Slayer
1984
Haunting the Chapel
Metal Blade Records
I am here to review Haunting the Chapel by Slayer. This CD, while only four songs long, is a great little record, with what I feel is the best Slayer song ever, Chemical Warfare.
History
Slayer had just released their debut album, Show No Mercy. This band, composed of Tom Araya (vocals/bass), Kerry King (guitars), Jeff Hanneman (guitars), and DAve Lombardo (drums), were the fastest and heaviest of the thrash bands yet. In their early days, they all donned huge spikes and nails along with corpse paint and the like. They settled the image down soon after they realized that the fans just wanted to hear the music. After Show No Mercy, Slayer went on their first true tour, during which they made almost no money. They had written a few songs on the road, and decided to release them on an EP to pass the time from the first to the second album. Haunting the Chapel was born.
Song-by-Song
Chemical Warfare
This song blew away everything thrash and metal at the time. In fact, in 1984, this may have been the fastest metal song in existance. The song is about the new age of warfare known to man. It describes the mass death and screwed up tactics involved with chemical warfare, and details 'soldiers defeated by death from a smell'. This song is definately a powerful one, and the solos on it are pretty **** cool as well. The second part of the first solo is one of my favorite Slayer solos ever. Great song.
Captor of Sin
Starting off with a thrashy solo section, this song is another solid thrash song. Mixed differently than Chemical Warfare, it almost feels like it's from a different album. The chorus is extremely powerful and the song itself is very powerful. Good song.
Haunting the Chapel
The title track off of this album is also a great song. The beginning riffs are just pure thrash magick, and the song continues the same. I personally love the solos on this song as well. Every riff here is well worth the time spent learning to play. Great song.
Aggressive Perfector (Bonus Track for ReMastered Version)
This song is the original version of the one available on the remastered Reign in Blood album. About half as fast, it is an interesting one to listen to, especially if you've heard the quicker version. There aren't many differences, although the 'breakdown' riff before the solos is more complicated on this version than on the other, and the solos are different. Great song both ways.
5/5.
