A short film with violence as brutal as the music and an entire live show. If you like Slayer, you will love this
Once upon a time, not so very long ago; there was a world without Slayer. I was born unto that world.
It might be difficult to comprehend how they were perceived: they were extreme. As the punks, a generation prior used shock tactics to provoke the general public with their nihilistic attitudes and offensive imagery; so did Slayer. The brutality and power of their extreme down tuned metal, combined with imagery of gore, Satanism, death, Nazism and destruction consolidated the band as a brand for the disaffected.
1986 and the release of sharply brutal Reign In Blood, preceded the unnervingly powerful, but melodic South of Heaven labeled as “genuinely offensive satanic drivel” in Rolling Stone magazine. The Slaytanic Imperial eagle had landed. 1990 saw the first Slayer official video Seasons in the Abyss. Artistic, without being pretentious, powerfully disconcerting and shot at the Giza Plateau in Egypt! It consolidated the urgency to see the band live.
In 2018 a farewell tour was announced: which ran from May 2018 until the last day of November 2019, but prior to the tour an entire performance was recorded. It is this performance filmed on August 5, 2017 at the Los Angeles forum which comprises Slayer: The Repentless Killogy in conjunction with a motion picture ( a collaboration between Trafalgar Releasing, Nuclear Blast Records and Prime Zero Productions.)
For one night only on November 4, The Repentless Killogy was screened in 1500 cinemas around the world, but it is now available for purchase to view at your own comfort! Check out the trailer here
Described as a tale of “revenge, murder, bloodshed and retribution,” The Repentless Killogy was written and directed by BJ McDonnell, who conceived and directed the Slayer music videos from the Repentless album (which are now combined in chronological order with additional footage.) McDonnell’s first ever music videos are a resounding triumph of brutality and gore, featuring both actors and crew from iconic horror movies and gloriously shot band footage.
It is a short film, approximating forty minutes and starring Jason Trost (Beats of Rage, Hatchet III) as Wyatt, the iconic Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Til Dawn), Richard Speight (Band of Brothers, Supernatural), Tony Moran (Halloween‘s Michael Myers, American Poltergeist) Derek Mears (Predators, Friday 13th, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2, Commando, Weird Science) Jessica Pimentel (Orange Is The New Black, Alekhine’s Gun, Brujeria), Tyler Mane (Halloween II, X-Men), Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Caroline Williams (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Sharknado 4), and Sean Whalen (Twister, The People Under The Stairs) and Jorma Taccone.
“When we set out to do these initial three videos,” said McDonnell, “we had the intention of continuing the next adventures of Slayer and Wyatt on a following album. But, Slayer announced that ‘Repentless’ was the final album and tour, so this story, the videos, and finally a full live concert at the end is a perfect wrap up of the ‘Repentless’ final tour. This is the finale of Slayer. This is the end of the monsters.”
In summary, the film is the campaign of creatively provocative revenge wrought by eye-patched anti-hero Wyatt against a group of white nationalists. It is extreme in its depiction of the evil that humanity can wreak. Extremely brutal and pretty bleak featuring aggression without boundaries. But it is very entertaining, watching bad guys on the receiving end of graphic violence (decapitation, disembowelment, skull split) but there are darkly shocking moments too.
……To every story, there is a final chapter
If you would like to follow the tale of Wyatt in greater depth, there is a graphic novel 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)and featuring the impeccable cover art of Glenn Fabry which can be ordered here
There’s no time to dwell on the past, only to correct the future. There’s no looking back. No regrets…
The movie seamlessly segues into the monstrous Slayer performance of Live at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, which documents the bands 2015 performance.
You can try to recreate the atmosphere of an indoor Slayer gig by ensuring the room is sauna-hot, ensure you are wearing jeans and heavy footwear and liberally coat yourself in a strangers sweat, every time you attempt to sip a drink, be sure to tip at least half over yourself (easily done while moshing) and hold a mobile phone aloft (!).
The excitement as the visuals commence is palpable (fortunately also familiar), excitement rises as crosses invert, pentagrams roll and the band appears. Superbly shot, the set opens with a blistering version of Delusions of Saviour closely followed by Repentless. Relentless and unrepentant the set blasts through the classics and a varied selection from their vast back catalogue excluding only the albums Divine Intervention, Diabolus in Musica and Christ Illusion. The delivery is passionate and mainly perfection. At first the sound quality seemed a little ‘off’, but this is remedied subtly and rapidly by the desk engineers which demonstrates the professionalism and integrity of both band and crew. The show is breathtaking, as an oldie my personal highlights are the most obvious of numbers but they are now a part of my DNA. Closing with Angel of Death I had to promptly replay the entire show. It so closely captures the sights and sounds, but not quite the euphoria and resultant exhaustion.
In the absence of further Slayer shows, this will lessen the blow.
It’s unlikely that Repentless Killogy will gain the band many new fans, but it certainly slakes the thirst of existing fans.
The movie has been released as Blu-ray and digital formats while the soundtrack from the show is also available on 2CD, 2LP and streaming platforms.
Slayer: The Repentless Killogy
1. Delusions Of Saviour
2. Repentless
3. The Antichrist
4. Disciple
5. Postmortem
6. Hate Worldwide
7. War Ensemble
8. When The Stillness Comes
9. You Against You
10. Mandatory Suicide
11. Hallowed Point
12. Dead Skin Mask
13. Born Of Fire
14. Cast The First Stone
15. Bloodline
16. Seasons In The Abyss
17. Hell Awaits
18. South Of Heaven
19. Raining Blood
20. Chemical Warfare
21. Angel Of Death
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