text: hell awaits hell awaits is the second studio album by 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 include hell and satan , as their debut . the intro of the first track " hell awaits " played backwards reveals the repeated phrase " join us " . musically , the album features the band 's most progressive and diverse work compared to their previous releases , and according to kerry king , he and jeff hanneman were very into mercyful fate at the time , which then led to the longer and more progressive songs . defined as " influential to future extreme metal acts , " the most popular songs from hell awaits were re - recorded by various underground metal bands and have appeared on several tribute albums . recording slayer 's previous album , show no mercy , became metal blade records ' highest selling release , selling 40 , 000 copies worldwide ; the success inspired producer brian slagel to want another record from the band . slagel hired producer ron fair , who worked for chrysalis records , and had seen the band perform live and enjoyed their performance . on seeing slayer in the studio , fair stated , " wow , these guys are really angry , " as he was inexperienced working with heavy metal musicians . slagel financed the album , in stark contrast to show no mercy , which was financed by singer tom araya , who used his earnings as a respiratory therapist , and a loan from guitarist kerry king 's father . the budget organized by slagel allowed for professional assistance . bernie grundman provided audio mastering , eddy schreyer worked on remastering , and bill metoyer , who worked on the band 's earlier release haunting the chapel , acted as sound engineer . the recording featured audio effects such as the intro to " hell awaits " , a reversed recording of a demonic - sounding voice repeating " join us " , ending with " welcome back " . still , araya later stated the album had poor production quality : " nowadays , production - wise , it 's so under par . but for what it was at the time , those are amazing records to me . i guess we could go in and redo it . but why ruin it ? " drummer dave lombardo , on the other hand , asserts the album was professionally done compared to show no mercy : " i didn 't have to overdub the cymbals , and we had a really good engineer . " lombardo 's favorite song is " at dawn they sleep " , " because it was kind of slow and grungy , but then it had that double - bass part at the end . " while recording the track , neither guitarists king or jeff hanneman who wrote the lyrics were in the studio — only araya and slagel . on reading the lyrics , which featured a misspelled word , araya sang it as it was spelled , although it 's not a real word . the song " hardening of the arteries " on the album ends with the a very similar section that makes up the beginning of the song " hell awaits " and is also one of the only slayer songs to fade out on a continuous riff . touring to promote hell awaits , slayer embarked on the combat tour with venom and exodus . exodus guitarist gary holt commented , " we immediately bonded with the slayer guys . it was two bands of friends playing with one band of heroes , you know ? we were just star - struck . " inside venom 's tour bus ( the first time slayer had been in one ) the band members got drunk with venom , while listening to hell awaits . araya entered the bus " hammered out of his mind , " according to lombardo , saying " i gotta take a piss ! where 's the bathroom in this thing ? " venom singer conrad " cronos " lant responded , saying " right here — right here in my mouth ! " araya took him literally and urinated on his hair . cronos got up and punched him in the face , the two blamed each other all night , and araya continued the tour with a black eye . araya won 't discuss the incident other than saying that he was drunk and it was a very disrespectful thing to do . reception although it did not enter any charts , hell awaits was hailed upon its release as slayer 's most progressive recording , featuring much darker thrash - oriented style , with unusual arrangements such as varying tempos , and dissonant nuances that " paved the way to a wholly distinctive sound all their own , " according to allmusic reviewer eduardo rivadavia . rivadavia awarded the album four out of five stars , calling it an " irresistible force , but one could still make a confident point that hell awaits ' uniquely daunting compositions arguably proved just as influential to future extreme metal acts . " it has sold over 1 , 000 , 000 records worldwide according to brian slagel . in the book legends of rock guitar , hell awaits was defined as " a psychotic exploration into the depths of satanism and physical torture . " the book , a chronology of the great guitarists of rock which includes both kerry king and jeff hanneman , observed the band 's evolution in comparison with their previous album , show no mercy , saying , " the musicianship is improved , as is lead singer tom araya 's voice , making the band sound less like hacks and more like metal fiends . the sludgy riffs , which were pure [ black ] sabbath , are offset by some of king 's and hanneman 's faster solos , giving slayer entrée into the speed metal realm . " influence musicians such as singer phil anselmo and drummer gene hoglan cite hell awaits as an influence . anselmo — known for his work with pantera , down , and ritual — explained in an interview with d. x. ferris , author of the book about the album reign in blood , that " hell awaits just holds the entire thing . every bit of everything to do with heavy music . [ slayer ] are gods , the best band from california , for sure . " norwegian musician frode sivertsen ( also known as " e. n. death " ) , former member of the black metal band gehenna , says the song " hell awaits " and slayer 's music in general has influenced him as a musician , ranking the album in his top five . dimebag darrell of pantera and damageplan picked " at dawn they sleep " among his 12 favorite tunes in the march 1993 issue of guitar world , stating that slayer taught him " how to play with guts and aggression " . defined as " influential to future extreme metal acts , " the most popular songs from hell awaits were re - recorded by various underground metal bands , and have appeared in several tribute albums , such as slatanic slaughter ii and gateway to hell 1 & 2 . the song " hell awaits " has been covered by cradle of filth and incantation , " kill again " by , " praise of death " by sinister , " at dawn they sleep " by six feet under , and " " by sadistic intent , benediction and . track listing ^ † the metal classics version features two additional songs taken from haunting the chapel . the version of show no mercy from the same series ( cd 7 ) includes the remaining two tracks of the ep . personnel performers tom araya – bass , lead vocals jeff hanneman – lead and rhythm guitar kerry king – lead and rhythm guitar , backing vocals dave lombardo – drums production carolyn collins – assistant engineer ron fair – engineer bernie grundman – mastering albert cuellar – artwork brian james – layout design bill metoyer – engineer lowell katz – photography brian slagel – producer slayer – producer