The Metal Crypt - Feature: 40 Years of Speed, Aggression & Violence

40 Years of Speed, Aggression & Violence - Tribute to Haunting the Chapel by Slayer

From Los Angeles, California, USA, came in 1981 this young and hungry 4-piece band known as Slayer that played a mix of thrash and heavy metal, influenced by bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Soon, however, they adopted an aggressive and evil-sounding thrash metal that caught Metal Blade's attention and earned them a chance to be a part of Metal Blade's Metal Massacre III compilation, on which they contributed the song "Aggressive Perfector." That obviously meant a lot to these wild and restless California thrashers and in no time the band was in the studio to record their debut album, Show No Mercy, which was released on December 3, 1983.

After their highly successful debut album, the band locked themselves into Track Record Studios in North Hollywood, California, to record three new songs and the result was the mind-blowing Haunting the Chapel EP, released on Metal Blade in June 1984. It was a crucial steppingstone for the band and their genre-defining thrash metal sound.

We wanted to get some musicians' thoughts on this legendary EP and what it has meant to them personally, how the EP has stood the test of time, etc.

Can you remember when you heard the Haunting the Chapel EP for the very first time and what your initial reaction was?

Belathauzer (FILII NIGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM): I first listened to the Haunting the Chapel songs on live bootlegs in 1987-88. Some years later, a friend of mine, quite older than me and absolutely a non-metal guy, went to the USA and asked if I wanted something, so I asked him to bring me some Slayer albums. He brought me the Haunting the Chapel tape. He told me that the record store guy just looked at him and said, "Oh, man.... but is this for YOU?" So my friend felt like if he was sinning or breaking some law. Anyway, completely mind-blowing, especially the opening solo on "Captor of Sin." I was already a long time Slayer diehard fan, from Show No Mercy to South of Heaven.

Markus Makkonen (SADISTIK FOREST): My first encounter with this classic was as bonus tracks on some other album, which I cannot recall right now. If I had to throw an educated guess, I would say it would be Anthrax, Cannibal Corpse, Testament, or Megadeth, one of the usual suspects of the time. Anyway, back in those days when you asked someone to copy an album for you, it was usual to fill the empty space at the end of the tape with something. This was the fate of Haunting the Chapel in my case. The real reason for me to fully dive into this particular recording would be Live Intrusion VHS tape, which featured "Captor of Sin" and "Chemical Warfare" in it. Both were simply stunning in that raw live form. After watching Live Intrusion countless times, it was clear that the Haunting the Chapel EP needed some extra spins, too.

Musically, it is the birth of modern Slayer, at least as far as I am concerned. It was the recording that saw the band take some steps away from the early Venom worship of their career, in favor of the direction that is SLAYER to the whole metal world today.

Ricard (PROSCRITO): Ave, Luxi! Wow, that's quite a trip down memory lane, my friend. I was most certainly used to the Def Jam era, but discovering the Metal Blade years later on became a second way to face the Slayer just when I thought everything was said and done. Don't get me wrong, Reign in Blood is still the most intense and probably the most perfect metal record ever recorded, no contest, but it wasn't always a matter of unfiltered aggression. South of Heaven, for instance, is more like bitterness, bile, and contained hatred. But now we're dealing with a different story altogether, the crypt keeper brand of metal that fuels nightmares instead of street brawls and bloody fistfights, "into forests Satanists chant," as Slaughter would've had it. Discovering a more traditional, classic heavy metal-oriented Slayer made me appreciate them as a different, also perfect beast. That's why Show No Mercy got played non-stop here as a kid, and so did Hell Awaits (who can forget their initial reaction to playing the title track for the first time?) As for Haunting the Chapel, I'm almost 100% sure I was already accustomed to live versions of "Captor of Sin" and "Chemical Warfare," so the impact might have been of a lesser magnitude, albeit not lukewarm in any way. Fast forward to the early 2020s and here I am, naming it as my most played Slayer release these days. A perfect blend between the traditional, murky feel of the debut and the permeating darkness and diabolism of their sophomore lesson.

Alex Kafer (THE TROOPS OF DOOM): I discovered Haunting the Chapel the same year it was released, thanks to a buddy who brought it back from a trip to the United States. The EP had a significant impression on me since I found the tracks to be faster and more forceful than Show No Mercy. 'Chemical Warfare" remains one of my favorite Slayer tracks to this day.

