Slayer - Divine Intervention

After pretty much inventing and pioneering death metal in the early '80s, Slayer spent years playing as fast and with as much intensity as they could muster. But after 1986's pinnacle of death, Reign in Blood, the band decided to explore the slower side of intense volume, so it tempered the tempos and indulged in a darker, more atmospheric sound. But with 1994's Divine Intervention, the band proved it could still race to the finish line. Somewhat messier than much of their earlier output, the record makes up in brutality whatever it lacks in precision. If "Killing Fields," "Circle of Belief," and "Sex, Murder, Art" quicken the pulse, the hardcore velocity-fest "Dittohead" will cause the heart to explode in showers of Divine gore. Not for the timid. --Jon Wiederhorn Amazon.com

Not their Best But Still Great Thrash from Slayer

I have to disagree with the other reviewers who rank this album above 'Seasons...' as this is far from being their best album in terms of creative instrumental arrangements or recording quality. The drums are pretty faded on this album. Many of the songs also sound just about the same as many others produced by them but this is still a great thrash ablum from the kings of thrash.

The role of the drums takes a down turn on this ablum with Paul Bostaph replacing Dave Lombardo. Lombardo and his unique style with the double bass is just a better drummer than Bostaph. Lombardo brought the drums to the forefront in Slayer's previous releases whereas Bostaph's style seems more detached and passive. Final studio mixing seems to have added to that effect as well. 'Killing Fields', 'Divine Intervention', '213', and 'Mind Control', are probably the best songs on this album. The rest is alright but just doesn't really stand out compared to what they had on albums such as 'Reign in Blood' or 'South of Heaven.'

Slayer is a band you either love or hate. If you like what's on this album, you will like their other albums even more except perhaps for their punk cover album 'Undisputed Attitude.' Slayer is still the ultimate thrash band and there are simply no other bands that can compare with them in this genre either musically or lyrically. April 27, 2008

Divine Intervention review

Divine Intervention in my opinion is a great album. I like it cause it has some killer thrashy riffs. New addition Paul Bostaph on the skins simply kills. In my opinion this is slayers last good album before they slipped into the nu metal fad. Tracks I recommend listening to are Killing Fields, Serenity in Murder and Circle of Beliefs for starters. Those are fast ones, but the album is not without groove(the title track and 213). From start to finish the album keeps the intensity. I think the album has its own sound but retains the good elements slayer was known for. For a fan of thrash I would recommend purchasing the album if you do not have it already. December 23, 2007

Highly underrated...a terrific album, and one of Slayer's best...

Does it equal "Reign in Blood" or "Hell Awaits" in listenability? Of course not...but it comes a lot closer than most "critics" would have you believe. In fact, I rate it at a solid third position in Slayer's catalog ("Hell Awaits" being my personal favorite). The quality of the songwriting is solid throughout, as is the musicianship (basically flawless...maybe their best ever). "Dittohead" is, quite simply, one of the best songs the band has ever created...it's just simply awesome, for lack of a better term. There are many other standout tracks on the album, and very few, if any, that could be labeled "average." "Critics" have nailed this album's coffin shut for the past 13 years now, labeling it as little more than a rehashed "Reign in Blood," and I therefore feel that it is my duty (as an unbiased reviewer) to shed light on the fact that it sounds nothing like "Reign in Blood," and therefore, any comparison between the two is simply unfounded. Honestly, I don't know why "critics" slammed it so hard; frankly, it blows "Seasons in the Abyss," their previous album, out of the water musically. It's far more challenging, creative, and above all, heavy (again, for lack of a better term). In any event, it is without question a fine album, and one that any true metalhead needs to own. Buy it now! November 7, 2007

Please!!

