The last album from thrash-metal titans Slayer was 2009’s World Painted Blood, the majority of which was written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in 2013. Hanneman was responsible for most of Slayer’s best songs — including “Angel Of Death,” “Raining Blood,” “Die By The Sword,” “South Of Heaven,” and “War Ensemble.” But he’d stopped performing with the band back in 2011, when he was seriously crippled by necrotizing fasciitis, brought on by a spider bite. Still, Slayer continued playing live — with Gary Holt from Exodus assuming Hanneman’s duties — and last year, they announced that they had signed to Nuclear Blast Records and were at work on a follow-up to World Painted Blood, which would include three old Hanneman songs that had never been released. “When The Stillness Comes” is not one of those songs — this one was written by guitarist Kerry King, and it’s initially being released as a Record Store Day 7″ picture disc (it will also be one of the 12 songs included on the LP). It’s a slow grinder rather than a blazing assault, and like much latter-day Slayer, it stays pretty true to the classic formula, neither an improvement nor an embarrassment. (That may seem like faint praise, but as a Metallica fan, let me tell you, there’s something to be said for sticking with what works.) And you can hear it right now.

(Via Rolling Stone)

Slayer’s “When The Stillness Comes” Record Store Day 7″ picture disc is out 4/18, and is limited to 5,000 copies. On the flip is a live version of “Black Magic” — from the band’s 1983 debut album, Show No Mercy — recorded last year at Germany’s Wacken festival. It’s only available at participating stores, but you can find those here.