Haunting the Chapel

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Haunting The Chapel
Haunting The Chapel cover
EP by Slayer
Released 1984
Recorded 1984
Genre Thrash metal
Length 16:55
Label Metal Blade Records
Enigma Records
Producer(s) Brian Slagel
Professional reviews
Slayer chronology
Show No Mercy
(1983)		 Haunting the Chapel
(1984)		 Live Undead
(1984)


Haunting The Chapel is an EP released by the thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP. Recorded in Hollywood the recording process proved difficult when recording drums in a studio without carpet, although it caused Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo to meet Gene Hoglan, who influenced his drumming style and speed.[1]

Although originally featuring three songs, the record evidences a marked evolution from the style of their previous album, Show No Mercy, and is considered the first demonstration of the band's "classic" style displayed on later albums and a "stepping stone".[2] The songs "Captor of Sin" and "Chemical Warfare" are regularly featured on the band's live set list.

Contents

[edit] Recording

Slayer's previous album Show No Mercy had sold over 40,000 copies worldwide and the band were performing the songs "Chemical Warfare" and "Captor of Sin" live, which made producer Brian Slagel want to release an EP.[3] The album was recorded in Hollywood with sound engineer Bill Metoyer, in a studio with no carpet which was a problem while recording the drums. Slagel was acting as executive producer.[1] Metoyer is Christian and the lyrics from Show No Mercy did not bother him.[1] However, the first words Araya sang when recording Haunting the Chapel were "The holy cross, symbol of lies, intimidates the lives of Christian born." Metoyer thought he would go to Hell for his part in recording the lyrics.[1]

Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo set his drum kit on the concrete and the kit went "all over the place" while playing. Lombardo asked Gene Hoglan to hold his kit together, while recording "Chemical Warfare", with Hoglan thinking "I hope he does this in one or two takes, because this is rough."[1] Hoglan was coaching Lombardo how to use double-bass drums to improve his drumming ability and speed, Lombardo asserts Hoglan was "an amazing double-bass player even back then."[1] Eddy Schreyer provided audio mastering and digital remastering, with the covert art design created by Vince Gutierrez.[4] Haunting the Chapel was darker and more thrash orientated than Show No Mercy, and laid the groundwork for the direction in the band's sound.[5]

[edit] Touring

Hoglan worked as a roadie for the band after their lighting guy did not show up one night, and performed Lombardo's soundchecks.[1] Slayer and Hoglan would play Dark Angel songs during soundchecks, which is how Hoglan eventually joined Dark Angel. Hoglan approached Dark Angel guitarist Jim Durkin: "He came up to me one day and started giving me his criticisms of the band. He said we needed to be more evil. And then he goes, 'By the way, I’m a better drummer than the guy you have in Dark Angel right now.'"[1]

Hoglan was fired as he thought a roadie only did lighting, while vocalist Tom Araya's brother Johnny Araya would do all roadie duties, such as moving equipment, working with sound and lights, and setting up the stage.[1] The band performed a show in Seattle in front of a crowd of 1500, the largest show they performed at the time, supporting Metal Church, and in Texas played with a band also called Slayer in San Antonio.[1] However it was the San Antonio Slayer's goodbye show.[1]

[edit] Reception

Although the EP did not enter any charts, Ed Rivadavia of All Music Guide awarded the EP three out of five stars. Rivadavia said Haunting the Chapel was a "stepping stone" that "offers important clues about this transition period, which saw Slayer's rock-based song structures give way to the non-linear, genre-defining style thereafter regarded as thrash metal's signature sound."[2] The tracks "Chemical Warfare" and "Captor of Sin" are played at Slayer's live shows regularly.[2]

Vocalist Karl Willetts of the death metal band Bolt Thrower asserts the record was an inspiration to the band: "When Slayer's Haunting the Chapel came out I had never heard anything like that before with that style of guitar playing. We were punks and heavy metal was alien to our upbringing. And other bands we heard like Venom, Slaughter and Metallica. So we took the elements of musicianship from metal and the aggression of punk and poured it all together."[6] Chuck Schuldiner of the band Death said the record was "life changing at the time" asserting "That was some of the early stuff that gave me that push."[7]

The black metal band Perverseraph covered "Chemical Warfare" on a tribute CD to Slayer titled Gateway to Hell, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Slayer.[8] Thrash metal band Equinox also made an appearing on the album covering "Haunting the Chapel".[8] Melodic death metal band At the Gates released "Captor of Sin" on a re-issue of their album Slaughter of the Soul. Originally released in 1995, the 2002 re-issue added "Captor of Sin" as one of five bonus track.[9]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Chemical Warfare" (Hanneman/King) – 6:01
  2. "Captor of Sin" (Hanneman/King) – 3:27
  3. "Haunting the Chapel" (Hanneman/King) – 3:57
  4. "Aggressive Perfector" (Hanneman/King) – 3:31 (bonus on the re-issue; originally featured on the Metal Massacre Vol.3 compilation)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k An exclusive oral history of Slayer. Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on April 1, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Ed. Haunting the Chapel. All Music Guide. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
  3. ^ German, Eric. INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN SLAGEL. Metalupdate.com. Retrieved on April 1, 2007.
  4. ^ Haunting the Chapel credits. All Music Guide. Retrieved on April 3, 2007.
  5. ^ About Slayer. Slayer.net. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
  6. ^ Page, Kevin (2007-02-11). Karl Willetts of Bolt Thrower. Metalreview.com. Retrieved on April 3, 2007.
  7. ^ Gulbey, Dennis. An exclusive interview with Chuck Schuldiner. emptywords.org. Retrieved on April 3, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Gateway to Hell, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Slayer. All Music Guide. Retrieved on April 7, 2007.
  9. ^ Slaughter of the Soul [2002 Expanded]. All Music Guide. Retrieved on April 7, 2007.
Slayer
Tom Araya | Jeff Hanneman | Kerry King | Dave Lombardo

Tony Scaglione | Paul Bostaph | Jon Dette
Discography
Albums and extended plays: Show No Mercy | Haunting the Chapel | Hell Awaits | Reign in Blood | South of Heaven | Seasons in the Abyss | Divine Intervention | Undisputed Attitude | Diabolus in Musica | God Hates Us All | Eternal Pyre | Christ Illusion
Live albums: Live Undead | Decade of Aggression
Compilations: Soundtrack to the Apocalypse
Videos and DVDs
Live Intrusion | War at the Warfield | Still Reigning
Songs
"Angel of Death" | "Raining Blood" | "Eyes of the Insane" | "Jihad"
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