Top 10 Best Slayer Albums

You will hate me for this, but this album is perfect... for scaring someone away from metal. This is exactly how metal haters who haven't listened to metal imagine what metal is like. As someone who is generally into thrash, it is passable at points to me, but if I compare it to other extreme thrash (Kreator, Sadus, Destruction, other Slayer albums), it shows how unfinished the 2-3 minute songs feel.

Take Jesus Saves, for example. The first minute and the rest of the song don't fit together at all. It is common to start thrash songs with slow or even acoustic intros, but there is usually a proper transition. If you don't forget that Angel of Death and Raining Blood aren't the only songs on this album, what valid claim do you have that it is better than Hell Awaits?

I am not surprised to find that this is #2 on the list, even though it should be #1. Reign in Blood was a revolutionary record, and for that, it deserves to be remembered. However, the songs are simply not as good as those on Seasons.

Seasons showed the single biggest growth in the history of the band. The songwriting improved from the already great South of Heaven, and the production is perfect.

There are some standout tracks: Seasons in the Abyss, Skeletons of Society, Dead Skin Mask, and War Ensemble. However, what makes this record so special is that there is very little quality difference between the tracks. It is a classic, all killer no filler record - Slayer at their very best.

My introduction to the band. I was immediately hooked after hearing it when it was released. It has the most intense, natural yet aggressive sounding drums I have ever heard. For reference, I'm also a huge death metal fan. The songs are superb. There is actually some singing rather than just screaming going on.

This is definitely the best Slayer album! No fillers, only killers. Come on! South of Heaven, Silent Scream, Live Undead, Mandatory Suicide, Ghosts of War, Behind the Crooked Cross. You don't find so many classics anywhere else!

For a while, I thought Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss were the best Slayer could ever achieve, and the best they had ever done in their whole career because they're simply legendary thrash metal albums. But then I gave Hell Awaits a listen. It didn't quite get me at first, but after a few listens, I was hooked.

There is something about this album. Something I can't quite put my finger on. It just has a real dark and gloomy feel to it. Don't get me wrong, Slayer albums are pretty dark as thrash albums go, but this one just pushes it further. We must all admit about Reign in Blood, as good as it is, it is not versatile. With Hell Awaits, this is not the case. All the songs are quite different, and some of them are longer than the average Slayer song. Plus, I think At Dawn They Sleep is a killer song and is hands down Slayer's most underrated song.

This album noticeably suffers from poor production. Tom seems to be louder than everyone else, and the guitars sound a little fuzzy a lot of the time. But I think this helps! It adds to that hellish and dark sound, which I think makes this album so great. For that, I vote this the best Slayer album and the most underrated.

This is pure metal. This is Judas Priest turned Satanists on amphetamine. It's their purest statement of intent. And it's just a really fun album!

Black Magic, Antichrist, Tormentor, Evil Has No Boundaries, Final Command... awesome. Great guitar riffs. I love Araya's voice. Show No Mercy is such a raw, old-school thrash album. Definitely my favorite, better than Reign in Blood in my opinion.

Their best album along with Reign in Blood. It is so heavy and has amazing songs: Tormentor, The Antichrist, Crionics, Metal Storm/Face the Slayer, and Black Magic.

I think the songwriting and the production are the best of all their albums. The vocals are a little louder in the mix, which makes the lyrics more intelligible. Paul's drums sound amazing, and his playing is as good as anything Dave ever did.

These are the heaviest and most raw albums that Slayer has to offer. These two should be higher than Reign in Blood and Hell Awaits.

I still need to listen to World Painted Blood and Repentless, but next to Reign in Blood, this might be my favorite Slayer album.

Very underrated and much better than the previous GHUA. If I had one complaint, it would be that they could have toned down the Satanism a little bit. I prefer Slayer to sing about happier subjects such as war, death, sodomy, necrophilia, and general corruption.

Seriously underrated! Dave Lombardo returns to the band after a number of years. The one and only Slayer original lineup, on the same level as their best efforts: Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss.

Their best since Seasons in the Abyss. My favorite off this album is "Supremist." One of their greatest and most underrated Slayer albums ever! The riff near the end of the song is sublime. A true godly masterpiece.

Great album, good mix in terms of recording. Not as thrash-oriented as Hell Awaits. However, it is a very heavy album, dark and doomy. It puts some of the new so-called "Nu generation" to shame. Guess that's why these guys are the godfathers of thrash. RIP Jeff Hanneman.

Slayer is my all-time favorite metal band, and I love most songs and most albums. I really tried to love this album, but to me, it lacked feel, groove, and catchiness. It seemed rushed and uninspired, and the songwriting was subpar for them.

This is one of the best Slayer albums. It replaces Hell Awaits in their top 5 albums, which are their first 5. "World Painted Blood," "Snuff," "Beauty Through Order," "Hate Worldwide," "Human Strain," "Psychopathy Red," "Not of This God." Absolutely godly riffs!

A very underrated album. Very raw with rough production. Lots of consistently good songs - no fillers. Paul Bostaph takes over Dave Lombardo's position for drumming and does a great job.

Very underrated album. With songs like Killing Fields and Divine Intervention, it should easily be top 5. It's the album that got me into Slayer, so I might be a bit biased.

Maybe the most underrated rock album of all time. It should be right after Reign in Blood on the list, but in tenth place. Killing Fields, Divine Intervention, SS-3, Sex. Murder. Art...

Even though it's an EP, this is still one of the best. HTC is the #2 album, right under Hell Awaits and right above Show No Mercy.

For once, Slayer learns how to write music without relying purely on speed and aggression. The band takes their best shots at incorporating more melody and different riffing styles into their sound. The band consequently sounds incredibly invigorated, and their new approach is very refreshing.

Refreshingly heavy and slower, Slayer established a new yet short-lived sound on Diabolus in Musica. Regardless, it remains one of their best albums.

This album is insultingly underrated and very heavy. Slayer chose to try two genres: Nu-Metal and Groove Metal. It somewhat worked for them.

Such an underrated album. Should be #4 after Hell Awaits, Haunting the Chapel, and Show No Mercy. Reign in Blood is #5.

My personal favorite. Nothing like metal legends covering punk legends.