25 May 2024
Eagerly anticipated Kerry King album, which, as he himself stated, expected to be the continuation of Slayer in terms of music, has finally taken its place on the shelves and digital music platforms.
King told that for this album he stuck to the same formula as he did for Slayer. It is known that the biggest songs that come to mind when Slayer is mentioned were written either directly by Hanneman or Hanneman/King partnership. Being a Slayer fan, in case I was asked who the main creative force behind Slayer was, I would say Hanneman without hesitation. After all, he is one of the 2-3 greatest thrash metal composers of all time. However, it is obvious that Kerry King also received great strength from this unity, and over time, composed songs such as Praise of Death and Piece of Piece, and even shouldered the burden of the band in most albums to a similar extent as Hanneman. Therefore, there is no doubt that Kerry King is a very good musician who lives for music. Of course, Slayer may have enjoyed the debauchery of Hanneman’s great genius in their heydays, but without the chemistry between him and King, Dave Lombardo’s superhuman drumming and Tom Araya’s magnificent vocals, we would not be talking about the Slayer legend today.
The album is truly a continuation of Repentless, as King previously stated. Although slightly different parts could be heard as well, in general terms there is a music close to Slayer of modern times. Paul Bostaph is already the drummer of Slayer, but the others are also such experienced musicians that this experience is immediately noticeable in the resulting work. Under these circumstances, it is not possible to produce a bad album. King has met the minimum requirements for what he needs to do.
I wasn’t sold on Repentless at first listen. It was an album that I gradually warmed up to with subsequent listens. The Kerry King album made me feel similarly. It’s not an album that fully impresses at first listen. As of now, I think Repentless is still a few steps ahead in terms of impressiveness and composition quality.
In terms of musicianship, we should especially mention Bostaph’s wonderful performance in the album. Great drum writing and a top notch performance. Vocalist Mark Osegueda, who picked up his phone and called Kerry King upon learning that King was going to continue with his own band, asked “What about me?” and grabbed the microphone, is already a reputable thrash metal vocalist for years. He has done his job well, but even though his voice sounds different, it reminds us of Araya in many places. Of course, this is not a bad thing. Listeners looking for good performance rather than originality will not mind this. What I don’t like about Mark’s vocals is that there are too many places where he screams stretching out the words and it gets boring after a while. This choice negatively affects the listening experience.
In the album which comprises very good songs such as first single Idle Hands, Crucifixation and Shrapnel, there are also songs such as Tension and Two Fists that are far from being impressive. Everything I Hate About You, with its intense Punk influence that brings to mind the times of Undisputed Attitude and Diabolus in Musica, is a slightly different but beautiful song. All in all, a tough, uncompromising modern Thrash metal album. The world needs Kerry.
7/10
