Repentless, the 12th studio album from the iconic thrash/metal band Slayer and the first without beloved founding member Jeff Hanneman, makes the highest Billboard debut in the band’s 32-year recording career, coming in at #4 on the Top 200 Album Charts and scanning 50,000 units. Slayer’s Christ Illusion had been the band’s highest debut, premiering in 2006 at #5. Repentless, the band’s first album produced by Terry Date (Slipknot, Soundgarden, Metal Church, Pantera), also lands at #2 on Billboard’s Current Albums, Top Rock Albums and Hard Music charts.
Repentless now also holds the record as the band’s career-highest chart debut in Germany (#1), Holland (#2), Canada (#3), Australia (#3), New Zealand (#8), the UK (#11) and on the Japanese International Chart (#1), and bowed at #3 in Finland, #4 in Belgium, and #5 in both Sweden and Greece. Additionally, the album debuted in the Top 10 in France (#7), Italy (#8), Hungary (#9), and Japan, (#10).
“The entire Nuclear Blast global team thanks Slayer and their loyal fans everywhere for the tremendous first-week success for Repentless,” said Gerardo Martinez, NB’s General Manager, USA. “Slayer made an amazing album that stayed true to who the band is, and the fans’ overwhelming response is proof of that.”