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Divine Intervention is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on September 27, 1994 through American Recordings, it was the first Slayer album featuring Paul Bostaph, replacing the band's original drummer Dave Lombardo. Several of the songs on the album were inspired by television. The production posed as a challenge to the record company, as its marketing situation drew arguments. The band used the Decade of Aggression live album to give them time to decide the album's style.[1] Since it was released nearly four years after Seasons in the Abyss, Vocalist Tom Araya said that the production was paid more attention. The cover was painted and designed by Wes Benscoter, who was filmed while doing his work.

Even though so much time was spent on production, Kerry King said that the mixing and mastering should have had more attention. The song's origins not only come from television, but were also inspired by various other things, including Rush Limbaugh, sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer, and Araya's wife. Araya concluded that the album "came out of the past four years of hating life."[2]

The album received mixed reviews by critics, with Allmusic giving it three out of five stars, The Deseret News giving it a positive review, and Mark Prindle giving it a seven out of ten. The album sold 93,000 copies in its first week, and on April 30, 2002, Nielsen SoundScan reported that it had sold over 405,092 copies. It peaked number eight on the Billboard 200 and charted at number 15 on UK Albums Chart. It was rewarded a Gold in the United States and in Canada. an Extended Play entitled Serenity in Murder was released shortly after the album.[3]

Writing and production

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Tom Araya said that "when we did Divine Intervention, this was the last conference we ever had with a record label where they sat us down and sold us the idea of how they wanted to do "Divine", and how they were going to do this with the cover... and all these different ideas for the album. Then one guy looked at us and said, 'But we need a hit song.' And we said, 'But you've got eleven songs, and if you can't find a hit in one of them than you're shit out of luck because that's what we're giving you.' So we're like saying to them, 'Right, you write the fucking hit song and we'll record it.' That shut the guy up and that was the last time we had any kind of meetings like that!"[4]

Araya described "For this one, I just kind of got inspired by watching TV. That gave me a whole lot of ideas. The whole idea about the dude with Slayer in his arms was brought about because reality is scarier than anything you can make up.[5] The production of the album posed as a challenge to the record company, "how to market a group whose gore-soaked, extreme music in anathema to radio programers." It is the company's first attempt to "hit the thrash band's core-audience of rabid enthusiasts with a fan-orientated marketing assault."[6] Araya related: "We decided to take more time to bring this one together. We actually went into the studio with more written material than the past. We completed three out of seven songs outside the studio. We all sort of felt it was important to do it slowly. After the last tour, we had the intension to take the break."[2]

Artwork and packaging

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The album was issued in a clear jewel box with a die-cut cardboard O-card. It included sixteen pages, which fold out to be a poster, which displays the cover art. Both the disc and the disc tray feature — as described by Chris Morris — an "image reflective of the mania displayed by the group's fans. and exemplary of American frequently deployed shock tactics: a kid carving the band's name into his arms with a scalpel."[7] The front cover was painted and designed by Wes Benscoter, an American artist who would later paint the covers for the other Slayer releases Undisputed Attitude and Live Intrusion.[8][9][10] Mike Bone from American Recordings said that "we captured this not only by photography, but with video — him actually doing it."[7] The album sleeve features for the first time the backronym Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot.[7]

Composition

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The College Music Journal said that "the band deals almost exclusively with realism" in the album, and noted that it "shocks and splatters like a severed artery, painting crimson pictures of murders, necrophiliacs, and the ravaged, chaotic world they inhabit."[5] Both the mixing and mastering were criticized, with guitarist Kerry King saying that the band should have "payed more attention to the mix,"[11] and Araya saying that it "is the one (if any) that he would not mind re-mastering."[12] Tom Araya said the "album came out of the past four years of hating life."[2]

Neil Strauss from The New York Times explained many of the album's origins. "213" was described as a "love song" by Araya, which was something they had never done before. The song was named after serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer's old apartment number. "Dittohead", a partial tribute to Rush Limbaugh, begins by criticizing the legal system for "being too lenient on killers." The song "ended up not denouncing the system but advocating its permissiveness."[13] "Sex, Murder, Art" was said by TheState.com to feature "roars about a maddening relationship and his 'pleasure in inflicting pain.'"[14]

