Divine Intervention (album)
Encyclopedia
Divine Intervention is the sixth studio album
by American thrash metal
band Slayer
. Released on September 27, 1994 through American Recordings, it was their first album featuring Paul Bostaph
, replacing the band's original drummer Dave Lombardo
. Several of the songs on the album were inspired by television
shows. The production posed as a challenge to the record company, as its marketing situation drew arguments over the album's explicitness. The band used the Decade of Aggression
live album to give them time to decide the album's style. Since it was released nearly four years after Seasons in the Abyss
, vocalist Tom Araya
said that there was more time spent on production compared to the band's previous albums. The cover was painted and designed by Wes Benscoter
.
Even though so much time was spent on production, Kerry King
said that the mixing and mastering should have had more attention. The song's origins not only come from television, but were also inspired by various other things, including Rush Limbaugh
, serial killer
Jeffrey Dahmer
, and Araya's wife. Araya concluded that the album "came out of the past four years of hating life."
The album received mixed reviews by critics, with Allmusic giving it three out of five stars, and The Deseret News giving it a positive review. The album sold 193,000 copies in its first week, and on April 30, 2002, Nielsen SoundScan
reported that it had sold over 3,405,092 copies. It peaked number eight on the Billboard 200
and charted at number 15 on UK Albums Chart. It was rewarded a Gold in the United States and in Canada. An extended play
entitled Serenity in Murder was released shortly after the album.
said that "when we did Divine Intervention, this was the last conference we ever had with a record label
where they sat us down and sold us the idea of how they wanted to do "Divine", and how they were going to do this with the cover... and all these different ideas for the album. Then one guy looked at us and said, 'But we need a hit song
.' And we said, 'But you've got eleven songs, and if you can't find a hit in one of them than you're shit out of luck because that's what we're giving you.' So we're like saying to them, 'Right, you write the fucking hit song and we'll record it.' That shut the guy up and that was the last time we had any kind of meetings like that!"
Araya described "For this one, I just kind of got inspired by watching TV. That gave me a whole lot of ideas. The whole idea about the dude with Slayer in his arms was brought about because reality is scarier than anything you can make up. The production of the album posed as a challenge to the record company, "how to market a group whose gore-soaked, extreme music in anathema to radio programmers." It is the company's first attempt to "hit the thrash band's core-audience of rabid enthusiasts with a fan-orientated marketing assault." Araya related: "We decided to take more time to bring this one together. We actually went into the studio with more written material than the past. We completed three out of seven songs outside the studio. We all sort of felt it was important to do it slowly. After the last tour, we had the intention to take the break."
said that "the band deals almost exclusively with realism" in the album, and noted that it "shocks and splatters like a severed artery, painting crimson pictures of murders, necrophiliacs, and the ravaged, chaotic world they inhabit". Both the mixing
and mastering
were criticized, with guitarist Kerry King
saying that the band should have "paid more attention to the mix", and Araya saying that it "is the one (if any) that he would not mind re-mastering". Tom Araya
said the "album came out of the past four years of hating life".
Neil Strauss from The New York Times
explained many of the album's origins. "213" was described as a "love song" by Araya, which was something they had never done before. The song was named after serial killer
and sex offender
Jeffrey Dahmer
's old apartment
number. "Dittohead", a partial tribute to Rush Limbaugh
, begins by criticizing the legal system for "being too lenient on killers". The song "ended up not denouncing the system but advocating its permissiveness". "Sex, Murder, Art" was said by TheState.com to feature "roars about a maddening relationship and his 'pleasure in inflicting pain.'"
King said that the album contained origins relating to "war stories" and "explorations of madness". It is Paul Bostaph
's first studio album
with Slayer, resulting in Alex Henderson of Allmusic saying that it is a "positive, energizing influence on Slayer, which sounds better than ever on such dark triumphs as 'Killing Fields,' 'Serenity in Murder,' and 'Circle of Beliefs.'" Henderson also said that they "focus[ed] on the violently repressive nature of governments and the lengths to which they will go to wield power".
, an American artist who would later paint the covers for the other Slayer releases Undisputed Attitude
and Live Intrusion
. Mike Bone from American Recordings said that "we captured this not only by photography, but with video — him actually doing it." The album sleeve features for the first time the backronym
Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot.
or Pearl Jam
—or for that matter, Nine Inch Nails
or Ministry
—Slayer wisely refused to sound like anyone but Slayer. Tom Araya and co. responded to the new environment simply by striving to be the heaviest metal band they possibly could." By the album's release date, vocalist Tom Araya
considered it to be their best album. The album has been to the melodic excursions of Seasons in the Abyss often referred to as a comeback album because the music was much faster and more aggressive again.
Divine Intervention sold 193,000 copies in its first week, and by 2002, it sold over 400,000 copies in the US . It was reported that in the same year of its released, Kevin Kirk from the Heavy Metal Shop "ordered 1,000 copies of Slayer's Divine Intervention and sold every last album in a matter of weeks". Although it is less accessible than its predecessor Seasons in the Abyss
, Rolling Stone
considered it to be their most successful album as of 2001.