Michael Chavez (HEMOTOXIN): I was 13 years old and my friend Erik his father Erik Sr. turned us on to a lot of metal and one day he asked me, "You ever heard of Slayer?" From there I went down the rabbit hole, and eventually found a digital copy of the EP and put it on my mp3 player. A lot of the music I'd listened to back then would be consumed while I was walking to and from school. I'll never forget hearing "Chemical Warfare" kick in with that open E riff followed by the rest of the band thrashing like nothing I had ever heard before. It was almost scary what I heard on that EP, especially growing up in a Catholic family I was always taught to be afraid of anything satanic, so hearing lyrics like "Lucifer was supreme" and "The holy cross symbol of life intimidate the lives of Christian born" scared the shit out of me, but as I grew into my teenage years the rebellious aspect of enjoying music like that really appealed to me.

Dee Dee Altar (BUNKER 66): As I have this senseless fixation with full-length albums, I have overlooked this EP for years! OK, I always knew those three songs as they were included as bonus tracks on more than one Slayer release and are total classics, but the point is that I never perceived those three masterpieces as part of a separate entity, that happened when I actually bought the vinyl itself about 15 years ago, the Roadrunner pressing. Back to your question, I don't remember when I heard those songs for the first time. I guess it was in a friend's car and I guess I was instantly worshipping them. I surely remember that "Aggressive Perfector" was among the tracks, and I got a bit disappointed by it because I already knew the faster version which was on a Reign in Blood CD as a bonus track.

Stephan Gebédi (THANATOS): To be honest I wasn't totally blown away by Show No Mercy a year earlier. Of course, I really liked it, and it has grown on me over the years, but in 1983 it was still Venom über alles for me. ;-)

That really changed when I put the Haunting the Chapel EP on my turntable. I literally got goosebumps when I heard those three songs for the first time, and it definitely was a new dimension in extremity back then.

Miku Mertanen (SACRED CRUCIFIX): I think it was back in '85 at a record store in Tampere, Finland. My first reaction after hearing it was, "What the fuck is this...?!" Unfortunately, I did not have any money to buy the Haunting... EP at that time, but I ordered it a few weeks after seeing it at that record store.

Haunting the Chapel really was a different beast: aggressive and angry as hell and very dark at the same time. It felt like instant food for this teenager's ears in question. Holy damn!

Rick Cortez (SADISTIC INTENT): I remember in Los Angeles, we used to have an FM radio station called 94.7 KMET and they had a show called Mighty Metal Shop with DJ Lucifer LaRock (Jim Ladd). I don't think Haunting the Chapel was even out yet, it was brand new, and it was announced in the daytime that at that night's Metal Shop they would play the new Slayer! We were already fans of Show No Mercy and were hoping for more of that intensity that was Slayer, so, of course, we tuned in! Then the moment came, and we finally heard those guitars kick in on "Chemical Warfare." I still remember thinking that it was kind of hard to believe that Slayer was actually on the radio, but anyhow, it sounded great! "Demons Not Ready to Die," the song was heavy as hell!!! BTW, I remember my first time seeing it and holding it in my hands as well, because it was John Araya (Tom Araya's brother) who took it to school! I recall it was during lunch break, and there it was, the brand-new Slayer record with the lyrics on the back and I was like, this is killer!!! John told me that in the middle of the song Tom yells, "fuck it up!" heheh...! My brother and I ended up getting our own vinyl copy and simply said, the whole EP kicks ass!!! Going back to that time, Slayer was the most intense band. I am proud we can actually say that we were there at that time, they were from our hometown, and they're pioneers of extreme (black/death/thrash) metal...

Christopher "Atomic Thrasher" (INSINNERATOR): While I can't remember the very first time I heard Haunting the Chapel, I do remember that I heard Reign in Blood first. So, the groundwork of what I thought to be Slayer's sound was already set. What I do remember is how much I loved Haunting the Chapel the moment I heard it. That's everything I love and want from thrash. I want it to be dark, raw, and nasty. While Reign in Blood is perfect in many ways, Haunting... (along with Hell Awaits) are my personal favorite Slayer releases due to their sound and feeling. The atmosphere is unmatched. The way it starts is perfect. The energy is unbelievable. Haunting the Chapel is the true birth of thrash.

We all should keep in mind the year was 1984 and then something this brutal and wicked saw the light of day. Did you think back then this short but very intense and evil slab just would have been too much to handle in one bite due to all the uncompromising brutality and speed that it holds inside?