King said that the album contained origins relating to "war stories" and "explorations of madness."[15] It is Paul Bostaph's first studio album with Slayer, resulting in Alex Henderson of Allmusic saying that it is a "positive, energizing influence on Slayer, which sounds better than ever on such dark triumphs as 'Killing Fields,' 'Serenity in Murder,' and 'Circle of Beliefs.'" Henderson also said that they "focus[ed] on the violently repressive nature of governments and the lengths to which they will go to wield power."[16]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [16]
The Deseret NewsPositive [2]
Mark Prindle7/10 [17]

Allmusic said that "instead of doing something calculated like emulating Nirvana or Pearl Jam — or for that matter, Nine Inch Nails or Ministry — Slayer wisely refused to sound like anyone but Slayer. Tom Araya and co. responded to the new environment simply by striving to be the heaviest metal band they possibly could." By the album's release date, vocalist Tom Araya considered it to be their best album.[2] The album has been to the melodic excursions of Seasons in the Abyss often referred to as a comeback album because the music was much faster and more aggressive again.[16]

"Divine Intervention" sold 93,000 copies in its first week,[18][19] and by 2002, it sold over 400,000 copies.[20][21] It was reported that in the same year of its released, Kevin Kirk from the Heavy Metal Shop "ordered 1,000 copies of Slayer's Divine Intervention and sold every last album in a matter of weeks."[22] Although it is less accessible than its predecessor Seasons in the Abyss, Rolling Stone considered it to be their most successful album as of 2001.[23]

Track listing

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Divine Intervention
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Killing Fields"Tom ArayaKerry King3:57
2."Sex. Murder. Art."ArayaKing1:50
3."Fictional Reality"KingKing3:38
4."Dittohead"KingKing2:31
5."Divine Intervention"SlayerHanneman, King5:33
6."Circle of Beliefs"KingKing4:30
7."SS-3"HannemanHanneman, King4:07
8."Serenity in Murder"ArayaHanneman, King2:36
9."213"ArayaHanneman4:52
10."Mind Control"Araya, KingHanneman, King3:04
Serenity in Murder EP
No.TitleLength
1."Serenity in Murder"2:37
2."Angel of Death"4:52
3."Mandatory Suicide"4:05
4."War Ensemble"4:52

Credits

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References

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  1. ^ Daniel Bukszpan, Ronnie James Dio. The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal
  2. ^ a b c d e Iwasaki, Scott (1995-01-27). "Vocalist sings the praises for 'Divine Intervention'". The Deseret News.
  3. ^ http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/discography.php?band_id=183&bandname=Slayer
  4. ^ "SLAYER Frontman: MUSTAINE Talks A Lot Of Sh*t, Apologizes For It, Then Continues Talking Sh*t". Blabbermouth.net. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  5. ^ a b CMJ New Music Monthly. January 1995. pp. 25–27
  6. ^ Billboard. July 23, 1994. p. 14
  7. ^ a b c Billboard. July 23, 1994. p. 19
  8. ^ "allmusic ((( Divine Intervention > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  9. ^ "allmusic ((( Undisputed Attitude > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  10. ^ Live Intrusion (Media notes). American Recordings. 1994. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "SLAYER's KERRY KING Has No Interest In 'Jesus Metal' ". 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  12. ^ "SLAYER Frontman Answers Fans' Questions". Blabbermouth.net. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  13. ^ Strauss, Neil (1995-02-20). "Death and Madness Remain the Basics in Slayer's Repertory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2010-07-21. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  14. ^ "State, The : SLAYER'S ARAYA RELISHES IN MACABRE AND SICK". TheState.com 1995-03-24. Retrieved 2010-08-01
  15. ^ "SLAYER's KERRY KING: 'We're Not Close To Hanging It Up'". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-01-15. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  16. ^ a b c Henderson, Alex "allmusic ((( Divine Intervention > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-20 Cite error: The named reference "allmusic" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ http://www.markprindle.com/slayera.htm#divine
  18. ^ "SLAYER: 'World Painted Blood' Debuts At No. 12 On BILLBOARD Chart". 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  19. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-08-16) "Rick Ross Sails Past Breaking Benjamin, Takes Port Of Miami To #1".
  20. ^ "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". Blabbermouth.net. 2002-04-30. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  21. ^ "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By Soundscan". Blabbermouth.net. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  22. ^ "Salt Lake City's Heavy Metal Shop Struggles To Survive In Internet Age". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-20
  23. ^ 2001 encyclopedia "Slayer". Rolling Stone Music. Retrieved 2010-07-20
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