# Dave Lombardo's Drum Setup on Slayer's Hell Awaits (1985)

> Dave Lombardo's bridge album between Show No Mercy and Reign in Blood — Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals, and the proto-death metal drumming that shaped extreme metal. Complete gear breakdown of the 1985 setup behind 'Hell Awaits' and 'Crypts of Eternity.'

**Type:** Album Drum Setup
**Drummer(s):** [Dave Lombardo](/llms/drummers/dave-lombardo.md)
**Band / Album:** Slayer — *Hell Awaits* (1985)
**Genre:** Thrash Metal

## Overview

Released in March 1985 on Metal Blade Records, Hell Awaits is the album that closed the gap between Slayer's raw debut and the apex of Reign in Blood. Where Show No Mercy announced thrash metal's arrival with teenage ferocity, and Reign in Blood would perfect it with Rick Rubin's production discipline, Hell Awaits occupies a unique position: the moment Lombardo's drumming crossed from aggressive rock into something genuinely closer to death metal before death metal had a name.

The title track alone justifies the album's place in metal history. Eight and a half minutes of doom-tinged intro dissolving into accelerating thrash, the song demanded Lombardo navigate tempo shifts that no thrash drummer had attempted at this scale. The opening backward-masked Satan chant gives way to a slow, ominous groove — then the guitars accelerate, and Lombardo follows, building toward blast beat velocity with a control that was simply not present on Show No Mercy two years earlier.

The album was produced by Brian Slagel at Music Grinder Studios in Hollywood, California — a step up from the Track Recording Studio budget sessions of Show No Mercy but still operating far below the professional infrastructure Rick Rubin would bring to Reign in Blood. The production is denser than Show No Mercy, with more separation between the drum elements, though still rough-hewn by later standards.

For gear, Lombardo remained pre-endorsement in 1985. The Tama deal that would furnish the Artstar II rig for Reign in Blood had not yet materialized. The cymbals were still Zildjian rather than the Paiste RUDE series. Hell Awaits is the last album where Lombardo performed on an independent setup before the endorsement infrastructure took hold — making it a critical transitional document in his career.

## Gear Breakdown

- **Drums:** Ludwig Ludwig Standard / Club Date (Black Wrap finish)
- **Snare:** Ludwig Ludwig Acrolite, 14" x 5"
- **Cymbals:** Zildjian — Zildjian A Series
- **Hardware / Pedals:** Ludwig Speed King (x2); Ludwig Heavy-Duty Hi-Hat Stand; Ludwig Standard Throne; Vic Firth 5B Wood Tip
- **Heads:** Remo Ambassador Coated (batter)
- **Snare tuning:** High tension for attack; wires tightened for maximum crack

### Pre-Tama, Pre-Endorsement: Lombardo's Ludwig Setup

For Hell Awaits, Dave Lombardo continued with his Ludwig setup — the same pre-endorsement American-made kit he had used on Show No Mercy. In 1985, the Tama Artstar II deal that would define his Reign in Blood sound had not yet materialized, and Lombardo played what he had: a double bass Ludwig configuration that had served him through two years of relentless touring and the debut album sessions.

The Ludwig Standard's poplar/maple shells gave the kit its characteristic bright, somewhat punchy tone — more aggressive in the upper mid-range than the birch Tama would later provide. On Hell Awaits' denser production, that brightness cuts through Brian Slagel's mix in a way that distinguishes individual drum strokes even when Lombardo is driving at his fastest.

The double bass configuration remained unchanged from Show No Mercy: two 22-inch kick drums, 12-inch and 13-inch rack toms, and a 16-inch floor tom. On "Crypts of Eternity" — the album's speed centerpiece — those two Ludwig bass drums deliver blast beat patterns at close to 240 BPM with a consistency that would have been impossible on the raw Show No Mercy sessions.

### The Evolving Crack

The snare on Hell Awaits shows the progression from Show No Mercy's completely raw crack toward the precision that would define Reign in Blood. Lombardo used a Ludwig Acrolite — the same aluminum-shell snare from the debut — but Music Grinder Studios' slightly improved recording environment captured more detail in the drum's response.

The Acrolite's aluminum construction continued to provide the bright, cutting attack Lombardo relied on. At high tension, it delivered a sharp transient that could be heard clearly even at the tempos Hell Awaits demands. On the title track's slower opening sections, the snare has an almost musical ring that disappears into pure attack when the tempo accelerates.

One notable aspect of Lombardo's snare work on Hell Awaits is the increased frequency of ghost notes and cross-stick accents compared to Show No Mercy. His two years of constant touring had refined his vocabulary considerably, and the Acrolite's responsive aluminum head translated those subtler touches more clearly than the budget recording environment of the debut.

### Zildjian A: The Last Pre-Paiste Album

Hell Awaits was recorded before Dave Lombardo secured any cymbal endorsement. His cymbal setup used Zildjian A Series — the same American bronze standard from Show No Mercy, and the last Slayer album before the Paiste endorsement that would define Reign in Blood.

The Zildjian A Series, made from B20 bronze with traditional hand-hammering, produces a warmer, more complex sonic character than the Paiste 2002 and RUDE series that would follow. On Hell Awaits' production, those Zildjian overtones are more audible than on Show No Mercy — the slightly improved recording environment at Music Grinder Studios captured more of the cymbal's natural character.

The China cymbal remained the defining accent voice. The 18" China Boy High above the floor tom appears as an explosive punctuation mark on every Slayer record of this era, and Hell Awaits is no exception.

## Key Facts

- Released March 1985 — the bridge between Show No Mercy (1983) and Reign in Blood (1986)
- Produced by Brian Slagel at Music Grinder Studios, Hollywood — a production step up from Show No Mercy
- Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals — Lombardo's last pre-endorsement album setup
- Title track runs 8.5 minutes — the most ambitious Slayer composition to that point
- Proto-death metal drumming: blast beat DNA developed before Reign in Blood formalized it
- "Crypts of Eternity" sustains ~240 BPM double bass — among the fastest thrash recordings of 1985
- Estimated kit value: $600-900 (1985)
- Estimated snare value: $80-120 (1985)

## Track Highlights

| Track | BPM | Notes |
|-------|-----|-------|
| Hell Awaits | 80–220 | 8.5-min epic; slow doom intro accelerates to full thrash |
| Kill Again | 210 | Relentless single-tempo thrash; hi-hat at sustained speed |
| Crypts of Eternity | 240 | Album speed peak; proto-blast beat patterns |
| At Dawn They Sleep | 195–215 | Dynamic arc; Latin-influenced fill patterns beneath aggression |

## Related Articles

- [Show No Mercy drum setup](/articles/show-no-mercy-drum-setup) — the 1983 origin
- [Reign in Blood drum setup](/articles/reign-in-blood-drum-setup) — the 1986 perfection
- [What's in Dave Lombardo's kit](/articles/whats-in-dave-lombardos-kit) — full career gear profile

**Source:** https://metalforge.io/articles/hell-awaits-drum-setup

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*Last updated: 2026-06-26 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*