Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest-selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP.

Slayer's previous album, Show No Mercy, had sold over 40,000 copies worldwide and the band were performing the songs "Chemical Warfare" and "Captor of Sin" live, which made producer Brian Slagel want to release an EP.

[3] Eddy Schreyer provided audio mastering and digital remastering, with the cover art design created by Vince Gutierrez.

[4] Haunting the Chapel was darker and more thrash-oriented than Show No Mercy, and laid the groundwork for the future direction in the band's sound.

Rivadavia said Haunting the Chapel was a "stepping stone" that "offers important clues about this transition period, which saw Slayer's rock-based song structures give way to the non-linear, genre-defining style thereafter regarded as thrash metal's signature sound.

"[11] Chuck Schuldiner of the band Death said the record was "life changing at the time" asserting, "That was some of the early stuff that gave me that push.

"[12] The black metal band Perverseraph covered "Chemical Warfare" on a tribute CD to Slayer titled Gateway to Hell, Vol.

[13] Melodic death metal band At the Gates released "Captor of Sin" on a 2002 re-issue of their 1995 album Slaughter of the Soul.