Show No Mercy is the debut album by American
thrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression. Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. Thrash metal lyrics often deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory...
band
SlayerSlayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981. The band was founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame as one of the leaders of the American thrash metal movement with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, which has been called...
, released in December 1983 through
Metal Blade RecordsMetal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. It has offices in the USA, Germany, and Japan. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music Entertainment/RED Distribution. It was distributed by Warner Bros...
.
Brian SlagelBrian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
signed the band to Metal Blade after watching the band perform the song "Phantom of the Opera" by
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band are directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris...
. The band was forced to self-finance their debut album, combining the savings of vocalist
Tom ArayaTom Araya is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer....
, who was employed as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from guitarist
Kerry KingKerry Ray King is an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of American thrash metal band Slayer.-Biography:...
's father.
Touring extensively promoting the album, the band brought close friends and family members along the trip, who helped backstage with lighting and sound.
Show No Mercy is the debut album by American
thrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression. Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. Thrash metal lyrics often deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory...
band
SlayerSlayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981. The band was founded by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame as one of the leaders of the American thrash metal movement with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, which has been called...
, released in December 1983 through
Metal Blade RecordsMetal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. It has offices in the USA, Germany, and Japan. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music Entertainment/RED Distribution. It was distributed by Warner Bros...
.
Brian SlagelBrian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
signed the band to Metal Blade after watching the band perform the song "Phantom of the Opera" by
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band are directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris...
. The band was forced to self-finance their debut album, combining the savings of vocalist
Tom ArayaTom Araya is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer....
, who was employed as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from guitarist
Kerry KingKerry Ray King is an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of American thrash metal band Slayer.-Biography:...
's father.
Touring extensively promoting the album, the band brought close friends and family members along the trip, who helped backstage with lighting and sound. Although criticized for poor
productionIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
quality, it became Metal Blade Records highest selling release, also producing the songs "Die by the Sword", "The Antichrist" and "Black Magic", which are played at Slayer's live shows regularly.
Recording
Slayer was the opening act for
Bitch at the Woodstock Club in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
, performing eight songs—six being
coversIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
. While performing the song "Phantom of the Opera" by
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band are directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris...
, the band was spotted by
Brian SlagelBrian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
, a former music journalist who had recently founded
Metal Blade RecordsMetal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. It has offices in the USA, Germany, and Japan. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music Entertainment/RED Distribution. It was distributed by Warner Bros...
. Slagel met with the band backstage and asked if they would like to be featured on the label's upcoming
Metal Massacre III compilationA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter...
, the band agreed.
The band's appearance on the compilation created underground buzz, which led to Slagel signing the band with Metal Blade Records. Recorded in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
,
Show No Mercy was financed by vocalist
Tom ArayaTom Araya is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer....
, who used his earnings as a respiratory therapist, and money borrowed from guitarist
Kerry KingKerry Ray King is an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of American thrash metal band Slayer.-Biography:...
's father. Vocalist Araya asserts
VenomVenom are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.Considered a seminal influence for thrash and coming to prominence towards the end of the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal', Venom have found little mainstream success or critical acclaim, but are widely regarded...
,
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
,
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band are directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris...
, and
Mercyful FateMercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band cited among the influences in the black metal, thrash metal, power metal, and progressive metal genres.-Career:...
were a big influence on the record—as guitarist King was into the
SatanicSatanism comprises a number of related beliefs and social phenomena. They share the feature of symbolism, veneration or admiration of Satan . Satan first appeared in the Hebrew Bible and was an Angel who challenged the religious faith of humans. In the Book of Job he is called "the Satan" and...
image.
Gene HoglanEugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
, of
Dark AngelDark Angel was an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Their over-the-top style earned them the nickname "the L.A. Caffeine Machine" and the motto "too fast, my ass"...
fame, provided
backing vocalsA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on the song "Evil Has No Boundaries"; "back at the time it was Jeff
[HannemanJeffery John "Jeff" Hanneman is a guitarist and a founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, and his fascination with warfare is attributed to his upbringing...
] 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 there 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 there were like "Fuck we have the time, let's do it" so I was like "Yeah I got to sing on it!" so..." On recording the drums, Slagel wanted drummer
Dave LombardoDave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
to play without using
cymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s due to the amount of noise they made, as he was unsure if he could siphon the noise out, which he eventually did.
