God Hates Us All

iTunes Review

Slayer took another creative left turn with God Hates Us All. For the first time the band recorded outside Los Angeles, choosing instead to set up camp in a Vancouver studio. They also took on a new producer, Matt Hyde, who had worked with Hatebreed, Monster Magnet and Porno for Pyros. The album belongs primarily to guitarist Kerry King, who wrote nearly all of the lyrics and roughly half the music. Most of the songs mount some form of attack against organized religion, as the images portray a world corroded by hatred, death and despair. In an ironic turn of events, the album was released on September 11, 2001. While Slayer had long been stereotypes by the mainstream media as hate-mongering extremists, some of the lyrics on God Hates Us All appeared surprisingly prescient in the wake of the terrorist attacks. “Pessimist, terrorist targeting the next mark,” Tom Araya screams on “Disciple”; “Global chaos feeding on hysteria.” Though it was Paul Bostaph’s last effort with the band (an elbow injury led to his departure), “Seven Faces” and “War Zone” represent his best work with Slayer.