Slayer Album: “Diabolus in Musica”

I like this album a lot. It's really heavy and groovy most of the times, but some songs just fall flat due to awkward riffs, like "Overt Enemy". This is the kind of Slayer I can relax to. That might sound like it sucks, but I'm telling you, this album really is VERY bottom-heavy and brutal, just slower and funkier and kinda sexy-sounding...I don't know why that word comes to mind, but it does. Any Korn (who's guitars sound like bubbly farts) album sounds like Tiny Tim compared to this. I love all early Slayer, especially Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood. Those early offerings were intense, very in-your-face and delivered with nervous ass-kicking intensity. Fast forward to Diabolus, we see Slayer as marathon runners, instead of their usual full-speed-on breakneck pace. South of Heaven and Seasons were much more riff-oriented than this. With the heavy production and mostly mid-tempo songs, obviously the band wanted to put more emphasis on rhythm and arrangments on this album. It works well most of the time, sounding fresh, creative and heavy. Despite what some rigid speed-purists say, it doesn't sound like nu-metal at all. It's metal. It's detuned, and well-produced, and yes, you could dance to this album if you wanted to. Doesn't matter. Most of the riffs are deliciously slaytanic, and the guitar tones are killer. Trust me, it was very off-putting for me, hearing this album for the first time, but repeated listenings helped me to notice some REALLY tight, awesome arrangements that might have gone almost unnoticed if they were playing them full-speed. This one's better than Divine Intervention.

I admit it. At first, I didn't like Diabolus very much. In fact, I thought it ranked among Slayer's worst albums. But, this album is a creeper, the more you listen to it, the more it grows on you. And now some 5 years after its official release it has occurred to me that Diabolus is just as good as any record Slayer has ever released. The track listing contains some Slayer concert standards like Stain of Mind and Death's Head. On the whole Diabolus is strong. The only track I still can't dig is Desire. Tom's vox on Diabolus are somewhat more restrained than in recent history but his bass playing is stellar(as always). King and Hanneman deliver the goods on each track but especially on the standouts: Screaming from the Sky, Perversions of Pain, and Overt Enemy. Paul Bostaph's drumming is insane. I continue to believe that Slayer grew stronger the day that Lombardo departed and Bostaph entered, and this album is no exception. Among Slayer releases, Diabolus certainly ranks behind God Hates Us All and Reign in Blood but it can hold it's own against Seasons in the Abyss, Divine Intervention, and South of Heaven. Overall, this is another must-own album from Slayer. Highly Recommended.

I wanted to love this CD. Just look at the artwork in the booklet and behind the CD! A man shot in the head, his blood all over the wall behind him, a whole line of needles sticking in the underside of someone's arm, and a pair of lips sewn shut! Rock on!

But sadly the music just doesn't live up the imagery. Standout tracks are only "Bitter Peace" and "Point" which are the two more aggressive songs on the CD.

This was Slayer's most experimental album, an attempt to incorporate elements of the popular (and very awful) nu-metal genre which had appeared around this time. It's somewhat interesting to listen to, but the songwriting just feels weak and lacking compared to earlier works. Something just doesn't quite work in most of the songs but I can't figure out definitively what.

You'll have to really be into Slayer to jump for this one.

you know...there was a time when each of slayer's albums were landmarks...they set the trends in metal, and all others followed...but now the roles have been reversed...in times past, slayer would somehow alter their sound and that is how speed/thrash metal would sound until the next slayer album was released...well, now it appears that slayer is going with whatever is happening in the scene at the time as opposed to this former greatness...oh well...

now that i have gotten that out of the way...this is not that bad...it is, by no means, as radical of a departure from their past as many of their contemporaries have taken of late(metallica, megadeth, etc...), but it is not slayer either...but if you are new to the band, get this and prepare yourself for true greatness as you wander further into the catalog of music made by these legends...if you are already a fan, get it and just be thankful that you are a slayer fan and not a metallica die-hard...at least we still get two or three "slayer" songs on the album...

again, i am sorry if this comes off as though i do not like the album...i have just been spoiled over the past 17 years and my expectations for these guys are far too high to be realistic...

I dont think I've ever heard a Slayer album that made me think "Wow, that f ucking sucked". That being said, this album is not one of their bests, but I still enjoyed it. You havent seen anything though until you get to see these guys live...they put on one hell of a show. Check out "Still Reigning" on DVD if you want to get a taste