Eyes of the Insane
Encyclopedia
"Eyes of the Insane" is a 2006 single by American
thrash metal
band Slayer
, taken from their 2006 album Christ Illusion
. The lyrics explore an American soldier's mental anguish following his return home from the second Gulf War
, and is based on an article entitled "Casualty of War" which was featured in Texas Monthly
magazine. Penned by vocalist Tom Araya
during pre-production for the album, the song was generally well received by critics.
The accompanying music video
by Iran
ian director Tony Petrossian was recorded in the Los Angeles
area during August 2006. The film is presented as a close-up of the soldier's pupil
and iris
, which reflect disconcerting images of war-themed horrors, flashbacks of his home, wife and children, and ultimately images of his death. "Eyes of the Insane" was featured on the soundtrack
to Saw III
, and won an award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Araya read the article during his plane journey back to Los Angeles. Pre-production for Slayer's ninth studio album Christ Illusion
had just begun, and the band was about to undertake a three-day rehearsal with producer Josh Abraham
. Araya left his baggage at the hotel to attend the rehearsals, then returned to re-read the article. Finding it to be "very profound", he woke up in the middle of the night and wrote down the lyrics. He said that his treatment of the topic is "sincere", and that he believes it to be "one that the military doesn't want you to know. They sweep it under the rug, but it's a story that needs to be told." Guitarist Kerry King
has stated that "these new songs [from the Christ Illusion album] aren't political at all: 'Jihad
', 'Eyes of the Insane' — it's what's spewing out at us from the TV."
opens the track, over which Hanneman and King play angular and descending scale
s on guitar. These guitar riffs evolve from verse to verse, and have been described by Allmusic as "intensely harrowing". The song gradually builds over the course of the verses, refrain, and bridge
, before resolving
with a "towering" chorus.
Some reviewers paid particular attention to Araya's vocal contribution. Zach Hothorn of Prefix Magazine said the song "allows Araya to show his vocal range, deepening to build up tension and creating a wonderfully chilling 3 and a half minutes," while Ian Robinson of musicOMH.com felt the track "is a distinct but welcome change of pace, Dave Lombardo's machine-gun rhythms forming the backbone for Tom Araya's impressively intact scream."
By the time Slayer decided that a music video should be filmed, touring commitments prevented their involvement in the actual shoot. Instead, others were contacted to produce the film. Director Tony Petrossian
presented Slayer with the first draft, and the group gave a few suggestions for improvement. Never having met him, King recalled Petrossian "had a treatment, and we all dug the treatment so we just turned him loose." "Eyes of the Insane"'s war-themed music video was filmed on August 13, 2006 in the Los Angeles area. Casting company Tolley Casparis Casting sought a male Caucasian between the ages of 18 and 26 to feature in the clip, with auditions held on August 10, 2006. Official project notes deemed that "This guy must be a serious actor, capable of emoting everything through his eyes. He was innocent a few months ago, now he is scarred by seeing so much fighting. Strong eyebrows that do not overpower the face. Scars or large veins actually a plus."
The video was shot as "first-person narrative about the horrors leading up to the final moments of a soldier at war", and was described as "a single, long and tight close-up
of the soldier's eye with images clearly reflected within his pupil and iris and perfectly choreographed with the rhythm of the music. Reflected are disconcerting images of para trooping into enemy territory, gunfire, helicopters and tanks, explosions, poignant flashbacks of his wife and child and home, and the images of his death." Two endings were shot; one where the soldier is killed as the result of sustained combat wounds, and another where the soldier commits suicide
- the latter one was used. Jeff Hanneman
confirmed that the band "loved" the eye concept, and personally felt the video to be "pretty amazing" when he first viewed it. King admitted that the film is "pretty cool—I thought it was neat idea—very different, especially for us, because we usually do performance based videos." The video was exclusively posted on mp3.com
late in October 2006. In April 2007, it was announced the video had garnered a Metal Hammer
Golden God Award nomination for Best Video with the winner being revealed at London, England's Koko club on June 11, 2007.
