Live Undead - Slayer
Live Undead

Live Undead is the first live album by Slayer. It was released through Metal Blade Records and recorded in New York City in front of a room of people. It has been questioned by both critics and authors that the audience sound may or may not be faked. However, in 1984, WBAB Fingers Metal Shop, a radio station, held a contest to meet and hang out with Slayer during a live recording. The album was recorded at Tiki Recording Studios in Glen Cove, NY in front of around a dozen people. The album was originally intended to be recorded in front of a live audience, but things went wrong. Nevertheless, when asked if they were fake, producer Bill Metoyer said, “I don’t know if I should tell you.” The album begins with an extended introduction of “Black Magic”, followed by a small speech. The remaining tracks include both those of 1983’s Show No Mercy and 1984’s Haunting the Chapel. The EP begins with “Black Magic”, with an extended introduction building alongside the audience’s yelling. The song is performed faster, heavier, and more confident than its original recording in 1983. When the song is over, lead vocalist Tom Araya says, “They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Well I say fuck the pen!”, and the band begins playing “Die by the Sword”. The band then run-through “Captor of Sin”, “The Antichrist”, “Evil Has No Boundaries”, and “Show No Mercy”. “Aggressive Perfector” is dedicated to the Old Bridge Militia, a group of headbangers from Old Bridge, New Jersey. “Aggressive Perfector” is performed with more “power”, as described by author Joel McIver, who described the entire track listing as, “a fearsome set, although the rest of the songs don’t quite have the visceral power of the opening track. In fact, the Live Undead version of "Black Magic” established a career-long trend of Slayer’s live songs being more powerful than the studio versions, with very few exceptions".
Distribution of songs on Live Undead by producer
Songs