Pioneer Metal band Slayer’s second studio album, Hell Awaits, will receive a 40th anniversary edition reissue via Metal Blade Records. Formed in 1981, Slayer brought together the worlds of Metal and Punk, and have continued to do so throughout their career.
Kerry King says about Hell Awaits:
It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER.
A significant departure from their 1983 debut, Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits is a “more developed and intricate execution” of Slayer’s “speed, chops, and aggression.”
Heavily influenced by Mercyful Fate, the longer, more progressive arrangements on Hell Awaits also marked a new era for Slayer and seven tracks even go beyond the six-minute mark.
King says:
Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with Mercyful Fate’s ‘Melissa’ album during the writing process for ‘Hell Awaits.’ That’s why there’s so few songs and most of ’em are pretty long. That’s the only time anything like that ever happened with us.
The reissue arrives May 15th, 2026 in three physical formats, and also digitally.
SLAYER – Hell Awaits (40th Anniversary) Track Listing:
01. Hell Awaits
02. Kill Again
03. At Dawn They Sleep
04. Praise of Death
05. Necrophiliac
06. Crypts of Eternity
07. Hardening of the Arteries
08. Hell Awaits (Live from Bochum 1985)
09. Aggressive Perfector (Live from Bochum 1985)
10. Captor of Sin (Live from Bochum 1985)
11. The Final Command (Live from Bochum 1985)
12. Kill Again (Live from Bochum 1985)
13. Crypts of Eternity (Live from Bochum 1985)
14. Fight Till Death (Live from Bochum 1985)
15. Necrophiliac (Live from Bochum 1985)
16. Haunting the Chapel (Live from Bochum 1985)
17. Hardening of the Arteries (Live from Bochum 1985)
18. Black Magic (Live from Bochum 1985)
19. Die by the Sword (Live from Bochum 1985)
20. The Antichrist (Live from Bochum 1985)
21. At Dawn They Sleep (Live from Bochum 1985)
22. Show No Mercy (Live from Bochum 1985)
23. Evil Has No Boundaries (Live from Bochum 1985)
24. Chemical Warfare (Live from Bochum 1985)
25. Praise of Death (Live from Bochum 1985)