s Cosmo Lee described the track as "a dark, midpaced exploration of a soldier's psyche", and remarked that "it's memorable and would be a good breather between the usual barnburners." Peter Atkinson of KNAC.com felt that "'Eyes of the Insane' offers a post-traumatic sequel to 'Mandatory Suicide', again with a soundtrack that recalls the original, but boasting a couple truly mammoth hooks that do shake things up." Don Kaye of Blabbermouth made a comparison to a different Slayer track than Atkinson, and commented that "'Eyes of the Insane' and 'Catatonic' both have that slow, grinding feeling of doom that the band has done so well before on classics like 'Dead Skin Mask'."
The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance
at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. When asked for his thoughts on the nomination, King revealed that he didn't "even care", and noted that Slayer fans "don't give a shit and that's the most important thing to me." The interviewer expressed his surprise at the nomination given Slayer's "inflammatory" lyrics, to which King replied, "That would be the coolest thing, you know? To win with the shit we write about." The ceremony was held on February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles
, with Slayer competing against Mastodon
, Lamb of God
, Ministry
and Stone Sour
. Slayer won the Best Metal Performance Grammy award, although the band was unable to attend as the result of a conflicting North American headlining tour. Araya commented about the win from a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio
: "Jeff [Hanneman] and I put a lot into 'Eyes of the Insane' so we're thrilled that the Grammy voters took the time to listen to it, and then vote for it. We're out here on the road and we're all really, really happy." King disagreed, deeming the song "one of the poorest representations of us [Slayer] on the record [Christ Illusion]". He further stated that if given the decision, he would have personally chosen the controversial track "Jihad
" to represent Slayer from their ninth album Christ Illusion. Critical of the Recording Academy
, King said, "Realistically, I think people on the academy who vote pick the household name ... And that's what we are."
The soundtrack
to the 2006 horror film Saw III
featured "Eyes of the Insane", and was released on October 24, 2006 via Warcon Enterprises
.
The track was one of six songs performed by Slayer during their first US network television appearance on ABC-TV
's Jimmy Kimmel Live
(January 19, 2007), and was the only song broadcast in its entirety.
However, King dislikes playing "Eyes of the Insane" live, commenting, "it's just dull to play, good song just dull to play on guitar."
EU CD single 2
7" Colored Vinyl
Music of the United States
The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. Among the country's most internationally-renowned genres are hip hop, blues, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, barbershop, pop, techno, and rock and roll. The United States has the...
thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, taken from their 2006 album Christ Illusion
Christ Illusion
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 highest U.S. chart position to date...
. The lyrics explore an American soldier's mental anguish following his return home from the second Gulf War
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, and is based on an article entitled "Casualty of War" which was featured in Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
magazine. Penned by vocalist Tom Araya
Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
during pre-production for the album, the song was generally well received by critics.
The accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
by Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian director Tony Petrossian was recorded in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area during August 2006. The film is presented as a close-up of the soldier's pupil
Pupil
The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the retina. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as some cats, have slit pupils. In...
and iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
, which reflect disconcerting images of war-themed horrors, flashbacks of his home, wife and children, and ultimately images of his death. "Eyes of the Insane" was featured on the soundtrack
Saw III soundtrack
Saw III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the film Saw III. It was released on October 24, 2006 by Artists Addiction...
to Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
, and won an award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Origins
While walking through an airport, vocalist Tom Araya came across a March 2006 issue of Texas Monthly magazine which featured a soldier's helmet on the front cover. Picking up the magazine and sifting through it, he stumbled on the article "Casualty of War" and was interested enough to purchase a copy. The issue explored the involvement of military personnel from Texas in the Iraq War, and contained an article which ran an entire list of Texan soldiers who had died in the combat. The feature was accompanied by photographs of some of the deceased, while a further article dealt with surviving soldiers anguish on their return home. Araya later admitted that the article "blew his mind".Araya read the article during his plane journey back to Los Angeles. Pre-production for Slayer's ninth studio album Christ Illusion
Christ Illusion
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 highest U.S. chart position to date...
