The retirement of Slayer left a massive void in the landscape of metal and many have been quietly praying to the desolate one for their return and in some way, those prayers have been answered. It’s no secret that Kerry King was not ready for Slayer to retire, the man still had more breakneck thrash to offer and so he would declare “From Hell I Rise”.
From the very first notes of the album, you feel the familiar presence of Slayer. No weird solo album choices or elements that would feel out of place in a Slayer album, it’s straight-up Slayer and it’s such a warm comfortable feeling. If you squint your ears, you can imagine Tom Araya singing some of these tracks but Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda does a fantastic job administering the venom on threatening ragers like ‘Where I Reign’ and even adding some sinister quiet moments like on ‘Tension’.
Kerry has never been the greatest guitarist alive nor has he ever claimed to be but his wild flailing guitar solos feed into the chaos perfectly and make a great contrast to the lethal weapon that is Phil Demmel. Phil has appeared on stage with Slayer multiple times so it’s safe to say he knows how to match their energy and tone but he adds an element of precision that isn’t usually associated with Slayer.
There are a few tracks that are somewhat half-baked and feel like they’re missing elements like ‘Tension’ and ‘Everything I Hate About You’ (not to be confused with ‘7 Things I Hate About You’ by Miley Cyrus) but they still have that fun thrashy tone. At worst, this album has some forgettable Slayeresque tracks but the bangers more than make up for it.
The album closes with one of the best tracks on the record, ‘From Hell I Rise’. The track sounds like one of the stronger inclusions from God Hates Us All or Christ Illusion (both criminally underrated albums) and include all that blinding rage and intensity that came from those records. It feels like a seething deceleration that Kerry still has more blistering insanity to subject the world to as Mark screeches his lyrics “Through fire, I will rise”.
For those who weren’t ready to bury Slayer, From Hell I Rise is a fantastic continuation of the Slayer legacy from a group of people who intimately understand what Slayer stood for and simply had more to say. If the singles raised your eyebrows then From Hell I Rise will be a satisfying experience.
Kerry is a very direct and unsubtle lyricist at times but credit where credit is due, he didn’t write a song called ‘Spiritual Successor’.