The band used
SatanicSatanic has multiple meanings:*To do with The Devil, or Satan*Related to Satanism*Satanic , a 2006 film*Operation Satanic, when the DGSE bombed the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour...
themes in both lyrics, and live performances to gain notice among the metal community. The back cover featured 'side 666' and inverted crosses, with Hanneman playing his guitar. Due to the imagery and lyrical content Slagel received mail from the PMRC 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." The album produced the songs "The Antichrist," "Die by the Sword," and "Black Magic", which are played at Slayer's live shows regularly.
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?'" The band knew if they did not tour now, they never would. So they set out taking Araya's Camaro and
U-HaulU-Haul International, Inc. is a North American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen in Ridgefield, Washington, who began it in the garage owned by his wife's family, and expanded through franchising...
. During the first leg of the tour, Slayer had no manager, a t-shirt salesman, Doug Goodman, who eventually became the band's tour manager—Goodman now manages acts such as
Green DayGreen Day is an American rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tré Cool for the majority of its existence....
and
BeckBeck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck...
.
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
MinotaurIn Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Ovid, "part man and part bull." He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete...
with the sword on the album's cover. Araya's younger brother Johnny Araya—who was thirteen or fourteen was a roadie who set up the back line and sound. Hoglan was also a roadie, but was fired after the second show, due to the lack of knowledge of what to do. The band hardly made enough money to sustain themselves, only buying the "essentials" such as food, gas, and beer. Araya asserts: "We basically used whatever money we got to get from point A to point B. When we got back, Brian was like, 'So, where’s the money?' And we were like, 'What money?' At that time, we didn’t realize that you had to ask for money up front. I think he got a lot of money sent directly to him, and we were supposed to pick up the rest."
The band performed in a hotel in
WinnipegWinnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, in south central Canada, near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers...
, where the basement was the club. Araya comments "We stayed there for like four or five days, I think. We saw
Verbal AbuseVerbal Abuse is the second release from the Lodi punk band The Undead. Recorded in February 1983, in guitarist/vocalist Bobby Steele's bed room, 2000 copies were released on Post Mortem Records, and five test pressings were made to Bobby. A song called Lies was also recorded during this session,...
play there. Then we played a place in Boston called the Lizard Lounge. In fact, a car had run into the front of the building, and it was all boarded up, but we still played there." When one of the guitarists broke a string Araya would hand them the bass, Hanneman stating "We’d argue about it, too—like, 'I wanna play bass for a while!'"
Reception
The band did not have enough time to sell any records while touring, but the album became
Metal Blade RecordsMetal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. It has offices in the USA, Germany, and Japan. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music Entertainment/RED Distribution. It was distributed by Warner Bros...
' highest selling release. Five thousand copies was the label's average—
Show No Mercy went on to sell over 15,500 to 20,000 copies in the United States, and 15,000 overseas as Metal Blade had worldwide rights. The success of the album led to Slagel wanting the band to release a new record and an
EPAn extended play is a vinyl record, CD, or music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. Usually, a CD single has around 10–28 minutes of music, an EP has up to 36 minutes, and an album generally has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20–30...
.
The album was noted for its poor production. Jeremy Ulrey of Allmusic reviewed the album years after its release and pointed out it was "amateurish compared to later releases" such as
Reign in BloodReign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on October 7, 1986, the album was the band's first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve...
, which Araya states marked the band's evolution lyrically and musically. Araya also acknowledged the poor production of the album; "for the time and place, those records are amazing. Nowadays, production-wise, it's so under par. But for what it was at the time, those are amazing records to me. I guess we could go in and redo it. But why ruin it?"
Track listing
Bonus tracks (1987 re-issue)
The 1987 reissue also features songs from the
Haunting the ChapelHaunting the Chapel is an EP released by the thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP...
EP.
Bonus tracks (1994 re-release)
Bonus track (vinyl only)
Personnel
- Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer....
- bass, vocals
- Jeff Hanneman
Jeffery John "Jeff" Hanneman is a guitarist and a founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, and his fascination with warfare is attributed to his upbringing...
- guitar
- Kerry King
Kerry Ray King is an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of American thrash metal band Slayer.-Biography:...
- guitar
- Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
- drums