Undisputed Attitude

Undisputed Attitude is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on May 28, 1996 by American Recordings. The album consists almost entirely of covers of punk rock and hardcore punk songs, and also includes two tracks written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 1984 and 1985 for a side project called Pap Smear; its closing track "Gemini" is the only original track. The cover songs on the album were originally recorded by the bands Minor Threat, T.S.O.L., D.R.I., D.I., Dr. Know, the Stooges, and Verbal Abuse, whose work was prominently featured with the inclusion of cover versions of five of their songs.

Undisputed Attitude
Studio album of cover songs by Slayer
Released	May 28, 1996 (1996-05-28)
Recorded	January–February 1996
Studio	Capitol Studios, Los Angeles Hollywood Sound, Hollywood
Genre	Crossover thrash
Length	33:01
Label	American
Producer	Rick Rubin (exec.) Dave Sardy Slayer
Slayer chronology
Divine Intervention (1994) Undisputed Attitude (1996) Diabolus in Musica (1998)

Undisputed Attitude peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard 200.

Recording

Undisputed Attitude was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with producer Dave Sardy, while Reign in Blood producer Rick Rubin served as executive producer. Recorded in three to four weeks, the album was largely the brainchild of guitarist Kerry King, who stated that the songs chosen were from highly influential bands who "made Slayer what it is".[1][2] The album was initially to feature material from classic heavy metal artists such as Judas Priest, UFO and Deep Purple.[2] However, after several rehearsals "things didn't pan out" according to King, so the band instead elected to cover punk songs.[1]

Slayer considered covering 1960s psychedelic rock band the Doors as they were an influence to vocalist and bassist Tom Araya. When asked which track they considered recording, Araya responded, "Maybe 'When the Music's Over', 'Five to One', something like that."[2] 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.[1]

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".[3][4] "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.[1] The song begins as a sludge/doom number, before becoming a more typical Slayer song.[5]

The band's cover of Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" raised questions about a possible message of white supremacy. The controversy 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 the lyric was altered for "tongue-in-cheek" humor, saying that the band thought racism was "ridiculous" at the time.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
CMJ	mixed[7]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[8]
NME	7/10[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]

Undisputed Attitude was released on May 28, 1996, and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[11] 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 mould."[5] 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 mettle."[10] Entertainment Weekly's Chuck Eddy dubbed Slayer's cover interpretations "generic hardcore-punk", and observed that the group "seem to think that playing as fast and rigidly as possible makes for harder rock -- but it's just lazy shtick."[8]

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",[12] while Westword Online's Michael Roberts dubbed the record their "biggest mistake."[13] 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."[2]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
1.	"Disintegration/Free Money"	Eric Mastrokalos Brett Dodwell Roy Hansen	Verbal Abuse	1:41
2.	"Verbal Abuse/Leeches"	Mastrokalos Dodwell Hansen	Verbal Abuse	1:58
3.	"Abolish Government/Superficial Love"	Jack Grisham Ron Emory Mike Roche Todd Barnes	T.S.O.L.	1:48
4.	"Can't Stand You"	Jeff Hanneman	Pap Smear	1:27
5.	"DDAMM (Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers)"	Jeff Hanneman	Pap Smear	1:01
6.	"Guilty of Being White"	Ian MacKaye	Minor Threat	1:07
7.	"I Hate You"	Mastrokalos Dodwell Hansen	Verbal Abuse	2:16
8.	"Filler/I Don't Want to Hear It"	MacKaye Lyle Preslar Brian Baker Jeff Nelson	Minor Threat	2:28
9.	"Spiritual Law"	Casey Royer	D.I.	3:00
10.	"Mr. Freeze"	Kyle Toucher	Dr. Know	2:24
11.	"Violent Pacification"	Spike Cassidy Kurt Brecht	D.R.I.	2:38
12.	"Richard Hung Himself"	Royer Fredric Taccone	D.I.	3:22
13.	"I'm Gonna Be Your God" ("I Wanna Be Your Dog")	James Osterberg Ron Asheton Scott Asheton David Alexander	The Stooges	2:58
14.	"Gemini"	Kerry King Tom Araya	Slayer	4:53
Total length:				33:01

European edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
10.	"Sick Boy" (bonus track)	Colin "Jock" Blyth Colin Abrahall Ross Lomas	G.B.H.	2:14
11.	"Mr. Freeze"	Toucher	Dr. Know	2:24
12.	"Violent Pacification"	Cassidy Brecht	D.R.I.	2:38
13.	"Richard Hung Himself"	Royer Traccone	D.I.	3:22
14.	"I'm Gonna Be Your God" ("I Wanna Be Your Dog")	Osterberg Asheton Asheton Alexander	The Stooges	2:58
15.	"Gemini"	King Araya	Slayer	4:53
Total length:				35:15

Japanese edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
10.	"Sick Boy" (bonus track)	Blyth Abrahall Lomas	G.B.H.	2:14
11.	"Mr. Freeze"	Toucher	Dr. Know	2:24
12.	"Violent Pacification"	Cassidy Brecht	D.R.I.	2:38
13.	"Memories of Tomorrow" (bonus track)	Mike Muir Louiche Mayorga	Suicidal Tendencies	0:54
14.	"Richard Hung Himself"	Royer Traccone	D.I.	3:22
15.	"I'm Gonna Be Your God" ("I Wanna Be Your Dog")	Osterberg Asheton Asheton Alexander	The Stooges	2:58
16.	"Gemini"	King Araya	Slayer	4:53
Total length:				36:09

Personnel

Slayer

• Tom Araya – bass, vocals
• Kerry King – guitars
• Jeff Hanneman – guitars
• Paul Bostaph – drums[14]

Production and artwork

• Dave Sardy – producer, mixing
• Rick Rubin – executive producer
• Greg Gordon – engineer
• Ralph Cacciurri; Bryan Davis; Jim Giddens; Bill Smith – assistant engineers
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• Wes Benscoter – artwork, illustrations
• Dennis Keeley – photography
• Michael Lavine – front cover photo, photography
• Dirk Walter – art direction, design

References

1. "Audio interview with Kerry King Part 1 and 2". toazted.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
2. "Midwest Metal Magazine interview with Tom Araya". Midwestmetalmagazine.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
3. "About". Slayer.net. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
4. Davis, Brian (July 26, 2004). "A Rare Interview with Slayer Shredder Hanneman, Gripping Firmly onto the Reigns of Metal". Knac.com. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
5. Kott, Paul. "Undisputed Attitude". AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
6. Blush, Steven, American Hardcore: A Tribal History (New York: Feral House, 2001), "Guilty of Being White", in an interview with Ian MacKaye, 30–31.
7. Lien, James (July 1996). "Review of Undisputed Attitude". College Music Journal (35): 43.
8. Eddy, Chuck (June 21, 1996). "Undisputed Attitude Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
9. "Slayer - Undisputed Attitude CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
10. Masuo, Sandy (May 30, 1996). "Slayer: Undisputed Attitude : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone: 49. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
11. "Slayer's album chart history". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
12. Begrand, Adrien (January 23, 2004). "The Devil in Music". PopMatters.com. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
13. Roberts, Michael (August 2000). "Westworld Online interview with Kerry King". SlayerSaves.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
14. "Drummer Jon Dette: 'To Be Part Of The Slayer History Again Is Awesome". Retrieved February 25, 2013.