Diabolus in Musica (Latin for The Devil in Music) is the eighth studio album by the thrash metal band Slayer, released on June 9, 1998, by American Recordings. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman wrote most of the album’s content, which has been described as Slayer‘s most experimental. It was the band’s first album to be played mostly in C♯ tuning, and named after a musical interval known for its dissonance. Lyrical themes explored on the album include religion, sex, cultural deviance, death, insanity, war, and homicide. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Diabolus in Musica peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200, selling over 46,000 copies in its first week of sales. By 2009, it had sold over 306,000 copies in the United States. Diabolus in Musica was recorded at Ocean Way Recording, and complete by September 1997. It was scheduled to be released the following month, but got delayed until the middle of 1998, after American Recordings was taken over by Columbia Records.
Tracklist:
- Bitter Peace
- Death’s Head
- Stain of Mind
- Overt Enemy
- Perversions of Pain
- Love to Hate
- Desire
- In the Name of God
- Scrum
- Screaming from the Sky
- Point
Slayer
Tom Araya: bass, vocals
Kerry King: guitars
Jeff Hanneman: guitars
Paul Bostaph: drums
Technical personnel
Rick Rubin: producer
Howie Weinberg: mastering
Greg Gordon: engineer
Brian Davis: assistant engineer
John Tyree: assistant engineer
Sebastian Haimerl: assistant engineer
Allen Sanderson: assistant engineer
Exum: photography
Frank: art direction
Wade Goeke: assistant engineer
