Slaughter in the Vatican
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Slaughter in the Vatican
| type = studio
| artist = Exhorder
| cover = Exhorder - Slaughter in the Vatican.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1990
| recorded = December 1989 – August 1990
| venue =
| studio = Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida{{Cite AV media notes |title=Slaughter in the Vatican |others=Exhorder |year=1990 |type=CD booklet |publisher=Roadrunner Records |id=RCD 9363 |location=New York, NY}}
| genre = Thrash metal
| length = 41:27
| label = R/C
| producer = Scott Burns, Exhorder
| prev_title = Get Rude
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = The Law
| next_year = 1992
}}
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev2 = Rock Hard
}}
Slaughter in the Vatican is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Exhorder,{{cite book |last1=Daniels |first1=Neil |title=Reinventing Metal: The True Story of Pantera and the Tragically Short Life of Dimebag Darrell |date=2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers}} released in 1990 by R/C Records. It was reissued by Roadrunner in 2003 in a double-disc package with the band's follow-up album The Law and reissued again in 2008.
The album saw the band compared with Pantera, with AllMusic commenting on its "death metal-style double kick drums, chugging guitar riffs played at both slow and blistering tempos, and, to top it all off, the gruff but very expressive lead vocals of frontman Kyle Thomas".{{cite web|last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/slaughter-in-the-vatican-mw0000083638 |title=Exhorder - Slaughter in the Vatican |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=December 13, 2015}} On May 25, 2018, Slaughter in the Vatican was inducted into the Decibel Hall of Fame.{{cite web|last1=Stewart-Panko|first1=Kevin|title=Exhorder - "Slaughter in the Vatican"|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/05/25/exhorder/|website=Decibel|date=May 25, 2018|accessdate=May 29, 2018}}
Track listing
{{tracklist
| total_length = 41:27
| title1 = Death in Vain
| writer1 = Kyle Thomas, Vinnie LaBella, Chris Nail
| length1 = 5:30
| title2 = Homicide
| writer2 = LaBella, Nail, Jay Ceravolo
| length2 = 3:12
| title3 = Desecrator
| writer3 = Thomas, Ceravolo, LaBella, Nail
| length3 = 6:08
| title4 = Exhorder
| writer4 = Thomas, Ceravolo, LaBella, Nail
| length4 = 5:10
| title5 = The Tragic Period
| writer5 = Thomas, Ceravolo, LaBella, Nail
| length5 = 7:05
| title6 = Legions of Death
| writer6 = Thomas, Ceravolo, LaBella, Nail
| length6 = 4:30
| title7 = Anal Lust
| writer7 = LaBella, Nail
| length7 = 2:34
| title8 = Slaughter in the Vatican
| writer8 = Thomas, LaBella, Nail
| length8 = 7:19
}}
Personnel
- Kyle Thomas – vocals
- Vinnie LaBella – lead guitar, bass
- Jay Ceravolo – rhythm guitar, bass
- Chris Nail – drums
Production
- Arranged by Exhorder
- Produced by Exhorder and Scott Burns
- Recorded and mixed by Scott Burns at Morrisound Recording (Tampa, Florida)
- Mastered by Mike Fuller at Fullersound (Miami, Florida)
- All songs published by Roadrunner Music Publishing
- Photography by Kurt Coste; artwork and illustrations by Kent Mathieu