Performers
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
. Released on September 27, 1994 through American Recordings, it was their first album featuring Paul Bostaph
Paul Bostaph
Paul Bostaph is a heavy metal drummer. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and he had since worked with bands like Slayer, Forbidden, Exodus and Systematic. He is from Newark, California and currently drums for Testament...
, replacing the band's original drummer Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
. Several of the songs on the album were inspired by television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows. The production posed as a challenge to the record company, as its marketing situation drew arguments over the album's explicitness. The band used the Decade of Aggression
Decade of Aggression
Decade of Aggression is a double live album by Slayer, released on October 22, 1991 through Def American Records . It was produced by Rick Rubin and executive produced by Richard Kimball. The album was recorded in three separate places on three separate dates. Its working title was Decade of...
live album to give them time to decide the album's style. Since it was released nearly four years after Seasons in the Abyss
Seasons in the Abyss
Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by the thrash metal band Slayer. It was released on October 9, 1990 through Def American Records, and later through American Recordings after the company changed its name. The album's recording sessions began in January 1990...
, vocalist Tom Araya
Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
said that there was more time spent on production compared to the band's previous albums. The cover was painted and designed by Wes Benscoter
Wes Benscoter
Wes Benscoter is an American artist who is best known for his work album covers, especially heavy metal albums. He also has made covers for magazines and books, and shirt designs, and his art is featured in many galleries around the world. Most of his work is done using airbrush...
.
Even though so much time was spent on production, Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
said that the mixing and mastering should have had more attention. The song's origins not only come from television, but were also inspired by various other things, including Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
, and Araya's wife. Araya concluded that the album "came out of the past four years of hating life."
The album received mixed reviews by critics, with Allmusic giving it three out of five stars, and The Deseret News giving it a positive review. The album sold 193,000 copies in its first week, and on April 30, 2002, Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
reported that it had sold over 3,405,092 copies. It peaked number eight on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and charted at number 15 on UK Albums Chart. It was rewarded a Gold in the United States and in Canada. An extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled Serenity in Murder was released shortly after the album.
Writing and production
Tom ArayaTom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
said that "when we did Divine Intervention, this was the last conference we ever had with a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
where they sat us down and sold us the idea of how they wanted to do "Divine", and how they were going to do this with the cover... and all these different ideas for the album. Then one guy looked at us and said, 'But we need a hit song
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
.' And we said, 'But you've got eleven songs, and if you can't find a hit in one of them than you're shit out of luck because that's what we're giving you.' So we're like saying to them, 'Right, you write the fucking hit song and we'll record it.' That shut the guy up and that was the last time we had any kind of meetings like that!"
Araya described "For this one, I just kind of got inspired by watching TV. That gave me a whole lot of ideas. The whole idea about the dude with Slayer in his arms was brought about because reality is scarier than anything you can make up. The production of the album posed as a challenge to the record company, "how to market a group whose gore-soaked, extreme music in anathema to radio programmers." It is the company's first attempt to "hit the thrash band's core-audience of rabid enthusiasts with a fan-orientated marketing assault." Araya related: "We decided to take more time to bring this one together. We actually went into the studio with more written material than the past. We completed three out of seven songs outside the studio. We all sort of felt it was important to do it slowly. After the last tour, we had the intention to take the break."
Composition
The College Music JournalCollege Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
said that "the band deals almost exclusively with realism" in the album, and noted that it "shocks and splatters like a severed artery, painting crimson pictures of murders, necrophiliacs, and the ravaged, chaotic world they inhabit". Both the mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and mastering
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
were criticized, with guitarist Kerry King
Kerry King
Kerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
saying that the band should have "paid more attention to the mix", and Araya saying that it "is the one (if any) that he would not mind re-mastering". Tom Araya
Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
said the "album came out of the past four years of hating life".
Neil Strauss from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
explained many of the album's origins. "213" was described as a "love song" by Araya, which was something they had never done before. The song was named after serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
's old apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
number. "Dittohead", a partial tribute to Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, begins by criticizing the legal system for "being too lenient on killers". The song "ended up not denouncing the system but advocating its permissiveness". "Sex, Murder, Art" was said by TheState.com to feature "roars about a maddening relationship and his 'pleasure in inflicting pain.'"
King said that the album contained origins relating to "war stories" and "explorations of madness". It is Paul Bostaph
Paul Bostaph
Paul Bostaph is a heavy metal drummer. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and he had since worked with bands like Slayer, Forbidden, Exodus and Systematic. He is from Newark, California and currently drums for Testament...
's first studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
with Slayer, resulting in Alex Henderson of Allmusic saying that it is a "positive, energizing influence on Slayer, which sounds better than ever on such dark triumphs as 'Killing Fields,' 'Serenity in Murder,' and 'Circle of Beliefs.'" Henderson also said that they "focus[ed] on the violently repressive nature of governments and the lengths to which they will go to wield power".
