Divine Intervention

Divine Intervention is a work on which SLAYER foregrounded the cutting power of dry guitar and merciless rhythm, honing a violent tension. The drummer changed from Dave Lombardo to Paul Bostaph, adding a new drive. It is a powerful record that clearly carved the image of SLAYER in the 1990s. The new drumming drive does not merely make the songs faster but makes the sudden stops and heavy stomps stand out more cruelly. On “Killing Fields,” “Divine Intervention,” “Serenity in Murder” and “213,” Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman’s guitars give almost no melodic comfort, cornering the listener with the edges of the sound. Songs like “Sex. Murder. Art.” and “Dittohead” breathe the band’s ferocious aggression too. Placing weight on hard, short, sharp aggression, it embodies the severity of 1990s thrash.