Diabolus in Musica is the eighth studio album by Slayer. The title is in laten av translates to something like The Devil in music. It refers to the “evil” dissonance in the tritone interval. The most famous example for such a interval ought to be the intro to Black Sabbath legendary song by the same name. In my ear this is a sound that sound pretty awesome. I guess the guys in Slayer thought about it the same way.
Diabolus in Musica is said to be a highly experimental album and I kind of agree with that. There are elements on in that really should be there in my opinion. We have som distorted vocals which leans a bit into the Nu Metal direction. It’s not where Slayer belong in my opinion. There are indeed aggressive songs but I feel that the vocals (once again) don’t really cut it. There’s too much one-note shouting. I’m sure Tom Araya delivers the lyrics in a way that is suitable for them but it’s not really my thing. I’d like it it a little more nuanced.
With that said. Not every song has distorted or shouted vocals but that’s what I take with me. The music were mostly written by Jeff Hanneman with collaboration of Kerry King on a few. There is one song completely by King – In the Name of God, which was almost to much for the practicing catholic Tom Araya. But it’s on there so I guess he managed to separate his personal beliefs from the band’s image yet again. It’s not the first time the lyrics involves christianity or the lack there of.
I don’t really take much with me from Diabolus in Musica. There are not much memorable songs on it for me. There are som riffs a lines here and there in wonderful tritone dissonance and so forth but there’s not a single song I would ever remember for another day or go around and hum on.
The guitars are in the foreground on Diabolus in Musica more that in the last couple of albums I think. The drumming by Paul Bostaph is there and I guess it suits the music but I would have liked it a little more variated and inspiring. It might be a bad comparison but it’s kind of in the old days when Judas Priest had this really cool guitar parts and Dave Holland “only” kept the rhythm with out doing any fils och rolls at all.
