Slayer – Repentless Comic Book Issue 1


If you are a fan of Slayer, and picked up their 2015 album Repentless (Nuclear Blast, then you might be aware of the three music videos/ short films directed by BJ Mcdonnell; ‘Replentless, ‘You Against You’ and ‘Pride in Prejudice’ from the album. Now serialized in a three issue series is coming out monthly from Dark Horse Comics, Slayer- Repentless the comic is written by Jonathan Schnepp (Metalocalypse: Dethklok, Collider on YouTube), drawn by Guiu Villanova (The Twilight Zone, 100 Bullets, Dark Shadows, Weird Detective), lettered by Nate Piekos (Darkhorse Presents, Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Green Arrow, Weird Detective) and colored by Maurico Wallace (Weird Detective, Magnus: Robot Fighter, Turok).Continue reading


Video: Slayer Previews The New “Pride In Prejudice” Video!


Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

The almighty Slayer will soon be releasing their third video from the Repentless album, and they’ve just put a teaser online of what to expect.Continue reading


Slayer to Perform As Part of San Diego Comic-Con


slayer comicon ghostcultmag

Metal legends Slayer will invade the San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC). This will commence on Thursday, July 21 with a live performance at the House of Blues. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 20 at 10:00 PT. Log on to www.Slayer.net for ticket and purchasing information.

Kerry King commented:

“Comic-Con?!? I can’t believe they are gonna let us shred the HOB San Diego!! It will definitely be a night of fury and intensity that the city won’t soon forget. We will be coming off a seven week European run, so Slayer’s guns will be blazing!”

Slayer will also take part in two signings, These signings will take place Friday, July 22, booth #2615, and at the Nuclear Blast Records booth, #501. Slayer devotees will truly enjoy this event. Slayer continues to tour in support of 2015’s Repentless album, released via Nuclear Blast.

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Slayer – Testament – Carcass: Live at Robobank Arena


slayer testament carcass admat 2 ghostcultmag

A little off the beaten path compared to L.A. and San Francisco, Bakersfield resides in in the California suburbs. The town is actually more well known for its legacy of punk rock more than a hotbed of metal, so it was a little surprising to see the major tour of metal legends Slayer, the well—loved thrashers Testament and death metal leaders Carcass planned a tour stop here. No doubt many resident has driven the traffic heavy, palm-tree lined highways of the 101 and I5 for glimpse of these bands in other towns. But tonight all you had to do if you were a fan of classic metal bands of the last 30-plus years, would be to roll downtown and get a ticket to the big show.

Carcass 2016 www.loyalphoto.com meg burcina (22 of 34)

Carcass, by Meg Loyal Photography

Slayer and Testament are regulars on the annual touring circuit, rarely taking time off to record these days. UK bred Carcass is still on the road supporting 2014’s Surgical Steel album (Editor’s Note: The Ghost Cult Album of the Year for 2014), and have been regular visitors to the USA since their return. You never know these days the way this year has gone if the next time you see a band will be your last, so it was good to see a lot heads in the house early. Carcass ripped through a short set of “hits” the fans seemed to lap it up’ Jeff Walker was seated for the show due to a broken foot, but it made little difference to him. The band is talking about having a new album out in 2017, so hopefully we will see Carcass again sooner than later back on our shores.

Testament, by Meg Loyal Photography

Testament, by Meg Loyal Photography

 

Testament, by Meg Loyal Photography

Testament, by Meg Loyal Photography

Testament themselves are well-known road warriors. Bay-Area bred thrash metal titans, the band serves as a great opener to Slayer. You would be hard-pressed to find a fan in the building that didn’t like both the headliner and this band, and maybe some preferred the former. Testament has been busy working on their new album, but we heard no new songs tonight. They played their set with an energy and a hostility of the much younger, hungrier band. They slammed through their songs, ran around the stage, and basically had a great time. Led by hulking front man Chuck Billy, his voice is the only thing bigger on stage than his form. Testament knows how to put on a show worthy of the top spot on any bill, not just this one.