Belathauzer (FILII NIGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM): It was certainly a mark in evilness. I don't think the second wave of black metal would have happened like it did without this album, for example. Slayer pushed forward the style Venom created, opening paths for bands like Possessed, Death, or Infernäl Mäjesty, for instance.

Markus Makkonen (SADISTIK FOREST): I was personally tad late to reply to this question authentically, but to me it was less "wicked and evil" than their first two studio albums, but far more precise and brutal.

Ricard (PROSCRITO): You know I have a soft spot for MLPs, as stated in the tribute to 1984 you folks posted some months ago. No room for filler, all killer and granting repeated listens, obsession, devotion, and bloodletting in front of their respective altar. I know most of the lyrics to some of those bona fide classic MLPs front to back, and that's for a reason. Small doses can work best (was that what she said?) I hardly put on some of the lengthier albums that clock around the 50-minute mark or more, and I wouldn't want my Reign in Blood to drag and lose steam and punch. The fact that Haunting the Chapel fills the gap between Slayer's first two albums makes it work like a rotting bridge, a sulphurous appetizer of what's to come. If I want it to be longer, I'll just go for the Dynamo '85 video instead.

Alex Kafer (THE TROOPS OF DOOM): Not just Haunting the Chapel, but also the previous album Show No Mercy, conveyed aggression and defiance through music. Slayer has always been ahead of their time in terms of heavy metal. They developed a powerful music production style that is still used as a reference by many musicians today. The EP may have sounded intimidating to those who were unaware of Slayer's genuine might.

Michael Chavez (HEMOTOXIN): Being that I was born in 1994, it's hard for me to really have any idea what it was like for somebody experiencing this music during its formative years when I was introduced to it 25 years after the music had already been established. I can only assume it probably adversely affected some people's lives and probably got a few kids sent to heavy metal conversion therapy camp. When I asked my father for his perspective on bands like Slayer and their fans back in 1984, he always told me he assumed everyone that was listening to that music was on some sort of hard drugs, so that gives you a good idea of what the general public probably thought at the time.

Dee Dee Altar (BUNKER 66): The incredible thing about Haunting the Chapel is that it came out just one year after Show No Mercy. What the hell happened to these guys in such a short period of time?! Sure, they rehearsed constantly and maniacally. Show No Mercy is probably my favorite Slayer record, but they reached another level with this one. Hell was awaiting indeed!

I can only imagine the impact it had back in 1984, as I was born the year Reign in Blood came out, hehe.

Stephan Gebédi (THANATOS): I was already into tape trading in 1984 so I was aware of the more extreme stuff out there, but I still think that these three songs can be called proto-death metal. The brutality and the sound of that EP was beyond anything any other thrash metal band had released at that point. So yeah, I think "Chemical Warfare," "Captor of Sin" and "Haunting the Chapel" were more or less the blueprint for death metal, together with the infamous Possessed demo and a few other early thrash metal bands that were way more brutal and heavier than the average thrash metal bands. We can argue what was the first real death metal; Seven Churches (1985) or Scream Bloody Gore (1987) but for me, death metal started as a 3-stage rocket evolving from extreme thrash metal to death/thrash metal to actual death metal: 1. Haunting the Chapel EP, 2. Seven Churches, 3. Scream Bloody Gore.

Miku Mertanen (SACRED CRUCIFIX): Not too much. I was actually hungrier for more. Slayer has always been in its own category right from day one. I wouldn't call them thrash metal, but Slayer metal instead, ha! :oD

Rick Cortez (SADISTIC INTENT): In 1984, it was definitely uncompromising and brutal but for us, we wanted more!!! Truth be told, some of the metalheads back then did not like Slayer but we were already hooked by 1983! We wanted more of that brutality!!!

Christopher "Atomic Thrasher" (INSINNERATOR): Like I said previously, Haunting the Chapel is the birth of thrash. Nothing before this sounded or had a true thrash beat like "Chemical Warfare" does. Iron Maiden is pop music. Judas Priest is hard rock. Black Sabbath is like a bad blues band. So, if you were a fan of Maiden, Priest, or Sabbath in 1984, I imagine this EP would be too much for you. You can't mosh to any of those bands. Mercyful Fate, Venom, and Hellhammer? Slow and weak. Wimps cosplaying as tough. Again, you can't mosh to them. This is an entirely different beast.

