The next step will be our first album, to be called "Strappado". It will be recorded in January and will probably be out soon after.
Our newer songs are slightly longer than our older ones and the lyrics are not so "typical" as most "death metal" bands. We still like those lyrics but not for us. We make our new songs about various topics, yet still make them aggressive to fit the music. Our old song "Look Out For the Dogs" is long gone but we use parts of it in "Tyrant of Hell".
Terry Sadler / Slaughter interview, Deathcore #2, 1986
Canadian legends SLAUGHTER completed their classic debut LP, Strappado, on this day in 1986.
Recorded the previous Sunday (only slightly delayed, going by their intentions in the above '86 interview) at Future Sound Studio, Toronto; the band returned a week later to finish mixing and complete the album on the 19th.
We chose Brian Taylor as producer (who had worked with SACRIFICE) basically because he was all that was available as there was no producers into our style of music... It wasn’t difficult to choose the songs to record. We felt like we chose the right ones.
Dave Hewson / Slaughter interview, Voices from the Darkside
We recorded "Strappado" in one 24 hour period and mixed it a week later. It was all done in one or two takes and was basically our "live" show set list. We originally had 20 songs written for it and we picked the best ones. Most were re-recorded versions of songs from "Surrender Or Die", and many were left off because we didn't like the versions. When I look back at that album now I notice that it was almost a concept album, all about different methods of torture. I was reading a book at the time called "The History Of Torture". It really shows!!!
Terry Sadler / Slaughter interview, Voices from the Darkside
It is 13 songs of pure Speed and Doom Metal with Roaring vocals. It's guaranteed to fuckin' castrate all fuckin' straight new wave zombies. The fuckers are: (Side 1) Strappado, The Curse, Disintegrater, Incinerator, Parasites, Tyrant Of Hell, Death Dealer (on tape only--Cult of the Dead), (Side 1) Fuck Of Death, Maim To Please, Tortured Souls, One Foot In The Grave, Nocturnal Hell, Tales Of The Macabre. It will be out in April or May of 986 on DIABOLIC FORCE / FRINGE RECORDS Babes!!
Slaughter interview, Brutal Torure #1, 1986
Artwork was designed by Al Warnock, who also created the cover for SLAUGHTER's 1986 7" Nocturnal Hell and SACRIFICE's debut LP, Torment in Fire, in 1985.
It would take over a year for Fringe Product / Diabolic Force to release Strappado, by which time relations between the band and label had disintegrated.
We were to have the same deal as SACRIFICE until delay after delay caused us to lose our tempers and we constantly harassed Fringe to get the thing out. I remember the day when they had enough of me and told us we just fucked ourselves out of our licensing deal with Roadrunner (for Europe) and Metal Blade in the U.S.
Dave Hewson / Slaughter interview, Voices from the Darkside