Diabolus in Musica

Diabolus in Musica is the eighth studio album by American thrash metal band, Slayer. Diabolus in Musica was released on June 9, 1998 through American Recordings.

Composition and recording
The band's guitarist, Jeff Hanneman told how they made the music:

The production was directed by Rick Rubin and recorded at Oceanway Studios in Los Angeles.Diabolus in Musica album notes, June 9, 1998. American Recordings.

PopMatters staff writer Adrien Begrand said that Slayer had incorporated new characteristics into their sound such as downgraded guitars, "dirty" guitar structures, and "churning" drums. He said that Slayer adopted these characteristics from the burgeoning nu metal scene. Drummer Paul Bostaph calls it his favorite album, as he believes it is "as experimental as Slayer gets". 

Album title and lyrics
Diabolus in Musica is a Latin term meaning "The Devil in Music", known as the tritone. It was not allowed in medieval music, because according to mythology, it was thought to be sexual and would attract the Devil. Slayer singer and bassist Tom Araya jokingly remarked that people were executed for writing and using the interval.

A Catholic, Araya was worried King's lyrics for the song "In the Name of God" and discussed them with guitarist Hanneman. King's view was, "It's like, 'C'mon, man, you're in Slayer. You're the antichrist — you said it yourself on the first album!' You can't draw the line at that. Whether he agrees with it or not, he didn't write it — I wrote it. So you have to say, 'Well, it's just a part of being in this band.' Now Jeff and I, we don't give a fuck. If Jeff wrote something I had a problem with, I would never even raise a fucking finger. I'd be like, 'Fuck yeah, let's do it! Gonna piss someone off? Alright!'"  Jason Hundey, a staff writer for AllMusic said; "Thank goodness the lyrics haven't strayed like those on "Ain't My Bitch"; instead they've stuck with familiar themes like religion, death, war, and serial killers." 

Songs

 Japanese edition 
The Australian edition of the album does not feature track #8

Reception and release
In its first week of release, Diabolus in Musica sold 46,000 copies in the United States of America and made it to number 31 on the Billboard 200. By August 16, 2006, the album had sold 290,000 copies in the United States.

Reviewing the 2003 box set Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, Adrien Begrand of PopMatters said, "Diabolus in Musica is a unique record, as Slayer adopts many of the characteristics of the burgeoning nu metal scene (tuned down guitars, murky chord structures, churning beats), and incorporating it with their trademark sound. It's as if they're stepping in to show the young bands how to do it right, as songs like "Bitter Peace", "Death's Head", and the terrific "Stain of Mind" blow away anything that young pretenders like Slipknot have put out."

Not all reviews were positive. In his 2001 review of Slayer's album God Hates Us All, Blabbermouth.net music critic Borijov Krgin described Diabolus in Musica as "a feeble attempt at incorporating updated elements into the group's sound, the presence of which elevated the band's efforts somewhat and offered hope that Slayer could refrain from endlessly rehashing their previous material for their future output."  In a 1999 review, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times said, "Eight of the 11 songs on Diabolus in Musica, a few of which were played at the show, are in the same gray key, and the band's rhythmic ideas have a wearying sameness too." The songs were rarely played live after Dave Lombardo's return in 2001.

References

Other websites

Category:1998 albums
Category:Slayer albums