By MIKE CHAIKEN EDITIONS EDITOR When Slayer went into the studio to record what would become its upcoming release “Repentless,” drummer Paul Bostaph said the band had one goal. “We wanted to make a proper Slayer record,” said Paul, calling from Milwaukee on a travel day for the band, which is headlining this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. The tour drops into Hartford July 19. Although making a “proper” Slayer record doesn’t seem like a tall order, since, after all they are Slayer, consider what the iconic thrash metal band has been going through the past few years. Drummer Dave Lombardo left the band for the third time, necessitating Paul’s reunion with the band (he had been in the group from 1992-2001 when Lombardo had taken a previous break from the band). More importantly, the band lost founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died following a two year illness. His place was taken by Exodus guitarist Gary Holt (a former band mate of Paul’s). Losing Jeff, said Paul, “was hard on all of us.” That meant that it wasn’t “business as usual” for the group, which still includes founding members guitarist Kerry King and bassist/ vocalist Tom Araya, said Paul. […]
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