Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Slayer - Show No Mercy (1983)

One of the reasons why I enjoy Metallica’s debut album is the level of sheer, unadulterated pleasure that the band sound like they are having in delivering the album. That raw energy perfectly transposes into entertainment value and really captivates my interest some near forty years after it was released. One of the few other debut album releases that matches my experience of Kill ‘Em All is Slayer’s Show No Mercy, both in terms of that raw energy (which I find to be less cutting on SNM in all honesty) but also in how it encapsulates how fun it must be to be in a metal band.

The reason why I say this is because Slayer wear a lot of influences on their sleeve throughout SNM. NWOBHM is a big influence here which should come as no surprise given the year was 1983, however they did not merely copy these influences, verbatim. Instead, they used them as a solid foundation on which to progress the vibrant speed and thrash metal elements that dominated their sound. Whether it is the Maiden or Priest influences that are dashing through on the tracks or the cruder Venom-like moments, they are all being represented on Slayer’s terms.

I can excuse the poor production, in fact it is part of the charm of SNM, but I do find elements of the performances lacking still. Araya’s vocals show all the hallmarks of a conventional 80’s speed metal shriek but they do fall short in some places. He lacks the gruffness of Hetfield and places his inflections in the wrong place on more than one occasion. Equally, again with production aside, Lombardo just appears to go through the motions for most tracks. In terms of ability, it is only the relentless riffing that I find consistent here and it is this, alongside the astute use of influences that keeps the album at a four-star experience.

Although not on a par with Kill ‘Em All in terms of perfection, SNM still stands up as a defining album for The Pit clan since it explores the early niches of extremity that Slayer would come to represent within three years of this release. Whilst flawed in places, none of these are fatal to the success of the album and SNM did a fine job of doing enough to whet the appetite for what was to follow.