Get over your Lombardo vs. Bostaph rants and recongnize that Bostaph is every bit as brutal and Slayer worthy as Lombardo. This album absolutely crushes. Tom's vocals are so high and forced, they finally sounds as tortured as the guitars behind him. This album is every bit as fast, heavy, sick and twisted as the albums before it, maybe even more so. I personally think it's better than Seasons and South, but to each his own. I can listen to this album from start to finish and never once be tempted to skip a track. Give this album a chance and you won't be disappointed. It's production is one of it's charms as well. It just sounds fuller, heavier, more stadium worthy. Slayer's thrashy punk roots really shine through, and the slower darker tracks contain some of the sickest imagery of the bands career. August 8, 2006

Everything that's done today will be tomorrow's curse

Even though Dave was gone with this release, Slayer stayed strong. While it isn't as good as their first 5 albums, it is still worthy of 5 starts and amazing. This was the last Slayer album I bought, simply because I listened too everybody else too much. I figured if it was like Reign in Blood part 2, I wanted nothing to do with it. Simply because If I wanna listen to Reign in Bl0od then well, i'll listen to Reign in Blood. However, I don't really see it, this album stands as a strong but sadly over looked Slayer classic. Jeff and King seem like they may slow it down a little bit here, which at first was annoying, i'd be sitting listening to this album, grinding my teeth waiting for it to speed up (i.e. ss-3) Once I got over that though, it seems that the speed might have done more wrong than right for this album. Don't get me wrong, it is still quite fast. Vocal wise, this is up there with South of Heaven as one of Tom's best vocal performances. While dave is missed (welcome back!!!) Paul does a steady job of filling in, as he would for years. All in all, don't let the few nay sayers stop you from purchasing this album. It's Slayer, never dissapointed. Never anything less.

Killing Fields - 5/5 Talk about starting an album off with an anthem. This is one where I could only imagine how crazy the crowd is at a live show while this one is being played. The first 25 seconds can't even begin to prepare you for what happens next. To think, this is only the first song.

Sex. Murder. Art. - 5/5 A fast one and definetly a good one. A good opening riff leads into killer lyrics/vocals. I feel the drums slow it down a little too much in the start of things but after about 20 seconds, that is not a problem. Definetly a personal favorite of mine. Also a wonderful song name. Tom flows quite well with his vocals here. Should please any thrash maniac.

Fictional Reality - 5/5 Reminds me of a faster version of "Killing Fields" the main riff here, is one of the most memorable from this album. Probably Pauls best work is here. He really helps the flow of the song click well.

Dittohead - 4/5 The intro riff tells you one thing. "This song is going to be short and fast" which is pretty much what it is. One of the fastest here. Part of me thinks they tried to make it too slow and sped it up a bit too much and maybe should have added another 45 seconds or so to this one.

Divine Intervention - 5/5 A song that lets you take a small break. A bit long for the normal Slayer song, over 5 + minutes. Really sets the mood for the second half of the album. Not one to be missed. I love the dark almost depressing feel of the outro for this song.

Circle of Beliefs - 4.5/5 Right away, Tom starts belting it out with his vocals, I wish this song had more of an intro to it. Other than that I can't think of anything else wrong with this. It has one of the best solos on the album. It almost has a "distant" feel which gives it more atmosphere when a solo isn't being played.

SS-3 - 6/5 A song that took me some getting used to. When I did though, it became one of my favorites if not my favorite. The riffs here are the darkest you will find on this album. a song that w ill beat you jsut as hard as any other Slayer track but jsut doing it a bit slower. Enoguh to agonize.

Serenity in Murder - 4.5/5 The song name says it all, I don't think I need to say anything more. This is the type of asylum patient violence we've come to love from Slayer. only here, Tom does some really good singing, which could be called "Spooky" definetly adds something to the song. The guitars hold back here, that doesn't kill the song though.

213 - Definetly the song with the most atmosphere here. The string intro is just great. One of the best songs here. Not one to be passed over. The chorus is a bit choppy but other than that it is great.

Mind Control - 4.5/5 One of the fastest songs here. Can't go wrong with that. A good way to go out. Tom seems to put a little more venom into his vocals here. Great guitar solos as well.

So once again, you can never go wrong with Slayer. Enjoy.



August 5, 2006

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