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

 

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

 

Considering that Slayer has toured so much, the crowd here tonight was decidedly pumped up, again owing to the choice of market too. The band as masters at setting the pre-show mood with their mysterious 30-foot tall curtain. When the lights go down the crowd gets pumped as the only soft part of a Slayer show; the intro music and the lights against the curtain, right before the first notes take hold. Once the curtain drops it’s pure madness as the band opened with the title track from their most recent album, Repentless (Nuclear Blast). The band played a good number of tracks from that recent album, but ultimately leaned on older songs. That is what the crowd wants from Slayer: the classics, every time. It’s not really a Slayer show without hearing ‘Mandatory Suicide’, ‘Seasons In The Abyss’, ‘Dead Skin Mask’, ‘South of Heaven’, and ‘Chemical Warfare’, is it?

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

Slayer, by Meg Loyal Photography

The band still get high marks for showmanship, especially Kerry King and Tom Araya. With the three year anniversary of the passing of founding member Jeff Hanneman near, the band pays tribute to him nightly, not just with his music, but with a huge banner draped in hiss honor. Closing of course with ‘Raining Blood’ and ‘Angel of Death’, Slayer continues to be a thrash metal institution. I can’t wait for them to come back!

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Slayer Set list:

Repentless

Postmortem

Die by the Sword

Disciple

God Send Death

War Ensemble

When the Stillness Comes

You Against You

Mandatory Suicide

Hate Worldwide

Chemical Warfare

Pride in Prejudice

Take Control

Seasons in the Abyss

Hell Awaits

Dead Skin Mask

Hallowed Point

South of Heaven

Raining Blood

Black Magic

Angel of Death

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY

 

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Slayer Announces Full US Tour Dates With Testament And Carcass


slayer 2016 winter us tour admat

Slayer has officially announced the first leg of their 2016 US tour with Testament and Carcass. Booked for two weeks of dates across the country, this bill unites three legends of heavy music. Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, 12/5 with the fan club pre-sale taking place today at 12 NOON and the public pre-sale happening tomorrow, 12/4 at 10 AM local time. The band is also offering special VIP packages for this tour with details here. Slayer is supporting their recent album Repentless (Nuclear Blast), while their label-mates Testament and Carcass are prepping new releases for next year.

Slayer North American Tour Dates, with Testament and Carcass:

Feb 19: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL

Feb 22: War Memorial, Nashville, TN

Feb 24: The National, Richmond, VA

Feb 26: House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC

Feb 27: The Ritz, Raleigh, NC

Feb 29: The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC

Mar 02: Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY

Mar 03: The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA

Mar 05: The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD

Mar 06: The House of Blues, Boston, MA

Mar 08: LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH

Mar 09: The Orpheum, Madison, WI

Mar 11: Myth, St. Paul, MN

Mar 12: Civic Auditorium, Fargo, ND

Mar 14: MacEwan Hall, Calgary, AB

Mar 15: Shaw Centre, Edmonton, AB

Mar 17: Revolution Event Center, Boise, ID

Mar 19: The Paramount, Seattle, WA

Mar 20: Roseland Ballroom, Portland, OR

Mar 22: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Mar 26: The Joint, Las Vegas, NV

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

 

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Slayer, Testament and Carcass Join Forces For Spring Tour


Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

Slayer, Testament and Carcass will team up as an impressive package tour this spring in the USA, as revealed by a flyer passed out at the final date of the King Diamond tour this past week. Revealing a March 3rd date for a show at Philadelphia’s Fillmore venue, the announcement lends credence to the rumors that have circulated about a US tour for Slayer. Slayer has toured Europe this fall with Anthrax since the release of Repentless (Nuclear Blast) last September.

slayer repentess album cover 2015

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Video: Slayer- Repentless Clip Released, New Album Out Now


Still image from Slayer's 'Repentless' video

Still image from Slayer’s ‘Repentless’ video

Slayer have premiered the new video for the title track of their new album, Repentless. You can see the video at this link or below:

Directed by horror director BJ McDonnell (Hatchet) in his first music video stint and produced by Felissa Rose, the video was shot on location Sybil Brand Institute in East Los Angeles and features a prison riot and a grisley ending. The ‘Repentless’ video features cameos by iconic horror movie actors Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn), Tony Moran (Halloween’s Michael Myers, American Poltergeist), Derek Mears (Predators, Friday the 13th) Tyler Mane (Halloween) Jason Trost (Hatchet III), Sean Whalen (Men In Black, Halloween II), and Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2, Commando, Weird Science). Repentless is out now from Nuclear Blast.

