Christ Illusion
| Christ Illusion | ||||
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| Studio album by Slayer | ||||
| Released | August 8, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Studio | NRG Studios, Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 38:25 | |||
| Label | American • Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer |
Rick Rubin (exec.) Josh Abraham |
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| Slayer chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Christ Illusion | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
Special edition
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (72/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Austin Chronicle | |
| Blender | |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| musicOMH | |
| PopMatters |   |
| Spin | (6/10) |
| Stylus | B |
| Uncut | |
| Rock Hard | (9/10) |
Christ Illusion is the tenth studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on August 8, 2006, the album received generally favorable critical reviews, and it entered the Billboard 200 at number 5—the band's second highest U.S. chart position as of 2015[update]. Christ Illusion includes the Grammy Award-winning songs "Eyes of the Insane" and "Final Six", and is the band's first studio album to feature original drummer Dave Lombardo since Seasons in the Abyss (1990). It is also the first time since Divine Intervention that they recorded songs in D# tuning. The songs "Jihad", "Flesh Storm", "Catalyst" and "Consfearacy" were recorded in D# tuning, while the songs "Catatonic", "Eyes of the Insane", "Skeleton Christ", "Supremist", and "Final Six" (bonus track) were recorded in Drop B tuning. The songs "Black Serenade" and "Cult" were recorded in C# tuning.
Depicting a mutilated Christ painted by longtime collaborator Larry Carroll, the album's graphic artwork courted controversy. An alternative cover was issued to conservative retailers who felt uncomfortable with the original. The band also put out a censored cover which censored out the offensive artwork. Lyrics, particularly in the song "Jihad", describe the September 11 attacks from the perspective of a terrorist. Following protests, all Indian stocks of the album were recalled and destroyed by EMI India.
Christ Illusion was recorded via computer between two studios: NRG Studios, North Hollywood, with assistant engineer Dave Colvin; and Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, where Brian Warwick assisted. Guitarist Kerry King recalls nine of the eleven songs originally slated for Christ Illusion were demoed in 2004, with Dave Lombardo at the drum kit. However, Lombardo recalls recording with King as far back as early 2003, when two demos were completed at Lombardo's home. In a July 2004 interview, guitarist Jeff Hanneman reported "Me and Kerry have a bunch of songs," and expressed the band's intent to finish the record that year. Slayer's label American Recordings was at the time negotiating a switch of record distributors from Columbia Records to Warner Bros. Records, meaning the recording would have been temporarily shelved until the issue became resolved. For this reason the group did not finish a record at that time, as the distribution deal with Warner Records was not finalized until late July 2005.
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