Repentless, the 12th album from the thrash metal institution Slayer, comes at the most fraught time in the band's career. Founding guitarist and songwriter Jeff Hanneman's passing in 2013 from cirrhosis of the liver looms large; it's impossible to overstate the impact he had on the group. His hardcore influences, and the way these influences warped the group's early NWOBHM style, formed the more extreme wing of thrash that would later inform death and black metal. Hanneman's death is Slayer's greatest concern, but it's far from the only one. Founding drummer Dave Lombardo quit in 2013 allegedly over money concerns, and Paul Bostaph, who played on Slayer's '90s records, returned to replace him. Bostaph is no slouch, but Lombardo is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, whose ferocity set the standard for metal drumming as a whole. The two remaining members, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King, also seem to be somewhat at odds with the future of the band. King's never short of bluster and says Slayer will soldier on; Araya is a little more apprehensive. How much either's letting on is hard to determine, but there's definitely a rift.
There's also a clear waning in popularity. Slayer headlined this year's Mayhem Fest, which was plagued by attendance problems. It was depressing to see a legendary band barely filling amphitheaters and having to downgrade the venue in San Antonio, one of the most solidly metal cities in the States. King was also open with his disdain for the fest's lineup, and his online spats with tour organizer Kevin Lyman kept the metal news site Blabbermouth going this summer. And Repentless is not Slayer's first album to be released on September 11—God Hates Us All came out the day of the attacks. In the case of God, it was an unfortunate but morbidly appropriate coincidence; with Repentless, it seems calculated to appeal to the basest shock values of metalheads. So, yes, it's easy to be cynical about a new Slayer record.
Despite all of this, Repentless is solid—far from a classic, but the best possible outcome. King and Araya may be drawing from the same well as they always have, but no one knows how to make a Slayer song like they do. Three decades on from Hell Awaits, "Delusions of Saviour" shows they still know how to create a lurching intro, minus Satan yelling "WELCOME BACK!" It leans heavy on the wah, but King doesn't overdose on it like Kirk Hammett would. The title track and "Take Control" display steadfast worship to their own speed; the product is quality, and Repentless does benefit from focusing on that speed Hanneman fostered. But "When the Stillness Comes" recalls "Spill the Blood" from South of Heaven and "Dead Skin Mask" from Seasons in the Abyss, two of Slayer's slower classics. Araya works within his vocal limitations to complement King's rhythms to honor Slayer's slower side without straining or parodying himself. Sticking close to the Slayer playbook was probably the most sensical move—King and Araya have every chance to overindulge or lose the plot but don't. Most songs on Repentless will remind you of a specific track from Slayer's past, and there's enough diversity within their own style.
Losing two key members will irreversibly change dynamics, and Repentless isn't immune. Exodus' Gary Holt, Slayer's live guitarist since 2011, contributes solos, but King played almost all of the guitar here. There isn't the chaotic back-and-forth that Hanneman and King wrestled with in their prime. In fact, the solos are oddly conservative by Slayer standards. They fit, but Hanneman's loose touch is noticeably missing. King is essentially playing off himself—he can't be the more metallic foil to Hanneman's punk ear. Granted, he does wrangle a convincing homage to Hanneman's punkiness in "Atrocity Vendor". It's oddly a more fitting tribute than "Piano Wire", which Hanneman had a hand in writing. "You Against You" is another punky track that could have been slipped in Undisputed Attitude, and that it comes right after "Wire" and "Atrocity" suggests that Slayer made a little Hanneman suite in his honor.
Bostaph is a dependable presence, which is both a compliment and a slight. "Vices" and "Take Control" could have benefitted a little bit from Lombardo's intensity on the double bass. Still, he came into probably the toughest assignment of his career and knocked it out. Bostaph's return also brought back some of the more groove metal tendencies that Slayer adopted in the '90s, most evident in "Implode". "Implode" worked as a one-off single before it was known it was goning to be on the album, but it doesn't mesh with Repentless as a whole. It even brings down the second half of the record, which doesn't have a "Stillness" to compensate. For a band that made a genre-defining album that doesn't break 30 minutes (Reign in Blood), Slayer have lost a bit of their editing touch.
Will they continue after this record? If they do, and they're likely to milk at the very least a couple tours, Repentless doesn't spell their end. If they hang it up, at least they didn't end their career on an embarrassing note. Slayer, even with their recent turmoil, have had good fortune compared to their other peers in the Big Four. Their decline is more gradual, the kind that merely comes with age; they never fell off like Metallica and Megadeth did. They've managed to produce one good record without two irreplaceable members; even so, Repentless doesn't quite answer if they've still got it for the long haul.
