Slayer Releases "Divine Intervention"

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. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart, with 93,000 copies sold in its first week, and later that year was certified gold in Canada and United States.

Music videos were also made for the tracks "Dittohead" and "Serenity in Murder".

Drummer Paul Bostaph disliked the album, noting the guitars were not loud enough, and the band moved to several recording studios. Halfway through recording drums, the band moved to a studio with a new producer—known for his work with Tom Petty—who had no experience with heavy metal. Half way through the producer changed to Toby Wright, Bostaph stated; "it never had any consistency to it although a lot of fans still like it", deeming it his least favorite Slayer album on which he recorded drums.

Some of the albums lyrical themes were not without controversy. "213", for example, was famed serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment number and is the inspiration for the lyrics in the song of the same name. The title of "SS-3" was taken from the license plate number of the car Reinhard Heydrich was traveling in when he was assassinated. "Dittohead" is partly a tribute to popular yet controversial conservative political commentator and radio host Rush Limbaugh. The band courted controversy by featuring a picture of a fan's arms, into which he had carved the Slayer logo. The CD inlay features a collage which includes newspaper clippings of cases where music had been blamed for violence or murder. Also, the first edition CD featured a crime scene photo of Kurt Cobain's corpse, and his face is clearly recognizable. This edition is a collector's item, as later releases omitted this photo.

The album sleeve features for the first time the backronym Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot.

Divine Intervention was released on September 27, 1994 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling over 95,000 copies in its first week.