Slayer - the shitty news thread

[_Marcus_]

Better than the real thing. At least nowdays.

[TC]

that rules

[O-dot]

By now I've heard three of the new songs — four if you count the bonus track off the last record that's being redone. I think we're looking at the worst record of the year ... of Slayer's career ... whathaveyou. They missed a prime opportunity to pack it in with their integrity intact after Jeff's death.

[O-dot]

I've listened to the new one a couple times now. I'll be honest, it's not the absolute train wreck we've all been dreading. You can let the whole 41-plus minutes roll by and only intermittently feel the urge to skip ahead. It's a pretty standard post-Lombardo Slayer record -- about even with God Hates Us All or Diabolus, and far below Divine Intervention in quality.

Only one or two tracks are really standing out from the pack - not surprisingly, one is the leftover Hanneman track. His absence (Lombardo's too, of course) is palpable and the album's got a gaping deficit of really memorable hooks, lyrics and textures. Gary Holt contributes a cool solo here and there, but no actual song ideas. It's no mystery why - KK didn't want to get shown up by the new guy on his first recorded outing with Slayer. (This record is so far from being in the same ballpark with last year's Exodus. It ain't even the same fuckin sport.)

[O-dot]

And, uh... guess I'd rate the back catalog thusly:

SNM - B+
HA - B
RIB - A+
SOH - A
SITA - A
DI - A-
DIM - C
GHUA - C-
CI - B
WPB - B+

[O-dot]

Can't accuse me of being a fickle fan; I kept the new one in the car for about a month, giving it many opportunities to grow on me. It does not get any better.

Last week, I dug out Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood, the preceding two records and the last to feature the original lineup. Man, the drop-off in quality since the losses of Hanneman and Lombardo cannot be overstated. I mean, it's easy to reflexively insist "it's not Slayer without Jeff and Dave," but that doesn't mean the sentiment is untrue. You can't replicate that unique chemistry with phoned-in performances by well-paid journeymen.

But even beyond that, you can readily observe the severe decline in Kerry King's songwriting as well. Fun as it is to rag on him for his general dickishness, he has been capable of great songs, albeit not as many as Hanneman. And the basically solid Christ Illusion is still largely a King record padded out with a handful of oddball Hanneman contributions. But on the new one, he's plainly not even trying. Most of Repentless has the same macho shithead operating speed, and his few attempts at atmosphere and shading laughably fall short.

Worst Slayer record. I see no reason a future record would be any better, unless King let Gary Holt write all the songs - which you can bet will not happen.

[O-dot]

And I don't want to to give the impression I'm all that keen on Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood. I mean, they stand far above anything else released by the Big Four in the past decade, and sound like stone-cold classics compared to what was on the way (i.e., Repentless). But they do have their share of clunkers.

[TC]

i think deathmetal.org nailed it - they are writing songs around tom's vocals, which is the weakest link in the band at this point. shouty and monotonous. hence the music.

[O-dot]

The word came down today that this summer's tour will be the last and the band will pack it in.

Of course, Kiss announced a farewell tour 18 years ago. I can't imagine KK is ready to turn off the money spigot ("I've got, like, 75% of the next record already done!").

[O-dot]

no hanneman, no lombardo... RIP slayer.

True statement the past five years.

[TC]

yeah, like the who's final tour, black sabbath's final tour, ozzy's final tour, etc. sure. until king runs out of money and forms slayer AD.

[O-dot]

Wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if KK just hires some guy to shout the words to South of Heaven and keeps Holt and Bostaph on the payroll. It's been no secret for years that Tom's been wanting to quit, which is clearly what all this is about.

[big d note]

We saw them last year and it was still a good show. Holt was really great.

[TC]

a great slayer cover band is still a slayer cover band.

[big d note]

They played that show at the Firstbank arena, which was the biggest venue I've ever seen them in. The pyro and backdrops were pretty cool, even though it was a different vibe from a smaller club.

IMG_20170802_222820.jpg

[TC]

nice.

[O-dot]

If you like Holt, just hang in there until Exodus comes back to town. Then you can watch the man from up close (and maybe even spot him and the rest of the guys post-gig at a pub down the street).

[big d note]

Is Exodus touring right now? I'll have to keep an eye out. I've never seen them live.

Last year we saw The Obsessed at a tiny club in town called the Hi Dive. I hadn't been there before and was looking for a place to park. I spotted Wino walking down the street and I knew we were close to the venue!

[O-dot]

Is Exodus touring right now? I'll have to keep an eye out. I've never seen them live.

If you're in Denver, they're heading your way on March 2 with Municipal Waste. And since Slayer's tour doesn't start until May, that means Gary will be performing, not his fill-in.

Last year we saw The Obsessed at a tiny club in town called the Hi Dive. I hadn't been there before and was looking for a place to park. I spotted Wino walking down the street and I knew we were close to the venue!

That's always fun. Couple years ago, Away from Voivod was standing behind me during the opening band's set in STL. And last spring I was pulling up close to a venue here in town and spotted Ben from Goatwhore sprinting — through the rain — from the rear door of the joint back to the band's van.