Death is June -Looking Back in Anger at Slayer's "Divine Intervention"

 

Here is where things changed as Lombardo quit, and Paul Bostaph tried to fill the throne. Listening back to the songwriting is better than I remember. By 1994, music was changing, and the bar for being heavy had been raised, with bands like Sepultura growing in popularity. Listening back to this one, it is not just them blasting at you with the kind of hyper aggression, it feels like they are trying to prove something without Lombardo in the band. The opening track is more nuanced than "War Ensemble." It might not be as hooky or iconic, but it works well. But they were trying to prove they can hit just as furiously as they did on their previous albums with "Sex Murder Art," which might not be their most inspired song ever. However, "Fictional Reality" is a much more dynamic and well-written song than I remembered it being. 

"Dittohead" is the band lshing into the almost punk blasting of an old school hard core band. The chorus of this song is not very memorable, and while it somehow would become one of the live staples from the album, it borders on being filler to my ears. The title track is pretty great, with a more melodic riff leading in, it feelsl ike they are picking up where they left off with "South of Heaven".  I like how the verse breaks down before the double bass comes in. Tom's higher register does show the first signs of wear and tear that came from the "Clash of the Titans" tour on his voice. 

"Circle of Beliefs" feels rushed. They are fast for the sake of being fast with nothing memorable, until they find a groove midway in. It still feels a little like they are checking off the boxes of who they think their fans are expecting them to be.  In contrast, a song like "SS-3" stands shoulder to shoulder with their classics, rather than just coloring by the numbers. People would try to cancel them now if they released songs about Nazis even from this perspective. While "Serenity in Murder" is one of the songs that have endured from this era, I prefer the more melodic sections over the faster ones that feel rushed. 

"213' is another classic serial killer love song and the best song on the album. The last song is your typical faster thrashing Slayer which works well enough to show you they remember who they are, as the guitar melody is cool. I will give this album a 9, as it's not up to the level of their most classic unholy trinity of albums, but better than what other thrash bands were doing, and kept them alive in the 90s.  

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