Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)

★★☆☆ There’s nothing overtly wrong with this album that I can put my finger on… but this entire collection of songs nevertheless sounds ambivalent, pro forma, tired. There’s plenty of moments of utter heaviness throughout the album, but there’s also more than one buildup or breakdown that fails to pay off. Also, the latest iteration of Slayer’s lo-fi production aesthetic misses the mark in so many weird ways (an affliction common to the other Big 4 bands throughout their long careers). Long story short: you have a duty to listen to this album once. Beyond that, I can’t make a case for it.

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