 

 

Slayer with Danny Trejo, at the 'Repentless' video shoot

Slayer with Danny Trejo, at the ‘Repentless’ video shoot


Slayer – Repentless


slayer repentess album cover 2015

With the possible exception of Iron Maiden and Faith No More, no album has been more debated by fans and the critics before a note had been heard in 2015, than Slayer’s new album Repentless (Nuclear Blast). Their historical position as a leader and a lightning rod for all of heavy music has had varying consequences to their reputation over time. Nearly oblivious to change with the exception of a couple of albums, Slayer does what Slayer wants to do. Similar to AC/DC or Motörhead, if every fan everywhere and every critic bashed this album to death sight unseen, the band might hardly notice anyway.

However, listening to Repentless in full, there is an undeniable void heard on the album, one the band makes no apology or concession to, the loss of Jeff Hanneman, Jeff is not replaceable, nor have they tried to do that honestly. Recall there were entire albums where Jeff barely had any songs or solos, but he is so clearly part of the soul of this band, his licks and style coded into the very DNA of their songcraft. At the same time, this album belongs to Kerry King and Tom Araya to the fullest, and they totally own it like their life depends on it. The future of Slayer’s career surely does.

Opening with the sinister intro track ‘Delusions of Saviour,’ I look forward to hearing many a future concert begin with this gem. The title track comes next and it is fiery in tempo and anger. It is definitely off to an inspiring start. ‘Take Control,’ another recent single is a little more straight-ahead thrash, though it has all the familiar bells and whistles you want from them. Araya sounds as frightening and strong as ever vocally. His delivery makes up a lot of the strength of this album.

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

Slayer, photo by Andrew Stuart

‘Vices’ is a terrific, groovy track and reminds me a lot of Paul Bostaph’s work on Divine Intervention (American). Paul’s return is a solid one. He has a few highlights and the outro of the track is one of them. The dueling harmonized guitars and solo parts bear the proper Slayer mark. ‘Cast the First Stone’ and ‘When The Stillness Comes’ also makes up some of the meat of familiar part of the album. ‘…Stillness’ has the Seasons In The Abyss (Def American) vibe that will drive some purists away, while others will love it. I fall into the latter category.

 

‘Chasing Death’ has them treading on some Exodus or even Pantera territory jamming out on the power grooves they pioneered. Another killer delivery from Tom sells this badass tune. ‘Implode’ was to my ears, the least impressive track and repeat listens didn’t make it grow on me. ‘Implode’ is one of the few tracks where it does seem to lack some of the old (Black) magic of the band. ‘Piano Wire’ is lone Hanneman composition on the album and it is definitely one of the best. I’d like to think Jeff would approve. ‘Atrocity Vendor’, at least in its first few measures sounds like it could have come off of ‘Haunting The Chapel’. That intro is so old-school, it might shock you. Kudos for doing something more akin to something Overkill or Anthrax would try. More great lyrics on this track and some more killer lead work as well.

‘You Against You’ is a nod to more recent albums from the band. The mid-tempo seems to be where this album lives mostly, so when it kicks into overdrive it definitely perks your ears up. It is the most “Jeff” sounding track on the album. ‘Pride And Prejudice’ ends the album on a heavy note with a screed on the current state of the world and a dim view for the future.

Armed with 12 new ditties toasting humanity’s self-destruction, the new Slayer album is a complex one. That they have made a complete album in 2015, should surprise none. Whether it lands in the pantheon of their greatest works, I’m not so sure about that one. Things that hold the album back from greatness are the differing styles of producers Greg Fieldman and Terry Date, the choppy mixing, and perhaps a lack of the uniqueness where a lot of the songs just sound like tributes to their past. Perhaps next time Gary Holt can chime in and co-write some tracks too. Overall Repentless is an enjoyable, fierce album that sounds essentially like a Slayer album should.

8 / 10

KEITH CHACHKES