Repentless… what a stupid name, its not even a word… This album’s main problem lies in its presentation. You take the name, and the cover (which despite its bland colour palette, I love) and you get something which really does not demand anybody’s attention. One would expect a more impressive statement coming from Slayer’s newest album.
The music is really key in the album. The music isRepentless… what a stupid name, its not even a word… This album’s main problem lies in its presentation. You take the name, and the cover (which despite its bland colour palette, I love) and you get something which really does not demand anybody’s attention. One would expect a more impressive statement coming from Slayer’s newest album.
The music is really key in the album. The music is very solid, the riffs, the tones and the solos really remind me of that early Slayer, and the new drummer perfectly mimics unique style of Lombardo before him. The songs however face the issue, of having very little punch to them the first time you hear them. Your first listen through the album will really have you feeling caught up in a cycle of similar lyrics and song-writing across all of the songs. For the first side the only major standouts are the opening instrumental and When The Stillness Comes.
A mini analysis of the songs:
Delusions of Saviour, a short instrumental opens the album, and I really think this works. It really paces the album well and does not immediately reveal what Slayer have in stall for us. Its not as fast or as heavy as some of the other tracks, but adds a lot to the album’s replay value.
When the Great Stillness Comes, is essentially a mini Seasons in the Abyss, with that slow and spooky singing style, and really just goes for an aminous vibe, which for the same reason as the first song really adds the replay value to this album, such a great example of this album’s ability to shift tempos and really create a more rounded listening experience.
Then at the second side the album really picks it up. Essentially the whole side provides competent thrash songs, which could really work on any of Slayer’s older albums.
Firstly we have Piano Wire, which quite literally opens on one of Slayer’s best riffs. The thrashing nature of the riff, is complimented with it somewhat clear tone. It is legitimately catchy. The rest of the song is decent, and the solos on these albums aren’t exactly distinguishable but capture the essence of Kerry’s wah soaked guitar. This song is short and sweet, and is so easy to listen to. Also, during the re-recording of this song the band added even more “pizzaz” according to Kerry, which makes a statement of the song quality.
Then we have the Atrocity Vendor, with one of the best drum intros in the album, which is so hard to pull off. The drum roll and the riff really set up this song well, but then it kind of goes back into the sound of this album. A decent track.
You Against You, the big single off of this album. I must say this is a good track, although I hate the video that came with it, which sort of trivialises the reputation Slayer built in their early years. The solo in parituclar has some of the most extreme guitar effects I’ve ever heard, going into excessive wah and insane shredding. Just a great song to use as the single. For me the actual sniging and writing is mediocre, which is sort of a shame, because it had the potential to be great. They needed a clearer direction for the song, to really get a nice feel for what it was going for.
The ending track, Pride and Prejudice, this song stands out as the best song on the album, for me narrowly tied with Piano Wire, the riff is super solid, but the whole song feels well DEFINED for me. The lyrics had focus, the instrumentals had a feel, and I think it turned out great. Ends the album on a high!
The songs all sound moderately similar on this album, which isn’t too different from their earlier records, which has insane praise. The redundancy of the lyrics and at times the lack of memorability of the guitars lower the experience. But this album was great on the whole. Very easy to listen to, and has so much replay value.
So why was it so poorly received? It was doomed from the start: it was never going to be the next South of Heaven, or Disciple. The mediocre moments in the album don’t kill it for me, but I can see why Slayer really needed to make this stuff a bit more memorable, if they wanted to please the fans. Maybe a few more moments like the breakdown in Reign in Blood, or the scream in Angel of Death, that works so well with their style.
This was not Slayer’s passion project; this was just another addition to their discography. I doubt they went into the studio with very high ambitions, but in the end they did come out with some solid Slayer tracks.
And for the record, this is a lot better than Dystopia and probably what Hardwired will be, I think Slayer have a great mature sound.… Expand
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