Haunting the Chapel

Day 18. I remember there was a record store close to Indian School and 51st. It was by that old Palo Verde library. A buddy of mine  and I went there with the goal of buying more Slayer records. We obtained two of them: South of Heaven and Haunting the Chapel. We where both kind of just staring at the speakers in awe at how fast, heavy, evil, and awesome it was. Best five bucks I ever spent.
My favorite of the two, and my favorite of Slayer, is Haunting the Chapel. It's only three songs, but those are the best damned songs Slayer ever wrote. Reign in Blood works better as a whole. It's hard to listen to "Necrophobic" just by itself without the rest of the album. Each song on this EP stands strong when isolated from the rest of the album. They're raw, heavy, and unapologetically evil. Sure, the lyrics are just raw Satanic lunacy. But the riffs and the production values create this atmosphere of pure diabolical murder. I'm still impressed at how vicious the main driving riff the the title track is.

I think this EP also captured Slayer at their most progressive. The songs are extended by numerous riffs dispersed throughout songs with multiple parts. There's actual musical depth and complexity here that rivals anything Metallica or Megadeth put out.
For 1984, this was the heaviest thing out there. I think this year marks a turning point in thrash metal (and metal in general), where both the music and lyrical themes became darker and heavier. It's also a move away from British metal bands by introducing hardcore punk elements to give the music a more menacing sound.
When I first hear Slayer, I seriously believed they where actual Satanists. I thought they where out to desecrate churches and defile graveyards. Hell, I was expecting them to sacrifice virgins and butcher children. Later, I would learn that they're just larping. Their lead singer, Tom Araya, is a hardcore Catholic.
BUY OR DIE! Even if you're a Catholic.


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