After the death of founding member Jeff Hannemann and the departure of drummer Dave Lombardo, you would have thought that Slayer would have simply folded and rested on their laurels. Most bands out there with such a huge shift in their core over 30 years into their career wouldn’t last, but the group is determined to push forward and are now about to release their first album in six years. The band just released the first peek into the new record and is planning to release “When The Stillness Comes” on a 7” for Record Store Day. What direction will the band take this time? Head over the jump to find out.
This song takes the route of the mid-tempo bangers on South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss’ “Dead Skin Mask,” creating a high level of tension not normally seen in the band’s repertoire of hyper-speed slaughter. Producer Terry Date’s production sounds absolutely massive though and really helps keep the band sounding absolutely furious, despite every band member being in their 50s. Frontman Tom Araya may not sound quite as tortured and insane as he did in the early years, but this is some of the most solid Slayer material to come out in almost a decade.
-KB