For those of you who enjoy your music heavy with a variation of heavier, gird your loins for the latest release from one of the biggest bands in the thrash metal business, Slayer.
Rarely does a record live up to the hype, but Repentless truly does. You know those movies where the trailer shows all ninety seconds of the good bits? Then you turn up to the cinema anticipating a rollicking good time only to be left feeling deflated, cheated and saddened by the fact you’ll never get back that hour and a half of your life? Well, if you are a fan of this one of ‘the big four’ you’ll be so stoked by the new album that your head will spin off its axis.
Tom Araya (vocals bass), Kerry King (guitars), Gary Holt (guitars) and Paul Bostaph (drums) have cemented their positions as kings of the genre with twelve tracks of pure genius. Araya’s vocals are characteristically straight up with no frills and immediately identifiable. The brilliance of this album lies in the instrumentation and lyrics, which have all been honed by thirty-four years of Slayer.
Repentless is a brutal, angry and dark work of art, painted into the grooves of a vinyl disc. Even the most uninitiated pair of ears will hear complex layers of sound, played at a speed that would ignite guitar strings and send sparks flying off skins. It’s difficult to pick a favourite track, with each offering up something grand.
‘Cast the First Stone’ is probably the darkest sounding song, with riffs that may stand as classic. ‘Chasing Death’ holds something of the German power metal feel, while the instrumental ‘Delusions of Saviour’ has a middle-eastern flavour. For those who are more inclined to punk there’s the metal length punk-sounding title track; which, by this point, convinces the listener that one taste of this album isn’t enough. The experience of hearing something so varied leads us to the realization that there’s no way all its aspects can be heard on one, cursory spin.
I shit you not, this studio album (the band’s 11th), could be its best. Certainly it’s an apt tribute to Jeff Hanneman and proof that Slayer and the old school bands will always rule.