Last House on the Left and Dawn of the Dead. Gravediggaz also drew inspiration from the lyrical themes and imagery of heavy metal music. "Diary of a Madman" uses imagery from the crucifixion of Jesus in RZA's verse. Despite the group intending the lyrics of "1-800 Suicide", which appear to encourage suicide, as dark humor, high scrutiny of rap lyrics at this time meant that the Gravediggaz had to record an alternate lyric version as an anti-suicide PSA. Most of the album's instrumentals were created by Prince Paul. According to Rolling Stone, Paul's production "[evokes] the atmosphere of horror movies and ominous effects". The piano loop of "Constant Elevation" was sampled from Allen Toussaint's "Louie". "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide" samples Eugene McDaniels "Jagger’s Dagger". "Defective Trip (Trippin')" utilizes psychedelic rock electric guitar playing. It samples John Ussery's "Listen to the Melody" and Alvin Cash's "Twine Time". "2 Cups of Blood" samples it's keyboard loop from Larry Willis' "Inner Crisis." "Blood Brothers" does not utilize any samples. Paul's instrumental for "Bang Your Head" was originally created for the Cold Crush Four, but after the group rejected the instrumental, RZA proposed using it for the Gravediggaz. "Diary of a Madman", one of the album's only tracks to feature an instrumental by the RZA, utilized a shelved instrumental demo intended for a Wu-Tang Clan song, sampling Johnny Mathis. "1-800 Suicide" samples Booker T. & the M.G.'s "Sunny". "Death Trap" samples the Whole Darn Family's "7 Minutes of Funk"; The song's lyrics refer to drug overdoses, murder and Lorena Bobbitt. Release and reception The album was released on August 9, 1994. It was released under the title Niggamortis outside of the United States. Entertainment Weekly wrote that "the flustered beats, washed in minor chords, are strangely irresistible". NME praised the album for "feverishly [documenting] the low life". The magazine later ranked the album at #22 on their list of the "Top 50 Albums Of 1994". In 2009, Fangoria named it as an iconic horrorcore album. Track listing Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Singles Personnel Credits adapted from AllMusic. Gravediggaz The Undertaker - vocals, composer, arranger, associate producer, engineer, mixing, producer, score, scratching RZArector - vocals, composer, mixing, producer Grym Reaper - vocals, mixing Gatekeeper - vocals, mixing, producer Additional personnel Eddie Berkeley - vocals Carlos Bess - assistant engineer Biz Markie - guest artist, vocals Booker T. & the MG's - performer