Slayer - Hell Awaits (Limited Gatefold Edition Clear Vinyl), NEW

$

33

 Up for a bidding is the 2009 Limited Clear Vinyl Edition of the SLAYER landmark and defining second album HELL AWAITS. The vinyl is new and unplayed and it is house in a transparent poly sleeve with a flap. The original wrapping is still in place on top of the gatefold cover, vinyl was extracted in the most careful way without removing the original cellophane and was placed in the back of the cover, inserted both in the transparent resealable sleeve, to prevent seam splits in the cover during shipping. This is a virgin vinyl which have never been spun at all and it is difficult to find in a sane prince nowadays. This 2009 edition sound beastly. It will ship carefully package for a safe travel to your door with a tracking number emailed to the winner of the auction as soon as the PayPal payment clears. Thanks for looking at my auction and Happy Bidding!!

No other album ever had the same impact of Hell Awaits among the thrash scene back in the old days, these songs have actually inspired distinct subgenres of metal as well throughout the years – still to this day remains as one of the most acclaimed albums in the history of the genre. There’s no need to introduce this band, these tunes either because you must have been living under a rock to have not heard about them or admired the great talent displayed on them. It changed the history of thrash forever, it determined the standards almost each of Slayer’s successors and peers would loyally obey, ever since thousands of bands have been ripping-off these riffs – in the 80’s already there were certainly very few groups you could say they didn’t sound like Araya & co. We’re in 1985, the whole metal scene was evolving, there were other preceding thrash records but it wasn’t until this one came out that thrash was definitely consolidated. Nearly 30 years later, it sounds completely challenging and fresh.

Both title-track and “Kill Again” are a truly epic way to open an album, presenting an orgy of incredibly solid riff series like nobody else ever conceived – some of them still considered the most memorable and devastating in the large discography catalog of the band. The variety of guitar lines is astonishing; modifications are constant, almost hyperactive, designing rich heterogeneous song-structures with undeniable inspiration and skill. Slayer offer an even more technical approach on the immense “At Damn They Sleep”, which incorporates a significantly higher percentage of diverse sequences of alternative cadence and rhythm, more intricate riff progression and advanced instrumental sections, obeying an explicit determination for ambition and versatility. Results are superb, the excellence and harmony between the combo Hanneman-King is simply perfect, introducing rich lines of absolute consistency and complexity, which ain’t got much to do with the dominant minimalism and inevitable vulnerability of most early thrash musicians by 1985. The stunning solos speak for themselves; they ain’t simply a bunch of noise constructed by annoying pedal effects or unconfused senseless shredding – Jeff & Kerry take their composition very seriously, exposing total perfectionism and rigor on their execution as you can check on “Praise Of Death” particularly, which includes the most incendiary of the whole record. Speed is another essential characteristic of Slayer’s philosophy, even though there are a few weightier riffs accompanied by heavier tempos, predominantly uniform on “Crypts Of Eternity”, pushing away the dynamism of the rest for a moment. Araya & co. show however absolute predilection for velocity, straight-forward cuts like “Hardening Of The Arteries” and “Necrophiliac” specially are constructed on an instrumental basis of notable looseness and energy – yet always controlled and serving a purpose with no place for chaos.

Hell Awaits was undoubtedly ahead of its time, the most original record ever released in 1985 when most thrash bands were stuck on technical limitations and primitive formulas. These guys made a big difference with their superior musicianship, the execution of these tiles shows greater precision and talent than anybody else back then, in particular the intense velocity is never uncontrolled or undisciplined – Lombardo performs those dexterous rhythms professionally with amazing detail and virtuosism, while most drummers collapsed on double bass-drum kicks inevitably. Guitar lines of course provide progression and creativity, played immaculately as well and conceived with seemingly never ending fresh ideas, always focused on a specific direction and perspective, never dull or unreasonably developed, proving the efficiency and potential of Slayer as composers. The very high level of complexity was something unique by those days, no other album included such complication and pretention – the configuration of the music reveals constant heterogeneity, never repeating the same line or section unnecessarily. Araya & co. refuse to abuse of the same pattern to reach significant differentiation between structures, avoiding simplistic schemes to make the music evolve and progress. As competent musicians they were, they knew they were capable of making something musically stronger and more difficult than anything displayed on the debut, that motivation eludes the restrictions and limitations set in the early stage of thrash when all attention was put on velocity and roughness only. These guys made compatible ferocity and speed with complexity and progression, putting bigger emphasis on those exquisite extended instrumental passages in contrast with most of their peers, so they proved thrash could be also superior and professional music.

Slayer were from the very beginning ahead of the rest, displaying greater innovation and ideas – with Hell Awaits they definitely became unstoppable and completely influential, the fragility of the early records was gone and they defined their attitude and direction, developing and refining their technique, able to make something bigger. Maybe Slagel & his team’s production and engineering job didn’t provide these compositions the power and presence their nature required, if this record was adequately produced as its successor it could’ve been absolutely spectacular but still, that handicap doesn’t deny the energy and greatness of this legendary stuff. “Join us, join us, welcome back!”.