Slayer's second full length release from 1985, from the late great speed metal kings comes one of the best speed metal, heavy metal, black metal and some would say death metal albums of all time, seriously under-rated and overlooked, this was Slayer while they were still in their prime; fast, blasphemous, and god-like.

Backed up by one of my favorite Lombardo performances on drums, Araya's vocals hadn't changed much from the two previous studio releases before this one (one full length; one e.p.), his performance on the title track is one of the best in his career and in the metal scene collectively, seemingly racing with the guitars and drums and they break musical speed limits.

The title track -Hell Awaits- is a metal classic, one of the longer Slayer songs with a demonic intro and one of the most memorable guitar performances of the album (and the many that followed it); -Kill Again-, the serial killer anthem with some of the most extreme and blasphemous lyrics of the time; -At Dawn They Sleep-, the anti-romantic vampire tale; -Necrophiliac- a song of forbidden love and desire (ha); and -Crypts Of Eternity's- chorus that implants itself into your brain and refuses to leave until days after (not a bad thing) are part of this seven track opus, an essential Slayer album and a classic heavy metal release.

"I have seen the darken depths of Hell, Sorcery Beyond the witches spell, Robbed the crypts of death eternity, Killed the priest and cursed him endlessly.." ~Crypts Of Eternity

© 2000 alasdor