Even if you liked the other thrash bands with releases before this (Metallica (lame), Anthrax (gross), even Slayer themselves, this had to be a wake-up call. Kill 'Em All, Fistful of Metal, and Show No Mercy are just standard, boring traditional heavy metal. Sure, their tempos might be faster, but none of them have the guts and grit Haunting the Chapel does. Take any one riff from Haunting the Chapel, and it destroys those albums entirely. To be a fan of this in 1984, you had to go into this EP knowing that you wanted this sound.

What kind of lesson did this EP give you as far as making metal music is concerned?

Belathauzer (FILII NIGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM): The main lesson is a diehard commitment towards artistic, blasphemous rebellion and not giving a single fuck about aesthetical or political correctness: satanic metal punks!

Markus Makkonen (SADISTIK FOREST): Well, that is easy. It does no harm to know your instruments while making brutal music! Precision is the key. Oh, and whatever you write, it really should stand the test of the live situation. The music written for Haunting the Chapel was always the highlight of a Slayer show.

Ricard (PROSCRITO): Words are almost as important as music if you want to achieve perfection instead of half-assed mimicry: the images evoked by lines like 'harlots of hell spread your wings as I penetrate your soul" cannot ever be conjured by modern bands which seem to dwell over a secondhand thesaurus and printing their IA generated lyrics. A song can be twisted, dark, and evil without omitting hooks and memorable choruses (and verses) that will echo throughout eternity; now I'm reading lines off the lyric sheet at random while listening to a different album and Slayer's obliterate it without mercy within my mind, that's how ingrained they are in my reptilian brain. The best, more iconic album covers usually keep it simple (band's logo and not much more, and a sword pentagram with dripping blood is unbeatable). If you open up a song with a wicked solo and a demented rhythm session, you cannot go wrong (think Haunting the Chapel's title track and "A Corpse Without a Soul").

Alex Kafer (THE TROOPS OF DOOM): This EP teaches us that you can make fast and brutal music while appealing to the broader public.

Michael Chavez (HEMOTOXIN): This EP as well as the entire Slayer discography taught me how to write proper thrash, going balls to the wall with the structures and how to build up and take the listener on an unforgiving journey through a hellscape of a world crafted by riffs and brutal lyrics. The title track "Haunting the Chapel" I think exemplifies this the best, the way the beginning of the song starts with the snare pounding rhythm on top of double bass building up to the next isolated riff followed by the drums dropping back in and completely reversing the previous rhythm to give Tom Araya that space to flow with the lyrics. It's something I picked up on at an early age and influenced how I approach writing music for Hemotoxin. You can definitely hear it on a track like "Call from the Abyss," in the middle section, and "Playing with Conjuration," taking one rhythm and twisting it into something else that fits the pulse and gives space for the vocals to flow.

Dee Dee Altar (BUNKER 66): That evil has no boundaries, that the China cymbal on "Chemical Warfare" is probably the best-sounding China cymbal ever and that if you really want something you can achieve it, in this case I'm referring to what I wrote in the previous answer. Slayer improved as musicians fast as sharks (hail Accept!), Dave Lombardo in particular, who became a monster in less than one year. It's the same thing that happened to Metallica from their first to their second record, but they went in a more sophisticated direction, Slayer chose hell!

Stephan Gebédi (THANATOS): Lesson 1: That music could be more brutal than I had ever expected. Lesson 2: that Slayer was the best band in the universe in 1984.

Miku Mertanen (SACRED CRUCIFIX): For me, it shows how to deal with anger, hate, and negative feelings in general: show them through your music you create and throw those feelings out through the music. I still handle those thoughts through our music, especially on stage. I throw everything out of me. It can be done. That's the lesson Slayer shown to me.

Rick Cortez (SADISTIC INTENT): I think for us, it was basically breaking the rules of music or what's expected of metal. People back in those days would say stuff like, "Slayer is not playing right, they're too fast," "I can't understand it," etc. - and we didn't care, because to us they were bad ass! I still remember back in 1984, John Araya handing me a Slayer flyer that stated, "The Fastest and Heaviest Metal band in the USA!" That was the inspiration for us to start Sadistic Intent in the very beginning...

