody's favorite),
South of Heaven, Divine Intervention, and many others - but Show
No Mercy is at the root of it all.
