SLAYER Hell Awaits LP 1987 thrash heavy metal death Brazil exodus sepultura
  $   74

 


$ 74 Sold For
Jan 16, 2026 Sold Date
Dec 28, 2025 Start Date
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Description

ARTIST: SLAYER
TITLE: HELL AWAITS
LABEL: Young ‎– 320.7004
RECORD GRADING: VG
SLEEVE GRADING: VG
NOTES: Brazilian pressing from 1987. Official. ____
All records ship both domestically (USPS Media Mail) and Internationally (USPS), and will be packed/protected like a pro with experience. 

Released in 1985, Hell Awaits is the haunting, transitional masterpiece that saw Slayer evolve from the leather-and-studs NWOBHM worship of their debut into the most sinister and influential force in extreme metal. While Show No Mercy was a high-speed tribute to Venom and Iron Maiden, Hell Awaits plunged into a much darker, more progressive, and atmospheric abyss. It is arguably the most "evil" sounding record in the band's catalog, characterized by long, winding song structures, frantic tempo shifts, and a pervasive sense of supernatural dread that would help lay the foundation for both the Death Metal and Black Metal genres.

The album is defined by the legendary twin-guitar dissonance of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, whose chaotic, "chromatic" soloing style and serrated riffing became the band’s sonic signature. The title track’s iconic, slow-building intro—featuring the infamous backward-masked "Join us" chant—serves as a mission statement for the record's immersive horror. Beneath the guitars, Dave Lombardo’s drumming reaches a new level of athletic intensity, pioneering the double-bass precision that would define the genre, while Tom Araya’s vocals shifted from high-pitched screams to a more urgent, rhythmic bark that carried the occult-laden lyrics with terrifying conviction.

Thematically, Hell Awaits moved beyond simple rebellion into a vivid, Dante-esque exploration of Satanism, hellish torment, and the macabre. The production, handled by Bill Metoyer, is notoriously murky and reverb-heavy, which paradoxically adds to the album's charm; it sounds like it was recorded in the very depths of the underworld it describes. This "lo-fi" grit provides a stark contrast to the clinical precision of their later work, giving tracks like "At Dawn They Sleep" and "Kill Again" a raw, subterranean power that many fans argue represents the band at their most authentically menacing.

Decades later, the legacy of Hell Awaits remains untouchable. It is the bridge that connected the early speed metal explosion to the technical brutality of the 1990s. While Reign in Blood is often cited as their most perfect "pop" thrash statement due to its brevity, Hell Awaits is the choice of the underground purist—a sprawling, complex, and unapologetically dark journey that proved Slayer were not just faster than their peers, but also far more imaginative in their depiction of sonic darkness.

50 Similar Records

This list focuses on 1980s "Evil" Thrash, First-Wave Black Metal, and Early Death Metal that share the dark atmosphere and technical aggression of Hell Awaits.

  1. Slayer – Show No Mercy

  2. Possessed – Seven Churches

  3. Venom – Black Metal

  4. Mercyful Fate – Don't Break the Oath

  5. Hellhammer – Apocalyptic Raids

  6. Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion

  7. Bathory – The Return......

  8. Kreator – Pleasure to Kill

  9. Sodom – In the Sign of Evil (EP)

  10. Destruction – Infernal Overkill

  11. Dark Angel – Darkness Descends

  12. Sepultura – Morbid Visions

  13. Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness

  14. Death – Scream Bloody Gore

  15. Exodus – Bonded by Blood

  16. Megadeth – Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!

  17. Metallica – Ride the Lightning

  18. Onslaught – The Force

  19. Sacrifice – Torment in Fire

  20. Exumer – Possessed by Fire

  21. Nasty Savage – Nasty Savage

  22. Hallows Eve – Tales of Terror

  23. Whiplash – Power and Pain

  24. Razor – Executioner's Song

  25. Voivod – War and Pain

  26. Vulcano – Bloody Vengeance

  27. Sarcófago – I.N.R.I.

  28. Holocausto – Campo de Extermínio

  29. Mutilator – Immortal Force

  30. Infernäl Mäjesty – None Shall Defy

  31. Vader – The Ultimate Incantation

  32. Necrophobic – The Nocturnal Silence

  33. Dissection – The Somberlain (For the melodic evil vibe)

  34. Mayhem – Deathcrush (EP)

  35. Tormentor (Hun) – Anno Domini

  36. Master – Master [1990]

  37. Repulsion – Horrified

  38. Autopsy – Severed Survival

  39. Pestilence – Malleus Maleficarum

  40. Sadus – Illusions (Chemical Exposure)

  41. Aggression (Can) – The Full Treatment

  42. Blood Feast – Kill for Pleasure

  43. Hobbs' Angel of Death – Hobbs' Angel of Death

  44. Messiah – Hymn to Abramelin

  45. Satan's Host – Metal from Hell

  46. Tormentor (Ger) – End of the World (Demo) (Pre-Kreator)

  47. Slayer (SA) – Prepare to Die (EP)

  48. Minotaur – Power of Metal

  49. Necronomicon – Necronomicon [1986]

  50. Morbid Saint – Spectrum of Death


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