Type: Contains explicit content, Lyrics are included with the album
Genre: Rock
Review
Slayer's Undisputed Attitude feels more like a stopgap than an actual Slayer record. Rather than another set of blasting, disturbing originals like 1994's Divine Intervention or 1995's Serenity in Murder EP, this album is a collection of covers. Containing 14 tracks, the band covers everyone from Minor Threat to T.S.O.L., from D.I. to Iggy Pop. Given Slayer's Huntington Beach, CA, homeland, the hardcore roots are plain enough. But HB is also a big metal town, and these cats as youngsters were exposed to everything from Motörhead to Black Sabbath and the early L.A. metal scene. True to their course, however, they've never sounded like anyone but themselves. Even on a collection of covers (with a pair of originals thrown in to boot), the Slayer imprint is unmistakable, and while taking a breather from fresh ideas on their own projects, this disc sounds like the bandmembers were having a blast if not exactly breaking new ground. All but two of these cuts are less than three minutes long, with a number of them come in under two -- in keeping with true hardcore fashion. Even on the completely over-the-rail covers of Minor Threat's "Filler/I Don't Want To Hear It" and "Guilty of Being White," the guitar breaks are unmistakably their own. Paul Bostaph's thin drumming (as opposed to founding drummer Dave Lombardo's) is actually more suited to this material. The cover of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" contains the title "I'm Gonna Be Your God" -- it wouldn't do for Slayer to be thought of in any way submissive, would it? (Although none would have cared but them, which tells you where they're coming from.) The band basically improves upon T.S.O.L.'s "Spiritual Law," and the long reach into D.I.'s catalog for no less than five cuts -- four of them done in a pair of medleys -- offers a few more examples of where Slayer come from. They are extremely heavy and extremely brief cuts, but pack a wallop. For those looking toward Slayer's more direct roots, there are a pair of early experiments from a project Jeff Hanneman was in, "I Can't Stand You" and "Ddamn," and a Slayer newbie called "Gemini," clocking in just under five minutes and offering a glimpse into the future of sludge and doom metal before it twists and turns on a dime and becomes a more typically trademarked Slayer number. Undisputed Attitude is a curiosity; it's far from an essential collection by Slayer. The true faithful will want this and most likely really get off on it. For those who admire what the band had accomplished musically to this point, it feels like a bit of a letdown, really. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Bill Airey Smith (Assistant Engineer), Jim Giddenes (Assistant Engineer), Paul Bostaph (Drums), Kerry King (Guitar), D. Sardy (Mixing), Dave Sardy (Mixing), Dirk Walter (Design), Dennis Keeley (Photography), D. Sardy (Producer), Michael Lavine (Cover Photo), Greg Gordon (Engineer), Tom Araya (Vocals), Michael Lavine (Photography), Wes Benscoter (Illustrations), Jeff Hanneman (Guitar), Wes Benscoter (Artwork), Tom Araya (Bass), Dennis Keeley (Inlay Photography), Bryan Davis (Assistant Engineer), Dirk Walter (Art Direction), Ralph Cacciurri (Assistant Engineer), Dave Sardy (Producer), Slayer (Producer), Rick Rubin (Executive Producer), Bill Smith (Assistant Engineer), Stephen Marcussen (Mastering)
Undisputed Attitude is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. The album is a collection of punkcovers of bands like Minor Threat, T.S.O.L., D.I. and Iggy Pop. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman used two of the four punk songs he had written in 1984 and 1985 as part of a side project called Pap Smear, while King and vocalist Tom Araya wrote an original song titled "Gemini". Released on May 28, 1996 through American Recordings, Undisputed Attitude peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200.
Undisputed Attitude was recorded at Capital Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Dave Sardy, while Reign in Blood producer Rick Rubin helped executive production. Recorded in three to four weeks, the reason behind the album's creation was due to the interest of guitarist Kerry King, stating the songs were by bands that "made Slayer what it is", and to keep Slayer in the public eye.[2][3] The album initially featured material from heavy metal artists that had influenced Slayer, including Judas Priest, UFO, and Deep Purple.[3] However, after several rehearsals King believed "things didn't pan out" with heavy metal covers, so the band decided to cover punk songs.[2]
Slayer considered covering 1960s psychedelic rock band The Doors as they were an influence to vocalist and bassist Tom Araya.[3] When asked which track they considered recording, Araya responded, "Maybe 'When the Music's Over', 'Five to One', something like that."[3] A cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" was suggested by Rubin, although was shelved after the band was not sure how to arrange it musically.[2]
Guitarist Jeff Hanneman had written four unreleased songs in 1984–1985, while in the side project Pap Smear with Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Rocky George. The band chose the best two, namely "Ddamm (Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers)" and "Can't Stand You".[4][5] "Gemini" was written by King and Araya several months before entering the recording studio. King asserts it is the only Slayer song on the album.[2]
Slayer's cover of Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" raised questions about a possible message of white supremacy. The controversy surrounding the cover involved the changing of the refrain "guilty of being white" to "guilty of being right", at the song's ending. This incensed Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye, who stated "that is so offensive to me".[6] King said it was changed for "tongue-in-cheek" humor as he thought the racism at the time was "ridiculous".[2]
Reception
Undisputed Attitude was released on May 28, 1996, and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[7] Paul Kott of Allmusic commented that "Undisputed Attitude, while not perfect, is a fitting tribute to the bands that inspired Slayer to break from the traditional metal mold."[8] Sandy Masuo of Rolling Stone reasoned; "some punk purists will undoubtedly cry foul, but when the dust settles it's hard to argue with Slayer's metal."[9]Entertainment Weekly's Chuck Eddy dubbed Slayer's cover interpretations "generic hardcore-punk", and observed that that the group "seem to think that playing as fast and rigidly as possible makes for harder rock -- but it's just lazy shtick".[10]
Reviewing 2003 Slayer box set Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, Adrien Begrand of PopMatters dismissed the effort as "easily the weakest album in the Slayer catalogue",[11] whereas Westword Online's Michael Roberts dubbed the record their "biggest mistake."[12] Araya has since stated that he "knew it wouldn't do very well, people want to hear Slayer! The real die-hards picked up on it and that was expected."[3]
^ Blush, Steven American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush (New York: Feral House, 2001), "Guilty of Being White", in an interview with Ian MacKaye, 30–31.
