The album is their second to enter the Billboard 200 and was their last album that was released under Def Jam Recordings. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman has said that the album was the only album that the band members had discussed before writing the music. They knew that they "couldn't top Reign in Blood", and that whatever they recorded would be "compared to that album", he believed they "had to slow down", something the band had never done on albums before, or since.