SLAYER - Haunting the Chapel (1984)

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Only a three track e.p., but a landmark in Thrash Metal history and an essential purchase because none of the tracks feature on any 'proper' Slayer album in their original studio versions. The first thing to notice is that the leap in production from 'Show No Mercy' to this is huge, the guitars here are bristling with energy and the tempo's that Slayer where playing at had dramatically increased too. 'Chemical Warfare' remains a live-set staple and in 1984 this really did sound immense. 'Haunting the Chapel' and 'Captor of Sin' can't quite live with 'Chemical Warfare', but otherwise hold there own against any other early Slayer tracks and again both reek of an increased in aggression and quality over the primitive (but much loved) 'Show No Mercy'. Completely and utterly essential for any Thrash fan.  

SLAYER - South of Heaven (1988)

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Possibly the most disappointing album in the history of metal, Slayer knew they couldn't top their 1986 masterpiece, so instead they dropped this lukewarm platter and ran. 3 or 4 really top notch songs hold together an album of filler, frankly, with 'Ghosts of War' and 'Silent Scream' the only songs offering the classic Slayer thrashing their fans really wanted. The title track is a good song, but is overexposed now and worn out. And after the shock and awe of the previous album's stellar production, this one sounds a bit crappy, actually.

SLAYER - Hell Awaits (1985)

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While ultimately eclipsed by 'Reign in Blood' you still can't knock 'Hell Awaits'. Sure the production isn't the best, such a shame the album didn't have the attack of the 'Haunting the Chapel' e.p., but the songs are awesome, particularly the title track, and well pretty much all of them really, the only slightly less than stellar one being the closer 'Hardening of the Arteries' which seems to serve as little more than a pre-cursor to the clever outro. A legendary album and still a brilliant one too.

SLAYER - Reign in Blood (1986)

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This album has been talked about so much over the years, but the sad fact is that someone coming to it today cannot comprehend the jaw-droppingness of this in 1986. Who would have dared imagine that Slayer could step up so far from such an awesome album as Hell Awaits in the space of a single year? Of course the production was the real killer, where Hell Awaits was dingy and dank, Reign in Blood set new standards for Thrash recording and partly because of that, this is still the only album that has ever literally made my jaw drop. A masterpiece which has weighed heavily on the bands shoulders ever since, truth be told.

SLAYER - Show No Mercy (1983)

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After I bought Kill em All in 1983, Thrash was my life, and once I discovered this on import from the US, Slayer was my life too. That didn't last of course, well it did until the massive disappointment of 'South of Heaven', but this at the time was one of those albums that I played again and again and again. Wonderful stuff, and even the obscure tracks are brilliant ('Crionics' for example).