Fortunately, the band is made of harder stuff. Perhaps the most difficult part was not replacing Jeff on guitar. Gary Holt has been in the position now for a number of years, and he has always seemed to fit in perfectly with the band and their music. He may not be Jeff Hanneman, but he is a brilliant player, and the fans have welcomed him as one of their own some time ago. No, the most difficult part was always going to be replacing Jeff as a writer, because it is here that his contribution to Slayer has been so enormous, so pivotal, so ground breaking. Kerry King writes some great songs, but Jeff tends to be the hand that wrote the immortal ones. Perhaps this worried me more than most as well, as the one album where Kerry contributed the most to the writing, Christ Illusion, is still a Slayer album that I have trouble finding the balance. In regards to this album, I don't know whether Gary wanted to contribute to the writing process. I guess I understand Kerry's reluctance to let someone from the outside become a part of the Slayer sound for fear that it is... compromised. That he was able to contribute some guitar solos is at least a frank showing that he is considered a part of the band.
Don't worry. This sounds like Slayer, right from the outset. The instrumental opening "Delusions of Saviour" delivers straight into the aggressive and raucous "Repentless", with Tom Araya immediately at the top of his game vocally. In fact he spends most of the album in that top range and at a pace that it virtually impossible to sing along with him. Paul Bostaph returns to the band he served so well in the past, and flays along in support, while the twin guitars of King and Holt do their service to the music, providing the rhythm through the verses and their string stretching wild ride during their solo pieces. Some of the songs, such as "Repentless" and "Take Control" are obviously written with a mind to remind you of the early days, to assure you that Slayer is still Slayer, even with only half of the original staff still remaining. Later songs such as "Implode" and "You Against You" are also the pick of the tracks. It's also nice to have a song written by Jeff here, even if in reality "Piano Wire" is the least spectacular of the songs on the album.
Like a lot of the bands around of this vintage, what you hear on the album sounds a lot like the band who is playing it, but it is different. In other reviews I've used the word 'matured', but I'm not sure you can use that in regards to Slayer. They have done so well over four decades to remain true to themselves and to continue to produce great songs and great albums, but how long can you continue to produce that kind of aggression and intensity on an album? This is still a good album, but when you travel through the middle of the album, with songs such as "Vices" and "Cast the First Stone" and "When the Stillness Comes" that are good songs but perhaps begin to lack the absolute fury in the music and vocals that comes with the best of their material. It's not a criticism, but a fact. Screaming vocals and rolling double kick drum patterns don't disguise the differences in the songs. They don't hide the subtle changes that, to be fair, have been coming over time. And material from a band like Slayer is much more difficult to paper over those subtleties than from a band like, for instance, Iron Maiden.
Repentless may not be a masterpiece, but it is still a solid latter-day outing for one of the greats of the genre. Enjoyable as it is, it will likely hold your attention in the interim, before becoming a second-choice music selection in the future behind those albums you already know and love.
Rating: No looking back, no regrets, no apologies, what you get is what you see. 3.5/5
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