Customer Reviews

Diabolus in Musica

5 star:		(126)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

After the average Divine Intervention, and the covers album Undisputed Attitude, Slayer realized that they wanted to do something a little bit differently on this release with the excellent Rick Rubin. By adding downtuned guitars, thick grooves, and great songwriting, Slayer slows down (a little) and shows why they are easily one of the greatest metal bands on the planet. Even with the moments of faux-rapping on Love to Hate and Stain of Mind, this is far---very far from nu-metal. This is still angry thrash with loads of ripping guitar solos. Instant classics include Bitter Peace, Overt Enemy, Stain of Mind, and Scrum. This is a MUST purchase for fans of Reign In Blood, South of Heaven, and Seasons In The Abyss.

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 have been a Slayer fan before Reign in Blood broke all the rules regarding thrash, ferocity, and brutality. South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss remain masterpieces, worthy of continued praise. Than along comes Diabolus in Musica! Many "so called" die-hard Slayer fans complained the band comprised its roots by aiming this disc towards nu-metal fans. A veteran band like Slayer can't re-cycle music that shows a regression in ability. They needed to re-invent themselves, while not alienating thier fan base. Diabolus is Slayer! Powerfull, heavy as hell, brutal, and dare I say, they have incorporated some "groove". They have not comprised any of the savage approach that has made them the KINGS of metal. Standouts include: Bitter Piece, Stain of Mind, and Scrum. Is this their best album, I don't know, the album just kicks ASS!

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.

Slayer are back and I could never be more thankful. With junk music like Spice Girls, Hanson, and prepubescent divas littering the music shelves, I had thought everybody had jumped on the bubble gum bandwagon. Then BOOM--Diablous In Musica arrives and hope is restored! Although being abscent from the music scene for four years this is by far one of the best Slayer has put out. Hearing the first handful of riffs of the first track "Bitter Peace" and you'll know they're back with a vengence. The best tracks are "Death's Head" and "Love to Hate", both showing that guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King have not lost the motts to shred. Many of the professional reviews given (USA Today, etc...) talk like they were expecting these guys to put an album like Metallica's "Load", changing their sound or something--hence the reviews of "oh, it sounds like old Slayer..." Those of us who have listened to Slayer for years know what to expect and we love what we get. Aggressive, loud, heavy music--this is by far the best. If you are a fan and haven't picked it up, do so. If you haven't experienced Slayer or are curious, try it.

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.

Enamored by bands like Machine Head and Pantera, whose sound, ironically, owes much to Slayer's classic 80s albums, Slayer decided to unleash Diabolous in Music upon the world in 1998. Talk about poor career moves. Downtuned guitar riffs that could be played by a 5 year old, poor songwriting, and Tom Araya struggling to sing like he used to... this is all anybody should expect from Diabolous.

After a killer opening track (Bitter Peace), DiM quickly heads downhill into monotonous borefest after monotonous borefest (STAIN OF MIND?). Towards the end, things pick up a bit (In the Name of God is a good song, as is Screaming from the Sky), but a few redeeming moments do not save this pile of dumpster fodder from mediocrity.

The question is: WHAT HAPPENED? How could Slayer fall so far? Who knows exactly what they were thinking when they recorded Diabolous... and maybe it's better we don't.

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 just got into Slayer about a year ago, but since then I've gotten into them with a vengeance. I've had the privilege of being able to listen to all of their albums in a very short period of time, and out of Slayer's albums I would rank "Diabolus In Musica" right at the top. This album somehow manages to sound even more sinister than their previous work, with a really dark and foreboding mood to the songs. The bass is a little more evident here than on Slayer's previous work, which is a good thing as Tom Araya's crunching bass notes add another dimension to the music. Vocally, Araya relies more on a somewhat screamed sound as opposed to the mix of singing and growling that was found on albums like "South of Heaven" and "Seasons in the Abyss." The grinding, sludgy guitars and Paul Bostaph's astonishingly nimble drumming give this album a dark groove that sets it apart from Slayer's older works while simultaneously paving the way for last month's somewhat similar release "God Hates us All." Standouts include the very catchy "Love to Hate," the speedy "Point," and the chunky and heavy "Screaming From the Sky." This album boasts an excellent array of styles, with Slayer's rock solid musicianship still in place.

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