Hell Awaits is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer, released through Metal Blade Records in 1985. The band's previous release, Show No Mercy, became Metal Blade Records' highest selling release; as a result, producer Brian Slagel desired to release a second Slayer album. To that end, Slagel financed a recording budget (Show No Mercy was paid for by band members) and recruited several experienced producers to help in the studio. Lyrical themes on Hell Awaits are darker than on Show No Mercy, and included hell and Satan. Musically, the album features the band's most progressive Read more on Last.fm.
This is Slayers first landmark, the father of Reign In Blood, It’s seven songs that blitz by in a thundering rush of hellish delight. The now typical chugging punk riffs over some pre-death metal blast beats were unheard of at the time. This is the beginning of metal as it sounds now.