had just begun, and the band was about to undertake a three-day rehearsal with producer Josh Abraham
Josh Abraham
Josh Abraham is a Grammy-winning record producer and co-owner of Pulse Management and Check Your Pulse Publishing. He has produced songs and albums for many of the industry's most successful artists such as Velvet Revolver, 30 Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson and Courtney Love...
. Araya left his baggage at the hotel to attend the rehearsals, then returned to re-read the article. Finding it to be "very profound", he woke up in the middle of the night and wrote down the lyrics. He said that his treatment of the topic is "sincere", and that he believes it to be "one that the military doesn't want you to know. They sweep it under the rug, but it's a story that needs to be told." Guitarist Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
has stated that "these new songs [from the Christ Illusion album] aren't political at all: 'Jihad
Jihad (song)
"Jihad" is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer which appears on their 2006 album Christ Illusion. The song portrays the imagined viewpoint of a terrorist who has participated in the September 11, 2001 attacks, concluding with spoken lyrics taken from words left behind by Mohamed Atta;...
', 'Eyes of the Insane' — it's what's spewing out at us from the TV."
Musical structure
"Eyes of the Insane" is 3 minutes 23 seconds long. A slow drum pattern played by Dave LombardoDave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
opens the track, over which Hanneman and King play angular and descending scale
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
s on guitar. These guitar riffs evolve from verse to verse, and have been described by Allmusic as "intensely harrowing". The song gradually builds over the course of the verses, refrain, and bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, before resolving
Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance to a consonance .Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest...
with a "towering" chorus.
Some reviewers paid particular attention to Araya's vocal contribution. Zach Hothorn of Prefix Magazine said the song "allows Araya to show his vocal range, deepening to build up tension and creating a wonderfully chilling 3 and a half minutes," while Ian Robinson of musicOMH.com felt the track "is a distinct but welcome change of pace, Dave Lombardo's machine-gun rhythms forming the backbone for Tom Araya's impressively intact scream."
Music video
Tony Petrossian
Tony Petrossian is an acclaimed director of commercials and music videos. Today, he is best known for his work in television advertisements and music videos. He has directed spots for brands including McDonald's, Nike, Subway, Zoo York, Beeline, Sony Ericsson, the Environmental Defense Fund and...
presented Slayer with the first draft, and the group gave a few suggestions for improvement. Never having met him, King recalled Petrossian "had a treatment, and we all dug the treatment so we just turned him loose." "Eyes of the Insane"'s war-themed music video was filmed on August 13, 2006 in the Los Angeles area. Casting company Tolley Casparis Casting sought a male Caucasian between the ages of 18 and 26 to feature in the clip, with auditions held on August 10, 2006. Official project notes deemed that "This guy must be a serious actor, capable of emoting everything through his eyes. He was innocent a few months ago, now he is scarred by seeing so much fighting. Strong eyebrows that do not overpower the face. Scars or large veins actually a plus."
The video was shot as "first-person narrative about the horrors leading up to the final moments of a soldier at war", and was described as "a single, long and tight close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
of the soldier's eye with images clearly reflected within his pupil and iris and perfectly choreographed with the rhythm of the music. Reflected are disconcerting images of para trooping into enemy territory, gunfire, helicopters and tanks, explosions, poignant flashbacks of his wife and child and home, and the images of his death." Two endings were shot; one where the soldier is killed as the result of sustained combat wounds, and another where the soldier commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
- the latter one was used. Jeff Hanneman
Jeff Hanneman
Jeffrey John "Jeff" Hanneman is a rhythm/lead guitarist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, and his fascination with warfare is attributed to his upbringing...
confirmed that the band "loved" the eye concept, and personally felt the video to be "pretty amazing" when he first viewed it. King admitted that the film is "pretty cool—I thought it was neat idea—very different, especially for us, because we usually do performance based videos." The video was exclusively posted on mp3.com
MP3.com
MP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
late in October 2006. In April 2007, it was announced the video had garnered a Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
Golden God Award nomination for Best Video with the winner being revealed at London, England's Koko club on June 11, 2007.