Artwork and packaging
The album was issued in a clear jewel box with a die-cut cardboard O-card. It included sixteen pages, which fold out to be a poster, which displays the cover art. Both the disc and the disc tray feature — as described by Chris Morris — an "image reflective of the mania displayed by the group's fans. and exemplary of American frequently deployed shock tactics: a kid carving the band's name into his arms with a scalpel." The front cover was painted and designed by Wes BenscoterWes Benscoter
Wes Benscoter is an American artist who is best known for his work album covers, especially heavy metal albums. He also has made covers for magazines and books, and shirt designs, and his art is featured in many galleries around the world. Most of his work is done using airbrush...
, an American artist who would later paint the covers for the other Slayer releases Undisputed Attitude
Undisputed Attitude
Undisputed Attitude is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer. The album is a collection of punk covers of bands like Minor Threat, T.S.O.L., D.R.I and The Stooges...
and Live Intrusion
Live Intrusion
Live Intrusion is a home video by Slayer which was released in 1995 through American Recordings and filmed at the Mesa Amphitheater in Mesa, Arizona on March 12, 1995. The video features a cover of the Venom song "Witching Hour" performed by Slayer with assistance from Chris Kontos and Robb Flynn...
. Mike Bone from American Recordings said that "we captured this not only by photography, but with video — him actually doing it." The album sleeve features for the first time the backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot.
Reception
Allmusic said that "instead of doing something calculated like emulating NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
or Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
—or for that matter, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
or Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
—Slayer wisely refused to sound like anyone but Slayer. Tom Araya and co. responded to the new environment simply by striving to be the heaviest metal band they possibly could." By the album's release date, vocalist Tom Araya
Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
considered it to be their best album. The album has been to the melodic excursions of Seasons in the Abyss often referred to as a comeback album because the music was much faster and more aggressive again.
Divine Intervention sold 193,000 copies in its first week, and by 2002, it sold over 400,000 copies in the US . It was reported that in the same year of its released, Kevin Kirk from the Heavy Metal Shop "ordered 1,000 copies of Slayer's Divine Intervention and sold every last album in a matter of weeks". Although it is less accessible than its predecessor Seasons in the Abyss
Seasons in the Abyss
Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by the thrash metal band Slayer. It was released on October 9, 1990 through Def American Records, and later through American Recordings after the company changed its name. The album's recording sessions began in January 1990...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
considered it to be their most successful album as of 2001.
Chart positions and certifications
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
8 |
| ARIA Charts ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
27 |
| Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
22 |
| Media Control Charts Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
18 |
| MegaCharts MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
31 |
| RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
20 |
| Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
10 |
| Swiss Music Charts Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
15 |
| The Official Charts Company | 15 |
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| US | Platinum |
| CAN | Platinum |
Track listing
Credits
Personnel information can be verified at Allmusic.Performers
- Tom ArayaTom ArayaTom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jeff HannemanJeff HannemanJeffrey John "Jeff" Hanneman is a rhythm/lead guitarist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman grew up in Los Angeles in a family of war veterans, and his fascination with warfare is attributed to his upbringing...
– guitar - Kerry KingKerry KingKerry King is an American lead and rhythm guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and cofounder of American thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since...
– guitar - Paul BostaphPaul BostaphPaul Bostaph is a heavy metal drummer. His drumming career began in 1984, when he was 20 years old, and he had since worked with bands like Slayer, Forbidden, Exodus and Systematic. He is from Newark, California and currently drums for Testament...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Annalisa – ArtworkAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
- Wes BenscoterWes BenscoterWes Benscoter is an American artist who is best known for his work album covers, especially heavy metal albums. He also has made covers for magazines and books, and shirt designs, and his art is featured in many galleries around the world. Most of his work is done using airbrush...
– Artwork, Cover Illustration - Dave BrockDave BrockDavid Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
– Assistant EngineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Jim Champagne – Engineer
- Stephen MarcussenStephen MarcussenStephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer of Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California. Marcussen is one of the most sought-after mastering engineers in the music industry and his expertise has been coveted by a wide range of artists over the years...
– MasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Brian Pollack – Assistant Engineer
- Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
– Executive Producer - Rick Sales – ManagementManagementManagement in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
- Jim ScottJim Scott (producer)Jim Scott is an American music producer and engineer, best known for his large body of work as an engineer, and his work as a producer with American rock band Wilco. Scott has worked as engineer with a range of other rock music artists, including Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty, Sting, The Rolling Stones,...
– Engineer - Jeff Sheehan – Assistant Engineer
- Stephen Stickler – PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Dick Walter – Art Direction, Design
- Toby WrightToby WrightToby Wright is a record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. He is currently in Nashville, Tennessee working on Kara Clark's latest Ep.-Producer:...
– Producer, Engineer, MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Neil Zlozower – Photography