Review by Rick Eaglestone for MPM
Forty years since Slayer dropped one of the most important records in the history of heavy metal, and Metal Blade Records have absolutely done it justice with this 40th anniversary edition of Hell Awaits.
Whether you go for the 3-LP Box Set, the 3-CD Earbook, the insane “Blood” Filled Liquid Vinyl, or the digital release, there is something here for every level of Slayer devotee.
Let’s start with the album itself because that’s where everything begins. Kerry King has said it himself: “It’s the record where Slayer became Slayer.” Hard to argue with that. Hell Awaits, released originally on April 8th, 1985, was a huge leap forward from the debut Show No Mercy — this was a band finding its identity, expanding its reach, and doing it with absolute conviction. Heavily influenced by Mercyful Fate’s Melissa, King and the late Jeff Hanneman pushed their songwriting into longer, more progressive territory, and it shows across every one of the album’s seven tracks.
The title track is still one of the most unsettling album openers in metal history — that backwards intro crawling out of the speakers before the riff tears everything apart is genuinely disorientating, even now. Kill Again follows with its coiling, relentless energy, and At Dawn They Sleep stretches things out to demonstrate just how much the band had grown compositionally. Side B is equally devastating — Crypts of Eternity in particular is a monster of a track, and Hardening of the Arteries closes things out with grim, focused brutality. Dave Lombardo is absolutely phenomenal throughout — his drumming is controlled, ferocious, and precise in a way that still turns heads today. Tom Araya’s bass and vocals are locked in tight, and the guitar interplay between Hanneman and King is at its most atmospheric and dark anywhere in the Slayer catalogue.
For this anniversary edition, the album has been mastered and restored from the original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony in February 2025. The difference is immediately noticeable — there is a clarity and definition here that brings Lombardo’s drumming and the guitars into sharper focus without stripping away any of the record’s raw, dangerous atmosphere. Bernie Grundman’s original mastering work was already solid for its time; Engel’s restoration simply gives it room to breathe. It still sounds like a record that wants to eat you alive, which is exactly how it should be.
This bonus material is where the anniversary edition genuinely goes to another level. Recorded live in Bochum, Germany on June 18th, 1985 — just a couple of months after the album came out — the Bochum show has sat unreleased for four decades, and what a discovery it is! Eighteen tracks of Slayer at their rawest and most vital, drawing from both Hell Awaits and the Show No Mercy catalogue, plus the brilliant Chemical Warfare. It is an extraordinary document.
From the moment Hell Awaits opens the set, you are right there in that room. The energy is incredible — Araya’s stage presence comes through in every bark and announcement between songs, and Lombardo live is even more impressive than his studio work, possessing a spontaneity and rawness that reminds you just what a special drummer he was at this stage of his career. Chemical Warfare is a particular highlight, absolutely levelling, and the Show No Mercy tracks sound sharper and more aggressive here than they ever did on the debut, as if the band had grown into them further since recording.
The sound quality is genuinely impressive for a club recording of this era. Yes, there is some of the expected ambience that comes with a European venue in 1985, but the instruments are well separated, the vocals are clear throughout, and the overall experience is immersive. This is not merely a completist curio — it stands as a brilliant live record in its own right and is worth the price of admission alone.
There also some reals gems included too the 3LP Boxset hosts an impressiveThe sixty-page hardcover book at 12” size is stunning — packed with photographs from the period by Harald Oimoen, Kevin Estrada and others, alongside J. Bennett’s in-depth liner notes essay Kill Again: The Story of Slayer’s Hell Awaits, featuring interviews with Kerry King, Tom Araya, Brian Slagel, Bill Metoyer and a brilliant supporting cast including Gary Holt, Gene Hoglan, Phil Demmel, Chris Reifert, Jeff Becerra, Michael Amott, and many more. Beyond the records and book, the box also includes a replica ticket from the Bochum show, a replica Hell Awaits tour laminate, a German tour poster, a slipmat, band posters, a replica merch flyer, a replica Satanic Wehrmacht newsletter, and two additional flyers. It is a proper time capsule.
It has to be said — anniversary reissues can sometimes feel like labels cashing in on legacy for the sake of it. This is absolutely not that. This is Metal Blade recognising what Hell Awaits means to heavy metal history and putting the resources, care, and effort in to honour it properly. The restored audio is excellent, the live material from Bochum is a genuine revelation, and the physical packaging — particularly the box set — is outstanding. J. Bennett’s liner notes essay is a proper piece of music journalism, and the sheer range of contributors interviewed gives it a depth and authority that elevates the whole package.
Hell Awaits at forty is every bit as savage, atmospheric and essential as it was in 1985. This anniversary edition makes sure the world does not forget that. Essential
Hell Awaits (40th Anniversary Edition Track listing:
Hell Awaits
Kill Again
At Dawn They Sleep
Praise of Death
Necrophiliac
Crypts of Eternity
Hardening of the Arteries
Hell Awaits (Live from Bochum 1985)
Aggressive Perfector (Live from Bochum 1985)
Captor of Sin (Live from Bochum 1985)
The Final Command (Live from Bochum 1985)
Kill Again (Live from Bochum 1985)
Crypts of Eternity (Live from Bochum 1985)
Fight Till Death (Live from Bochum 1985)
Necrophiliac (Live from Bochum 1985)
Haunting the Chapel (Live from Bochum 1985)
Hardening of the Arteries (Live from Bochum 1985)
Black Magic (Live from Bochum 1985)
Die by the Sword (Live from Bochum 1985)
The Antichrist (Live from Bochum 1985)
At Dawn They Sleep (Live from Bochum 1985)
Show No Mercy (Live from Bochum 1985)
Evil Has No Boundaries (Live from Bochum 1985)
Chemical Warfare (Live from Bochum 1985)
Praise of Death (Live from Bochum 1985)
Line-up:
Tom Araya: vocals, bass
Kerry King: guitars
Jeff Hanneman: guitars
Dave Lombardo: drums
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10/10
