Prepare to Die

Perhaps one of the more intricate of the forgotten tales of early USPM is this Texas based outfit, who carried the same name as the well known extreme fringe of the Big 4, but whose commonalities are otherwise few and far between. Everybody and anybody was obsessed with evil and the occult circa 1983, driven by a comparable fixation exhibited by the NWOBHM, but S.A. Slayer seems much more keen on simply offering a sped up and very formulaic version of what was on the middle of the road roster of Britain’s metallic export, rather than venturing into the murky world of Venom that was more a staple of the other, more consequential Slayer.

Nevertheless, for a band that largely sounds similar to a host of up and coming speed metal bands in the vein of Exciter, they pull off this style fairly well. Vocalist Steve Cooper, who departed company with the world just a few years ago, is the key attraction and makes his presence known without a hint of subtlety. His voice has that light, high end feel comparable to second Tygers Of Pan Tang vocalist Jon Deverill, but with about twice as many high shrieks and the precision of a seasoned Halford worshiper. The rest of the arrangement is an adequate makeup of early metal riffing and double bass driven mayhem that is largely comparable to the faster elements of Accept’s “Restless And Wild”, but with a more haunting and low-fi production aesthetic in line with the occult-based lyrics.

From the creepy haunted house intro through the duration of the 4 songs that follow, the band is largely one dimensional in their approach and offer very few surprises. At some point in 1985 it is said that these guys played the same venue as Slayer, and even if the thrash pioneers in question had played an entire set of material off of the more NWOBHM influenced “Show No Mercy” and avoided the forward-looking material on “Haunting The Chapel” and “Hell Awaits”, the chasm between both sounds would still be too massive to put into words. Even when compared with the lighter speed metal material of early Anthrax and Overkill, this is pretty tame musically and belongs to different sub-genre, hence the power metal label. Any fans of archaic, early 80s speed metal who aren’t content with the early works of Angel Dust, Grave Digger and Exciter might want to give these guys a look, both for their historical appeal and a good quality sound.

"...rainbows made of fire, thunder rolls, the skies will burn..."

1983 was the year of the Slayers – one that would earn the key to the world, one from the UK that would be swallowed by the planet after an ep on Cavalier Records, and this quintet from San Antonio, Texas. A mild battle would take place between the two American bands for the name during the next year or so, and many zines dramatized the ordeal. Apparently, the two even played together in San Antonio in the winter of ’85. Sonically, Helen Keller could tell the difference.

Nationalities of traditional, power, light thrash, and Euro-sound act in a salad bowl effect in these four tracks, all fighting to be heard and not really melding into one another. Steve Cooper lives in the falsetto realm so many other vocalists share, throwing most distinction to the wind, but admittedly does fit the music well. A tepid intro of howls submerged in a babbling brook dubbed “The Door” kicks off the title cut that exhibits inhibited speed metal that probably couldn’t out-arm wrestle Torch or more lively elements of Anvil, but they give it a go nonetheless. The slower, ho-hum “Final Holocaust” is your basic traditional with glints of British sound. “Unholy Book” zips in and out of swiftness with the chorus and solo trying to enliven a methodical, fixed rhythm. “To Ride the Demon Out” is the most exuberant tune of the four, thick with thudding double bass and lots of Maiden-esque zeal and is the muscular kind of song needed to close any lp with this kind of limited scope.

S.A. Slayer sounded like many bands of the time, so no wonder so many drifted off into space, freezing and forgotten. Which of the Slayers could move mountains is obvious, and unless stating that both are metal, comparing the two is like comparing the garden hoe to the rototiller.

Fun Fact 8jkdls=: There were, in fact, yet two more Slayers, an Arizona hard rock four-piece who released a six-song ep in '82 called Dangerous Appetite on their own Slayer Records as well as a Japanese outfit who were part of a never-heard-of split lp in '85. So put that in yer shoe and run with it.

Everything about this EP rules except for the production. Production is very weak, it has a lot of static, but everything else i pretty good. Bass and guitar come out nice. Vocals sound a lot like Tonny Moore (Riot). There is a lot of static in this album. There is also some switching in the sound quaility when the solo's come in. But everything besides that is damn good.

SA Slayer were at one time just called Slayer. But because of the band Slayer, which most metalheads know of, the band had to put the SA in front of Slayer. This EP starts off interesting, the first track is called The Door, which starts off with the sound of some guy opening a door and some other weird spooky stuff. Then it jumps into the song Prepare to Die. The jump is weird because it starts off loud and gets really soft, so that if you had your speakers turned down low you would have to reach to turn it up.

There is only five tracks, four of them being songs, which is enough metal for a great headbanging show. The guitars have some nice riffs and awsome solo's. The best riff would have to be the main riff to Final Holocaust. The bass guitar is hardly hearable, which is the other negative this EP gets. The solo's aren't like Slayer, but they're not bad at all. The drums have some awsome drum beats. There is a lot of double bass that will surely leave you headbanging. The singing is very medium ranged with a lot of high pitched wails. All the songs are very nicely played, and besides the static, this album is a gem for any heavy metal fan. It also a good album to get to know SA Slayer!!!