Search - Slayer :: Show No Mercy

Not thier best effort, but a strong debut anyway

DurangoSlim | 03/21/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
1 star-It sucks

2 stars-Fair

3 stars-Good

4 stars-Great

5 stars-Excellent



In 1983, a new style of Metal was forming. The music was getting faster and heavier and lyrics were getting darker, more nihilistic and glommier. This new music was Thrash Metal and it combined elements of NWOBHM and Hardcore Punk. And a good way to kick start this new scene was Slayer's Show No Mercy. While not as memorable as Kill 'Em All by Metallica, I feel this album should deserve its share of the credit. If you know Slayer by their "Reign In Blood" type stuff, you may be surprised that this album has more in common with their NWOBHM roots than their Thrash/Speed Metal stylistics. The music is pretty good. It has a lot energy and the lyrics remind you of early Venom. The production sucks, but it hey, the songs are good so it doesn't really matter. The only gripe I have about this album, that I really don't care much for the NWOBHM style. Don't get me wrong, I like the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, but I feel that Slayer is still trying to find their sound and is not sure about the direction they want to go. But it's a good album and should be reconized as one of the albums that helped kicked start the Thrash Metal scene."