Kerry KingFrom Hell I Rise

The American Big 4 of Thrash’s meatiest pillar Slayer’s ballyhooed and neck-snapping farewell tour in 2019 didn’t leave a dry eye in Australian crowds … except they’re coming back in 2024 for a handful of festival shows. European metal is OTT and dramatic; American metalheads are just drama queens.

What has this got to do with Slayer’s founding beefmaster (and brief Megadeth member, let’s not forget that) debut record, the first recorded Slayer-adjacent material since 2015’s Repentless? Well, not much. Because it seems Mr. King is content doing his own thing with a gilded quartet of equally thrashsome mates. Those being Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) on vox, Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head) on guitars, Paul Bostaph (duh) on drums, and Kyle Sanders (brother of Troy and of Hellyeah) on bass. So what do you get on this album? In a word or two: more Slayer. This isn’t just lazy writing (you could’ve fooled me – ed.) but a fact of the matter; Kerry King doesn’t fuck with the formula and he sure as shit doesn’t do it here. Diablo sweeps in with blackened chords before seeping into Where I Reign, which is neck-snappingly speedy and thorny all the way through. You could mistake it for Death Angel, because it’s Mark from Death Angel on vocals. Again, no formula fucking hinted at.

Kerry King doesn’t fuck with the formula and he sure as shit doesn’t do it here.

Bostaph spreads himself across every drum in his bulging kit on Idle Hands, a very, very slight return to Slayer’s take-no-prisoners, core-achingly brusing 80s heyday. King busts out a whinnying solo or two, we all chug a beer and head for the pit. Repeat. It all seems to blend into one another save for some ass-wolloping half-time stomp (Crucifixation, Shrapnel), a horror-consumed creeper Tension, and crossover thrash mosh inducer Everything I Hate About You, all over in a compact one minute twenty two seconds. It’s Kerry King doing what he does best, without a certain Tom A. or Mr. T. Araya scolding him for overly showy solos or that hints of punk rock ain’t on brand, hermano. Or some shit like that. It’s basically Slayer by another name. What more do you want?

STICK THIS NEXT TO: Slayer, Death Angel, Exodus
STANDOUT TRACKS: Where I Reign, Crucifixation, Tension