God Hates Us All is the ninth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on September 11, 2001, by American Recordings. It was recorded over three months at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, and includes the Grammy Award-nominated song "Disciple". Guitarist Kerry King wrote the majority of its lyrics, taking a different approach from earlier recordings by exploring topics such as religion, murder, revenge, and self-control. Stylistically, the album shows a return to Slayer's classic thrash metal sound. It was Slayer's last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph until his return on their 2015 album Repentless.
The album's release was delayed due to its explicit cover artwork, which led to alternative slip covers in some retail outlets, difficulties during mixing, and a change of distributor for the band's label. Despite this, God Hates Us All received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200. By 2009, it had sold over 319,000 copies in the United States.
Recording
Slayer began writing lyrics for a new album prior to their appearance at the 1999 Ozzfest. However, every three to four months the band was distracted by commitments to Ozzfest, and worldwide "Tattoo the Earth" tour with Slipknot. The band's longtime producer, Rick Rubin, was too busy to work with Slayer, and felt "burned out"—unable to create intense music. Araya and King had similar feelings about Rubin, and King remarked he "wanted to work with someone into the heavy-music scene, and Rubin's not anymore. I wanted somebody who knows what's hot, knows what's selling, knows the new techniques, and will keep me on my toes." Rubin recommended two producers although the first producer was not going to work out personality-wise with Hanneman. The studio was altered to make it "feel like home" for Slayer. This consisted of adding incense burners, candles, dimmed lights and pornography on the walls. Two banner flags of two middle fingers were also hung up. Vocalist Tom Araya says: "that was basically the attitude of Slayer in the studio. We had a red devil head on one of the speakers. We had a skull on another. That's the kind of shit we put up--spooky stuff that makes you feel at home."
While other members went to local pubs, Araya spent his free hours reading books about serial killers such Gordon Burn's Happy Like Murderers: The Story of Fred and Rosemary West. Araya was seeking inspiration and aimed at sounding convincing while singing the lyrics and avoiding sounding gimmicky.
Album title and cover art
God Hates Us All was originally intended to be named Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, but Araya suggested that the title would be better used for a box set, which the band later released in 2003. The phrase God Hates Us All originates from the song "Disciple", during which the line is repeated over the chorus. The lyrics are in reference to God's allowance of acts such as suicide and terrorism while seemingly doing nothing to prevent them.
The original album cover depicts a Bible spiked with nails placed in a pentagram star shape covered in blood with the word "Slayer" burnt across it. The liner notes intersperse the lyrics between passages from the biblical Book of Job, partly crossed out with a black marker. The idea was suggested by the band's record company, although King wanted more time to develop a better cover. King's concept for the cover was to show nails in the shape of a pentagram and have them miss keywords in Bible verses so it appeared as if it had been created by a sociopath. He later complained that the outcome was: "typical of a record company with absolutely no idea what the fuck they were going to do", and said that the cover "looked like a seventh grader defaced the Bible." A slip insert was placed in front of the covers in major retail outlets.
Reception
God Hates Us All was set for release on July 10. However, concerns regarding audio mixing, the album cover, and the band's label (American Recordings) changing distributor, caused the release date to be delayed until September 11, 2001.
With the title and the day it was released (not postponed), the album drew a connection to the September 11 attacks, which was the second time Slayer inadvertently caused controversy towards one of their releases: previously the release of Seasons in the Abyss—containing the song "War Ensemble"—had coincided with the Gulf War. and sold 51,000 copies. It entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number 9 and debuted at number 18 on the top Internet album chart.
As of November 11, 2009, the album has sold 319,000 copies in the United States.
God Hates Us All received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 80 out of 100 based on 12 reviews. AllMusic reviewer Jason Birchmeier commented: "nearly 20 years into their evolution, Slayer have abandoned the extravagancies and accessibility of their late-'80s/early-'90s work and returned to perfect the raw approach of their early years. A near flawless album," and that Araya's performance possibly makes "the most exhausting Slayer album yet."
Not all critics were impressed with the album. Blabbermouth.net reviewer Borivoj Krgin dismissively labeled the album as "another failure on the band's part to take the initiative and reinvent themselves." Krgin described King as "the weaker and less inventive of the two main songwriters" feeling the album "follows a familiar direction that almost always sounds tired and forced." Krgin also singled out Araya for criticism and called the vocalist: "a hollow shell of his former self, boasting a singing style that is monotonous, devoid of creativity and at times virtually unlistenable." Krgin awarded the record 6 out of 10, and ended the review by observing that: "Slayer's rapidly diminishing record sales is a sign that the band is in dire need of a new lease on life." The Washington Post gave it a mixed review, stating: "Of course, what Slayer says isn't supposed to be nearly as important as how it says it. The riffs are all overdriven and suffocating and that's a conscious decision. In its simplest form, a song like "Exile" could pass for Motorhead pushed through the blades of a lawn mower but that's selling Slayer short. Guitarist Kerry King actively fights the groove that naturally comes from playing heavy rock-and-roll."
The song "Disciple" received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Metal Performance" at the 44th Grammy Awards. This was the band's first nomination. Although they did not expect to win they thought it was "cool" to be nominated. The ceremony took place on February 27, 2002, with Tool winning the award for their song "Schism".
Bostaph's departure
Paul Bostaph sustained a chronic elbow injury that hindered his ability to drum and resulted in his decision to leave the band. His third-to-last performance with Slayer was recorded on War at the Warfield which Bostaph has not viewed the footage of, likening the experience to: "breaking up with a girlfriend," and saying he wants to move on with his life. Having no regrets from his time spent with the band Bostaph described the period as a high point in his career. He eventually rejoined Slayer in 2013 once again replacing Dave Lombardo.
Without a drummer and unable to finish their God Hates Us All tour Hanneman contacted original drummer Dave Lombardo and asked him if he would be willing to play for the remainder of the tour. Lombardo accepted the offer and played for the remaining 21 shows. However, he did not take on a permanent position with the band. The band listened to hundreds of demo tapes and created a "good pile" and "ungood pile" though the "ungood pile" was much larger. Those whose performances the band were pleased with were offered an audition in Dallas, San Francisco or Peoria, Illinois. Many applicants, however, were unable to attend due to flight costs. The band auditioned roughly two to three drummers a day and their top choice was one of Lombardo's recommendations: drummer Kevin Talley.
;Slayer
- Tom Araya – bass, vocals
- Jeff Hanneman – lead guitar
- Kerry King – lead and rhythm guitar
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