Macabre heavy metal giants Slayer have announced a new album to come out on September 11, the band's first since the death of founding member Jeff Hanneman.

Slayer, one of the pioneering thrash metal bands from the 1980s, also released a video with the name of the album, "Repentless."

Slayer, known for intensely dark lyrics, faced a backlash in 2006 over a song about the September 11 attacks entitled "Jihad," which took the point of view of the Al-Qaeda assailants and quoted plot leader Mohammed Atta.

"Repentless" is Slayer's first album since 2009 and the first since guitarist Hanneman's death two years ago.

Hanneman, a key songwriter for the group, had suffered from a flesh-eating bacteria that the band said he contracted from a spider bite in a hot tub. He ultimately died of liver failure.

Gary Holt, the guitarist from Exodus, has replaced Hanneman in Slayer.

Slayer has frequently encountered controversy over its violent imagery, including allusions to Satan and Nazi Germany.

A first track released from the upcoming album, "When the Stillness Comes," starts with a gloomy guitar line before hard-charging doom metal and lyrics that evoke a mass killing.
Source: AFP