With ‘Divine Intervention,’ Slayer pushes musical extremes

With ‘Divine Intervention,’ Slayer pushes musical extremes

Heavy metal band’s latest release replete with darker, violent
images of humanity

By John Sabatini

Even the widespread damage and total destruction left in the
wake of Southern California’s seemingly unending variety of natural
disasters cannot compare to the wrath the malevolent metal band
Slayer will unleash at the Orange County Pavilion tonight and the
Shrine Expo Center on Sunday.

Touring to promote its latest album, Divine Intervention, the
first original material released in four years, Slayer
enthusiastically kicked off the U.S. portion of the tour earlier
this week in San Diego. And anticipating the reckless release of
pent-up energy, Slayer has taken care to find a pair of seatless
L.A. area venues to make room for the belligerent slamming of
frenzied fans.

"Our fans tend to rip seats out, so it’s better not to have them
there," drummer Paul Bostaph says lightly. "If the seats are in the
way, the kids can’t move, and they get pissed off. Not everybody
who comes to our shows does that, but the kids on the floor want to
move. That’s what they come to the show for; that’s what they
like.

"I’ve got to admit, I couldn’t come to one of our concerts and
just sit in a seat," Bostaph sympathizes. "I’d practically put
myself to sleep."

Actually, it would be rather difficult to catch much shuteye at
a Slayer show. Having defined the musical extreme even within the
heavy metal genre for the last 11 years, Slayer is notorious for
fiendishly morbid lyrics complemented by its high-velocity musical
barrage.

"We’re kind of like the Clive Barker or Stephen King of rock ‘n’
roll," says Bostaph. "It’s more of a release than anything else.
There’s a lot of frustrating things that go on in the world, and in
a sense, you can get angry, write a song about it and just put it
down."

One theme that appears frequently in Slayer’s music is a
fascination with the deeds and minds of serial killers. Songs such
as "Dead Skin Mask" and "213" spotlight images of gore, death and
even necromancy. Bostaph explains that these particular songs
represent frontman Tom Araya’s interest in understanding how humans
are capable of such behavior.

While Slayer albums are inevitably replete with these images of
darkness and violence, Bostaph points out that the underlying
themes vary considerably. As examples, he cites the songs
"Dittohead" which describes an ineffective criminal justice system
and "Divine Intervention" which probes the belief held by many that
alien beings have exerted some control over humans throughout
history.

The unifying idea running through the corpus of Slayer’s
material is the band’s examination of what Bostaph calls "the
darker elements of humanity." Although the focus on the brutal side
of human nature is central to Slayer’s imposing image, Bostaph
understands that the band’s identity is not based on this
disturbing lyrical content alone.

"I believe that the dark pictures go hand-in-hand with the dark
music," he says. "This band could have this image and play really
weak music, and you’d just laugh at the image, wouldn’t you? You
could take that image away, and this band is still going to be what
it is."

That core element, Bostaph suggests, is the band’s commitment to
continue producing mind-splittingly aggressive music. While he
recognizes that it is only natural for a band and its members to
develop over the years, Bostaph argues that the music which has won
the respect of fans cannot be compromised for the sake of other
factors.

"Throughout the progression in your life, your music is going to
progress with you," he says. "The common thread (throughout the
years) is the fact that these guys still want to play balls-out
music. That’s all there is to it. They want to remain heavy. They
don’t want to soften up just for money, which is an easy thing to
do.

"Our fans know that we’re not going to let them down; they know
we’re not going to put out a grunge record or a top-40 record or go
middle-of-the-road," Bostaph explains. "Your fans can smell lack of
integrity, and when you do that, the four million records go
away."

Bostaph is not worried that this musical constancy will lead to
a stale sound for the band. Although Slayer has been pounding out
hardcore metal for 11 years, he argues that so few extreme bands
are given a chance in the industry, Slayer’s music is as fresh now
as it ever was.

"We’re not even a popular style of music, at least as far as
being played on MTV goes, and some people will criticize us, saying
we’re old hat. And it’s like, ‘OK, wait a second here. How many
albums like this get put out each year?’ Not many. At least we get
the exposure we do ­ which we’re lucky for. Our fans have
created that."

CONCERT: Slayer at the Orange County Pavilion tonight. Show
starts at 7:30. Tickets start at $17.50. For more info call (909)
888-6788. Also at the Shrine Expo Center on Sunday, Jan. 15. Show
starts as 7 p.m. Tickets start at $18.50. For more info call (213)
749-5123.