Critical reception
Critics were generally positive when reviewing "Eyes of the Insane". Stylus MagazineStylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
s Cosmo Lee described the track as "a dark, midpaced exploration of a soldier's psyche", and remarked that "it's memorable and would be a good breather between the usual barnburners." Peter Atkinson of KNAC.com felt that "'Eyes of the Insane' offers a post-traumatic sequel to 'Mandatory Suicide', again with a soundtrack that recalls the original, but boasting a couple truly mammoth hooks that do shake things up." Don Kaye of Blabbermouth made a comparison to a different Slayer track than Atkinson, and commented that "'Eyes of the Insane' and 'Catatonic' both have that slow, grinding feeling of doom that the band has done so well before on classics like 'Dead Skin Mask'."
The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre...
at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. When asked for his thoughts on the nomination, King revealed that he didn't "even care", and noted that Slayer fans "don't give a shit and that's the most important thing to me." The interviewer expressed his surprise at the nomination given Slayer's "inflammatory" lyrics, to which King replied, "That would be the coolest thing, you know? To win with the shit we write about." The ceremony was held on February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with Slayer competing against Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
, Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
and Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
. Slayer won the Best Metal Performance Grammy award, although the band was unable to attend as the result of a conflicting North American headlining tour. Araya commented about the win from a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
: "Jeff [Hanneman] and I put a lot into 'Eyes of the Insane' so we're thrilled that the Grammy voters took the time to listen to it, and then vote for it. We're out here on the road and we're all really, really happy." King disagreed, deeming the song "one of the poorest representations of us [Slayer] on the record [Christ Illusion]". He further stated that if given the decision, he would have personally chosen the controversial track "Jihad
Jihad (song)
"Jihad" is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer which appears on their 2006 album Christ Illusion. The song portrays the imagined viewpoint of a terrorist who has participated in the September 11, 2001 attacks, concluding with spoken lyrics taken from words left behind by Mohamed Atta;...
" to represent Slayer from their ninth album Christ Illusion. Critical of the Recording Academy
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
, King said, "Realistically, I think people on the academy who vote pick the household name ... And that's what we are."
The soundtrack
Saw III soundtrack
Saw III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the film Saw III. It was released on October 24, 2006 by Artists Addiction...
to the 2006 horror film Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
featured "Eyes of the Insane", and was released on October 24, 2006 via Warcon Enterprises
Warcon Enterprises
Warcon Enterprises is a New York based independent record label focusing on mostly post-hardcore, started by Bob Chiappardi of Concrete Marketing and Kevin Lyman in 2004. Warcon was a sponsor of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour. Warcon is distributed through Fontana Distribution.Warcon Enterprises...
.
The track was one of six songs performed by Slayer during their first US network television appearance on ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
(January 19, 2007), and was the only song broadcast in its entirety.
However, King dislikes playing "Eyes of the Insane" live, commenting, "it's just dull to play, good song just dull to play on guitar."
Formats and tracklistings
EU CD single 1- "Eyes of the Insane" (album version)
- "Eyes of the Insane" (live version)
EU CD single 2
- "Eyes of the Insane" (album version)
- "Cult" (live)
- "Reborn" (live In New York 1986) (enhanced video)
7" Colored Vinyl
- "Eyes of the Insane" (album version)
- "Cult" (live)
External links
- Casualty of War Texas MonthlyTexas MonthlyTexas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...