The project will be available in multiple variations
Slayer’s second album, Hell Awaits, is set to see deluxe reissues in 2026. Metal Blade Records will release the seven-track set on May 15th in three physical formats and digitally. Fans can pick up the collection on 3 CDs, 3 LPs, or as a “blood” filled liquid single gatefold vinyl, featuring audio restored and remastered from the original 1985 production tapes by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony in February 2025.
A previously unreleased bonus concert will also be included across two discs. Live From Bochum 1985 will feature 18 tracks recorded during the Hell Awaits Tour.
The CD Earbook also includes a 60-page 11-inch book and poster.
The 3 LP set, pressed on fire splatter vinyl, includes a 12-inch 60-page booklet, a replica ticket from the Bochum show, a replica Hell Awaits Tour laminate, a Hell Awaits Tour poster with the German dates, a slipmat, band posters, a replica merch flyer, a replica Satanic Wehrmacht newsletter, and two flyers.
The “blood” filled vinyl will see a unique liquid-filled effect, with only 666 units produced for Slayer’s official store.
Hell Awaits marked a pivotal shift in Slayer’s sound towards a darker, more complex, and heavier style compared to their debut, Show No Mercy. The album was released in 1985 and is considered a key album in the development of thrash metal and, specifically, death metal.
Unlike their debut, Show No Mercy, which was funded by the band, Metal Blade Records provided a budget for Hell Awaits. They brought in experienced producers and engineers to give the band a more professional edge.
Hell Awaits is widely considered a crucial precursor to the death metal genre. It took the speed of thrash metal and infused it with darker, more complex structures, longer songs, and much more graphic and Satanic lyrical themes.
Influenced by bands like Mercyful Fate, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman experimented with longer, more progressive songs with multiple tempo changes and intricate, dissonant riffs. This “riff salad” approach became a key characteristic of subsequent extreme metal.
Hell Awaits is often cited by the band (especially King) as the album where “Slayer became Slayer”—cementing their reputation for being the most sinister and aggressive band in the scene.
CD 1: Original Album Remastered
1. Hell Awaits
2. Kill Again
3. At Dawn They Sleep
4. Praise of Death
5. Necrophiliac
6. Crypts of Eternity
7. Hardening of the Arteries
CD 2: Live from Bochum 1985
1. Hell Awaits
2. Aggressive Perfector
3. Captor of Sin
4. The Final Command
5. Kill Again
6. Crypts of Eternity
7. Fight Till Death
8. Necrophiliac
9. Haunting the Chapel
10. Hardening of the Arteries
CD 3: Live from Bochum 1985
1. Black Magic
2. Die by the Sword
3. The Antichrist
4. At Dawn They Sleep
5. Show No Mercy
6. Evil Has No Boundaries
7. Chemical Warfare
8. Praise of Death
