Raw and brutal, and that's a good thing!

What would the world still expect well after the brilliant debut "Show No Mercy" and the EP "Haunting the Chapel"? Are such brilliant songs like "Black Magic", "Die by the Sword", "Antichrist", "Captor of Sin" or "Chemical Warfare" yet to beat ?. Came in 1985, the answer to these questions in the form of the second full length album "Hell Awaits" and proved that SLAYER is increased again and have released a masterpiece of Metal. The disc is initiated by the cult-opener "Hell Awaits", which begins with mysterious voices. "Join us, join us ... welcome back" it says (spelled backwards) and are also SLAYER. The riffing of the title track is just amazing; pulsating, driving, pumping it is driving the song with every passing second, boosting the mood to redeeming break, before heading to the verse and the Los Aggressionspotentioal can be fully deployed. It continues with "Kill Again", a very riff and varied number who dominated mainly by its short while. Very fast and very aggressive, so part's up! Although the chorus reminds sometimes a bit of KREATOR to "Pleasure To Kill" times, but were SLAYER with their song as much earlier turn. Next, follows with "At Dawn They Sleep" another hit on this album. Were the previous two songs more of the faster varieties, they concentrated more here on the mid-tempo. By driving slow Double Bass this piece gets by a very powerful and brutal effect. Very awesome the middle part is turned out with the aggressive riffing and the "Kill" -With-Sing-Partenkirchen. With "Praise of Death" it's finally back to business faster. The construction is initially simple structured much to give presents for the middle part more playful and also on this song Dave Lombardo for the first time his famous double bass unpacks roller. "Necrophiliac" is back from the aggressive type and with 3:44 minutes of the shortest track on "Hell Awaits". Sounds in my opinion, sort of like a combination of "Black Magic", "Live Undead" and "Spirit in Black", with the song myself at times reminiscent of Sodom "Persecution Mania" times (and a little of the cult song "Sodomy & Lust "). With "Crypts of Eternity" SLAYER have created their so far the longest piece. Here clearly dominated the double bass backed by technical riffing. One could even imagine what would we are 2 years later with "Reign in Blood" in this piece. Stops "Hell awaits" with the short-lived "Hardening of the Arteries", which offers the end a reprise of the opener and title song "Hell Awaits". "Hell Awaits" is down considerably rawer and more aggressive than "Show No Mercy". Many probably thought at that time that this was achieved with this, the highest level of speed and hardness, but have probably not yet reckoned with "Reign in Blood"!