Christopher "Atomic Thrasher" (INSINNERATOR): To remember there is no filler. No filler songs, no filler riffs. If there's something I'm going to compose and express myself through, I'm going to give it all the same amount of attention. Whether it's three pieces like Haunting the Chapel or 10, there's no excuse to not give 100% to every piece equally. Because as we can see with this release, sometimes all you need is three songs to make it perfect.

And as always with thrash, keep it intense, fast, and dark.

How well has the Haunting... EP stood the test of time, in your opinion?

Belathauzer (FILII NIGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM): It's as great as it was back when I first heard it. Some records are not put to the test of time, like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath or Venom. After this EP, they even created Hell Awaits, which is probably my favorite thrash-black metal album, and then Reign in Blood. All these records have been milestones in our own band process. HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES!!!

Markus Makkonen (SADISTIK FOREST): Maybe even better than Show No Mercy, or Hell Awaits actually. This might be a heretical opinion, but it is how I see it. Haunting the Chapel is maybe more simplified with its productional values, when compared to the first two studio albums, but that might be the reason for its ability to stand the test of time. Sometimes an EP can capture the band even better than a full album, and this is exactly what Haunting the Chapel EP does for Slayer.

Ricard (PROSCRITO): We, cranky and grumpy bastards, do get older and try to stand the test of time with more or less goodwill and fortune, while classic records don't age at all. My skin turned to leather long ago when Slayer took me down into the fire, so I don't even consider getting bored or tired of their classic records — I think timelessness is the game here.

Alex Kafer (THE TROOPS OF DOOM): The fact that multiple bands, like The Troops of Doom, are still inspired by the riffs and concepts from the Haunting... EP is the most compelling evidence that it has stood the test of time. Haunting the Chapel is classic and everlasting!

Michael Chavez (HEMOTOXIN): It truly is a timeless release, and 31 years later we're still talking about it. Even the most kvlt jaded metalheads enjoy this EP for its undeniable raw power that I know for a fact went on to influence some of the original death metal bands like Possessed and Insanity. Although Slayer went on to establish themselves even further, you can really tell it started with this EP, when you listen to Show No Mercy although it shares the same aggression there were still traces of the band that was emulating Judas Priest and Iron Maiden with songs like "Ice Titan" and "Crionics," still trying to find what their exact sound was and, in my opinion, they found it on Haunting the Chapel.

Dee Dee Altar (BUNKER 66): It created a standard for all the thrash and death metal sickness to come. It's an eternal record, time has no power over it!

Stephan Gebédi (THANATOS): Still the best EP ever, in my opinion, so go figure. ;-)

Miku Mertanen (SACRED CRUCIFIX): Very well, in my opinion. One of the most important releases of all time and it has always found a place very close to my record player for all these years. ;o)

Rick Cortez (SADISTIC INTENT): Although it might not be the fastest or heaviest anymore, it has certainly stood the test of time for us. The songs still hold up well and honestly, with all of the modern metal digital sound these days sounding very cookie cutter, it's like a breath of fresh air to hear that old-school raw analog sound and performances caught in Haunting the Chapel. Looking back, Slayer is in fact the very beginning of death metal. The two bands before them that can have honorable mentions are Venom and Mercyful Fate, but like Fenriz of Darkthrone told me, both of those bands still had rock 'n' roll in their music. With Haunting the Chapel, this was no longer rock 'n' roll, it was pushing the envelope of metal. I know the vocals are not what people think of for death metal these days but again, this was the actual essence, things started to evolve little by little from there. Nowadays people bring up Possessed, but the fact is, everything that they did, Slayer did it first. Even Jeff Becerra told me himself, "if you listen to Seven Churches, I was not growling, I naturally had a raspy voice and was trying to sound like Lemmy of Motörhead." With all the reverb and echo effects that were mixed to the vocals, it sort of added a different element, and that was part of the evolution I mentioned earlier that originally started with Slayer.

Christopher "Atomic Thrasher" (INSINNERATOR): These three pieces genuinely still sound as fresh today as they must have in 1984. I listen to this all the time. "Chemical Warfare," "Captor of Sin," and "Haunting the Chapel." Three perfect songs. Slayer could have stopped right here and would still be kings of thrash. That's how good this release is. It holds nothing back. It's fast, mean, atmospheric, and dark. The album cover is perfect. No frills, no distractions. Slayer and this release truly paved the way for an entire genre that's been going on for 40 years now. It all started with Haunting the Chapel. The birthplace of thrash metal.