Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the 40th anniversary reissue of SLAYER’s landmark second studio album, Hell Awaits, arriving May 15th, 2026. Fully remastered and restored from the original 1985 production tapes, this definitive edition marks a historic milestone for one of heavy metal’s most influential releases. Preorders are available now at metalblade.com/slayer.
Formed in 1981, SLAYER unleashed a ferocious hybrid of metal and punk that redefined extremity in heavy music. Their commitment to remaining crushing, uncompromising, and defiantly non-mainstream cemented them as one of the most important and enduring bands in metal history.
“It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER,” says guitarist and co-founder Kerry King of Hell Awaits. Recorded with King, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.), and drummer Dave Lombardo, the album marked a leap forward in songwriting, intensity, and musicianship.
A sharp evolution from their 1983 debut Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits expanded SLAYER’s sound with longer, progressive arrangements heavily influenced by Mercyful Fate. “Jeff and I were still trying to figure out who we were as musicians, and we were both infatuated with Mercyful Fate’s Melissa album during the writing process,” King recalls. “That’s why there’s so few songs and most of ’em are pretty long. That’s the only time anything like that ever happened with us.”
Araya’s vocal performance is equally ferocious — rapid-fire, clear, and commanding. “I don’t recall the songs being hard to sing,” he says. “Singing fast and clearly has always been something that I strived for.”
Originally released in April 1985, Hell Awaits arrived during one of thrash metal’s most explosive years, standing tall alongside seminal releases from Megadeth, Exodus, Kreator, Possessed, and more. Four decades later, it remains an essential cornerstone of extreme music.
The 40th anniversary reissue will be available digitally and in three premium physical formats: a deluxe vinyl box set, an ultra-limited “blood-filled” liquid vinyl variant (666 copies worldwide), and a 3xCD earbook. All versions include the complete album plus 18 previously unreleased live tracks from SLAYER’s 1985 show in Bochum, Germany.
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